Overview
- Regents voted 8-0 in a closed session Monday, with one member absent, to name executive vice chancellor Susan Ballabina the sole finalist.
- State law requires a 21-day wait before a final vote, which could make her the 28th permanent president and the third in five years.
- Ballabina serves as Chancellor Glenn Hegar’s top deputy and previously was chief of staff to former president Mark A. Welsh III.
- System officials say she stepped off the presidential search committee before applying and was evaluated through the same process as other candidates.
- The move follows leadership upheaval and new Texas laws that ban DEI offices and restrict how race and gender are taught, raising faculty concerns about academic freedom and classroom practice.