April 26, 2016 4:51 PM

Chancellor McRaven's grand plans for Houston hold little sway with Senators

Chairman Seliger: “It’s almost as if you are saying Houston is going to be some intellectual wasteland without the University of Texas.”

Senators on the Higher Education Committee made it abundantly clear Tuesday morning they favored the University of Houston in its David v Goliath standoff with the University of Texas system over a proposed Houston campus.

Chancellor Bill McRaven has offered mea culpas at least twice for his unexpected purchase of land in Houston to build a potential University of Texas facility. McRaven talked about bringing innovation to vital, growing city with multiple sectors: medical, business, energy and transportation.

“I think that would be egregious, for us to just accept the status quo for the University of Texas system,” McRaven told the committee. “I recognize having an opportunity to be a little bit more transparent would have been better, but the fact is it started off as a real estate deal. I would ask that you give me an opportunity to show that this does have merit.”

By Kimberly Reeves