The University of Texas System Board of Regents unanimously voted Thursday to create a new college at the University of Texas at Austin to house the Civitas Institute, a center criticized by faculty as politically motivated because it was conceived with the help of conservative donors and state lawmakers.
The decision by the board came before Texas lawmakers could vote on a bill by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, intended to turn the Civitas Institute into a college. The board’s creation of the new college makes that legislation unnecessary.
“The Civitas Institute will be a leader in research, education and policy based on free markets and individual liberty,” Creighton said in a statement. “I applaud Chairman [Kevin] Eltife and the Board of Regents for their support, which will provide the organizational structure to hire faculty and staff.”