University of Texas Legal Chief Takes On Review of Admissions Cheating Scandal
University of Texas has tapped its vice president for legal affairs to conduct a review of how its fired men's tennis coach became embroiled in the nationwide college admissions scandal.
March 14, 2019 at 01:45 PM
3 minute read
The University of Texas at Austin has asked Jim Davis, its vice president for legal affairs, to conduct a review of how its fired men's tennis coach became embroiled in the nationwide college admissions scandal and to recommend what can be done to prevent future misconduct.
In a letter to the campus community Wednesday, university President Gregory Fenves said, “The integrity of UT admissions is essential to our mission as a research university and to the students and families we serve. That is why any act of wrongdoing, no matter how singular, matters so deeply.”
Fenves said the university had fired tennis coach Michael Center, one of at least 50 people charged across the country in the scandal that gave preferential college admissions to children of wealthy parents who paid bribes. Nine coaches at eight colleges have been charged.
Fenves said he asked Davis, who could not be reached for comment, to conduct a thorough review and “to determine whether the university has the necessary rules and procedures in place to prevent violations in the future.”
Center is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Center, who could not be reached, is represented by Houston criminal defense attorney Dan Cogdell.
Cogdell said Center will plead not guilty when he appears in U.S. District Court in Boston on March 25.
“He is one of the foremost tennis coaches in the country, and a wonderful man,” Cogdell said. “He has been terminated, hit in the face by a tidal wave. He is just devastated by this accusation.”
According to the criminal complaint and other indictments in the case, Center was brought into the alleged conspiracy by Martin Fox, a resident of Houston and president of a private tennis academy and camp there. Fox has been charged with racketeering conspiracy. He allegedly received $100,000 for his role in bringing Center into the conspiracy, according to court documents.
The documents say around 2015 Fox introduced Center to William “Rick” Singer, the alleged mastermind of the admissions scheme. Singer founded the Edge College & Career Network, a for-profit college preparation company in California, as well as the Key Worldwide Foundation, a nonprofit charity.
The government said Singer used the business and the foundation to funnel bribes from the parents to nine coaches, including Center. Singer pleaded guilty Tuesday to all counts, including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Singer also appears to be “cooperating witness 1” in the complaint, who wore a wire and recorded the conversation for prosecutors when he allegedly flew to Austin in June 2015 and paid Center about $60,000 in a hotel parking lot.
In exchange, Center allegedly awarded the son of Singer's client with a tennis scholarship and an admissions spot, even though the student had not played tennis since he was a freshman in high school. Once admitted at the university, the student dropped off the tennis team shortly after school began and renounced his scholarship. The school has not identified him.
In a recorded conversation, Center told Singer he had used part of the bribe money, which eventually reached nearly $100,000, for the universities' new tennis facility.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFormer Rutgers Law School Dean Replaces Hoffman as University General Counsel on Interim Basis
4 minute readAs Student Workers Unionize in Droves, NLRB Tries to Prevent Colleges' Privacy Concerns From Slowing Momentum
5 minute readDemise of Chevron Deference Likely Played a Major Role in Successful Title IX Challenges, Experts Say
4 minute readHarvard Hires Ex-Defense Department GC as Legal Chief at Tumultuous Time
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Friday Newspaper
- 2Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 3Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 4NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 5A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250