William Powers Jr. entered UC Berkeley just as the Free Speech Movement began in 1963.

Since then, Powers has held many titles, ranging from professor of law to 28th president of the University of Texas at Austin — and, now, 2014 UC Berkeley Alumnus of the Year.

“He’s a great leader, a visionary,” said UT Austin spokesperson Gary Susswein. “He’s very easy to talk to and open-minded. He listens to students and faculty to make sure everyone has a voice.”

Powers joins a list of prolific Alumnus of the Year recipients, including writer Joan Didion and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

During his undergraduate years at UC Berkeley, Powers was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry in 1967. After graduating, Powers joined the U.S. Navy for three years before graduating from Harvard Law School magna cum laude.

In 1997, Powers joined UT Austin as a professor of law before becoming dean of the law school in 2000 and the university’s president in 2006.

“He’s been one of the best presidents in UT Austin history,” Susswein said. “He’s not only committed to (UT Austin) but to higher education in general.”

Even though Powers has moved to Texas, he remains in touch with his California roots.

Powers met UC Berkeley physics professor and former chancellor Robert Birgeneau through the Association of American Universities when he became president of UT Austin. Their friendship grew stronger when Birgeneau discovered Powers was a UC Berkeley alumnus.

“I admire a lot of the work he’s done,” Birgeneau said. “He’s set a very high standard for the alumnus of the year.”

One of Powers’ many contributions to the Texas campus as president was founding the School of Undergraduate Studies, Susswein said. The school allows students to experiment with different courses before officially declaring their major.

Powers also worked to raise the four-year graduation rate of UT undergraduates and to increase diversity among the student population.

Powers’ support of holistic admissions and affirmative action was taken as far as the U.S. Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas, a case that considered the constitutionality of using race in university admissions.

He committed to making the student body at UT Austin a more accurate representation of the diversity of the state, Birgeneau said.

Birgeneau said that when he served as chancellor of UC Berkeley, he and Powers would discuss the best ways to balance intercollegiate sports and academics.

“I like him because he’s a very straightforward person. He’s not pretentious. He’s a really decent human being whom you can trust,” Birgeneau said. “That’s the kind of Berkeley undergraduate all of us really admire.”

Contact Lydia Tuan at ltuan@dailycal.org.

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The court’s decision of 7 to 1 said that when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit judged the case, it did not hold the University of Texas at Austin to the burden of strict scrutiny that was prescribed in previous affirmative action cases, such as Grutter v. Bollinger and Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. The decision means the university must prove in a lower court that its admissions practices are narrowly targeted to its educational goals.

Abigail Fisher, a white student, brought the lawsuit against the University of Texas at Austin, claiming she was rejected for admission in 2008 as a result of racial discrimination prohibited by the 14th Amendment. The university argued it had an interest in pursuing diversity for its educational benefits.

In August, the University of California and chancellors from all 10 UC campuses submitted an amicus brief declaring support for the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in the admissions process.

Since 1997, California public universities have not been able to consider race in admissions because of Proposition 209, a 1996 ballot initiative forbidding state-funded institutions from considering factors such as race or ethnicity in admissions or hiring decisions.

In a statement released following the decision, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks criticized California’s continued ban of race-based admissions but praised the court’s decision for acknowledging the benefits of maintaining diversity in higher education.

“At the University of California, we have experienced the unfortunate consequences of state law that precludes the consideration of race, even in the context of a holistic admissions review,” Dirks said. “It is reassuring to know that universities in states permitting the consideration of race in admissions will not be compelled to take the same unfortunate path the University of California has been forced to follow.”

However, any immediate effects of the decision on affirmative action in California are unlikely because of Prop. 209, according to Janelle Scott, a professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education.

“We have the Grutter decision … (and) that didn’t do anything in California,” Scott said. “So I think it’s unlikely any other decision will shift 209.”

However, Tony Le, executive director of the UC Berkeley bridges Multicultural Resource Center, said that the decision may recatalyze action for SB 185, a 2011 bill that would have overturned Prop. 209. SB 185 passed both state legislative houses but was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

“If (a similar bill) were to pass, the supporters of affirmative action will push it further, since it was so close the first time,” Le said.

Contact Mary Zhou at mzhou@dailycal.org

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The campus will pilot Canvas this summer in a select number of classes. There will be a period of overlap as other classes continue to use bSpace.

According to Oliver Heyer, manager of ETS’ Learning Systems Group, Canvas will cost roughly the same to maintain as bSpace.

Though Heyer said that bSpace has been a valuable educational tool, he noted that it “still has issues in terms of overall usage experience we think will be improved upon with Canvas.”

Canvas will have all the features of bSpace with a few notable additions, like streamlined notifications from course pages.

Heyer added that current bSpace users don’t make full use of capabilities such as online quizzing, ability to turn in and grade assignments online and the online gradebook. Canvas aims to increase use of these online tools by making course sites more straightforward and easier for professors to use.

Kyle Brudvik, who is a GSI for Earth and Planetary Science 50, said he looks forward to the changes.

“(bSpace) is cumbersome and is neither user-friendly nor intuitive,” he said in an email. “I do find it helpful for posting announcements to my classes, but beyond that … the Assignments and Dropbox features are completely maddening.”

ETS elected to pilot Canvas over other platforms because of its more modern feel and success at other universities.  ETS will not make a final commitment to Canvas until after the pilot.

“If we find that our evaluation of Canvas turns out to be incorrect based on feedback from students and professors, then another platform will be chosen,” Heyer said.

Canvas will be open to UC Berkeley faculty, staff and students sometime next year, with bSpace still accessible during this time. ETS intends to completely phase out bSpace by the end of the 2014 school year.

CalCentral, a new collaboration platform for students, will be integrated with Canvas in the hopes of consolidating student information and services, such as the bConnected activity suite, which includes Google Calendar.

Although everything to be integrated with CalCentral is still under negotiation, ETS is “potentially looking at a student finance profile and your registration status,” Heyer said.

Schools like Brown University and the University of Texas at Austin already use Canvas. Heyer said UC Berkeley has been in touch with these schools’ educational technology departments throughout its transition process.

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