The Texas Faculty Association filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the University of Texas system’s Board of Regents, asserting that the board illegally deliberated behind closed doors when it authorized up to 3,800 layoffs at the system’s Medical Branch, in Galveston, which was devastated by Hurricane Ike, The Galveston County Daily News reported.

The lawsuit raises questions about whether the regents did all they could to save the Medical Branch, which is still recovering from the hurricane’s catastrophic flooding in September.

“We hope that, in the act of discovery and act of executing the lawsuit, we find the real reasons behind this move,” said Tom Johnson, executive director of the faculty association. “It’s been our suspicion for a long time — more than a suspicion — that UT wants to build a teaching hospital in Austin,” he added. “They have been steadily disinvesting from UTMB.”

The Medical Branch, which was in debt even before the storm, has begun laying off 3,000 workers, including 127 tenured and untenured faculty members. Its 550-bed hospital has been downsized to 200 beds. Joining the faculty association in the lawsuit are a retired Medical Branch employee, an associate professor of nursing, and an island businessman.

The Texas regents have defended their decision last month to authorize the mass layoffs, saying it was necessary given the steep losses at the medical school since Ike struck. The regents, who have maintained that they are committed to keeping the school in Galveston, declined to comment on the lawsuit. —Katherine Mangan