How an internship program hopes to end โbrain drainโ in Texasโ Permian Basin and other rural regions
This is the third year businesses in the Permian Basin โ known for high school football and oil fields โ have participated in the University of Texas Austin program. Students this year say they are seeing their hometowns in a new way.
Texas A&M regents could offer a settlement to the journalism professor at center of hiring controversy
The systemโs board also plans to formally appoint an interim president after Katherine Banks resigned last week following news that the school changed its job offer to Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor, after outcries from conservative groups.
Race-based college admissions are now banned, but Texas schools still have ways to ensure campuses are diverse
Higher education experts say universities can implement other strategies like targeted recruitment in underserved communities, eliminating legacy admissions and getting rid of test requirements.
As race-neutral college admissions begin, Texas counselors work to convince students of color they still belong
Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of Texasโ public schools. But they are vastly underrepresented at its top universities, and Thursdayโs Supreme Court ruling will shake up an already complicated application process.
Texas colleges offer job training for students with disabilities. Hereโs how to use those programs.
Students with disabilities can succeed in college with the right kind of help. There are programs that can support them. The programs help them live on their own, find jobs, and make a difference where they live.
With $1.4 billion investment, Texas hopes to sprint to the front of the microchip manufacturing race
Microchips are increasingly present in every day life, from phones and laptops to cars and washing machines. Gov. Greg Abbott approved last week a stimulus package in an effort to shore up the supply chain after the pandemicโs disruptions.
Texas bill would preserve UT-Austinโs admissions policies if U.S. Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action
State lawmakers passed legislation that would ensure the UT flagship can continue to cap the number of students it automatically admits because of their academic achievement at 75%, giving the university room to accept other students using different criteria.
House signals readiness to fight Senate over bills to ban tenure, diversity efforts at Texas universities
Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, pledged to defend his legislation dialing back Senate bills that would eliminate tenure and ban diversity, equity and inclusion offices. But faculty and students say even the House versions will hurt higher education.
Texas House may revise anti-diversity legislation to allow some programs to maintain grants, federal funding
A new version of Senate Bill 17 expected to be considered by the Houseโs Higher Education Committee on Monday would still ban DEI offices and prohibit required diversity training, but it would open the door for university boards of regents to approve such programs in certain circumstances.
How Republicansโ threats to tenure and diversity might undercut their own efforts to advance Texasโ universities
Texas lawmakers are poised to create a new multibillion-dollar endowment to boost emerging research universities in national rankings. But faculty members say banning diversity offices and tenure would stymie those efforts.
University of Texas at Austin students will hold referendum on โEyes of Texasโ
The nonbinding referendum is meant to gauge student opinion on the divisive alma mater but would not result in any changes to the song. Student leaders called for it in response to a 2021 university report on the songโs history that found it was โnot overtly racist.โ
Texas universities block access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks
Students and faculty will not be able to access the popular social media app while connected to university internet servers. Itโs the latest step to limit access to the service after Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies to ban the app on government-issued devices citing cybersecurity risks.
In lawsuit, UT-Austin professor accuses Texas A&M faculty program of discriminating against white and Asian men
UT-Austin professor Richard Lowery is represented by America First Legal โ a group created by Stephen Miller, a policy adviser for former President Donald Trump, and Jonathan Mitchell, a former solicitor general for Texas and the legal architect of the stateโs six-week abortion ban.
As monkeypox spreads, health experts urge Texas universities to prepare for outbreaks
While the risk of exposure to monkeypox remains low, health experts say college students living in close proximity to each other could spur outbreaks. They encourage schools to share their plans and relevant information about the virus.
Texas universities grapple with how to provide reproductive health care information to students amid new abortion laws
The changing legal landscape is raising questions for public colleges about how to talk to students about reproductive health care options and creating hesitancy among students about whether they can trust their universitiesโ health centers.
University of Texas selects new director โ and new name โ for its conservative institute
The University of Texas at Austin selected Justin Dyer to run The Civitas Institute, formerly referred to as the Liberty Institute. The center raised concerns among faculty after The Texas Tribune reported UT-Austin worked with conservative donors and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to bring the institute to the flagship UT campus.
Settlement with conservative free speech group forces University of Houston to keep amended anti-harassment policy
The conservative group Speech First argued that the anti-discrimination policy restricting โoffensive speech about personal characteristics such race, ethnicity or genderโ violates studentsโ First Amendment rights. The university agreed to keep its amended policy as part of a settlement.
UT Austin will allow students to live together on campus regardless of gender or sexual identity
The two-year pilot program comes after at least 15 years of students asking for the change. It will allow UT-Austin students to live together in certain residence halls with students of any gender or sexual identity.
UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell defends faculty tenure after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes to end it at all public universities
Patrickโs suggestion to end tenure at public universities received swift criticism from faculty and higher education experts who said it would negatively impact the reputation of Texasโ colleges and universities.
UT-Austin professors criticize university for halting antiracism study with preschoolers
The decision to halt the study comes after a University of Michigan-Flint professor filed an Office for Civil Rights complaint against the study, arguing it discriminates against children of color. But professors said pausing the study sets a negative precedent that could impact academic freedom.
UT-Austin to keep Stan Richardsโ name on advertising school after he called motel campaign โtoo Blackโ
Richardsโ comments in 2020 led to his resignation from his Dallas-based company, The Richards Group, as well as calls for the university to change the name of the Stan Richards College of Advertising and Public Relations, which launched in 2014.
More Texas voters unhappy than satisfied over power grid, abortion and property taxes, UT/TT Poll finds
Most voters approve of using state money to add border barriers between Texas and Mexico. But 57% disapprove of a new abortion lawโs provision allowing lawsuits against people who help someone get the procedure.
UT-Austin attempts to calm faculty concerns over planned Liberty Institute organized with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, conservative donors
Provost Sharon Wood attempted to reassure faculty that the new institute is an investment in politics, philosophy and economics to attract new faculty. But some professors said theyโre concerned UT-Austin is allowing the Legislature to politicize the university with the new center.
UTSA stopped displaying โCome and take itโ flag at football games and now faces criticism from its Board of Regents
UTSA decided to end the six-year tradition because the phrase had become โincongruentโ with the universityโs values and it did not want to become embroiled in a divisive issue.
Texas NAACP, students file federal civil rights complaint over UT-Austinโs โEyes of Texasโ
The complaint signals a continued desire among some UT-Austin students and alumni to push administrators to discontinue using the song as the universityโs alma mater, despite the universityโs insistence that it will remain.
UT-Austin working with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, conservative donors to create โlimited governmentโ think tank
Proposals obtained by The Texas Tribune indicate the institute would be โdedicated to the study and teaching of individual liberty, limited government, private enterprise and free markets.โ
University of Texas president defends decision to join SEC as lawmakers criticize timing and impact on other schools
Jay Hartzell said the switch to the Southeastern Conference was the best thing for UT-Austinโs student athletes and the university. Texas senators expressed disdain for the move and questioned how it came about.
After UT-Austin signals a Big 12 exit, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick moves to create a Senate panel focused on college sportsโ future
The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma are expected to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. The move throws the athletics future of several other Texas schools into uncertainty.
KPRC 2 Senior Scholarship: Meet Alexa Piedra, the ambitious senior who wants to make an impact on future generations
KPRC 2 and Texas Mattress Makers are surprising 20 deserving high school seniors with scholarships. All students selected for scholarships have been nominated by their high schools. This academic year was particularly challenging because of the pandemic, but these students still rose above and beyond in school. The third $2,500 Senior Scholarship was awarded to Alexa Piedra from the Energized for STEM academy in Houston ISD. Piedra has been accepted to the University of Texas-Austin, where she will be pursuing a degree in philosophy.