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Matthew Watkins began serving as editor in chief of the Tribune in September 2024. Matthew is a Texas native, born in Houston and raised in Austin. He attended public schools and graduated from Texas A&M University. He’s spent nearly two decades in Texas journalism, and previously worked at The Eagle in Bryan-College Station and The Dallas Morning News. Matthew joined the Tribune in 2015 has held various roles, including higher education reporter, breaking news editor and politics editor. As a managing editor, Matthew has guided the Tribune’s award-winning journalism and other reporting of statewide significance, including coverage of elections and legislative sessions to major breaking news and ambitious storytelling about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Texas-Mexico border, the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, the impeachment of Texas attorney general and battles over public education. He lives in Austin with his wife, Susan, and their two children.
Texas' elected leaders lashed out Tuesday at President Obama's executive orders prompting more background checks during gun purchases. But those officials offered no specifics on how they planned to fight Obama's actions. Full Story
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A "winter solstice" display by the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been ordered removed from the Texas Capitol after Gov. Greg Abbott called it a "juvenile parody." Full Story
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Texas universities would be violating the state's new campus carry law if they banned guns in dormitories, Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a non-binding opinion issued Monday afternoon. Full Story
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College campuses always seem to attract controversy, but in 2015 Texas universities seemed to have more than their normal share. Full Story
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Southern Methodist University in Dallas has joined the growing list of private colleges in Texas opting out of the state's new campus carry law. Full Story
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Texas universities have been aggressively expanding their geographic reach in recent years, opening up new educational opportunities for students. But the growth has also led to complaints from state leaders and turf wars between schools. Full Story
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A state district judge has thrown out a lawsuit by University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall that sought to force the system to turn over records related to an admissions scandal last year. Full Story
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Two years after the announcement of ambitious plans to open a branch campus in Israel, Texas A&M University is scaling back. Full Story
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Lost in the debate over the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case is this: For UT-Austin, more than racial preferences in admissions are at stake. If the university loses, the entire way it selects its incoming freshman class could be at risk. Full Story
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U.S. Supreme Court justices dissected UT-Austin's unusual admissions procedures on Wednesday, questioning whether Texas' flagship campus should keep using race as a factor when evaluating some of its applicants. Full Story
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