The latest higher education news from The Texas Tribune.
Multiple higher education sources with knowledge of the events that transpired before the Texas A&M chancellor's surprise "retirement" announcement on Tuesday say that members of the system's board of regents told him it was time for a change. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Mckinney_system.jpg)
In this week's episode of the TribCast, Evan, Reeve, Julian and Ben discuss the meltdown in the House, the debate over sanctuary cities, and the latest in higher education. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribcast_2.jpg)
On Wednesday, The University of Texas System Regents unanimously approved Dr. Ronald A. DePinho as the sole finalist for the position of president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ff741671f060c344d5ed0b5243168b7a/BD%20INC%20DePinho%2001%202011)
Dr. John Mendelsohn, the outgoing president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discusses the significance of budget cuts for his institutions, the value of public research and his advice for his successor. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Mendelsohn1.jpg)
A bill that streamlines the process for community college students seeking to transfer into a four-year universities was kicked out of the House — passing unanimously — and over to the Senate this afternoon. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB4959.jpg)
Texas A&M University System Chancellor Mike McKinney is stepping down effective July 1, 2011. "The time has come for me to step aside," he explained this morning in a memo to System employees. Full Story
Senators today amended an education finance reform bill to allow community college students to carry concealed handguns on campus, increase the cost of cigarettes and allow drastic changes to university administration. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/21ce20a34cb168342b42cadfbad9dda6/BD%20INC%20Ogden%202011)
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers delivered a speech Monday — two days before the University of Texas System Board of Regents gathers in Austin for a highly anticipated meeting — outlining the university's budget concerns and plans for innovation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Powers_Horns.jpg)
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers delivered a speech today — two days before the University of Texas System Board of Regents gathers in Austin for a highly anticipated meeting — outlining the university's budget concerns and plans for innovation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Powers_Horns.jpg)
Aaronson on the latest attack on Planned Parenthood, Aguilar previews the sanctuary cities debate, Grissom on a death row inmate's unsuccessful appeal, Hamilton on the UT System's faculty "productivity" data dump, Philpott on the prospect of lawsuits over education cuts, Ramsey on puppies and other distractions, Ramshaw on a tobacco fight, my interview with the presidents of UT-Austin and Texas A&M, M. Smith on a former State Board of Ed member who may have violated state ethics law, Stiles interactively displays the effects of House redistricting and Tan on the Senate budget end game: The best of our best content from May 2 to 6, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribweek05042011.jpg)
Amid an ongoing, contentious debate about the future of higher education in Texas, Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have created a new Joint Oversight Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence, and Transparency. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BranchAndZaff.jpg)
In recent months, a set of seven "breakthrough solutions" for higher education have been discussed, debated and mulled over in the press, the Legislature, and various academic circles. Arguably lacking in the debate is the voice of a disinterested third party — until now. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/012810_paperwork.jpg)
This afternoon, the University of Texas System released much-anticipated data on faculty "productivity" — noting, however, that the 821-page spreadsheet is in a raw draft form that has not been fully verified and "cannot yield accurate analysis, interpretations or conclusions." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/filesandfiles.png)
At a panel hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, UT president Bill Powers, TPPF senior fellow Ronbald Trowbridge and speaker of the A&M faculty senate Robert Strawser discussed the conservative think tank's seven proposed reforms to higher education. Here is the full video. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/042911_TPPF_Screen.png)
A group of prominent Texas A&M University alumni have signed a letter opposing the controversial "breakthrough solutions" proposed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and encouraged by the state's Aggie-in-Chief, Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/AnM_Tower_AggieLand.jpg)
There's a substantial cash prize awaiting Texas' seven emerging research universities, if they can meet the criteria to be considered "tier one." But there's no way to get at it right now, and there won't be unless they can all reach an agreement. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tier_1_CollegeMascotWars.png)
When the Senate approved an amendment to state Sen. Judith Zaffirini's higher education bill that would permit the carry of concealed handguns on university campuses by a vote of 19 to 12, the Laredo Democrat killed her own legislation to prevent it from going through. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/53ef8ceefd43b8dbbb5c7b497be0c960/BD%20INC%20Wentworth%2002%202011)
An increasingly bitter disagreement over the future of the University of Texas at Austin between University of Texas System regents' chairman Gene Powell and state Sen. Judith Zaffirini is ratcheting up the ongoing debate surrounding higher education in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/872b892efc80f060742fc9990dfab7e9/BD%20INC%20Zaffirini%20178%202011)
Jeff Sandefer, the author of the "seven breakthrough solutions" that have rocked the Texas higher education community, has broken his silence on the matter. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/THECB.jpg)
At last Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed Bill Powers and Bowen Loftin, the presidents of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, respectively, about the need for higher education reform, the impact of budget cuts, the predicament of middling graduation rates and more. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-LoftinPowers-JV018.jpg)