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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.
Sixty percent of Texas schoolchildren are poor, and the state wants more of them to go to college. But the aid it offers them doesn't go nearly as far as it used to. Full Story
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In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university. Full Story
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Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
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Texas A&M University's law school came in at 92 — its first time in the top 100 since A&M took over the school in 2013. The University of Texas at Austin's law school remains the highest-ranked in the state. Full Story
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The state is set for another debate about the cost of a program that provides free tuition to children of military veterans. Full Story
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The state spent big to recruit professor Thomas Overbye to Texas A&M University. But lawmakers are questioning whether it should devote millions to make similar hires in the future. Full Story
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In a statement, Romo said that he had been made aware that the way he embraced women "made them uncomfortable and was inappropriate." Full Story
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Draft budgets by both the Texas House and Senate have zeroed out funding for the Governor's University Research Initiative, a project started by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2015. Full Story
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Some people hoped that community colleges would ban guns in any classroom that has students under 18. So far, that seems unlikely. Full Story
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The Texas Rangers have opened a preliminary investigation at Baylor University amid a lingering sexual assault scandal. Full Story
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