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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.
Richard Benson, the engineering dean at Virginia Tech University, will almost certainly become the next president of the University of Texas at Dallas after being named the sole finalist for the job Monday night. Full Story
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A Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the University of Texas at Austin declared Monday that he will try to ban guns from his classroom this fall, even if university rules and state law say he can't. Full Story
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One of University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves' top priorities in his first year in office is to expand UT-Austin’s international presence. And a key part of that mission will be Mexico, which Fenves will visit this week. Full Story
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Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth announced Friday that it will opt out of the state's new campus carry law, making it the 21st private college to decide to continue to ban guns. Full Story
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Texas should consider scrapping its top 10 percent automatic admissions rule for universities, which hurts the prestige of the University of Texas at Austin, UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven said in two separate public appearances this week. Full Story
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University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven told the state's higher education oversight board Thursday that he probably should have consulted with them before buying about 100 acres for a new campus in southwest Houston. Full Story
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The chancellors of Texas’s top university systems defended their ambitious expansion plans to lawmakers Wednesday and some pushed back against the idea of more oversight of their growth. Full Story
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University leaders from across Texas may face tough audiences this week as they are asked to explain their ambitious expansion plans before two key higher education policy boards. Full Story
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Texas universities are racing to build new medical schools, but without enough slots for post-graduate residents, some worry they're building a pipeline that will funnel new doctors out of state. Full Story
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Even though some lawmakers and state officials have urged it to slow down and reconsider, the University of Texas System on Friday completed the purchase of 100 acres of land for a new Houston campus. Full Story
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