In a letter, Sens. Brandon Creighton and Paul Bettencourt said they found “numerous” violations of the law, but didn’t provide specifics.
Jessica Priest
Jessica Priest covers higher education, working in partnership with Open Campus. She joined the Tribune in 2022 as an engagement reporter in the ProPublica/Texas Tribune joint investigative unit, contributing to a series that was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the explanatory reporting category. Prior to the Tribune, Jessica worked for the Fort Worth Report, USA Today, the Victoria Advocate and the Temple Daily Telegram, reporting on topics that included criminal justice, the environment and local government. Her work has often made an impact. The state’s highest criminal court granted a death row inmate a new trial after she detailed a prosecutor’s conflicts of interest. After she exposed questionable hirings and payments at a port and later a water district in another part of the state, both public entities underwent reforms. Jessica was born in Houston and graduated from Sam Houston State University.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas A&M regents may soon decide the university system’s next leader
Sources indicate the board has narrowed its search to five candidates: Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, Texas A&M Foundation President Tyson Voelkel, University of Alabama President Stuart Bell and state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Overhaul of schools’ STAAR test proposed by Texas House bill
The bill would require the state to reduce the test’s length, prioritize post-secondary preparation and launch a revamped version by 2026.
Posted in
Higher Education
UT System names Jim Davis as UT-Austin’s interim president
The decision to name Davis, UT-Austin’s chief operating officer since 2023, ends President Jay Hartzell’s tenure months earlier than anticipated.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas now has more top-tier research universities than any other state, report finds
The designations come at a tumultuous time for universities as funding could be cut off and efforts to end tenure continue.
Posted in
Health care
Texas universities could face funding cuts for health care research under new Trump administration policy
A federal judge blocked a new National Institutes of Health policy from going into effect in 22 states that sued the agency, but Texas wasn’t part of the suit.
Posted in
Higher Education
UT-Dallas students launch alternative newspaper after clash with administration
Students at the university created their own news organization — The Retrograde — after they reached an impasse with administrators regarding oversight and the firing of the campus newspaper’s editor-in-chief.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas lawmakers may ban certain lessons at state colleges under expanded DEI crackdown
Legislators are expected to take up a $360 million proposal that would change the landscape of financial aid in the state.
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Health care
Donald Trump’s push to freeze federal funds sparks confusion in Texas
Texas cities, counties, higher education institutions and nonprofits clambered Tuesday to gauge the potential fallout from the suspension, later blocked temporarily by a federal judge.
Posted in
Higher Education
Gov. Greg Abbott threatens Texas A&M president’s job over claim that university broke DEI ban
Abbott’s comments came after A&M invited staffers and students to attend a conference that a conservative activist said broke the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
