College leaders blame strict requirements initially handed down by the state. “It was like we were on a hunt for a unicorn,” one spokesperson said.
Kate McGee
Kate McGee is an Austin-based enterprise and investigative reporter. She joined the Tribune in October 2020 as a higher education reporter. She was a three-time finalist for the Education Writers Association's Beat Reporter of the Year award, winning the title in 2024. She was also a Livingston Award finalist for her coverage of the University of Texas at Austin. Before the Tribune, she spent nearly a decade as a reporter at public radio stations nationwide, including in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Austin; Reno, Nevada; and New York. Kate was born in New York City and primarily raised in New Jersey. She earned her bachelor's degree from Fordham University.
Posted in
Higher Education
Jury awards professor $3 million in pregnancy and sex discrimination suit against UT-Austin
A jury awarded Evdokia Nikolova damages for past and future pain and suffering after finding UT-Austin illegally discriminated against her when the school denied her tenure.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp orders school leaders to sever research ties with Russian entities
The chancellor instructed universities and agencies in the system to dissolve all agreements, especially those related to academics, research and intellectual property.
Posted in
Higher Education
Third fired professor claims in federal lawsuit that Collin College is censoring political speech
The professor alleges the school violated his First Amendment rights when he advocated for the removal of Confederate statues and criticized the college’s COVID-19 plans.
Posted in
Higher Education
A former professor files free speech lawsuit against Collin College over tweets about Mike Pence
The lawsuit filed this week is the second free speech lawsuit filed against the North Texas community college in two months. In separate filings, both professors claim that their First Amendment rights were violated for public statements they made outside the classroom.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed to a runoff against George P. Bush
The two-term incumbent, beset by a criminal indictment and FBI probe, will face Bush, the state’s land commissioner and scion of a political dynasty, in the May 24 runoff.
Posted in
Higher Education
UT-Austin can’t call its new think tank The Liberty Institute. Another group already owns the rights to the name.
First Liberty Institute, a Plano-based religious freedom legal group, has a registered trademark for the name and said it has alerted UT-Austin that it objects to them using it.
Posted in
Higher Education
UT System creates $300 million endowment to help seven universities expand free tuition programs
The endowment will increase the number of students who qualify for free tuition and fees at UT-Arlington, UT-Dallas, UT-El Paso, UT-Permian Basin, UT-Rio Grande Valley, UT-San Antonio and UT-Tyler.
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Higher Education
UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell defends faculty tenure after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes to end it at all public universities
Patrick’s suggestion to end tenure at public universities received swift criticism from faculty and higher education experts who said it would negatively impact the reputation of Texas’ colleges and universities.
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Higher Education
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes ending university tenure to combat critical race theory teachings
Patrick’s declarations come days after the UT-Austin Faculty Council approved a measure reaffirming instructors’ right to teach about racial justice and critical race theory in the classroom.
