The latest higher education news from The Texas Tribune.
In this excerpt from her new memoir, “Up Home,” Ruth J. Simmons recalls moving to Houston at age 6 from rural East Texas. She would go on to serve as president of Smith College, Brown University and Prairie View A&M. Full Story
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Simmons talked with The Texas Tribune about “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey,” which depicts an era long gone but whose legacies of inequality still persist. Full Story
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The move is an effort to provide relief for college students struggling with the skyrocketing costs of higher education. But professors expressed concerns about the impact the decision might have on their ability to prepare for classes. Full Story
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In this week’s episode, we discuss the changes at Houston ISD after a state takeover in June. Full Story
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The announcement confronted students with the impact of a new law that will require all state-funded colleges and universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices. Full Story
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The university had asked the federal agency to dismiss sexual harassment complaints by LGBTQ+ students, arguing that the claims infringed on the school’s religious tenets. Full Story
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Some members of the university system’s board of regents said they wanted to promote conservative causes at the flagship campus and resisted efforts to hire journalism professor Kathleen O. McElroy, who they believed would work counter to those goals. Full Story
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In this week’s episode, we discuss two cases at Texas A&M University that raised questions of academic freedom — and the fallout that ensued. Full Story
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A new internal report, conducted by the university system’s office of general counsel, also looked into Texas A&M’s decision to temporarily suspend a respected opioids expert after she was accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture. Full Story
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In his first comments as interim president, Mark A. Welsh IIII cast recent concerns over political interference in Texas A&M’s employment decisions as “communication breakdowns.” Full Story
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Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham alleged Wednesday that opioids expert Joy Alonzo told students in a guest lecture that “Your Lt. Governor says those kids deserve to die.” Alonzo denied the claims. Full Story
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This is the third year businesses in the Permian Basin — known for high school football and oil fields — have participated in the University of Texas at Austin program. Students this year say they are seeing their hometowns in a new way. Full Story
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The board also gave university lawyers the green light to negotiate a possible settlement with Kathleen McElroy after the university bungled the hiring of the journalism professor. Full Story
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The system’s board also plans to formally appoint an interim president after Katherine Banks resigned last week following news that the school changed its job offer to Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor, after outcries from conservative groups. Full Story
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The university has been rattled by two cases in which university officials were apparently rushed into making faculty employment decisions due to political pressure. Full Story
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The professor, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters. Full Story
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In the fallout from A&M’s failure to hire Kathleen McElroy, students and alumni lament the missed opportunity to revive the university’s journalism program and provide students with mentorship. Full Story
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Hart Blanton, the head of the university’s department of communications and journalism, also said then-President M. Katherine Banks interfered with the recruitment of journalist Kathleen McElroy. Full Story
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“The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately,” Banks wrote in her resignation letter. “The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here.” Full Story
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A U.S. Department of Education review identified 804,000 borrowers across the country with loans taken more than two decades ago and whose debts should have been canceled but were not because of “administrative failures.” Full Story
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