The fourth president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on federal health care reform, the difficult budget pressures on his institution and others, the critical importance of academic research and the timeline for finding a cure for cancer.
Higher Education
Coverage of universities, colleges, student issues, and education policy shaping Texas’ campuses, from The Texas Tribune.
College Rankings a Mixed Bag for Texas Universities
Depending on whom you ask, the University of Texas is either the 45th best university in the country, or the 186th. Texas A&M? Either the 58th or the 178th. College rankings are pervasive, highly variable — and controversial.
DePinho: Opposing HPV Vaccine “Unethical”
The new president of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston calls the political hot potato “one of the great scientific advances in the history of medicine.”
As Ranks of Military Veterans Swell, Colleges Begin to Reach Out
After a decade of conflict in the Middle East, and with a boost from the expanded benefits of the post-9/11 GI Bill passed by Congress in 2008, the college enrollment of veterans is increasing — as are efforts to make sure they succeed in higher education.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on Rick Perry’s allergic reaction to federal school money, E. Smith elicits Ted Cruz’s take on David Dewhurst, Root and Ramshaw cover Perry’s first presidential debate, Ramshaw and Aguilar poke at Perry’s immigration record and how it plays among Republicans, Hamilton on the dash for top status among Texas colleges, Galbraith on an environmental ruling from the White House that got conservative applause and one that didn’t, Grissom has the latest on the Willingham arson case and the state’s plans to look at other fires and Aaronson’s widget for comparing the presidential candidates: The best of our best content from Sept. 5 to 9, 2011.
Tier-One Money Still Up for Grabs in University Competition
The early results of the latest leg in a key fundraising race for Texas universities seeking tier-one status are in — and the University of Texas at Dallas is in the lead. But there’s still more than $1.2 million up for grabs this biennium.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on the stats behind the Texas Miracle, Aguilar on an area of the budget that didn’t get cut during the session, Dehn and Tan wrap-up our 31 Days, 31 Ways project, Galbraith talks to Todd Staples about the drought, Grissom on controversial executions during Rick Perry’s tenure (plus a visualization by Murphy and Seger), Hamilton on the Rodney Dangerfield of Texas universities, Philpott on the search for clues in past Perry debates, Ramshaw on Perry’s opposition to abortion rights and Root on Perry’s assurances to conservatives that his past won’t embarrass them: The best of our best content from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, 2011.
Lege Not Playing Ball With A&M
Don’t look for the Legislature to get in the middle of Texas A&M University’s split from the Big 12 Conference. Twice in the last 14 months, House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, has called a hearing about universities leaving the Big 12 Conference — and twice he had to cancel it because the timing was off. In the meantime, the conservative blogosphere let him have it.
Grant Will Help Community College Students Get Up to Speed
Texas’ institutions of higher education are increasingly looking to outside sources for help tackling low graduation rates. This week, Complete College America announced a million-dollar grant to help Texas handle students who show up to college ill-prepared.
UT Efficient, Report by UT Dean Finds
A new report by a University of Texas associate dean on the way UT handles tax dollars finds that the institution “excels” in the area of efficiency.



