Hu explores on the schism between Bushworld and Perrywold and the increasingly curious question of what Debra Medina wants; Stiles goes all Shark Week on gubernatorial campaign finance, with searchable databases, bubble maps and word clouds; M. Smith on what happens if there’s a GOP runoff; Rapoport on the sniping between Perry and KBH on transparency; Hamilton on KBH’s abortion issue odyssey; Ramshaw exposes the disgracefully low percentage of state school employees who abuse or kill profoundly disabled Texans and are then prosecuted for their acts; Thevenot on higher ed’s tuition time bomb; Aguilar on the Latino pay gap; Ramsey on Farouk Shami’s “gift” to Hank Gilbert; Ramsey and Philpott on the the Supreme’s Court’s corporate campaign cash fallout; and E. Smith’s interviews with House Speaker Joe Straus with retiring Republican state representative — and future Texas State chancellor? — Brian McCall. The best of our best from January 18 to 22, 2010.
Higher Education
Coverage of universities, colleges, student issues, and education policy shaping Texas’ campuses, from The Texas Tribune.
TribBlog: Paycheck U.
A new study gives a window into the wide variety of ways college presidents get paid. Think houses, cars, deferred comp — and private monies supplementing public funds.
Guest Column: The 2010 Agenda: Higher Education
Low-income and minority students have every right to expect the same level of educational excellence experienced by their peers in more affluent settings. We literally cannot succeed without setting high expectations for them and fully developing their talents.
Latinos and the Pay Gap
In Texas, they earn 35 percent less than their Anglo counterparts — a disparity that’s bigger here than elsewhere. Is it because of education, age, discrimination, or some combination of the above?
The Tuition Time Bomb
It costs an average of 63 percent more to attend a four-year state school today than it did in 2003 — and that’s still not enough to keep pace with bulging university budgets. Some policy makers see the higher education business model on the cusp of collapse.
Slow Medicine
As El Paso begins to wear the new off its hard-fought medical school, another Texas border community is starting on the long road to establishing its own. University of Texas System officials are evaluating how long it will take and how much it could cost to train the next generation of doctors in the Rio Grande Valley.
Guest Column: The 2010 Agenda: Business
To restore jobs lost during the recession and to prepare for those ready to enter the job market, Texas must create more than two million jobs in the next decade. A key factor in achieving this target is having educated employees available to fill positions as they become available.
T-Squared: Texas 33, Alabama 27
That’s my prediction; what’s yours? Correctly guess the outcome of tonight’s game and you could win a Texas Tribune hat — perfect for beating Ben Philpott about the head and face.

