If you knew in the next life you’d become a tree, you might hesitate before you cut one down. Or if you were to become one of the ocean’s fish, perhaps you’d be more careful about how you dispose of certain plastics. That’s Karma, at least as it’s applied in an environmental context, which might […]
Features
Student Projects Shine During Dean’s Research Reception
On April 18, a group of hand-picked liberal arts students who have conducted exceptional research projects presented their posters at the Dean’s Research Reception. College faculty and staff, administrators and Dean Randy Diehl all gathered to learn about the outstanding work liberal arts students have conducted. The annual event is a part of UT Austin’s […]
The Real Diehl: A Dean Reflects on His Mission
Randy Diehl is a morning person. Rising at 4 a.m., he writes a few emails catches up on his reading and takes a brisk walk before heading to campus to lead a college with 22 academic departments, three branches of the ROTC and more than 500 faculty members. Despite long days and a demanding schedule, […]
Team of the Year
Out of 145 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) detachments across the country, Detachment 825 of the University of Texas at Austin was named the Team of the Year. In making their selection, the national headquarters for Air Force ROTC considers each detachment’s accomplishments. “They make their determination on overall mission impact, the uniqueness […]
Breakthroughs in Brain Health: We’re Closer Than You Think
It might not seem like it when you’ve forgotten your email password for the third time in as many days, but your brain is capable of amazing things. It can instantly process the intricate sensory inputs needed to understand the world while simultaneously conducting motor neurons to navigate these landscapes. It can read complex emotions […]
Speaking the Same Language
Jonathan Kaplan, an assistant professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, noticed an influx of Afghan refugees at his daughter’s elementary school, which inspired him to create the Refugee Student Mentor Program (RSMP) in December 2014. The RSMP is a partnership between UT Austin’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Austin Independent School […]
Healing With Humanity
The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related to the college. […]
Telling History
The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related to the college. […]
Getting it Right
The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related to the college. […]
A Week on Mars
For most, going to Mars is merely a childhood dream, but for Sukjin Han, that dream became a reality — all while never leaving Earth. The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) is a project that is operated by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA. The project hosts a select group of […]
UT Austin Launches Texas Aging & Longevity Center
Not all people experience their twilight years in the same way. Some will be hearty triathletes traveling the world and writing novels, while others will be hobbled by chronic illness and dementia. Fifteen percent of Texans — nearly four million people — are aged 65 and older, and that number is growing. By 2040, older […]
Meet Ann Huff Stevens: Our Next College of Liberal Arts Dean
Ann Huff Stevens will begin as dean of the College of Liberal Arts on July 15, 2019. Stevens comes from the University of California, Davis, and is a Texas native with roots in Corpus Christi. She is a professor of economics who has served in a variety of leadership roles, including chair of the Department […]
A Different Kind of Prison Sentence
Texas has the largest prison population in the U.S., and among the highest rate of incarceration for all age groups. And yet when assistant professor of sociology Sarah Brayne arrived at The University of Texas at Austin she found no campus-wide prison education program, despite evidence that such programs significantly reduce recidivism rates. Brayne, who […]
Trolling the U.S.: Q&A on Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election
It’s been more than two years since the 2016 presidential election, and the United States is still piecing together Russia’s propaganda-filled interference in U.S. political conversations on social media. According to a February 2018 poll by The University of Texas at Austin and The Texas Tribune, 40 percent of Texans believe Russian interference played a […]
Always Worth Fighting For: A Q&A with 2019 Pickering Fellow Quimberly Jasso
Quimberly Jasso, an international relations and global studies senior from Cypress, Texas, is the recipient of a 2019 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. The Pickering fellowship, which is funded by the United States Department of State and administered by Howard University, will fund Jasso’s graduate education in pursuit of a Master of International Affairs, […]
New Year, Same You: Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
After we’ve spent all our money on gifts and stuffed ourselves to the brim with endless holiday treats, it’s no wonder many of us see the new year as an opportunity to become a little less broke and little more fit. But come next December, most of us will find ourselves back in the same […]
Living Amid History: A Q&A with 2019 British Marshall Scholar Laura Hallas
Laura Hallas, a Plan II honors, economics and health and society senior at The University of Texas at Austin, is the recipient of a 2019 British Marshall Scholarship. The Marshall scholarship will fund Hallas’ graduate education at both the University of Oxford, where she will pursue a Master of Science in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and […]
America’s Ongoing Housing Crisis: Q&A with “Owned” Film Maker Giorgio Angelini
Fifty years after the passing of the Fair Housing Act, people across the United States continue to face an uphill battle to homeownership. “Owned, a Tale of Two Americas,” directed by University of Texas at Austin history alumnus Giorgio Angelini attempts to get at the root of the U.S. housing crisis, which erupted in an […]
Hope, Love and Charity: Q&A with Miss Austin 2019 Jacqueline Petescia
Jacqueline Petescia, a freshman health and society major at the University of Texas at Austin, recently won the title of Miss Austin 2019. Jacqueline runs a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Friends Don’t Count Chromosomes, is a part of the Omega chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority, and is a classically trained opera singer and yodeler. Learn more […]
Hope, Love and Charity: Q&A with Miss Austin 2019 Jacqueline Petescia
Jacqueline Petescia, a freshman health and society major at the University of Texas at Austin, recently won the title of Miss Austin 2019. Jacqueline runs a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Friends Don’t Count Chromosomes, is a part of the Omega chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority, and is a classically trained opera singer and yodeler. Learn more […]
Beyond the Battlefield: The war rages on, but this time it’s personal
The Thorazine haze was beginning to fade when Glenn Towery was discharged from Oakland Naval Hospital. For the last however-many days he had felt listless, “like a non-human being,” making him forget why he was even there in the first place. Before that, he occupied a hospital cot in the Philippines, next to an injured […]
The Best Teachers are the Best Researchers: A Q&A with Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra
For the recognition of his work in mentoring graduate students, University of Texas at Austin history professor Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra has been presented with The Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award. This award commemorates educators that train, teach, and inspire students in a deeply meaningful and impactful way. Cañizares-Esguerra is the first to receive this award at […]
Joan Neuberger: A Pioneer in Digital History
One of the most fundamental tasks for any university is to foster research that creates an impact beyond its campus. For historians, much of that work takes place in the growing fields of public and digital history. These scholars use innovative digital tools to make historical research relevant and accessible to a broader community. Now, […]
Here Comes the Song: The Personalities Behind Your Favorite Beatles Lyrics
If Paul McCartney would have written “Yesterday” based on the first words that came to his mind, the song would sound like a concupiscent teen singing about breakfast: Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby, how I love your legs… The melody of the song, which has been broadcasted on American radio more than 7 million times […]
Alumna Bianna Golodryga Joins CBS This Morning as Co-Host
Liberal Arts alumna Bianna Golodryga has been named co-host of “CBS This Morning.” She graduated in 2000 from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and a minor in economics. She began her television career as a bureau producer from the New York Stock Exchange for […]