Famed Polish Economist Invites UT Student to Think Tank In November 2013, famed Polish economist Leszek Balcerowicz spoke on the UT Austin campus as part of International Education Week, which celebrates the enriching benefits of international education and exchange. Those “enriching benefits” were not lost on one audience member, economics senior Hector Cantu from Monterrey, […]
College of Liberal Arts
Gordon Receives Presidential Citation
Edmund T. Gordon, chair of the African and African Diaspora Studies Department (AADS) in the College of Liberal Arts, was recognized on April 17 with a Presidential Citation from UT Austin President Bill Powers. As one of the university’s highest honors, this prestigious award was established to recognize the extraordinary contributions of individuals who personify […]
New Department Focuses on Latino, Mexican American Experience
Building Upon a 44-Year History of Mexican American Studies at UT A new academic department that takes a comprehensive look at the lives, cultures and histories of Mexican American and Latino populations has been established at The University of Texas at Austin. The Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies (MALS) will ultimately offer undergraduate […]
Keeping A Pulse On Population Health
A few years ago, a Plan II Honors student in Marc Musick’s sociology lecture came to him with a question. Musick had been talking about the shortage of doctors in rural and inner city areas. The student had grown up in the Rio Grande Valley and hoped to go on to medical school. Why, he […]
The Road to Gender Equity: Still Under Construction
Christine Williams has heard her share of conflicting arguments about gender equality in the sociology course she’s taught for more than two decades at The University of Texas at Austin. But there is always one question that gives her pause: “Women have achieved equality, so why is feminism relevant?” “I’m always taken aback when students […]
Championing Student Success
We hear a lot these days about the challenges facing college students, from loan debt to an uncertain job market. The College of Liberal Arts has consistently taken the lead in creating innovative solutions for these and other challenges, and our efforts are paying off. The university has sought our college’s leadership on a number of student success initiatives. In 2011 we led […]
COLA Commencement, May 2014
The College of Liberal Arts hosts nine commencement ceremonies. Students are encouraged to attend the ceremony applicable to their major. The Liberal Arts Joint Ceremony is intended for those majors not represented by a department ceremony. Students with more than one major may choose to attend multiple ceremonies or attend one ceremony and have all […]
Millennial Nation
A Generational Look at Education, Money and Work Empathetic. Impatient. Innovative. Unfocused. Rational. Naive. Excited. These are the words millennials in the College of Liberal Arts use when they’re asked to describe themselves. However, it’s a question they’re not often asked. Plenty of people, from journalists to researchers to employers, are looking to define who […]
Pillow Wins Presidential Early Career Award
Jonathan Pillow was one of three faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin selected to receive the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers. Pillow develops mathematical models to study how […]
Ancient City on the Brink
Can a Crimean World Heritage Site Survive the Region’s Latest Political Unrest? Last June Professor Joseph Carter had reason to celebrate. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had named the ancient city of Chersonesos—a place where he had dedicated more than two decades of his career—a World Heritage Site. It’s not easy […]
Making the Grade
Strategies for Improving Education in America Few dispute the value of education, but discussions about how our nation should improve it are becoming more intense and polarized. Of all the competing arguments—more technology, smaller classrooms, improved teacher training, universal pre-kindergarten—most people would agree that America’s education system needs to improve, and soon. According to recent […]
Walk Like a Texan
Pictured is a child’s sandal from a West Texas dry shelter site, likely 2,500-3,000 years old, that is housed in the collections at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL). TARL is a nationally recognized archeological research facility and the largest archeological repository in the state. As part of the College of Liberal Arts, its mission is […]
Writing Home
Chicano Literature Professor Rolando Hinojosa-Smith Wins National Book Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award The National Book Critics Circle has honored Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, an author and professor in the Departments of English and Spanish and Portuguese at The University of Texas at Austin, with the 2013 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award. He received the award during a […]
Teaching Hard Lessons in a New World
Charlie Wilson Chair Paula Newberg is Pakistan Studies Expert Professor Paula Newberg wants her students to leave her class with this big idea: “Life is complicated, but they can learn to live it well.” Newberg, who holds the Charlie Wilson Chair in Pakistan Studies in the Government Department, does indeed teach a complicated subject about […]
What to Know: Deadline Day 2014
The spring 2014 semester’s deadline day is March 31, and the College of Liberal Arts advising team wants to make sure the process goes as smoothly and efficiently as possible for everyone involved. Deadline day is the last day in the semester where students can q-drop a course, pass/fail a course, withdraw from the semester, […]
Q&A: Andrew Wilson, Liberal Arts Council President
Andrew Wilson, a Plan II Honors and history senior from Canton, Texas, has spent his final year at UT serving as president of Liberal Arts Council. He took the time to answer some questions about the LAC, why it’s important for liberal arts students to get involved and how the organization has changed during his […]
Government Major Rerouted by UTurn Program
Academic probation is a scary phrase, but the College of Liberal Arts has a program to show students that with the right focus and attitude there can be momentous payoffs. Sherwin Calderon is a government sophomore from Houston who turned his academic career around with the help of the College of Liberal Arts’ UTurn program. […]
UT Faculty Chronicle Texas Cultural History
Texas Bookshelf is a 16-book series that will be published by University of Texas Press chronicling the state’s rich culture and history. The five-year project is set to launch in 2017 and will cover a diverse range of topics—from the Tejano experience to Texas food culture to performing arts. This is the first project undertaken […]
Revolution of a New Media Culture
With the advent of new media technologies, people around the world have instant access to uncensored news and images of revolutions through Twitter, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and an array of other social networking platforms. Since the Arab Spring began in 2010, conversations about the “digital war” have centered on the power of social media. Did […]
English Senior Wins Keene Prize for Literature
Katherine Noble, English ’13, has won the $50,000 Keene Prize for Literature for her collection of poems, “Like Electrical Fire Across the Silence.” She is the first undergraduate to win or place in the competition, which awards one of the world’s largest student literary prizes. “I have been affected by images from biblical myths since […]
Regents Honor Outstanding Teaching
Five faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts received the 2013 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor. The awards program is one of the nation’s largest monetary teaching recognition programs in higher education, honoring outstanding performance in the classroom and dedication to innovation in undergraduate instruction. The […]
Jeanne and Michael Klein On the Art of Giving
Pro Bene Meritis 2013 The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. First granted in 1984, it is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions […]
Ben Barnes On Pursuing Your Dreams
Pro Bene Meritis 2013 The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. First granted in 1984, it is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions […]
Marion Mark On the Meaning of Education
Pro Bene Meritis 2013 The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. First granted in 1984, it is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions […]
Adventures in Online Learning
Exploring the Acronym Jungle of MOOCs, SMOCs and Beyond When Professors John Hoberman and Daniel Bonevac sat down with a small development team in January to create two new online courses, the possibilities of “what if” and “could we” electrified the room. The goal: to deliver 72 hours of traditional coursework in an engaging and interactive […]