https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/kate-mcgee/The latest news by Kate McGee.enThu, 12 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/12/texas-university-survey-self-censor/At least a third of respondents at UT-Austin, UT-Dallas and Texas A&M said they’re not sure administrators at their universities protect free speech on campus.By Kate McGeeThu, 12 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/12/texas-university-survey-self-censor/A student protester is dragged out from the crowd and arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. A new survey found the Israel-Hamas war had become one of the most difficult topics for faculty to discuss on their campuses. More professors across the country are self-censoring themselves for fear of losing their jobs or other forms of retaliation, the survey found.Cristian, a student protester, is dragged out from the crowd and arrested by law enforcement during a demonstration in support of Palestine at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/texas-university-faculty-senate-what-they-do/Faculty senates have long played a key role in developing curriculum and protecting open inquiry. State leaders have also accused them of liberal indoctrination.By Kate McGeeFri, 06 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/texas-university-faculty-senate-what-they-do/The Texas A&M University campus.The Texas A&M University campus. Shelby Knowles/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/22/texas-tuition-freeze-universities-colleges/Regional colleges rely more on tuition revenue to operate than flagship campuses. Gov. Greg Abbott’s desire to pause increases could create tight financial conditions.By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune, and Shomial Ahmad, Fort Worth ReportFri, 22 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/22/texas-tuition-freeze-universities-colleges/Students walk through campus on the first day of classes at the University of Texas at Arlington on Aug. 27, 2021.Students walk through campus on the first day of classes at the University of Texas at Arlington on Aug. 27, 2021.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/21/texas-am-university-president-mark-welsh/Staff relations continue to be important for Mark Welsh III as he rebuilds trust after a hiring controversy and universities brace for legislation targeting faculty senates.By Kate McGeeThu, 21 Nov 2024 18:58:06 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/21/texas-am-university-president-mark-welsh/Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh spoke with journalists about his first year at the helm of the school.Retired General Mark A. Welsh III, interim president of Texas A&M University, speaks at a press conference in the Flag Room of the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus in College Station, on Aug. 2, 2023.Courtesy of Meredith Seaver/The Eaglehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/20/ut-system-free-tuition-expansion/The Board of Regents is lifting the income threshold to expand eligibility across all nine of its UT System campuses.By Kate McGeeWed, 20 Nov 2024 15:54:45 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/20/ut-system-free-tuition-expansion/Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin on Nov. 29, 2021.Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin on Nov. 29, 2021.Jack Myer for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/20/texas-tech-abbott-nil/State law prohibits schools from making direct name, image and likeness deals with athletes. Texas Tech says it puts them at a disadvantage as the university recruits athletes for fall 2025.By Kate McGeeWed, 20 Nov 2024 13:18:51 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/20/texas-tech-abbott-nil/Fans watch Texas Tech University's homecoming game against West Virginia on Oct. 24, 2020, in Lubbock.Fans watch Texas Tech's home coming game against West Virginia at Texas Tech University on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech Athletics has reduced attendance to 25% of the general seating capacity of Jones AT&T Stadium.Justin Rex for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/19/texas-unt-dei-ban/Professors and instructors say the university is preemptively censoring itself after administrators removed references to race and equity in dozens of College of Education course titles and descriptions.By Kate McGeeTue, 19 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/19/texas-unt-dei-ban/A student walks through the Library Mall at the University of North Texas in Denton on March 22, 2022.A student walks through the Library Mall at the University of North Texas in Denton on March 22, 2022.Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/texas-higher-education-commissioner/Wynn Rosser will be in charge of guiding the state’s postsecondary education policies. He currently leads a foundation focused on rural East Texas and previously worked at Texas A&M.By Kate McGeeThu, 14 Nov 2024 10:10:11 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/texas-higher-education-commissioner/Wynn Rosser during a symposium on higher education at Baylor University in 2015. He will be the state's next commissioner of higher education.Wynn Rosser, then CEO of the Greater Texas Foundation, during a symposium on higher education at Baylor University in 2015.Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/texas-short-term-credentials/Short-term certificates can only take a few weeks to get but don’t always lead to better earnings or higher degrees.By Kate McGeeThu, 14 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/texas-short-term-credentials/Angela Ramirez poses for a portrait in Austin on Nov. 13. Ramirez’s path toward becoming a nurse started when she took an eight-week class to earn a nursing aide credential. Texas colleges and policymakers have pitched short-term certificates as a way for students to build toward better wages and higher degrees. For some students like Ramirez, the journey has been longer and more arduous than expected.Angela Ramirez poses for a portrait in Austin on Nov. 13, 2024.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/13/texas-colleges-universities-tuition-greg-abbott/The governor’s directive extends a tuition freeze for Texas’ public universities that was approved in the last legislative session.By Kate McGeeWed, 13 Nov 2024 15:54:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/13/texas-colleges-universities-tuition-greg-abbott/Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday he would not support tuition increases at the state's public colleges and universities during next year's legislative session.Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-a-m-lgbtq-studies-minor/After conservative criticism over the LGBTQ+ minor, university officials started looking at all its programs. Faculty say they were excluded from the process.By Kate McGeeThu, 07 Nov 2024 18:32:39 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-a-m-lgbtq-studies-minor/Students walk across the Texas A&M campus on Aug. 20, 2024, in College Station.Students walk across the Texas A&M campus on Aug. 20, 2024, in College Station.Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-state-president-offensive-signs/The university is exploring potential legal responses after two men came on campus the day after the election with misogynistic and homophobic signs.By Kate McGeeThu, 07 Nov 2024 16:24:02 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/07/texas-state-president-offensive-signs/Students walk through an area known as “The Quad” on the first day of the fall semester at Texas State University in San Marcos on Aug. 24, 2020.Students walk through an area known as “The Quad” on the first day of the fall semester at Texas State University in San Marcos on August 24, 2020.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/hays-county-district-judge-race-texas-state-student-vote/A candidate running against the judge accused him of emailing his students at Texas State to vote for him. State law prohibits using public resources for political advertising.By Kate McGeeMon, 28 Oct 2024 19:39:03 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/hays-county-district-judge-race-texas-state-student-vote/Students walk through Texas State University campus in San Marcos on Jan. 30, 2018.Students walk through Texas State University campus in San Marcos on Jan. 30, 2018.Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-college-admissions-tool/Students can enter their class rank, grade point average, and standardized test scores to get a list of universities to which they’d be admitted.By Kate McGeeFri, 11 Oct 2024 10:05:26 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-college-admissions-tool/Students head to classes at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2019.Students head to classes at the University of Texas at El Paso on May 9, 2019.Joel Angel Juárez for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/texas-deloitte-contracts/The examination of Deloitte’s existing contracts comes after it failed to catch red flags in a company’s application for a loan to build or upgrade power plants in the state.By Kate McGee and Kayla GuoTue, 08 Oct 2024 20:55:55 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/texas-deloitte-contracts/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, seen in 2023, said in a letter Tuesday that Deloitte's blunder "set back the Texas Energy Fund's ability to help deliver more megawatts of dispatchable power in a timely fashion.”Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick adjourns for the day on the eighth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial on Sept. 14, 2023. Paxton’s defense attorneys rested their case that evening.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/04/texas-am-international-president-arenaz-death/Pablo Arenaz died unexpectedly Thursday night, according to a university statement. He served as president of the university in Laredo for eight years.By Kate McGeeFri, 04 Oct 2024 20:20:52 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/04/texas-am-international-president-arenaz-death/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/26/trump-train-verdict-eliazar-cisneros-texas/Eliazar Cisneros was accused of organizing and participating in a Trump Train that used harassment and intimidation to prevent others from exercising their support for a candidate.By Kate McGeeThu, 26 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/26/trump-train-verdict-eliazar-cisneros-texas/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/23/texas-trump-train-verdict/Six Trump supporters were accused of intimidating a Biden campaign bus in 2020. Both plaintiffs and defendants saw Monday’s verdict as a victory.By Kate McGeeMon, 23 Sep 2024 16:33:16 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/23/texas-trump-train-verdict/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/biden-bus-trump-train-trial/A jury will decide if a group of Trump supporters violated state and federal law when they allegedly harassed a Biden campaign bus on a Texas highway in 2020, frightening those on board.By Kate McGeeFri, 06 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/biden-bus-trump-train-trial/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/29/ut-austin-student-sues/Ammer Qaddumi alleges UT-Austin violated his First Amendment rights. He still faces potential disciplinary action from the school.By Kate McGeeThu, 29 Aug 2024 16:23:45 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/29/ut-austin-student-sues/University of Texas at Austin police arrest student Ammer Qaddumi during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on April 24. He is suing the university, claiming it violated his First Amendment rights.Palestine Solidarity Committee student organizer Ammer Qaddumi is detained by University of Texas Police, during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas at Austin campus, on April 24, 2024.Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune