Our Year of Daring
Building UATX’s Academic Home: From Vision to Reality
This first holiday season at UATX marks a special kind of homecoming. As our pioneering students return to their families, they bring back more than first-term grades and new friendships—they carry the quiet pride of founders. Together, we have built an academic home dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth and bound together by intellectual curiosity, mutual respect, and shared purpose.
When our inaugural class crossed the threshold during September’s Convocation, the Scarbrough Building became more than a beautifully renovated landmark—it is now a living institution. Our halls buzz with excitement as students continue their seminar discussions long after class ends, sharing insights from Homer’s Odyssey or wrestling with big questions. Every corner has become a space for learning, with animated conversations flowing from our seminar rooms into study groups and informal gatherings throughout the building.
Our journey to this historic moment began months before our students arrived. In February, we opened our doors for UATX Live, welcoming prospective students and their families to engage with our founding vision. Distinguished visitors included Bari Weiss, Niall Ferguson, and economist Roland Fryer, who joined us to explore questions of academic freedom and scientific inquiry. In our seminar rooms, future students got their first taste of UATX’s distinctive approach in “forbidden courses,” discussing Plato’s cave allegory and debating perspectives on tolerance.
In March, during SXSW, we launched the Austin Union, our public square for open discourse, through a landmark conversation featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. We pioneered a new model of faculty hiring, bringing candidates together across disciplines to create an intellectual feast of ideas—a process that attracted exceptional scholars dedicated to making knowledge accessible and meaningful.
From these formative beginnings, we’ve built an academic program that breaks new ground. In our humanities seminars, students tackle enduring questions through spirited discussions, while our STEM courses combine computation-enabled thinking with hands-on experience through our Immersive Onsite Learning program.
Our partnership with Wolfram Research marks a fundamental reimagining of university mathematics education. Rather than having students memorize formulas, our approach emphasizes real-world modeling and interpretation, using advanced computational tools to tackle complex problems. This allows our students to focus on deep mathematical thinking rather than routine calculation—essential preparation for leadership in an AI-driven world.
Meanwhile, our students have already begun making their mark. Grace Price ‘28 testified before the U.S. Senate on public health issues, while our student-led publication, The Austin Beacon, launched with foundational questions: What is a university? How can higher education unite the heritage of the ages with the demands of the present? Their inaugural issue explored how bridging timeless principles and contemporary challenges can equip leaders for an uncertain world. Their latest edition, published just yesterday, features two students debating how best to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Our November feature on 60 Minutes captured the essential spirit of our founding class. The segment showed our students engaging in passionate yet respectful debate and building a new kind of academic dialogue—at once intense, humane, and ennobling. “If [UT Austin] is built around Longhorns football,” the segment noted, “the focal point of UATX is the pursuit of truth.”
Most meaningful has been watching our students build their community here. They’ve challenged assumptions and supported each other’s growth, demonstrating that rigorous debate and genuine fellowship can flourish together as complementary ideals. In this delicate balance, we are shaping a true universitas—an “abiding whole” united by our shared commitment to inquiry, integrity, and mutual respect.
In December, we gathered for our first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, continuing a tradition that began at King’s College, Cambridge, in 1918. The evening brought our entire community together in song and reflection, with readings shared by students, faculty, President Kanelos, and our board members. The ancient and modern texts illuminated universal themes of hope and renewal—a fitting close to our inaugural term.
As we look ahead to 2025, our community continues to grow. This spring will bring new milestones as we expand our programs, welcome distinguished visiting scholars, and prepare to double our student body. Thanks to our supporters’ generosity, every admitted student in the Class of 2029 will receive a full-tuition Founders Scholarship, enabling talented students from all backgrounds to join our mission of building a new model for higher education. These scholarships represent our commitment to attracting the boldest thinkers and most determined builders—young people ready to tackle society's greatest challenges and shape the future for generations to come.
In this season of reflection, we are grateful for this extraordinary gift we share—a community where intellectual curiosity meets moral purpose, where ancient wisdom illuminates modern challenges, and where students and faculty come together in the joyful pursuit of truth.
From all of us at UATX, warmest wishes for an inspiring holiday season.
Thanks for following along in 2024! Check your inbox when school starts back up on January 6 for the winter term reading list, and Dare to Think with our freshmen.
Congratulations on bringing this dream into reality. UATX is a giant step in the right direction for higher education. Hopefully UATX can be a beacon that broadcasts the importance of having the intent to develop the full potential of individuals, not just in higher education, but in every applicable endeavor.
I wish for the success of UATX in 2025 and into the future. UATX will attract the next generation of leaders, thinkers, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists. I have great hope for the future.