This Is Why We Built UATX
'Our educational institutions have really done us a disservice.'
Last week, UATX founding trustee Bari Weiss and Palantir CEO Alex Karp visited campus to discuss the failures of American education and the urgent need to build anew.
“Our educational institutions have really done us a disservice,” Karp said. “The primary disservice was somehow teaching people that it's better to believe in nothing than in something."
“Here’s the other way academia really screwed us: it’s very hard to build things when you don’t have a hierarchical notion of good and bad,” he explained. “Why would you build something for the U.S. [...] if all nations are equal or if our nation is worse than other nations?”
Karp spoke at UATX because he knows we stand athwart these trends.
While other universities deprive Americans of the motivation to innovate, we inspire our students to construct great things. “How do you avoid becoming a sophist, a successful person who’s super unhappy?” Karp asked. “You want to do endeavors that are larger than yourself, that are more meaningful than yourself, and where that endeavor probably can’t be fully monetized.”
“Do not underestimate the impact you can have in the battle of ideas,” he told our students.
Watch the full video at The Free Press.
Do you have what it takes to join the UATX Class of 2025?
All students in the Class of 2025 will receive four-year, full-tuition scholarships.
STEM at UATX: For Builders, Not Box-Checkers
By David Ruth, UATX Dean of the Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
STEM at the University of Austin isn't for credential collectors or corporate drones. We deploy technical talent to tackle America’s biggest challenges.
We train on the frontiers of computer and data science. We demand excellence, because that’s what it takes for America to maintain its technical dominance. And we help unlock access to top startups and artificial intelligence research labs.
What distinguishes STEM at UATX?
Professor-led, small-format classes. No massive lecture halls or graduate teaching assistants who can barely speak English. Professors teach all courses with enrollment capped at 16 students.
Elite training. We don’t just teach from textbooks. We provide hands-on technical training, emphasizing real-world applications and the latest AI developments. Through our partnership with Wolfram Research, we're developing AI-driven tutors to support our students 24/7.
Building for purpose, not prestige. Our employer network includes the founders of Uber, Palantir, and a company that makes submarine drones so that America can defeat China on the battlefield. While other schools push endless abstractions, we cultivate the American instinct for ambitious pragmatism that makes our country dynamic and strong.
Tariffs as Geopolitical Leverage
“It’s almost like playing a game of chicken.” In this video, UATX Assistant Professor of Statistics and Data Science David Puelz explains how tariffs are used to leverage geopolitical goals.
Michael Shellenberger Champions UATX’s Bold Mission on Fox News
At other universities, “the culture of conformity and dogmatism is the rule rather than the exception,” CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech Michael Shellenberger told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.
“To be able to create a university that goes back to its original roots as a place of free thought is a thrill,” he said.
Watch the Fox News segment here.
Get Socratic This Summer
Rising juniors and seniors: Preview UATX's undergraduate education this summer!
Let our distinguished faculty guide you in seminar-style classes, where you will unpack foundational texts of the Western canon and think critically about key ideas and principles covered in UATX’s core liberal arts program. Challenge yourself this summer and join peers who value intellectual rigor and meaningful debate—the core of our university's mission.
Join us Friday, June 27 to Sunday, June 29, 2025.
Maggie Kelly is Communications Manager at the University of Austin.
UATX is a beacon for all, who appreciate the core responsibilities of higher education and, also, the fantastic opportunities to excite and to propel our young minds into a challenging future. Kudos to all of the enlightened, dedicated people, who helped conceive this trailblazing model.
Are many of these talks open to guests? Hate that I'm missing out... Maybe I'm just missing the calendar or promotion of them?? 🙏