'We Have a Home in the Making'
Plus: Forbidden Courses applications are open!
This past weekend, UATX parents, students, staff, and supporters arrived for the largest community gathering in the University of Austin's history.
Much more on that below. But first, the UATX Office of Admissions wishes to announce that applications are open for the next installment of Forbidden Courses, that vintage University of Austin program through which we brought our academic offerings to students years before we recruited our founding freshman class.
On college campuses nationwide, genuine conversations are becoming an endangered species. The simple practice of asking questions honestly and without shame for greater clarity and deeper understanding is increasingly relegated to spaces outside the classroom. At UATX, students experience the joy of unabashed inquiry, nourished by a community where diverse perspectives are united in a common endeavor—the fearless pursuit of truth.
We invite high school seniors and current college freshmen to join us for our Forbidden Courses program from January 17-20, 2025. Applications are open now until November 30, 2024.
Welcoming Our Families and Founders
On October 25-26, more than 150 family members from throughout the country and the world joined university supporters and program alumni in Austin for a weekend of celebration and connection.
“We’re calling this the Families and Founders Weekend, but in my mind, this is our homecoming weekend,” President Pano Kanelos said at a faculty meet-and-greet reception at our Scarbrough campus Friday night.
“You may wonder, how can you have a homecoming when you don't have alumni?
“What we have here at this institution is a home in the making. Our students, faculty, and staff have turned this campus and these classrooms, where they spend their daily lives, into a home where they live with the highest purpose in mind: the fearless pursuit of truth.
“It's an extraordinary thing to watch a home being made.
“And for those of you who are family, this is your homecoming. You are coming to the home that your daughters and your sons are in the process of creating.”
“The Work to Which This University Has Dedicated Itself”
On Saturday evening, guests met downtown for dinner and a keynote address delivered by Peter Robinson, Murdoch Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the author of former President Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech in West Berlin on June 12, 1987.
In his speech, Robinson reflected on how Reagan had developed the prudence and resolve to deliver a world-changing address at the right moment despite opposition from top advisors:
How did Ronald Reagan do what he did? Here’s one answer: Reagan read and wrote constantly. He weighed the argument. He read book after book. He read closely, and then he engaged in the best act by which human beings can know their own mind, and that is writing. That basic technique of an ordinary American: to read about the country, to read up on fundamental principles of community government, faith, and reverence for the Constitution, and then to write about them enough to come to conclusions about how they apply to the issues of the day. That basic technique remains the central technique in a democracy, to my judgment—and that is the work to which this university has dedicated itself.
“We Were Not Alone on the Journey”
I spent some time this weekend with Cristina and Derek Antunes, parents of Olivia ‘28. The Antunes moved several years ago from Australia to San Antonio. Cristina is the Dean of Academics and Assistant Principal at the School of Science and Technology Hill Country, and Derek is the I.T. Systems Admin Specialist at the School of Science and Technology, College Prep.
“Spending time with the parents and families of UATX students this past weekend felt like uncovering fascinating pieces of a story we've been writing as we accompany Olivia on her higher education journey,” Cristina Antunes told me.
She continued:
We found ourselves exclaiming, “Yes!", “Me too!” and “Same!” all weekend, comforted to discover we were not alone on the journey. We are among many seekers across the nation—and apparently the world—who were perilously close to settling for far less than we desire for our children. What a relief! Reflecting on the weekend, I’ve struggled to find the precise words to capture the experience fully.
I’ve settled on a cross between a spirited family reunion, a three-day wedding attended by the most intriguing guests, and a back-slapping, mug-clanking, cultural call to arms. All of this amidst the reverie of speeches and seminars so thought-provoking and genuinely awe-inspiring that I myself became intent on seeking out those donors who so generously made all of it—the hopes and dreams of our children, the pursuit of truth, the pursuit of real learning—possible.
Yes, we are so very grateful, but above all else, we are so full of immeasurable hope.
Becca Schwinger, UATX Community Manager, echoed Antunes’ sentiment.
“The weekend reflected the community we are building,” she said. “I felt like the parents truly engaged and wanted to be with one another. That was exactly what I wanted. And our parents are so proud of their kids for deciding to come and be a part of UATX.”
“I heard the words ‘challenged’ and ‘thriving’ together multiple times this weekend,” Schwinger said. “Parents described their kids as happy, exhausted, adjusting, and excited.”
Looking Back to Look Forward
As we near the two-month mark after Convocation, we’re recalling the Orientation Week when our students’ academic lives began.
Revisit the first week of our odyssey:
Don’t miss our November Open House!
The UATX Office of Admissions invites you to visit our Scarbrough campus in Austin and witness the fearless pursuit of truth in action.
Whether you're interested in joining the class of 2029 or simply learning more about what UATX is all about, don’t miss our next Open House on Friday, November 8, 2024. Meet our faculty and students, learn about our undergraduate degree program, ask our Admissions team questions, and start your application for Fall 2025.
Every student admitted to and enrolled in the Class of 2029 will receive a four-year, full tuition scholarship.
Attendance is free. Register here.
Maggie Kelly is the Communications Manager at the University of Austin. Write to her at mkelly@uaustin.org.