Higher Education

At Baylor, a Turning Point USA event and the All Are Neighbors gathering reveal deep divides over faith, politics and LGBTQ+ inclusion on campus.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was in Levelland yesterday, where he toured the Automotive Technology and Welding Facility on the South Plains College campus. Our Brad Burt reports on the Texas Jobs Council, an advisory committee launched by Abbott last month, intended to strengthen the state’s workforce.

Abbott toured the Automotive Technology and Welding Facility on the South Plains College campus in Levelland, a specialized center where students can earn technical certifications that the governor hopes will address a shortage of skilled labor in the state.

The Texas Tech University System announced that it will be closing all academic programs 'centered on' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The process will include a program review, admissions freeze, and closure. Students currently enrolled in these programs will be able to finish their degrees.

Public universities across Texas have instituted sweeping changes to course teachings and offerings in recent months, in a bid to appease concerns from Republican lawmakers that they're indoctrinating students with what they consider to be liberal ideas.

Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced $5 million in grants for fellowship programs in forensic psychiatry. Our Samantha Larned spoke with a professor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, one of the nine schools that received funding for program development and expansion.

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centers of Lubbock and of El Paso are among the nine schools that received funding for the program, increasing the total number of accredited forensic psychiatry fellowships.

Texas Tech students and faculty gathered at Memorial Circle Thursday afternoon to protest against new restrictions on course materials.

This week, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce announced that the Hub City BBQ Cookoff, scheduled as a two day event in September, will not be open to the public this year. The UT System board of regents have approved a measure for faculty to avoid quote “controversial topics.” KUT’s Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vazquez tells us faculty and advocates are worried this might lead to censorship.

This is the latest move by the state to have more control over what is taught at public universities.