Dear faculty colleagues,
I’m sure many of you are wrapping up the semester and preparing to disconnect for the break. The closer we are to the conclusion of the year, the harder it is to find new ways to describe it. You’re probably feeling some combination of exhaustion and optimism as we begin to administer the vaccine to our hardworking health care workers. I can attest to the fact that 2020 has been the most challenging year I’ve ever experienced, but it brings me a great deal of pride, as well.
Our faculty have not only responded to meet the challenge, you’ve gone above and beyond to reinforce and advance the critical work of higher education. When problems like pandemics present themselves, society looks to universities for knowledge, innovation and solutions. Yes, we have many faculty members working on research related to COVID-19, but the contributions of each faculty member advances our mission and makes clear our purpose. This university is a guiding beacon of knowledge, inspiration and creativity, and you are the foundation.
I am similarly proud of what the campus has been able to do to support our communities. Here are a few examples I’d like to highlight.
- UT awarded more than $21M in emergency student financial aid to students affected by COVID-19 through the CARES Act and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund.
- The university yielded one of the most diverse incoming undergraduate cohorts to date and crossed the 25% threshold for Hispanic students for the first time, making UT Austin eligible to receive the Hispanic Serving Institution status. This eligibility coincided with our distinction as being one of five institutions to receive the Seal of Excelencia recognition this year.
- Diversity in graduate students also increased, as graduate programs enrolled a greater number of Asian American, Black and Hispanic students.
- The four-year graduation rate rose to 72.2%, and the six-year rate increased to 87.6%, both new records for UT. This reflects many years of focused work by the campus to better serve our students.
- New efforts to advance faculty diversity include a new early career fellowship to recruit top postdoctoral talent to UT, and a new partnership with top research universities to recruit larger pools of underrepresented faculty candidates in mathematics, physical and earth sciences, and engineering fields funded by the National Science Foundation.
- New efforts help support faculty members affected by COVID-19, including the new Research Reboot program, COVID-19 Professional Impact Statement guidelines, probationary period extension guidance, personal circumstances flag, and a new soon-to-be announced instructional award for non-tenure track faculty.
- A great deal of effort was invested to help faculty members resume their research and scholarship activities through the Research Restart initiative and included a toolkit and detailed FAQs.
All of you have contributed in important and meaningful ways to advance our teaching and academic mission. It is a testament to the caliber of talent and the unwavering commitment of our faculty who truly make this university of the top public universities in the world. Your contributions, and those of our staff and students, are the engine that drives our collective impact.
Warm wish and Happy Holidays,
Dan Jaffe