Art Markman wears many hats as Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, but that started long before he took his current position in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost at The University of Texas at Austin.
Having received his B.S. from Brown University and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Markman is a cognitive psychologist whose work largely focuses on how people recognize the similarities among concepts, and how similarity and comparison affect other aspects of cognition. He is the founder of the Similarity and Cognition Lab at UT Austin, which studies topics such as human categorization, decision making, the relationship between risk (loss) and reward (gain).
His work is also directly applicable to daily life ā connecting hybrid work, handling difficult coworkers, the effect of sugar on the brain, and unpacking after moving into new homes. To share his knowledge in a time of crises for the humanities, he donned another cap: Journalist.
āAbout 15 years ago, Congress was threatening to eliminate National Science Foundation funding for the behavioral sciences,ā Markman said. āI was frustrated that more people did not understand why research in psychology was important, and so I decided to pretend that it was my fault that people didnāt know.ā
Markmanās published work in Psychology Today and Fast Company is accompanied by a podcast called Two Guys on Your Head. The episodes, produced by Rebecca McInroy, include Markman and Bob Duke, the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Centennial Professor, and head of Music and Human Learning at the Butler School of Music. They discuss various day-to-day applications of human behavior and the brain in easily digestible, short episodes.
When he isnāt investigating or divulging the human version of machine learning, Markman is heading the Office of Academic Affairs for the Forty Acres. Academic Affairs, he explained, broadly encompasses the teaching and learning mission of the university. Some of the projects his programs tackle are the ānuts and boltsā of academia, including compiling changes to courses and curricula, scheduling classes, launching course evaluations, and issuing transcripts. Other projects, however, are more collaborative with the campus community and empower instructors to provide the highest-quality education possible to students. Some units ensure that online course materials are accessible or provide continuing education programs. Others promote innovative teaching methods for campus and develop resources for using AI in courses.
We teach the best and brightest students in the state. Making it easy for world-class faculty to share their wisdom and knowledge with students is a core component of Academic Affairs.
For example, this fall, the Office of Academic Technology is piloting a tool for faculty to use in their classes: UT Sage, a Generative AI-based tutoring system that will provide an interactive way for students to engage with materials in their courses. This optional software will allow instructors to upload materials and train Sage to provide additional practice to students who need help with fundamental learning to keep up with advanced coursework.
Markman and his team are also collaborating with campus partners on initiatives to enhance teaching and learning. They revisited the UT Austin Honor Code and introduced an updated version that focuses on community and the intentional pursuit of knowledge. This new iteration challenges students, staff, and faculty to Honor the Horns by engaging in the Longhorn learning experience with integrity for oneās own work, and others. It is an achievement, the new code argues, to be a Longhorn, and everyone involved with UT at large should engage with their education and work with the understanding that it comes with a legacy of excellence and prestige.
Academic Affairs also teamed up with the Undergraduate College to develop opportunities for students to learn how to engage with civil discourse respectfully and responsibly. Through these activities, students develop the skills needed to have difficult conversations and navigate high-pressure situations in which others may not share the same perspective as them. This has been a project in the works since spring and will be rolled out to an inaugural group this year.
With Academic Affairsā eyes on teaching and learning, Markman expressed that celebrating faculty success and achievements was as important as distributing tools for coursework. The Center for Teaching and Learningāalong with Faculty Affairsārevamped the faculty awards process to better align teaching awards to the missions of the University.
āThis will allow us to better highlight specific instances of great teaching by our amazing faculty and amplify it to the University to inspire others to follow their lead,ā said Markman.
Regardless of which hat heās wearing, Markman puts his full effort on experiencing everyday moments. Whether thatās celebrating the success of his programs and campus faculty or relishing the feeling of running the San Francisco half-marathon one year after recovering from a cycling accident, he keeps focus on the future and his door open to possibilities.