TowerTalk

With Senator Kirk Watson (left) and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell (right)

Many of you know that we are steadily building a coalition to support a medical school at UT Austin, and we have had several major developments lately.

Last weekend, the Seton Healthcare Family, the largest health care provider in Austin, committed $250 million to build a teaching hospital that would be a key component of a UT Austin medical school education. This commitment is subject to a couple of board votes by Seton and the national nonprofit health care system to which it belongs, but no problems getting final approval are expected at this time.

On Monday, I joined Senator Kirk Watson, who is leading the effort to bring a medical school to Austin with a 10-point plan, and other community leaders at the Lance Armstrong Foundation headquarters in Austin to help launch a new educational initiative — Healthy ATX.

Healthy ATX is an online forum for dialogue about advances in health care and medical education in Austin, and Central Texans are being asked to share their own health care stories on the site to increase awareness about the need to expand health care excellence and education Austin.

A world-class medical school in Austin would benefit our university and the community, and with these important commitments we are one step closer to realizing a momentous development in the University’s history.

What starts here changes the world.

On Friday, the University lost an inspirational pillar of support for scholarship.

The patriarch and long-time benefactor of the Terry Foundation, Howard Terry, passed away at age 95. A man of generosity, care, and humility, Mr. Terry was a 1938 UT graduate, captain of the football team, and lifelong Longhorn. Over the past quarter century, the Terry Foundation became the largest private scholarship provider at UT Austin, having awarded more than $46 million to more than 1,100 students here since 1986.

This year, the Terry Foundation supports 212 Longhorn students with full-ride scholarships valued at more than $3.35 million. The foundation also supports scholarship recipients at seven other Texas universities, with some 660 students statewide receiving full-ride scholarships. More than 2,400 Terry Scholars have benefited from the Terrys’ generosity since the foundation’s inception.

Howard will be sorely missed, but his far-sighted legacy will live on for decades to come.

Last Friday, it was my pleasure to help dedicate the Margaret C. Berry Atrium at the Student Activity Center on campus. Many of you know Dr. Berry personally through her work as UT’s dean of women, her sponsorship of many student organizations, and the popular histories she has written of our university.

The depth of feeling for Dr. Berry, now 96, was evident everywhere, from the three busloads of her fellow residents at Westminster Manor in attendance to Texas Exes of practically every vintage who returned to campus to honor her. The Longhorn Band and cheerleaders set the perfect stage for Dr. Berry, who has dedicated her life to so many student organizations that just reading a list of them took some two minutes.

We were honored to have Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, both UT alumni, on hand to honor Dr. Berry, along with Debra Law McKeown, Steve Poizner, Rick Potter, Cyndi Powell, and many others who led the alumni and student initiatives to honor Dr. Berry.

Her record of service to UT students has few equals. Congratulations, Margaret!

Hook ’em Horns!

The Dell Social Innovation Challenge brings the spirit of entrepreneurship and competition to some of the world’s most pressing needs. I’m proud that UT’s LBJ School of Public Affairs is the host of this contest, now in its sixth year. I’m grateful for Dell’s support of it, and I’m excited that our Longhorn students again have taken up the challenge.

This year, more than 25 UT students have been chosen as Semi-Finalists. Their projects range from the Texas 4000 ride for cancer to an initiative to coordinate clean water efforts in Haiti. I encourage you to register and then review our students’ proposals and vote for their projects at:

http://www.dellchallenge.org/universities/university-texas-austin

You may vote for more than one.

The Finalists and People’s Choice Awards winners will be announced May 14. The Grand Prize Awards winners will be revealed at the Student Social Innovation Awards June 12 at ACL Live at The Moody Theater here in Austin. More than $150,000 in funding will be awarded to 25 student teams with innovative solutions to social and environmental issues. For updates on the challenge, see Facebook.com/DellSocialInnovation.

What starts here changes the world.

Eric Guajardo and Jessica Reyna with support staff from their high schools

High school today is very different and in ways more challenging than it was when many of us were there. Now imagine trying to get through modern high school when your family moves twice a year and you’re expected to work. Such is the life of a migrant student.

For the past 25 years, UT Austin has administered the Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program to help migrant students graduate, and today I had the honor of being with 40 of these students who make us especially proud at a recognition ceremony.

Since the program began in 1987, we have worked with 26,000 students, providing opportunities to earn credit anytime and anywhere. We now offer 55 distance-learning courses and prepare students for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

With funding from the Texas Education Agency, the program helps these students stay on track for on-time graduation. Many of them will become the first high school graduates in their families and will go on to college.

I’d like to congratulate the 2012 Exemplary Migrant Students of the Year — Eric Guajardo of Alamo and Jessica Reyna of La Joya.

What starts here changes the world.