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The observation of Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on Sept. 15 and ending on Oct. 15. It was enacted into law on Aug. 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402. The LBJ School opened Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 with a conversation with Carlos Odio, co-founder of Equis Labs, and ended with Daniela Pierre-Bravo, who told her story as a former DACA recipient.

The seventh cohort of graduate students in the LBJ School of Public Affairs's unique and accelerated DC Concentration have begun their coursework in Austin, and they'll be in Washington before we know it.

The Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the Clements Center for National Security are pleased to announce the launch of a new joint program at The University of Texas at Austin: the Asia Policy Program.

The LBJ School celebrated its remarkable graduates on Sept. 17 and 18, opening its alumni weekend with the 2021 Outstanding Alumni Awards. Then, nearly early a year and a half after leaving LBJ with their degrees, members of the Class of 2020 joined other recent alumni from across the university to commemorate and mark the end of their time on the Forty Acres with a ceremony at the Tower as part of The University of Texas at Austin's Class of 2020 Commencement Reunion Weekend.

While the policy arena always needs smart, committed, passionate and trained specialists, the LBJ School's newest alumni have entered it facing the unique challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and social and political upheaval. Take a look at where a few of the Class of 2020 have landed.

In the United States and Mexico, pandemic and climate-related news headlines have demonstrated a lack of preparedness for vulnerable populations, especially the number of seniors over age 65. In Texas, the number of seniors is expected to more than double from 3.9 million in 2020 to 8.3 million by 2050. In Mexico, it is nearly the same story. These increases are driven by longer life spans resulting from improved medical care and higher quality of life. But there are also new challenges emerging from the rapid growth in the number of older individuals, particularly those living with dementia.

"We rarely understand a moment until it has passed," writes LBJ Professor Jeremi Suri in a historical perspective on Sept.

Entering the public policy arena takes courage, creativity and drive. The LBJ School, ranked No. 7 among graduate public affairs schools in the nation, has a unique combination of spirit, purpose and will that will give you opportunities and show you how to make a difference. Join our community of change-makers. 

In July, The University of Texas at Austin named JR DeShazo the 12th dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a school producing graduates who are both skilled policy analysts and talented leaders of public and nonprofit organizations. DeShazo comes to the Forty Acres from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has led both the Department of Public Policy and the Luskin Center for Innovation as its founding director for more than a decade.

Expert thinkers and doers are always critically important in public policy, and given the remarkable speed of change and the complexity of challenges that we as a society face, the need for dedicated, passionate and well-trained public servants has never been clearer. New LBJ students have answered the call to service in a tremendous way. This incoming class includes more than 250 new master's degree students and nine Ph.D. students.