News

The LBJ School of Public Affairs welcomed three distinguished new faculty appointments during the 2020–21 academic year: Dr. Bianca Adair, Resident Intelligence Officer, specializing in intelligence and national security; Dr. Patrick Bixler, an assistant professor focusing on environmental resources, urban policy and sustainability science; and Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an associate professor whose expertise is East Asia, authoritarian politics and American national security policy.

On this post-election edition of LBJ In the Arena, LBJ School Dean Angela Evans was joined by one of the nation's foremost political analysts — Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Dr. Sabato provided analysis on the state of the election and what the future holds. 

On this week's LBJ In the Arena, the LBJ School welcomeed John B. King, the president and CEO of The Education Trust and the former U.S. Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama. King discussed his career in education and the work he's doing to close opportunity gaps for historically underserved populations. The conversation was led by the LBJ School's Dr. Cynthia Osborne, associate dean for academic strategies and the director of the Child and Family Research Partnership and the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center.

The sixth 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 will be in Washington before we know it. While in DC, these Master of Public Affairs and Master of Global Policy Studies students take evening coursework as well as their required, simultaneous six-month (June-December 2021) Policy Apprenticeship at a public or private policy organization throughout the city, before graduating early in December 2021.

The 6th cohort of graduate students in the LBJ School of Public Affairs' unique and accelerated DC Concentration have begun their coursework in Austin and they will be here in Washington before we know it! While in DC, these Master of Public Affairs and Master of Global Policy Studies students take evening coursework as well as their required, simultaneous 6 month (June-December 2021) Policy Apprenticeship at a public or private policy organization throughout the city, before graduating early in December 2021.

We were joined by journalist James Fallows whose recent book, "Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey into the Heart of America" looks at how America's towns are crafting solutions to big challenges they face with practical-minded determination at dramatic odds with the bitter paralysis of national politics. The conversation was moderated by LBJ Urban Lab director Steven Pedigo and co-sponsored by the LBJ Urban Lab and the LBJ Washington Center. This event is part of UT's celebration of Free Speech Week.

The University of Texas at Austin Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Dan Jaffe announced the appointment of RGK Center Director and University Distinguished Professor David Springer of the LBJ School of Public Affairs to serve as the school's interim dean beginning in January 2021.

On Monday, Oct. 12, the LBJ School of Public Affairs presented the first forum of its 50th anniversary celebration. The prime-time presentation, "In the Arena: Defining a New Destiny," featured some of today's most important thinkers and doers sharing their sense of purpose in the fight for racial justice and equity, and discussing the leadership and vision that can lead us forward. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the appointment of new members to the Science Advisory Board (SAB) and its four subcommittees including: the Agricultural Science Committee (ASC), the Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC), the Drinking Water Committee (DWC), and the Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC). Sheila Olmstead, a professor of public affairs at the LBJ School, is among the 16 new members.

As we celebrate the LBJ School's 50th anniversary this week, we look back on President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 State of the Union address, where he declared an "unconditional war" on poverty. That war established a range of new programs designed to reduce poverty and inequality in the United States and laid the foundation for today's anti-poverty programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Medicare; Medicaid; Head Start; and expanded Social Security benefits. As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to greatly increase the proportion of Americans suffering from serious economic distress, the LBJ School is launching a limited speaker series, "Poverty Now," which will look at the reasons behind the persistence of poverty and inequality in the United States and will examine a range of policies intended to address these problems.