This year, the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin is excited to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Reimagine Education, our bold and visionary plan that has driven our mission to transform education and health in the state of Texas and beyond. This shared vision has been instrumental to our many accomplishments over the past five years and will continue to guide our work in the future.
At a commemorative luncheon, educators, researchers, donors, leadership and partners celebrated the many historic achievements of Reimagine Education while renewing their firm commitment to eliminate disparities and expand much needed access to a high-quality education for every child in every community.
“My teachers taught me the power of influence, the importance of encouraging others, and the lasting impact a single educator can have on a student’s life,” said Chair of the COE Advisory Council Janis Forse Wells, a College of Education alumna, former elementary school teacher and longtime supporter and advocate for the college who shared her personal story at the luncheon.
Over the past five years, under the steady leadership of Dean Charles R. Martinez, Jr. the principles behind Reimagine Education have guided the college’s mission and helped establish, for the first time, our core values. Our values serve as the foundation for the plan’s three signature impact areas: advancing equity and eliminating disparities; attending to place and context; and ensuring thriving through life’s transitions.
“The seeds we planted five years ago were cared for and nourished through droughts and tough weather,” Dr. Martinez said at the event. “They have grown into young saplings. More than that, these young saplings are what arborists might describe as ‘precocious trees’ — young trees that bear early fruit.”
At the heart of every initiative are the students we serve at the College of Education and our efforts to recruit, enroll, support and train the next generation of extraordinary researchers and scholars. Our new academic programs, expanded curricula, investments in faculty, and new and full-tuition scholarships are attracting the best candidates from across the country and around the world.
In just five years, we’ve experienced more growth than any other college at UT Austin. Undergraduate enrollment has increased 45%. Out of 2,500 undergraduates, 29% are first-generation students. The college’s four-year graduation rate stands at 81%, placing us among the top colleges on campus. None of this would be possible without our strong recruitment efforts.
“Education captures so many disciplines and fields that it can be difficult to wrap our heads around just how influential our graduates from the College of Education can be,” said UT Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Davis Mersey. “And their reach is expansive, serving schools, universities, nonprofits, corporations, hospitals, museums, cultural institutions, libraries, government, global entities, and many more. Education graduates make a difference in virtually any field.”
The ambitious vision behind Reimagine Education has taken many shapes and forms, from the new Hook ’Em Harlingen paid summer internships to THRIVE, a special mentorship and resource program designed to support and retain early-career teachers.
Groundbreaking and collaborative research is central to our success. Last year, the college’s $52 million in research expenditures was third among all UT Austin’s colleges and schools. The number of faculty engaged in externally-funded research has increased 70% over the past five years.
The numbers, however, represent only a portion of our robust research. We work with institutions like the new statewide research network LONESTARP3, housed within the College of Education. The network brings together researchers, practitioners and policy advocates to produce shared, actionable research that leads to real and timely solutions.
While our mission has faced significant challenges, including the lasting impact of the global pandemic and an increasingly divisive education landscape, we have remained unwavering in our passion for change and transformation within the interconnected spheres of education and health.
As we look ahead to the next five years, the hard work that we do now will lay the foundation for our future endeavors and enduring changes that will vastly improve and transform education, health and sport. We will continue to advocate for the research, practices, policies and programs that will empower every child to learn, thrive and have a pathway to success.
“Our core values dictate who we are, who we serve and where we go from here,” said Dean Martinez. “The mission of Reimagine Education is to close the gap in educational and health disparities and increase opportunities for the children and communities that need them most. If we settle for temporary fixes, we forfeit the chance for real, lasting change. Luckily, we are uniquely positioned to not just lead in this moment, but to shape the future as well.”
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