A new university in Austin, Texas described as a defender of “the pursuit of truth” noted its launch day on Nov. 8 with a goal toward offering courses beginning in summer 2022.
The University of Austin (UATX), located at 2112 Rio Grande St., will “be fiercely independent—financially, intellectually and politically,” its website said. A private, nonprofit, liberal arts institution, UATX has seed money and is securing $250 million for funding.
“We’re done waiting for America’s universities to fix themselves, so we’re starting a new one, a university dedicated to the pursuit of truth, the fearless pursuit of truth,” a video on Twitter said.
UATX’s founders include people from Harvard, the University of Chicago and Stanford University. Pano Kanelos, the former president of St. John’s College in Maryland, is UATX’s founding president.
“It is time to restore the meaning to those old school mottos. Light. Truth. The wind of freedom. You will find all three at our new university in Austin,” Niall Ferguson, one of UATX’s Board of Advisors, reported on his Facebook page that Kanelos wrote.
UATX will offer undergraduates from other institutions the summer program “Forbidden Courses” in summer 2022. Several master of arts programs, beginning with entrepreneurship and leadership, will be offered in fall 2022. Other master of arts programs will launch in fall 2023, with the undergraduate college launching in fall 2024, UATX’s frequently asked questions said.
“We are alarmed by the illiberalism and censoriousness prevalent in America's most prestigious universities and what it augurs for the country,” the FAQs said. “But we know that there are enough of us who still believe in the core purpose of higher education, the pursuit of truth. That's why we are building UATX.”
UATX is securing land in the Austin area for a campus plus seeking initial accreditation as a private postsecondary educational institution through the Higher Learning Commission, and authorization from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.