UTA In The News — Friday, May 20, 2022
UTA’s new president
One month into her new role, UTA President Jennifer Cowley sat down with KERA for a Q&A. Cowley is the first woman to lead UTA and the first permanent president since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she will prioritize inclusivity and growth in her first year.
Gas is expensive
Thomas Marshall, UT Arlington political science professor, spoke with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about gas prices, which continue to hit record highs this year. Marshall said that presidents generally get blamed for high gas prices, though their impact isn’t direct.
Adoption failure
Catherine LaBrenz, assistant professor in UTA’s School of Social Work, spoke with USA Today about failed adoptions. She said states are shirking their responsibility to address structural problems in the child welfare system, including those connected to broken adoptions. “If the state were a parent,” LaBrenz said, “they’d be charged with child neglect."
Trinity River watershed
UT Arlington student and faculty research on the Trinity River watershed is on display at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History through the end of August, the Fort Worth Report reported. “DFW is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and we really do want to show what’s happening and how some people aren’t even thinking about the future of the river and urban environments,” said Dennis Chiessa, UTA assistant professor of architecture.
College degrees & unemployment
The Dallas Morning News reported that total enrollment at four-year universities statewide has already topped the 2019 mark. The number of 18- to 21-year-olds grew at some of the largest local public schools, including UT Arlington. The article discussed how college degrees are still beneficial, with the unemployment rate for high school graduates over twice as high as that for college grads.
Advocacy & leadership
A special guest lecture for students in UTA’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation was featured in Arlington Today. The magazine covered a local lawyer, Rigien Jackson, who spoke to UTA students about her story of survival for kinesiology Assistant Professor Liao Yue’s course, “Public Health Advocacy & Leadership".