A Loud, Proud Voice for UT
UT Advocates for Higher Education is a statewide group of alumni and friends who work to increase public and legislative support for our state’s higher education system.
As a network of individuals interested and active in the political process, UT Advocates play a crucial role in promoting the UT System schools. Not only do we inform elected officials about the positive economic and social impact the UT System institutions have on the State, but we share this with all Texans. By telling the UT story loud and proud, UT Advocates keep the UT System strong and accessible to all Texans.
We need your participation as a network member to keep UT great. Want to learn more about what we do? Download our PDF brochure.
Becoming a member of UT Advocates is easy - JOIN TODAY.
If you want to talk with someone in your area who is a current UT Advocate, then contact the Advocacy Chair in your local Texas Exes chapter. They are ready to get you involved and share their experience from this past legislative session.
If there is not a chair in your area, and you are interested in serving as the local presence for the UT Advocates, here is a brief description of the duties:
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Recruit other alumni to join.
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Share updates and "Calls to Action" with your board of directors and chapter members.
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Learn how to be an effective advocate by attending a training seminar (in the fall). This will help in educating other alumni in your area.
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Meet your local elected officials. Remember, you are a constituent! You have more power than you know.
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Attend Orange & Maroon Legislative Day and encourage others from the chapter to attend with you.
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Maintain communication and offer feedback with the Advocacy Office on any office visits, phone calls, letters, and/or emails you may have had with your elected official.
CONTACT US
UT Advocates Office
UTAdvocates@alumni.utexas.edu
(512) 471-3584
(512) 471-8832 Fax
(877) 839-2739 Toll Free
Advocacy Chairs
Texas Legislature
Texas House of Representatives
Texas Senate
Do you know who represents you in Austin? If not, find your representative here.
WHAT’S NEW
A Report on Tuition
A new report released from the Office of the President at The University of Texas provides excellent statistics on the funding picture at UT, as well as a recap of tuition increases since deregulation in 2003. Please read the report to learn more. It is imperative for all UT Advocates to be equipped with the most up to date information. Full Report Here
End of Session
Thank you for your involvement this legislative session. As always, there were some high and low points, but your interest and continued support are greatly appreciated. Here is a brief recap of what happened in the final days.
Top 10%
The 80th Legislature adjourned yesterday without successful passage of SB 101 by Shapiro, relating to limitations on the automatic admission of undergraduate students to general academic teaching institutions (the Top 10 Percent law). This failure is potentially devastating to UT and we’re sure efforts will be made to change the law in the future. The bill had been adopted favorably by both the House and Senate before it went to a conference committee to work out the disparities between the two chambers. The conference committee report looked more like what the Senate passed out, minus the scholarship program for top 10 percent students. The committee report was adopted by the Senate with a vote of 28-2, but it failed to win passage in the House in the last hour of session Sunday night by an initial vote of 64-75. It was later discovered that there were several voting malfunctions, and some individual’s votes were counted incorrectly. Also, a few were absent during the vote, but asked for their intention to be recorded in the House Journal.
If you are interested to know who supported us and who didn’t, click here for both the House and Senate tallies. Information was gathered from the House and Senate Journals after the conclusion of the session, so the tallies vary from what was initially released in late May. Final vote would have been 66-78.
