President Renu Khator talked about the future of higher education at the 2013 Texas Tribune Festival. | Natalie Harms/The Daily Cougar
AUSTIN — At the first higher education panel event of the 2013 Texas Tribune Festival, President and Chancellor Renu Khator said UH represents what the state of Texas will look like in 25 years, to no shocked response from the crowd of professors, students and politicians.
The discussion, named “Higher Education in 2038,” was focused on innovative learning technologies, student financial needs and, most notably, expected changes.
Khator was joined by Western Governors University President Ray Martinez, Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes, former Texas Workforce Commission Chairman and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Tom Pauken and State Senator and Higher Education Committee Chairman Kel Seliger. The session was moderated by Texas Monthly Senior Executive Editor Brian Sweany.
“We know for sure that higher education will change more dramatically in the next 10 years than it did in the last 10 years or even in the last 25 years,” Khator said. “What I’d like to see is that my institution is agile enough, flexible enough, prepared enough to be able to navigate and find an anchor (of) student success.”
Education technology and massive open online courses were unavoidable topics of the panel, but Khator didn’t dwell on the specific technology techniques. Rather, she said universities should emphasize student success and prioritize student needs.
Student Government Association President Cedric Bandoh, who was in the crowd with other cabinet members, said he thought the president represented UH and its students interests on this subject well.
“Our student body is heavily non-traditional,” Bandoh said. “(We need to) continue to make sure we’re telling people that ‘no matter who you are, this is a place for you. We have something that works for you.”
The festival continues for the rest of the weekend at the University of Texas at Austin.
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