Dear alumni and friends,

UT Austin’s global community has been very active this summer, sending 1,500 students abroad to 33 countries; gathering with our alumni around the world; welcoming cohorts of young leaders and entrepreneurs from Africa, Iraq, Latin America, and Southeast Asia; and preparing for nearly 2,000 international students to arrive for the fall semester.

Equally exciting, we’re wrapping up the summer when the largest delegation in the university’s history will travel to Mexico City to participate as guest of honor in La Feria Internacional del Libro de las Universitarias y los Universitarios, FILUNI 2023. UT will lead and participate in more than 50 roundtable discussions, research symposia, live podcast recordings, film screenings, poetry readings, musical performances, and exhibits. This historic event will open myriad opportunities for our faculty, staff, and students to engage with their peers from institutions across Latin America.

Wherever you are this summer, I hope you will take a moment to enjoy these stories and join us in celebrating our proud Longhorn spirit.

What starts here, changes the world

The largest Longhorn delegation in history — more than 130 participants — will travel to Mexico City in August for La Feria Internacional del Libro de las Universitarias y los Universitarios (FILUNI) 2023, where UT Austin has been named the first U.S. university guest of honor. UT Press will oversee book sales, and members of the UT delegation will present more than 50 panels, screenings, discussions and performances.

The 1985 earthquake that rocked Mexico City sent Sergio Alcocer to UT Austin for a Ph.D., launching a career that unites structural engineering, international education, and public policy to improve safety for citizens across Mexico. Formerly director of the Institute of Engineering at FILUNI host institution Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Alcocer will chair an international panel on seismic engineering and architecture in Mexico.

Remaining a globally renowned institution and one of the country’s leading public universities, UT Austin earned a Top 10 placement in the nation for 37 schools, programs and specialties, according to the latest edition of “Best Graduate Schools” from U.S. News & World Report.

Fulbright Scholar Program Grants UT Four Awards for 2023-2024 

Four UT Austin staff and faculty members received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards. Professors Tia Madkins and Hannah Williamson, head librarian Mary Rader, and postdoctoral fellow Julia York earned Fulbright resources to pursue opportunities abroad.

Soweto-born choreographer and artistic director Gregory Maqoma brought his company, Vuyani Dance Theatre, to the Bass Concert Hall in April to make its debut at Texas Performing Arts with the critically acclaimed dancework “Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero.”

A study led by UT Austin’s Department of Geological Sciences found fossils providing the first record of theropods — a dinosaur group comprising modern birds and their non-avian dinosaur relatives — from the Chilean portion of South America’s Patagonia region during the Late Cretaceous period.

With help from International Engineering Education in the Cockrell School, first-generation student Jacqueline Villalobos has embarked on study abroad experiences in France, the Netherlands and Denmark, building her career on foundations that stretch across the globe. 

While pursuing a master’s degree in counselor education and working as a graduate assistant at Texas Global’s Education Abroad, graduate student Ziyi Li has traveled to almost a dozen countries in her quest to help people through a combination of mental health and education counseling.

In March, Texas Global welcomed 17 entrepreneurs for the Ukrainian Business Leaders program. A hands-on fellowship and professional study tour provided them knowledge of sound business practices and leadership skills, plus networking opportunities to help them effect change in their country.  

In May, more than 800 international graduates represented 71 countries at UT Austin’s graduation ceremonies before becoming Longhorns for life and joining a global community of more than half a million alumni across 176 countries. Texas Global held a special reception featuring alumnus Andres Gutierrez (B.S. ’96, MBA ’04) as keynote speaker.

Texas Global's miniseries celebrates the outstanding international graduates who left a lasting impact on their UT Austin community. Among them is Abhigya Paudyal, who earned his master’s degree in civil engineering in May, a year and a half after arriving from Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu. 

Miró Quartet Concert: Performance by UT Austin’s renowned string quartet in residence

Contact globalalumni@austin.utexas.edu.

March 28 | Indigenous Guatemalan singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist @SaraCurruchich performed at the @ButlerSOM on Friday and discussed her music, Indigenous cultural experiences and influences. https://utx.global/SaraCurruchich_DailyTexan

May 9 | It's wonderful to see Longhorns together! @UTAustin alums in Shanghai gathered for a mixer to bond over shared experiences. It was their first time seeing each other in person since before the pandemic! Learn more about engaging with your local Longhorns: https://utx.global/alumniconnect.

June 1 | More than 1,900 Longhorns have served abroad with @PeaceCorps, making UT one of the top volunteer-producing schools in the country! #WhatStartsHere @UTexasGlobal

June 16 | Texas meets Vienna! This week, we were proud to host a bilateral student session at Amerika Haus, where @UTAustin students and @univienna students exchanged views and discussed cultural similarities & differences between the United States and Austria. Thanks for joining!