News

The LBJ School Class of '23 will graduate with the skills the world needs most: the leadership to get big things done together, the training to craft effective public policy, and the know-how to make a better world possible.

Joellen M. Austin is an experienced executive with 16 years in the senior executive service and 33 years at the National Institutes of Health. In her time after the LBJ School, she's demonstrated a record of success working in the federal government and research sector with direct provision of administrative operations, IT, budget, ethics, contracting, grants, human resources, labor and employee relations.

We're proud to highlight the sustainability efforts of LBJ School faculty experts in honor of Earth Day and every day.

The LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas ranked in the U.S. News & World (USNW) Report’s “Top 10” overall programs for the sixth consecutive year. The new ranking places the LBJ School in the top 3.7 percent of all public policy schools in the nation.

Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Elle King and Lyle Lovett have signed on to play musical tributes to Willie Nelson at a gala on May 12. Net proceeds from the gala will benefit the newly established Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a part of The University of Texas at Austin.

The LBJ School of Public Affairs convened researchers and policymakers for a discussion on the needs of aging adults in Texas and the United States at the Livability for Longevity Symposium on April 17.

Alan Thomas (MPAff '94) specialized in national security at the LBJ School before he became a federal political appointee. Thomas ultimately became an operating executive with more than 25 years of delivering mission-critical programs, championing large-scale digital transformation initiatives, and building deep functional expertise in acquisition and procurement. Thomas is currently the chief solutions officer at Leadership Connect, a vital service in relationship-building for policymakers and public sector professionals nationwide.

Amy Knitt Eskew is the president and CEO of Texas Healthcare Trustees, a statewide association comprised of Texas hospitals, health systems, and the 3,000 board members who govern those organizations.

Tina Moroney-Ebarb is a broadband program coordinator in the Texas Broadband Development Office within the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. More recently, Moroney-Ebard obtained her Texas contract manager certification and helped her office apply for ARPA and IIJA funds, which could make them eligible for up to $4 billion in federal funds for broadband development and digital equity programs. A big part of her job is to work with her team to formulate and execute a vision for evaluating upcoming broadband deployment application submissions.

Texas public policy schools convened in Houston last month for a summit aimed at shaping the future of public policy education.