What does a group of scholars, journalists, and intellectuals do when they realize that a metastasizing culture of intolerance and censorship has taken root within their once cherished institutions?

If they share a dogged belief in free speech and open inquiry, they walk away and start over. 

That’s what Pano Kanelos, Niall Ferguson, Bari Weiss, Michael Schellenberger, and a host of other prominent figures did in founding the new University of Austin (UATX). They turned their backs on what they believe are broken and compromised institutions and began work on building a new university from scratch.

“Cancel culture was reaching some kind of crescendo,” Ferguson explained. “People were losing their jobs. There was a growing feeling within academia that the established institutions could not easily be salvaged. And we had to do something.” Ferguson is an acclaimed historian and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

University of Austin president Pano Kanelos, who left his post as president of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland to head UATX, summarized a founding principle of the university this way: “If higher education is really meant to be about the pursuit of truth, there are conditions for pursuing truth that are necessary: the ability to have the broadest range of conversations where politics is not in the foreground.”

Programs and academic disciplines

While specific programs and disciplines will evolve as the university develops, UATX has outlined a broad vision for its academic offerings, emphasizing interdisciplinary studies and rigorous scholarship. 

The university will offer a classical liberal arts curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, clear writing, and the study of great books and ideas. The university plans to launch its first programs in the fall of 2024, to include: 

• Liberal Arts, which intends to build on a foundation of classical education to develop critical thinking and communication skills.
• Entrepreneurship and Leadership, which will be programs designed to foster innovation, leadership, and the practical skills needed to effect positive change in society.
• Science and Technology Studies will emphasize the ethical, philosophical, and societal implications of scientific and technological advancements.
• Public Policy and Governance studies will analyze the principles and practices of good governance, with an emphasis on freedom, responsibility, and the role of institutions in a free society.

The University of Austin intends to create an academic culture that encourages debate, challenges assumptions, and inculcates a deep commitment to the pursuit of truth. By emphasizing these principles, UATX seeks to prepare students not just for successful careers but for thoughtful and engaged citizenship.

UATX has been able to raise more than $200 million from donors. The university recently received certification from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to operate as a degree-granting university. 

It has established its campus in downtown Austin’s Scarbrough Building, with future plans to expand to a larger campus on the city’s outskirts. This location provides students with access to the vibrant cultural and intellectual community of Austin.

Its website details its undergrad application process and includes information on scholarships, financial aid, and tuition, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about the school.

The fight for academic integrity

The list of individuals involved with building the university reads like a who’s who of voices that have been championing academic integrity against a rising tide of ideologically driven policies that have consumed academia over the past few decades. 

That issue was on stark display in late 2022 when the presidents of three prestigious universities—Harvard, MIT, and Penn—could not bring themselves to say before Congress that calling for the genocide of Jews was against their institutions’ codes of conduct. 

The testimonies of Harvard President Claudine Gay, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, and Penn President Elizabeth Magill spotlighted how far some of our most esteemed academic institutions have drifted from the unbiased pursuit of truth. 

However, long before that hearing, the founders of the University of Austin had seen enough to spur them to unite around values of academic freedom that they had long cherished.

“A new university was desperately needed, if only to model how a university should be run, how academic freedom should work,” historian Ferguson declared. “We are creating a role model for all the universities because they’ve lost their way.”

Key players at UATX

The diverse backgrounds of three UATX faculty members provide a sampling of the breadth of talent the university has attracted. 

Michael Shellenberger

Shellenberger is a well-known journalist, best-selling author, and one of the publishers, along with journalist Matt Taibbi, of the Twitter files. The stories he has broken include “San Francisco’s cash incentives for homelessness, FBI misinformation about the Hunter Biden laptop, climate pseudoscience and climate anxiety,” his bio notes.

Patrick Gray

Patrick Gray has an extensive classical background in the humanities. He was Director of Liberal Arts at Durham University, “where he was responsible for designing and introducing a new interdisciplinary core curriculum in the humanities,” according to his bio. Gray also taught comparative literature at the United States Military Academy and Deep Springs College.

Amanda Brand

Amanda Brand is Dean of the Polaris Center for Personal and Professional Flourishing. She worked for two decades at the Institute for Humane Studies and the Institute for Educational Advancement as a specialist in talent development. She has also worked in sales and marketing roles for multiple Internet start-up companies. 

UATX’s core mission

The central mission of the University of Austin is to cultivate an academic environment that champions free speech, open inquiry, and intellectual pursuit free from censorship. 

The founders argue that many traditional institutions have become hostile to free debate, particularly around contentious or divisive topics. UATX wants to provide a space where scholars and students can explore and discuss ideas without fear of reprisal or ideological conformity.

It’s worth quoting a few sections of the university’s founding document, The Constitution of the University of Austin, to illustrate the careful approach UATX’s founders took to guard the unfettered exchange of ideas they hope becomes a bedrock university value. 

The constitution’s Article VI, Bill of Rights, includes these sections:  

“Section 5. Neither UATX nor any of its Centers or Institutes shall express opinions on religious, political, or social issues, modify its corporate activities to foster political or social change, or take collective action, except insofar as these activities are directly in the service of its mission. 

“Section 6. The Trustees, President, Provost, Deans, academic staff, and administrative staff may advocate positions on religious, political, or social issues in their capacity as private individuals but not in their official capacities as representatives of UATX. 

“Section 7. UATX aspires to intellectual pluralism. Students are free to form voluntary associations or societies and these associations are free to invite such outside speakers as they wish, so long as it is made clear that the invitation comes from the association and not the university. Students may peacefully protest an event held on UATX premises, but they may not prevent or substantially disrupt the proceedings. 

“Section 8. Academic and administrative staff at UATX may not use their authority or their control over measures of academic achievement such as grades or letters of recommendation to exert pressure on students for reasons unrelated to their studies, such as to adopt any particular position on religious, political, or social issues. 

“Section 9. All employees and students of UATX are free to express criticisms of the Constitution and Mission Statement of UATX for purposes of debate, clarification, and instruction. 

“Section 10. Notwithstanding Art. VI, Sec. 9, the Trustees, President, Provost, Deans, academic and administrative staff of UATX must respect and support the Constitutional order that enables the University to fulfill its purpose. They have a positive obligation to model and teach intellectual humility, civil discourse, and open inquiry.”

By embracing traditional academic values such as these, the new University of Austen is poised to restore the true nature and purpose of higher education.