Implications
In response to Walter Cronkite's colloquialism about the University of Texas at Austin, “What starts here changes the world,” a representative described UT Austin as the heartbeat of the City of Ideas. In doing so, he highlighted the Universities’ inextricable connection to the social and political landscape that surrounds it. The University, like Austin and the rest of the world, is intimately tied to the world around it, and the identity and heritage of the university depends on those who make it up. Given that the University is a large, interconnected web of individuals, who gets to decide what change is? Additionally, when can one say that change is really made, and by whom?
We recognize that not all changes that have occurred on the University of Texas Campus over time have been positive. There are numerous examples throughout the Universities’ history of individuals and groups of individuals who have reversed social progress through their destructive actions (see Painter, sexual abusers in the faculty, and others). Even those whose actions we highlight in this exhibit may have done things in their time that combated the progress that their positive actions made.
However, these negative actions do not invalidate the positive changes that have been made, and do not singly define our University of Texas. The key figures we’ve highlighted have worked towards creating a brighter heritage in the face of these dark actions. Additionally, the culture and heritage of any community, such as the University of Texas, form around those of whom it is comprised. And, the more voice that all individuals, especially those who were and are affected by the gaps inherent in the UT Austin community, the more that the University of Texas community as a whole will be able to make positive changes to our heritage.
Our exhibit is incomplete. We, as the authors of this exhibit, want to participate in redefining our heritage as a University by highlighting those individuals in the past who advocated for change by bridging the gaps they saw in the community. We hope that future scholars will be inspired to participate in the future of the University of Texas by highlighting key figures in the past and present who have bridged gaps, created change, and defined heritage.