The Eyes of Texas are Upon You

I have had no contact with UT Austin since I graduated. Yet I have, 11 years after the last time I set foot on their campus started to receive the "Texas Exes Newsletter." I know other alumni of other institutions that have experienced the same phenomenon. You can never get away. They always find you. It is actually kind of scary. It makes me think that the UT fight song which is sung at football games is more than a simple song. The eyes of Texas are upon you, All the live long day. The eyes of Texas are upon you, You cannot get away. Do not think you can escape them, At night, or early in the morn'. The eyes of Texas are upon you, 'Till Gabriel blows his horn! Maybe they really are watching me It seems to me that that if the United States really wanted to find Osama bin Ladin they would have somebody in the CIA issue him an MBA from the UT school of business and then wait for the alumni association to start sending him emails. Until Next Time Fai Mao The Blogger who doesn't bleed orange The University of Texas at Austin is pleased to bring you @Texas, an electronic newsletter for alumni and friends to keep you in touch with developments affecting the campus and the University and alumni communities.

@Texas Volume 6, Number 7 November 29, 2007 Twelve New Harrington Fellows Named Astrophysics Student Named Rhodes Scholar First Stadium Remembered on 100th Anniversary Study Shows Kids Benefit From Learning About Racism Tree Of Life For Flowering Plants Reveals Relationships B.M. “Mack” Rankin Jr. Honored as Outstanding Texas Ex Top Story of the Week TWELVE NEW HARRINGTON FELLOWS NAMED The University’s Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program, one of the nation’s premier visiting scholar and graduate fellow programs, begins its seventh year with a new group of scholars. Sybil B. Harrington created the program as a tribute to her late husband, and the Sybil B. Harrington Trust and The Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation provided a $30 million endowment to support gifted and ambitious scholars who come to UT from institutions throughout the world. more about Harrington Fellows... ASTROPHYSICS STUDENT NAMED RHODES SCHOLAR Sarah Miller, an astronomy and physics major who will graduate in May, was selected as a Rhodes Scholar for 2008. She is one of 32 students in America to be honored with the scholarship. Miller, a Dallas native, was cited in the official Rhodes Trust press release not only for her accomplishments in the field of astronomy and physics, but also for her ability as a rock, jazz and classical music composer, performer and instrumentalist. more about Sarah Miller... FIRST STADIUM REMEMBERED ON 100TH ANNIVERSARY Now that the regular season for football has ended, work continues at a frenzied pace on the renovations to the north end of Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. At a reported cost of $175 million, the new north end should be completed by next August and will boost the capacity to 90,000 fans. Amid all this activity, remember that 100 years ago this week, University students planned, financed and constructed the first stadium on the campus. And they did it in less than two weeks and for under $1,000. more about first stadium... STUDY SHOWS KIDS BENEFIT FROM LEARNING ABOUT RACISM Challenging the idea that racism education could be harmful to students, a new study from the University found the results of learning about historical racism are primarily positive. Psychologists Rebecca Bigler and Julie Milligan Hughes found white children who received history lessons about discrimination against famous African Americans had significantly more positive attitudes toward African Americans than those who received lessons with no mention of racism. more about racism study... TREE OF LIFE FOR FLOWERING PLANTS REVEALS RELATIONSHIPS The evolutionary Tree of Life for flowering plants has been revealed using the largest collection of genomic data of these plants to date, report scientists from the University and the University of Florida. The scientists found that the two largest groups of flowering plants, monocots (grasses and their relatives) and eudicots (including sunflowers and tomatoes), are more closely related to each other than to any of the other major lineages. more about Tree of Life... B.M. “MACK” RANKIN JR. HONORED AS OUTSTANDING TEXAS EX President William Powers Jr. joined the Texas Exes Dallas Chapter on Nov. 17 to honor B.M. “Mack” Rankin Jr. as the 2007 Outstanding Dallas Texas Ex. In addition to honoring Rankin for his support of the University and the Dallas community, the event also raised money for the Texas Exes Dallas Chapter’s scholarship endowment. Since 1996, the Dallas Chapter has awarded 325 scholarships totaling about $517,000 to local students. more about Mack Rankin...