Graduates Celebrate Major Life Step, Prepare to Change the World - May 23, 2011

Celebrating one of the most momentous milestones of their lives, 389 University of Texas at Austin College of Education graduates, along with hundreds of cheering, proud family members and friends, gathered in a packed Gregory Gym at noon on May 21 for the college’s 2011 convocation.

The ceremony was launched with introductory remarks from College of Education Dean Manuel J. Justiz and Senior Associate Dean Marilyn Kameen.

This spring’s graduates have the distinction of being part of the number one ranked college of education in the nation among public universities and of participating in the first UT commencement ceremony at which legendary Longhorn football coach Mack Brown elected to speak.

“I can honestly say that this is one of the two most important honors I’ve received since being at The University of Texas at Austin,” said Brown, who shared that he grew up with a father and grandfather who were school superintendents and coaches, in a family that seriously appreciated “the business of education.” “This is a very, very significant honor.”

Brown and UT Athletics have enjoyed close ties to the College of Education, with students in programs like sport management and athletic training having the opportunity to gain hands-on, relevant experience working with the various Longhorn sports teams, as well as to secure internships. Also, faculty members like internationally known exercise physiologist Dr. Ed Coyle have the opportunity to gather research data on human physical performance from top student athletes such as former UT track team member Leo Manzano, who will be participating in the 2012 Olympics.

Currently, 165 student athletes are pursuing degrees in the College of Education, including 38 football players.

In a rousing speech that demonstrated at least part of the reason for Brown’s enduring popularity and incredible accomplishments as a coach, he exhorted graduates to take full advantage of their youth and a new beginning and not to be afraid to take chances. Sharing personal anecdotes from his own life as a new college graduate, Brown lined out his key recommendations for success: maintain pride in yourself, your family, university, job and choices; aim very high because even if you don’t make it, it’s still great trying; be bold and take risks; be patient; plan well; and always do the right thing.

“You want to be a good person and always be a giver rather than a taker,” said Brown. “Things are going to go wrong and you’re going to have hardships – everybody does – but you have to remember that attitude is everything.

“When my players come in and complain about something that happened in one of their classes, I tell them that their teacher or their assignment or other students didn’t ruin their day – their attitude about it ruined their day. One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard, and one you can take to the bank, is ‘You don’t get to choose your circumstances.’ Everybody in this gym would change something about themselves and their lives, but a lot of the time absolutely all we can do is take what we’re given and turn it into a positive. Remember this – when it comes to circumstances, you take the good ones and build on them and, if you can, you take the bad ones and change them.”

Brown, who is in his 14th season as head coach for the Texas Longhorns, was 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year and has achieved the best winning percentage of any coach in UT history. He’s also only the second coach in UT history to reach the 100-win plateau and in 2008 achieved national recognition as the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year. In 2005, he was the Paul W. “Bear” Bryan National Coach of the Year and coach of the BCS National Champions. He’s one of only a handful of coaches in college football history to lead two separate programs to a Top Five national finish.

This year, the College of Education was ranked number two overall nationally among graduate education programs by U.S. News & World Report (tied with Harvard University) and number one nationally in research expenditures. The College is a leader in innovation and was the first in the nation to require that students in the teacher education program have laptop computers, teaming up with Apple to create the Laptop Initiative for Future Educators (LIFE). In partnership with the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Education created the nationally-replicated UTeach program and is home to the number one community college leadership preparation program in the U.S. as well as the nationally acclaimed Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts, The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, Texas Child Study Center, University Center for Educational Administration and Institute for Public School Initiatives.

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910