UATX Professors: Meet Founder, Trustee, and Professor Niall Ferguson

[@gerdschnelle2343]

One of the finest minds alive today. Wishing you the very best in the journey ahead.

[@ZSTOREY]

I really applaud these efforts.

[@ChristianKemper-r3r]

Dear Prof. Ferguson, decades ago a common friend told me that "teaching in Oxford was like swimming in glue." To prevent this from happening to you, you now simply have created your own university and I sincerely wish you good luck with it! May your colleagues and students enjoy their protected intellectual liberties to develop and discuss original and unique ideas. Die Gedanken sind frei! Best regards from Hamburg, Christian Kemper

[@StephLin6897]

You paint a very compelling vision Niall. Congratulations to you and your colleagues for “putting your money where your mouth is”. You are good role models. I look forward to watching the vison come to life and achieve all its stated goals. Perhaps in 15 years I’ll be able to send my grandchildren to the UA, once they’re old enough. Hopefully they’ll qualify for admission 🙏.

[@JavoxirNematov-ei3yb]

Prof. Ferguson, thanks for establishing such a great institution and helping students like me to find MEANING IN university education

[@neoman1858]

Totally support this effort. Wish it success. Happy and proud it is here in Austin.

[@farzinshokooh2085]

As a liberal with traditional values, uneasy with & disapproving of many of today's progressive tenets, I am happy to hear of this establishment. All the Best Wishes.

[@UNCHART3DGAMING]

Congratulations - long overdue - Best from 🇨🇦

[@richardsmith1799]

Congratulations to the founders of UATX. O prosper thou our handiwork. (Psalm 90)

[@jaihanjqx1140]

My son, a Columbia graduate, and I, a Korean resident, have observed the impact of left-leaning environments on ideologies, including my son's closed mindset post-education. As our nation faces existential challenges, I yearn for your impassioned efforts to transcend borders and enlighten minds, especially those entrenched in differing beliefs. Throughout history, humanity has confronted daunting trials, finding solace in the emergence of heroes during critical junctures. Your unwavering dedication and influence echo the essence of such heroes, poised to catalyze change in our world.

[@antoniahowarth-wass5001]

I am unable to find appropriate remarks to congratulate you adequately for this magnificent, and so carefully thought out, initiative, which is so much bigger than most - an entire institution for the actual accomplishment of educated people! You are wonderful and amazing and please accept my unending applause.

[@astronomicatx]

Impressive credentials, indeed! 📚 It's fascinating to learn about Niall Ferguson's extensive expertise and contributions to academia and advisory services.

[@pamelaroyce5285]

A request (or observation, at least) and a comment. First, the observation. I listened to this as I was busy doing a routine chore, and I had to stop what I was doing to rush to my iPad to rewind a few seconds to read the questions posed between segments. What if a blind person was listening to this? They would not know that the question that was being answered. Please have someone do the questions as voiceover. And now my comment. I attended a major public university on the west coast 1969-1973. There were many demonstrations (what are now called protests) about the Vietnam War and various social issues. But civility was the norm. When a panel of prominent women attempted to give a presentation on women’s rights, a few male students heckled the first couple of speakers. An administrator called a halt to the proceedings and told the students to be quiet and listen, at least out of courtesy to the guests and out of consideration for other students who were interested in what the panelists had to say. And if they continued to heckle, they would be removed from the building and face (unspecified) consequences. Suspension and even expulsion were real possibilities. “Lively and robust debate” (NY Times v. Sullivan) can be civil; in academia, it *must* be civil. I hope that this university will require civility. It sounds like it has standards and an enforcement mechanism. I hope it succeeds.

[@uaustinorg]

Thank you for the thoughtful response, Pamela. Your observation and comment are well taken.

[@fchaddock]

The goal of a proper education and function of a university is to guide a student in their research so that when they come to class they can provide the classmates with the unique insight that play discovered in their research does totally new to their mental condition

[@stephencampbell8246]

Hear! Hear!

[@ArielBerdugo]

Hip Hip Hurray Hip Hip Hurray Hip Hip Hurray Thank you Niall to you and your beautiful wife Ayaan.

[@ryanand154]

Bowie had his wife.

[@petercollingwood522]

I think this is a great idea. I was very pleasantly surprised by the comment on no cell phones and no laptops in the classroom. An excellent idea. this could be very worth while endeavour. Pity it's being done in Texas.

[@IsaiahGrande]

You say pity. However isn’t out very telling that this is where it is happening? Shouldn’t you ask the question why is it in Texas and not where you think it should be? It’s apparent that you need to challenge your bias towards Texas and open your eyes to what’s actually happening within our country.

[@petercollingwood522]

@@IsaiahGrande I know what's happening in our country. And my "bias" towards Texas as you call it is perfectly healthy thanks, considering what Texas has become and what Texans are largely all about. The idea of a proper traditioanl univeristy without all the stupid liberal drivvle that is poisoning universities in other parts of the country is great. Pretending that it's just a counter to this nonsense while situating it in Texas. A state of seccessionist dumbasses who will be happy once again to destroy the Union is unfortunate as it belies the suppposed non political intent of the institution.

[@jimpetersMontreal]

NY and California are destroying themselves. TX is the future

[@markanderson8711]

When you started with all the uni affiliations, eye was off you! But go n be fukked, 2 minutes later ya got me. Owh my alternating thoughts!🙋‍♂️👍❤️❤️❤️

[@royolstad8532]

In my life experience, I've seen that there are visioniaries and there are administrators. The visionaries have the energy and gifting to create new things. As soon as they're created, the visionaries are done, they move on to create again. The administrators take over. In government, this is the permanent, unelected adminstrative state, which is the ruination of America. Administrators only think about enlarging their fiefdoms, and this incentive directly contradicts conservatism. We thought the US constiution and our system of safeguards would protect us, and it did till the admin types got powerful enough to pull it all apart. It's almost inevitable. Good luck, though. I applaud your vision.

[@paulmawdsley2027]

My experience has said the same thing. There are 2 basic orientations to life: 1) seek to control outcomes 2) seek to unfold possibilities. The administrative class holds the first. Visionaries of all kinds embody the second. We need to learn the lesson that, whether coming from the left or the right, controlling for outcomes is the path to authoritarianism and unfolding possibilities in life is the path to liberty and autonomy. It is only by identifying the differences between these 2 orientations and the paths they entail that we can choose better in the future. This is a matter of choosing the principles we wish to set our culture by. What Niall seems to be talking about here is creating a culture of unfolding possibilities with structures that support and maintain this ideal. If controlling for outcomes has no place of power, administrative tendencies will have no leverage for power and control. The human experiment is very much a battle between these 2 orientations. One might even say the line between good and evil is drawn in every individual between these 2 orientations.

[@normofthenorth]

I've recently cut way back on my annual charitable donations to my alma maters (MIT, BU, & Princeton). Is your new university soliciting donations?

[@DrWhirlyGirl]

The so called fact that the West won the Cold War is disputable since as a Logician I would argue assert it’s unprovable because the very concept of Cold War is abstract. As an abstract thinker I would agree that we, the West won but you need to assign the provable from the unprovable. Otherwise all is lost in the argument. thanks for this amazing debate

[@jlarson1040]

Will there be any courses taught on Marxism?

[@martinsawzin7392]

11:22. "In our classrooms...no devices..." N2A2 Notes now and after. ( Field note skills) Martin Sawzin PhD C I D C onsulting I nteractional D evelopment

[@62426637]

Could there be a DEI Office at Austin?

[@petercollingwood522]

Better not be.

[@uaustinorg]

There will not be.

[@paulmawdsley2027]

Decency, Enlightenment and Integrity office?

[@mechengineer4life]

I love the idea, but you can still fall pray to that Law... look at our constitution... it was held up for a long time and still has some aspects that have been preserved (mostly) such as freedom of speech. But Due Process, right to not self-incriminate, rights to proverty property and bodily autonomy are all under relentless assault and have been for over 100 years, just now they are accelerating.

[@cinmay2000]

Will they provide accredited degrees? Will there be a physical location? If so, where will the campus be located? Large tracks of undeveloped are not so easily available within the city limits. So far, the University of Austin just seems to be KZbin videos.

[@richardlindquist5936]

@cinmay2000 Google is your friend. There is a physical location in Austin.

[@wind.del.change]

what about vaccine rights ?