News from CTL

Students in their first year at UT encounter many challenges that can make them feel alone in their struggles, even as others in their classes hide the same feelings. Many professors reach out to students to offer advice and tips, but it is human nature to focus foremost on the advice originating from people who are similar—in situation, status, etc.—and faculty do not always fit that demographic from the students’ perspective.

It is always challenging to create a new course. When we try to include course components where UT students have live interactions with non-UT students abroad through technology, we unavoidably insert additional layers of complexity into the process. 

The School or Architecture at UT-Austin has engaged in an initiative that fosters relationships and learning experiences with Mexico and Latin-America. Faculty interest in this area of the world has become more robust in recent years.  I was fortunate to join this effort in the fall of 2013 when I became part of the faculty at UTSoA. Mexico is an area of focus for my research, and I have been eager to share the opportunities that Mexico can offer to broaden the vision of our students about global issues of heritage preservation and conservation of historic buildings.