Higher Ed Coalition Adds Student, Young Alumni Group

By Rose Cahalan in Promote & Protect on October 12, 2011 at 11:00 am | No Comments

The Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education today announced a new advocacy group composed of students and young alumni.

“We plan to engage young people from across the state in formal and informal discussions about higher education policy and reform,” says Keshav Rajagopalan, former UT student body president and a founding member of Young Texans for Excellence in Higher Education.

More than 100 founding members have signed up so far, according to Rajagopalan.

“I think young alumni have an important perspective to contribute to this debate,” Rajagopalan says. “Not that UT hasn’t always been growing and changing, but graduates from the last 10 years have really seen that up close. And we can speak to the current student experience.”

“We really want students to have a seat at the table for this discussion,” says student body president Natalie Butler. “We care about our degrees, we have a viewpoint that older alumni don’t have, and we want to make our state universities the best they can be.”

Butler and Rajagopalan also released an open letter addressed to Governor Rick Perry, other legislators, and the UT regents. Read the full letter here:
Young Texans for Excellence in Higher Education Open Letter

Creative Commons photo courtesy wattsbw2004 on Flickr

Tags: debate, policy, Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education