UT Austin president outlines the importance of generalists in State of the University address
By Sophie Garza​
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University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell said student success should be determined by the general life skills obtained in college rather than a concrete road map for life during his State of the University address on Sept. 18.
“We have started to equate student success with graduation rates, but we need to take a broader view,” Hartzell said.
Drawing inspiration from a book titled “Range” by David Epstein, Hartzell spoke to faculty, students and alumni at Hogg Memorial Auditorium about the benefits of teaching students to become generalists. A generalist is someone “whose skills, interests, or habits are varied or unspecialized.”
Hartzell said a higher percentage of UT Austin students graduate in four years or less, allowing students to spend less money and time in school. However, these two tangible aspects of student success aren’t the only metrics that add to a successful life after college.
“Epstein argues that society has been overly fixated on this idea that you leave the womb, and you know what you want to do when you grow up, and you go do it, and that’s the path to success,” Hartzell said. “But there are many of us who found our way later.”
Acknowledging the uncertainty of youth, Hartzell said that the university can help students find their areas of interest by introducing them to various subjects.
“So, what does that mean for us as a university? It means we have a way to expose our students to all the greatness in this university and help them find what they love,” Hartzell said. “We can help train students not only to have a deep area of expertise but also to be generalists and be able to think across broad domains.”
Hartzell explained that students who have a general knowledge of different skills and topics are better suited for the modern-day workforce.
“Epstein argues that it’s important in part because in a world where there’s more uncertainty, students, people — we — need to be more adaptable,” Hartzell said. “How do we cope with things we have not encountered before? It’s broad skills, critical thinking, communication, those things that we teach here every day.”
Lazaro Hernandez, an alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin and a current employee at the UT Austin Center for Leadership and Ethics, said he sees himself as a generalist.
“I liked so many different things that it was hard to pick what to do as a major, and it felt limiting to me,” said Hernandez. “So once I got into college, I double majored because I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
Working as a video editor for the Ethics Unwrapped program, Hernandez said he utilizes a wide variety of skills he gained through his multidisciplinary degree from UT Austin.
In the address, Hartzell said that an outline for life is more important than a concrete plan for a career.
Ethan Neff, a sophomore Psychology major who attended the address, said he often felt anxious when planning out his career.
“You’re in school for so long, and then one day they hand you a paper and send you off,” said Neff. “At least, interning while in college has taught me that it’s okay to feel lost sometimes as long as you can adapt to your surroundings.”
Neff said he thought Hartzell seemed to care about the students and their futures.
“With graduation rates, we’ve shown what’s possible when we collectively marshal our energy and talents,” said Hartzell. “Now is the time for us to have that same focus and relentless push to do the same things for what happens after UT. As a campus, we can do this together. We can help students figure out what they really want to be, what they really want to do.”