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A new private university in the states capital will be dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth in response to the culture of censorship that its founders say is plaguing higher education.

But leaders for the University of Austin are still working towards getting the school accredited, creating an undergraduate program and securing land for its campus.

Scholars, activists and entrepreneurs teamed up to start the university, to be known as UATX, because they were alarmed by the illiberalism and censoriousness prevalent in Americas most prestigious universities and what it augurs for the country, according to the schools website.

So much is broken in America. But higher education might be the most fractured institution of all, said Pano Kanelos, the incoming president of the University of Austin.

He announced the nonprofit universitys creation Monday in former New York Times journalist Bari Weiss newsletter, who is also one of its founders. Kanelos is the former president of St. Johns College in Annapolis, a small, private liberal arts school.

Self-censorship is pervasive across colleges and universities because the institutions chill speech and ostracize those with unpopular viewpoints and lead scholars to avoid entire topics out of fear, Kanelos wrote.

The universitys announcement garnered national attention for its team of journalists, artists, philanthropists, researchers and higher education leaders involved in the project.

Its founders also include former Harvard President Lawrence Summers; David Mamet, a playwright; former American Civil Liberties Union President Nadine Strossen; academics and other former university leaders.

The universitys headquarters are located in central Austin, just a short walk away from the University of Texas nearest building.

Unlike several new universities that opt for teaching courses virtually, school administrators plan on having a physical campus with as few screens as possible. But land for a campus has not been secured.

The schools founders chose Texas because of the states boom in talent and capital and Austin, in particular, because it is a hub for the kind of people our university aims to attract and from whom we want to receive guidance, according to the universitys website.

The school which will focus on humanities, social sciences and natural sciences is seeking initial accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission and authorization from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Heather Berg, a spokesperson for the commission, said the accreditation process can take between one and seven years.

But the University of Austins website says it will not wait for accreditation to get started on its programming.

The institution will offer a Forbidden Courses summer program in the coming year for college students to discuss the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities.

Next fall, it will begin offering a masters program on entrepreneurship and leadership with plans to launch its undergraduate programs in 2024.

Its not easy for a new university to compete for undergraduate students who are often seeking well established schools based on reputations, Niall Ferguson, a historian, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, wrote in an essay for Bloomberg.

(Students) go to college as much for the high-prestige credentials and the peer networks as for the education. Thats why a new university cant start by offering bachelors degrees, Ferguson said.

University leaders have secured the seed money necessary to launch the institution but are in the process of securing $250 million.

A new financial model that streamlines administrative costs will allow the school to have a tuition rate thats about half of the average cost for a private university, Kanelos told The Texas Tribune. The average annual tuition for a private, four-year university is about $28,500, according to the latest federal data.

The university is not taking student applications yet.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Labs journalism.

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University of Austin launched by college critics in response to a culture of censorship - The Dallas Morning News