♦Thomas Garza
Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Distinguished Associate Teaching Professor
20 years at UT

Our students are much more intrepid and adventurous than they let on. Rather than asking, “Do you want to study abroad?” it’s better to go with “When are you going abroad to study?” They will surprise you with their enthusiasm, their drive and their passion. The studied nonchalance is just a guise.

“No” at UT usually means “Yes, but not the way you’re going about it.” Almost anything is doable in the university context; it just takes time, perseverance and some nice words to the right person. Our staff should be called the Staff of Life. They can get just about anything done when it’s needed.

Don’t cross athletics — especially football. Once you know where you stand as a faculty member in an academic program, detente will prevail. It’s sometimes better to be No. 2 and try harder.

Parking is not for the faint of heart. Arrive early, leave late, vacate for home games, and remember that a parking permit does NOT guarantee you anything!

Be aware of your surroundings — even in the most mundane circumstances. Your life partner might just be sitting in the faculty office right across from your own. Mine was.

♦Marcia Gibbs

Coordinator Publications & Communications
Office of the Dean of Students
7 years at UT

Real progress can be achieved incrementally. People often joke that the pace of change here is glacial, so patience and flexibility — in day-to-day tasks and professionally — are useful in the UT environment.

UT is a citadel within a city. As everyone is no doubt tired of hearing, Austin is a great place to live. Though there are some things I’d improve, UT is a lovely place to work and is certainly an influential presence in the city and the state.

Always be fully engaged. Something can be learned from every (subcommittee) experience. Here at UT, some meetings are better than others but I’m sure the experience I’m gaining as a humble public servant will surprise me one day. I still make good use of things I learned years ago while teaching English as a Second Language and working as a designer and art director in educational publishing in New York.

Helping a parent or student with an unusual request is often more rewarding than “just doing my job.” Doing things, however small, that are tangibly meaningful and helpful gives me almost the same warm fuzzy feeling I used to get when my ESL students thanked me profusely for helping them learn English so they could find a job or go to college here in the U.S.

I will never understand the whole football thing. Along with the rest of the planet, football to me means soccer. I truly cannot fathom why Texans are completely obsessed with such an excruciatingly slow and arcane game. Sacrilegious, I know…

Photo by John Foxworth

♦Lawrence W. Speck

W.L. Moody Centennial Professor of Architecture
University Distinguished Teaching Professor
35 years at UT

Breadth of perspective makes an astounding contribution to creative problem solving. It has been truly inspiring over the years to sit in groups of colleagues from a variety of disciplines poring over some common problem and witness the ability of the group to come up with much better ideas and solutions together than any of us could have done alone or in more singular groups.

There is a sense of community available at UT that can be phenomenally enriching both intellectually and socially. Shared experiences and conversations with colleagues on committees, as a guest in classes, in co-taught classes, in special programs or even at lunch or in the gym turn out to be some of the most satisfying parts of being at this university.

Seeing achievements of former students turns out to be one of the most satisfying aspects of being a part of this place. I knew before I started that I would enjoy interaction with students, but it took awhile to appreciate the long-term effect of what we do here.

Progress requires patience at UT. Nothing happens fast, and there seems to be some sort of perverse pride in seeing ourselves as a gargantuan beast that is ill equipped for nimbleness.

There are institutional experts available to help, no matter what question you need answered. The trick is to find them.  The search for the right resource often entails long chains of someone who knows someone who knows someone who actually can help.