The Other Side of Campus

On this episode, hosts Jen Moon and Katie Dawson sit down with student fellow of the National Disability Center for Student Success Soren Aldaco to examine how accessibility is not just a set of accommodations—but an evolving, shared practice shaped by both students and educators. Together, they unpack what it means to move beyond traditional hierarchies into a model of co-mentorship , where stude...

In this episode of The Other Side of Campus , hosts Jen Moon and Katie Dawson sit down with Dr. Stephanie Cawthon —researcher, author, and founder of the National Disability Center for Student Success —to explore how accessibility is reshaping higher education from the inside out. Drawing from her lived experience as a deaf scholar and nearly two decades of research at The University of Texas at A...

In this episode of The Other Side of Campus , hosts Stephanie Seidel Holmsten and Jen Moon sit down with Francesca “Chessie” Lockhart , Program Lead of the Cybersecurity Clinic at UT Austin’s Strauss Center for International Security and Law . Drawing on her experience in state-level intelligence at the Texas Department of Public Safety, Lockhart shares how her career in counterterrorism, cybersec...

In this episode of The Other Side of Campus , hosts Jen Moon and Katie Dawson speak with Charles Di Piazza from the UT School of Architecture about his Rural Architecture Studio course. Charles takes students to Terlingua, near Big Bend National Park, where they work alongside local partners to explore sustainable design rooted in place. From earthen construction and compressed earth blocks to the...

What does acting training prepare students for—beyond the stage or screen? In this episode of The Other Side of Campus , Katie Dawson (Theatre & Dance) and Stephanie Holmsten (Government) speak with Corey Allen , Assistant Professor of Acting in the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin . A multidisciplinary artist whose work spans acting, directing, writing, visual art, an...

What does it look like when classroom learning moves beyond campus—and into real communities with real needs and major impact? In this episode of The Other Side of Campus , we’re joined by Tanya Ratnani , an undergraduate senior in International Business and Business Analytics at McCombs School of Business (Class of 2026). Tanya reflects on her journey to University of Texas at Austin , her academ...

In this first episode of 2026, Stephanie and Katie get to explore how the School of Social Work at UT is turning global experiences into local leadership. Our two very special guests Dr. Noel Busch-Armendariz and Stacey Jordan share how the Office of Global Engagement (OGE) prepares students to work across cultures, navigate complex systems, and return home equipped to make meaningful change. We l...

In this special relaunch episode of The Other Side of Campus , we sit down with UT Austin Provost Will Inboden for a wide-ranging conversation on the university’s public mission, from shaping future leaders to solving real-world problems. Provost Inboden reflects on UT’s responsibility to serve Texas, the nation, and the world—through teaching, research, and community engagement. We discuss civic...

Just a sneak peek at our upcoming season!

Katie and Dixie speak with Professor Megan Hildebrandt whose unique life journey, which conjoined her artistic development with serious unexpected health issues, led her to become an "arts in healthcare advocate." Her experiential learning class, the Aesthetics of Health, won a Texas Tower award in 2021 and is a proving ground for the beneficial effects of artmaking in healthcare spaces....

In this special episode, Katie talks with two prominent UT professors, Drs. Mary Neuburger and Oksana Lutsyshyna, and former students of theirs who together undertook a phenomenal investigative project in spring 2019 to examine and closely follow Ukrainian youth political engagement during the presidential election in which Volodymyr Zelensky ultimately won, beating incumbent Petro Poroshenko. The...

On this episode, Stephanie and Katie talk with two excellent albeit very different teachers and European affairs experts, Lorinc Redei and Michael Mosser, on how they handle global conflicts, such as Putin's war in Ukraine, in the classroom. When is it important to provide space for discussion about major world events in a class setting? How should earth-shattering news be handled if it has no...

On this episode, Dixie and Stephanie talk with Dr. Miguel Pinedo from the College of Education. He focuses on studying the health implications of immigration policies on migrants residing on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Although a research-trained professor, in the classroom, Dr. Pinedo expounds on how he has developed practices to humanize his research to help students viscerally connect t...

Jen and Stephanie get a chance to talk with a new and very welcome addition to the UT Austin campus, James Butler, who brings nearly two decades of expertise in mindfulness training to the Forty Acres. Thanks for joining us on The Other Side of Campus! ABOUT THE GUEST James Butler (he/him/his) will be sharing mindfulness on campus through a healing and equity-centered lens with a focus on supporti...

Dixie and Stephanie get a chance to talk with PhD candidate and graduate student mentor Kaitlyn Farrell Rodriguez about her current work in student mentorship and wellness and the ways in which she uses her previous experience as a dramaturg in her classroom and research. Thanks for joining us on The Other Side of Campus! ABOUT THE GUEST Kaitlyn Farrell Rodriguez is a PhD candidate at the Universi...

In honor of International Education Week, we invited James Patton to talk with us about his life, his prolific work with special education programs around the world, and his undergraduate classes in which he carries out State Department-sponsored global exchange. Thanks for joining us on The Other Side of Campus! ABOUT THE GUEST James R. Patton is currently an independent consultant and Adjunct As...

Dr. Molly Hatcher, the director of the Faculty Innovation Center at UT Austin, joins Stephanie and Dixie to talk about the book she recently co-edited entitled Preparing for College and University Teaching: Competencies for Graduate and Professional Students. Dr. Hatcher holds a JD as well as a joint PhD in English and Women's Studies from the University of Michigan. This was a great follow-up...

On this episode of The Other Side of Campus, Jen and Stephanie invite Thea Woodruff, Director of Well-being in Learning Environments at the Counseling and Mental Health Center to talk about her initiative to help improve interactions between faculty and students in order to create a more effective teaching and learning environment (in person or online). We hope you enjoy this FUN and uplifting con...

Season 2 kicks off with Dr. Sharon L. Wood! As the new provost of The University of Texas at Austin, she brings a wealth of experience as a structural engineer, teacher, and administrator to the position. We are so excited to get to speak with her, glean from her insights, and empathize with the extreme complexity of her job as provost, especially at this unprecedented time in higher education his...

On this final episode of our first season, Dixie and Katie speak with archaeologist Dr. Adam Rabinowitz. Adam brings his expertise in experiential learning to the show and entertains us with his powerful story from the time he was on his first archaeological expedition (as a teenager) with his aunt in Italy. Take a listen, and thanks so much for joining us on The Other Side of Campus! ABOUT THE GU...

On this episode, Jen and Stephanie speak with UT anthropologist Hi'ilei Hobart who brings her unique research on food sovereignty and indigenous peoples to the proverbial table of this podcast, discussing the ways in which her personal experiences have shaped her writing and her classroom. We enjoyed this conversation, and we hope you do too! Thanks for joining us on The Other Side of Campus!...

From the Blanton Museum of Art, Siobhán McCusker, an artist and innovative educator with a unique background, joins Jen, Stephanie, and Dixie to talk about the creative ways in which she uses the art gallery experience as a microcosm for teaching growth mindset to classrooms (and faculty) of all disciplines. We really enjoyed this wonderful and uplifting conversation and we hope you do as well. Th...

Dr. Danica Sumpter from UT's School of Nursing joins Dixie and Stephanie to talk about her incredible personal journey to nursing and teaching nursing as well as her high-impact work in so many areas of society, including within the Black Mamas Community Collective where she strives to help mothers "not just survive but thrive." Her inspiring story and mindful practices in an online...

On this fun episode, Mike Mackert, the illustrious director of UT's Center for Health Communication, regales Dixie and Jen with his (very) non-linear personal journey to his current high-impact platform of evidence-based health communication strategies and and the amazing work of his team that truly spans the vast campus of The University of Texas at Austin. Thanks for joining us on The Other...

On this episode, Dixie and Jen speak with Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at UT Tasha Beretvas. Dr. Beretvas has had an illustrious, winding career which has taken her from programming at IBM to being an all-star teacher at The University of Texas at Austin. This was a great and open discussion about how the faculty community is evolving (and has evolved), and also a very personal conversa...