Rising Strong, Longhorn Style

Brené Brown returns to UT Austin to deliver very special address

Brené Brown has been selected to give the address at UT's 137th spring commencement.

Photo courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin alumna, New York Times best-selling author, and TED Talk record-breaker Brené Brown is heading back to the Forty Acres, this time to deliver a very special address.

On Thursday, January 23, the university announced Brown has been selected to deliver this year's keynote commencement speech on May 23. Brown is scheduled to speak to students, parents, families, faculty, and staff at 8 pm on the campus' Main Mall. With more than 9,000 students eligible to receive their degree this spring, it's likely to be quite a large audience.

In classic Brown fashion, she was candid about her reaction to being chosen as this year's commencement speaker.

“I just started crying because my path to UT was long and hard,” Brown said in a release. “The fact that I’ll be giving the commencement address in front of the Tower — at a school that I love and one that I fought to be a part of — is amazing. I’m deeply honored to be asked to share my story and to be a part of this incredibly important day for the Class of 2020. Horns up.”

Brown received a bachelor's degree in social work from the university in 1995. Today, she is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation-Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work.

“Brené Brown is an extraordinary scholar, educator, and author, but more than anything, she connects with others on a deeply human level,” said UT President Gregory L. Fenves in a release. “It is a great honor that Dr. Brown has agreed to speak to the Class of 2020 — many of whom have already been inspired and enlightened by reading her bestselling books and watching her acclaimed lectures.”

Brown fans who don't know any UT grads sadly won't be able to catch her address in-person, but you can watch via UT's live webcast or catch her at this year's SXSW.

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share the road

Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Justin Wallace on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in Austin, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Austin, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling-friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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