I Saw a Culture of Conformity in Universities. So I Started My Own: Pano Kanelos

American Thought Leaders

Over the years, Pano Kanelos, the founding president of the University of Austin, observed a growing “homogenization” and “bureaucratization” of higher education. He saw school programs becoming more and more similar, administrators outnumbering students and young adults being taught that the pathway to success is dependent on censorship and adherence to the status quo.

“We’ve created a culture of conformity at universities—a culture of conformity in higher education,” he says. “This just flattens out, I think, the potential for higher education to do great things and be dynamic.”

So, in 2021, along with a group of similarly concerned individuals, he started the University of Austin, a private liberal arts university in Texas that emphasizes curiosity, risk-taking, and moral agency.

“We’re trying to generate graduates who themselves are builders and creators. This is an important part of our curriculum,” says Kanelos.

Three years later, he is the president of a fully operational freshmen class and a diverse faculty.

“If anybody visits the University of Austin, they will see that it’s probably one of the most intellectually alive environments you'll ever encounter,” says Kanelos.

The views expressed in this video are those of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect those of The Epoch Times.