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UT Austin is set to eliminate at least four majors, including Mexican American & Latina/o Studies and women’s & gender studies. It’s the latest move following the consolidation of seven ethnic and gender studies departments earlier this year.
A new report found that 1 in 3 leaders of color serving on Central Texas nonprofit boards experience bias or exclusion. The ways to ensure that everyone is made welcome at the table.
Plus, comedian Vanessa Gonzalez has a new streaming comedy special that was filmed here in Austin. We’ll talk about her experience coming up in the city’s comedy scene and the East Austin event she’ll be at later this month.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he’s investigating that proposed data center in Taylor. KUT’s Kailey Hunt first reported this about the proposed data center last year and now she’s got the latest on this investigation.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] UT Austin is set to eliminate four majors including Mexican American and Latina Latino Studies as well as women’s and gender studies It’s the latest move following the consolidation of seven ethnic and gender Studies departments. We’ve heard from folks working in these programs We’ve got that and a new report found that one in three board members of color serving on a central Texas nonprofits board Experience either bias or exclusion the ways to ensure that everyone is made welcome at the table. That’s coming up on today’s show
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:38] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:43] Plus, comedian Vanessa Gonzalez has a new streaming comedy special that was filmed right here in town. We’ll talk about her experience coming up in the city’s comedy scene and the East Austin event that she’s gonna be at later this month. That and more coming up next right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal, and I’m your host Jerry Keconnell. Thank you for being with us, it is Thursday, September 17th. Almost one year ago, in one of the very first episodes that we ever made of this show, we brought you a story about a piece of land out in Taylor that was set to become a data center, even though it was originally designated for recreational public use. KUT’s Williamson County reporter Kaley Hunt broke that story, and today we’ve got new development for you. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he’s investigating that proposed datacenter in Taylor. And as Kaylee tells us, the land being proposed for development was conveyed more than 25 years ago for use as public parkland.
Kailey Hunt [00:01:51] Paxton referenced a deed from 1999 in his announcement of the investigation. He says it shows a family conveyed the property to a non-profit to be held in trust for future use as parkland. The property changed hands several times over the years. It was sold to the Taylor Economic Development Corporation in 2009. The corporation sold the property a data center developer last year for $10 million. Taylor resident Carrie Deanna first became aware of the Parkland deed restriction a little over a year ago. Since then, she’s been helping lead a community effort to stop the proposed data center. She first learned about Paxton’s investigation from KUT.
Carrie Deanna [00:02:30] I mean I am very cautious there’s a lot of questions around like how it came about but we are overjoyed and celebrating that attention is being called to it and you know that the whole process is being questioned.
Kailey Hunt [00:02:43] Paxton says he’s prepared to take court action depending on the outcome of the investigation. I’m Kaylee Hunt in Williamson County.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:56] The University of Texas at Austin is set to cut four majors within the College of Liberal Arts. That’s according to emails obtained by KUT News. The move comes after UT officials announced earlier this year plans to consolidate several ethnic and gender studies departments. For more, we are joined by Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez. She is KUT’s education reporter. Welcome back, Greta.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:03:16] Hi, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:17] Okay, so tell us first, what are the majors that are being eliminated?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:03:20] Yeah, so the ones that we know for sure are eliminated and that UT has confirmed is African and African Diaspora Studies, Mexican American and Latina Latino Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies and Race, Indigeneity and Migration Studies major. Those are of the newly created Department of Social and Cultural Analysis Department. And then we also obtained some documents. They’re a draft. So they tell us that the departments, sorry, the majors of the Department of European and Eurasian Studies could also be cut, so that means that department would go from having four majors to having two.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:57] Okay, so that’s one move and it sounds like maybe there could be more moves. What else did you find in these emails?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:04:02] Yeah, so one of the email is from Danielle Cleland, who is the Interim Chair of Social and Cultural Analysis Department. And she told faculty that the Provost’s office had rejected the faculty’s proposal to keep the majors. So we learned that faculty has been trying to keep them. Then the other email that we obtained is from the Interum Chair of the other department of European and Eurasian Studies, Sinzia Roussi. And she shared a draft curriculum with some faculty. And that was in late July and the document shows just the plan to restructure the majors that are being offered and how they would cut the existing majors.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:42] Okay, well this is the latest in a series of moves, but I’m gonna ask you to give us some more of a bigger picture look here. This comes amid wider changes and consolidations in the College of Liberal Arts. Can you just remind us of the context that we’re working in here?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:04:55] Yeah, so we have to go back to last November when faculty and students started to sound the alarm that there would be changes at their departments. And it was months before it became official. It was in February that UT officials said, yes, there will be consolidations. And so seven departments at the College of Liberal Arts were consolidated into two, these two departments that we’re talking about today. And back then, UT officials said it was because of, quote, overfragmentation. Um inside the College of Liberal Arts um and then but the timeline wasn’t certain then and it was until April that we learned that the changes would be finalized by August so by this semester but it was just a few months away and professors said that it was because of political pressure from that UT officials wanted um to come into the new legislature for 2027 with newly created departments and that came from professors.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:52] Okay, you’ve had a chance to hear from some faculty members. What are they saying?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:05:56] Yeah, so I talked to Julie Minick, who’s a professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. She used to be a professor of the Mexican American and Latina Latino studies. And she said that faculties had two weeks to come up with a proposal. But she says that it will also affect students. Let’s listen to her.
Julie Minich [00:06:15] Eliminating a major in this way is…
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:06:17] Censorship. So she’s saying if students want to take these courses, if they might not count towards their degree, so that means they will have less offering in courses. Let’s listen to her again.
Julie Minich [00:06:30] And so as these classes become less available to students, like one, it curtail student freedom to learn, but two, it curtails students’ career prospects.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:06:43] Then we also talked to Paola Bonifacio who teaches Italian cinema and media history and gender studies in the department of European and Eurasian studies. She said that she learned about the changes that changes were official through KUT reporting. She didn’t know about this. We will update that story with her voice as well on the web. But she told us that it is affecting students in like now, but also just who is coming to UT. Let’s hear her.
Paola Bonifazio [00:07:09] You know, the fact that there is no communication makes it harder for recruitment. And so the students currently in the program, of course, they want to keep these programs open, but there is very little room for their voices to be heard.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:29] Okay, well if you want to hear or read more about this story going over to KUT.org, it sounds like something that’s going to continue to develop. We’ve been speaking with KUT’s education reporter, Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez. Thank you, Greta.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:07:41] Thank you, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:42] And a quick note, KUT journalists are University of Texas employees. University leaders do not review or approve KUT news coverage. All right, nonprofits, they impact the community in a variety of ways, and a nonprofit’s board of directors tend to have a sway in that impact. So when a new report came out this week, finding that one in three board members of color experienced bias or exclusion while serving on a Central Texas nonprofit’s Board, well, we wanted to invite the authors of the report to help explain their findings and maybe some possible solutions. Joining us now is Denisha Jenkins, executive director of The New Philanthropist, a non-profit which authored the report. Also joining us is the co-founder, a familiar voice here on Austin Signal, that is Mando Rayo. Mando, Danisha, thank you for joining us. Hey, happy to be back. I’m wearing a different-
Mando Rayo [00:08:40] You’re wearing a taco hat today. You’re wear-
Jerry Quijano [00:08:41] You’re wearing, you’re still wearing the Thakul hat, but you’re wearing a different radio Thakal hat. There you go. So tell us, what is the new philanthropist?
Mando Rayo [00:08:49] Yeah, so I’m a co-founder of the organization and we’ve been around for eight years and the idea came from this place of seeing somebody in leadership that has my lived experience or somebody that looked like me. When you look at the nonprofit landscape and who they serve, at the end of the day, I’ll often look like people like me, like growing up, right? People of color, communities of color families. And so I wanted to bring that representation in two. Where those decisions are being made and those are on nonprofit boards. So really at the core, it’s about inclusion and creating welcoming spaces for leaders of color to thrive and to make sure they do a good community impact.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:33] Okay, so tell us a little bit about this study. Like, how was it conducted?
Danisha Jenkins [00:09:36] We wanted to make sure as a leader in this space of inclusion that we were in tune with what the needs are and the impact that we’re having. And so we invited different leaders of color in our community to give us some feedback. And we wanted to know what’s been their experience since being placed on boards. So we had a dynamic group of individuals along the journey of leadership. So some people were new, some have been serving on multiple boards. What we found unique is that these are people who are go-getters, so these are folks who are going to say yes to the challenge no matter what. So we had about almost 50 surveys that were responded, we had some one-on-one interviews, we had co-creation labs where they really led the discussion about what the problems are and what are some solutions that we can tackle to address those things.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:24] So what did you find?
Danisha Jenkins [00:10:25] The report really highlights some real key insights. One, that the onboarding process of coming onto boards is falling short and people are feeling lost. They don’t feel as prepared when they’re coming onto those boards. And that’s a great insight if you are a nonprofit board looking to bring people on.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:41] What is the damage that’s done when people aren’t on boarded properly like how does that set up their future with that organization?
Danisha Jenkins [00:10:48] Yeah, I would say having a background in employee engagement, when people are lost in the beginning, it’s really hard to get them back. It’s like when someone buys something for the first time, they’re excited to use it. And so think of it the same way of like, I’m here, I am ready to go, right? And people anticipate and expect a learning process, but if it’s so delayed and they’re just confused all the time, whether it’s your bylaws or how you run your meeting, when can I ask a question? Can I interrupt? How do I? How do I push back and challenge? I don’t agree with that. And the longer that goes on, you kind of get disengagement and you don’t want that when you’re a board, you’re governing, leading financials, you’re making big decisions for a nonprofit. You don’t wanna have people backing away from influence. That’s why you invited them.
Mando Rayo [00:11:35] Know, we’ve heard stories around, you know, people want that diversity on their board, and then they kind of go out and connect with somebody. Yet, they only talk to one or two people, where the board may be, you now, 10, 15, 20 people. So it’s very isolating to be the token, if you will, right? The only one. So that part of that onboarding process is relationship building. People got to feel like they’re part of the mission.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:02] What else did you find in this report that stuck out to you?
Danisha Jenkins [00:12:05] And we also found that the sense of inclusion or the concept was feeling very fragile based on the feedback we got where it’s not really sustained beyond individual relationships. Like the structure didn’t support inclusion.
Mando Rayo [00:12:21] Um, one number that surprised me is that one in three board members witnessed or experienced bias culture on nonprofit boards. And so for us is that kind of, you know, sounded some alarms for us because we want to make sure that people, whether they’re new to board service or they’re already have served out maybe four or five boards, that there’s a sense of community and a welcoming experience that I feel like it might be missing. And so how do we change that?
Danisha Jenkins [00:12:52] Yeah, and I think that was reinforced in the feedback of not losing that part of inclusion is not just being in the room. It’s like, what’s happening? What’s my experience in those rooms?
Jerry Quijano [00:13:03] What do you think folks in non-profit sectors can learn from this data, from this study?
Mando Rayo [00:13:07] So I think for nonprofits and leaders, whether they’re executive directors or board chairs can really kind of be more reflective on the experience that they have on their boards. So we wanna create kind of those conditions for people to thrive once they’re there. Representation, that’s our way to get in. But it’s also like, how do we kind of stay engaged in the work? So I thing part of that is having clear expectations. Those equitable structures that are needed for people to thrive. Definitely building leadership pathways. So that’s the idea around understanding is there access for leadership opportunities, for skill building, to take on a leadership role within that board. And then the last one is that comprehensive support that they need. It’s everything from the onboarding process to coaching tools, skill building. And one of the things that we kind of looked at is treating board members as they should be treated. They’re board members, they’re volunteers, they’re being recruited for their knowledge, their experiences, their insights. But through this study, we found out that sometimes those leaders of color are treated more like staff versus actual board members. So we need to change that kind of culture in nonprofit.
Danisha Jenkins [00:14:28] Yeah, I think there is some type of assumption of just wanting to be in the room and that’s sufficient and it’s not that people could be anywhere and they’re choosing nonprofit, right? So it’s, nonprofits impact our communities a lot and I think we don’t want to underestimate the value of a board experience and how it can change our community.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:49] All right, we have been speaking with executive director of the new philanthropist, Denisha Jenkins, and co-founder Mando Rayo. We’re going to have a link to this study in today’s podcast show notes. Thank y’all for being here. Thank you. All right. It is the first day of Fantastic Fest 2026 and over at kut.org. You can read about local filmmaker, Michael Zumaia, who has spent his life looking for freaks who get it. This week in Austin, he’s going to hit the mother load. His debut short film, Transference, is making its world premiere at Fantastic Fest. You can read more about that story from KUT’s Artbeat on our website and on our app. And we have more Austin Signal. That’s after this break. This is Austin Signal, welcome back to the show. Comedian Vanessa Gonzalez has a new comedy special that’s out now on Hulu. It’s called Mamonai was filmed here in town. And we are excited to talk with her about it today. Vanessa, thank you for being with us.
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:15:46] Thank you so much for having me, Jerry!
Jerry Quijano [00:15:48] So tell us a little bit about your comedy career. How did you get your start, and what even made you want to do comedy in the first place?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:15:55] Yeah well you know i grew up in laredo texas and i knew i was always funny people would tell me i was funny all the time i was class clown middle school high school but i i didn’t know how to get into comedy or i didn’t think it was a real dream i i wanted to be an actress and i i told my parents i want to move to l.a and be like julia roberts and they were like You’re not Julia Roberts, girl. So they brought me back down from the clouds and they were like, you got to go to college. So I went to Texas State, got a theater degree because that was the only thing that interests me. And then I moved to Austin in 2008. And I just fell in love with the comedy scene there. And I started doing sketch and improv and stand up. And yeah, from Austin and building my career there, I finally got the courage to move to LA. And do it big time, you know, swim with the big fishes. And it’s just, yeah, the rest is history.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:00] I think a lot of the world, at least a lot of the country, knows about the Austin comedy scene as it is right now. When you got here in 2008, what were things like?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:17:09] Oh, it was so different. Yeah, from what people know the scene now. I mean, when I first got there, it felt more, you know, the keep Austin weird motto felt true. It felt weird. It felt indie. There was just so much, like arts, cultural, like, arts to go to, music, plays. Especially the comedy scene, it was very… Much led by women and queer people at the time and just a whole different scene from what it is now.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:47] You mentioned a sketch and improv and your new special is standup comedy. How did you realize that standup was what you wanted to do or the form of comedy that you wanted chase?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:17:58] Well, I was always a fan of stand-up. I grew up watching Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam and all the HBO specials, Chris Rock, John Leguizamo, Martin Lawrence, all those. I was a fan, but it was always intimidating. I never had the guts to do it, so I felt safer doing sketch and improv in groups. But then after a while, you find that. It’s hard to keep a group together people get busy people start getting married having babies and they don’t want to do it anymore so it just got easier to do stand-up a solo thing i can control and and perform when i want and and write when i won and so it was definitely scary but it became the most accessible thing
Jerry Quijano [00:18:51] Your new stand-up special was filmed here in Austin. I didn’t recognize the stage, where was that?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:18:56] Yeah, so that was Creek in the Cave and we had a set designer work on it and change it up. So yeah, a lot of people are like, where, what’s that venue? But yeah, so yeah, Creek in The Cave and Rebecca Trant, they were awesome and let me redo the whole stage and yeah, I’m very grateful that they let me shoot there.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:20] Was that your first recorded special?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:19:23] No, I have a half-hour Comedy Central special. I have, um, a special on Netflix, uh, with other comics called Verified Stand-Up. Um, I’ve a special with HBO Max with Comedy Chingonas. Um, so I’ve done, like, uh shorter specials here and there, but this is my first hour on my own.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:46] How much preparation went into that?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:19:49] Uh, this special specifically, I was working on the material for the past two years. It’s the idea and the material started during the pandemic and then, uh, you know, little by little, I started putting it on its feet. And it was about two years ago when I was like, okay, I think I want to do this for real, get this material as tight as I can and shoot a special.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:14] Yeah, so it’s two years of work and preparation, but watching the special, it’s clear that you’re using kind of your entire life story to craft what is in the special. Your first joke really hit home with one of our producers because her her Wella also would cut the clouds, you know, so to speak. Can you tell us a little bit about how your grandmother would go about that?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:20:34] Oh yeah, I mean my grandma she she’s passed but she still visits me and uh definitely sends me signs all the time but she was always you know she had a spell for everything if if we needed a promotion at work if we need to pass a test at school it was like you know just tell her and light a candle, do a spell. And that’s how we got through it. And I feel like even to this day, now I’m 40 and I still get through life trying, you know, doing my spells, lighting my candles.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:10] That’s right, I feel the same way. My wella has been gone for a few years now, but it feels like she’s still with me every single day in the little things that she would tell us or do for us. We’re chatting during Hispanic Heritage Month, and I really felt that connection through all the stories that you share about your family, your wella, and your mom. How much has your family impacted your work as a comedian?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:21:31] Oh, I mean, they I feel very blessed. I think God put me in my family specifically to be a comedian because they they have just been characters my whole life. They’ve given me material. They keep giving me material my my parents are now in their 70s and now, you know, watching them age and and and going through that it’s like now I’m taking care of them. It’s like I’m the So we’ve we’ve changed roles now, but yeah, they they’ve always been a huge part of of my comedy and they taught me how to be funny. You know, my whole life, my family was full of jokesters. Everyone gets roasted. You no one’s safe. You you get roasted if you’re the grandparent. You get roasted. If you’re a new baby and you just got here, like you’re gonna get roasted
Jerry Quijano [00:22:26] And have you had other people, I know the comedy special just came out this week, but have you other people reach out to you saying like, yeah, my family did something exactly like that or am I well, I was just like that.
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:22:36] Yeah, it’s been so cool like even people that aren’t Latino are reaching out You know Filipinos are telling me like they grew up similarly Italians It’s it’s so great and overwhelming to see that the material, you know is very Tejano and Mexican But it’s it resonating with a lot of people across the board, which is really great
Jerry Quijano [00:23:02] Yeah, it’s a really great new special out now on Hulu, but you’re also gonna be doing an in-person event at HyperReal Film Club in East Austin. That’s on the 27th later this month. Tell us more about what’s happening there.
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:23:14] Yeah, I’m so excited. So, um, you know, I shot the special in Austin so I decided to do a screening there because you know Austin like I said is it’s not my hometown where I grew up, but it’s my comedy hometown where i started comedy and I I just I’m, so excited to screen the film watch it with the people of Austin and then I’ll be there And I’ll, be doing a q, and a afterwards So if anybody wants to come, ask questions, take pictures, yeah, it’s just a chance for me to celebrate with my community that helped me get to where I’m at today.
Jerry Quijano [00:23:54] Fantastic. Well, one last question before you get out of here. I think it’s really powerful for everyone to embrace their story and their family story for anyone who might be like on the fence. Maybe it’s not stand-up comedy, but as a way they’re thinking of ways to get out and express themselves and connect to the community around them. What would be your advice? What would you say to them?
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:24:13] Yeah, you just got to jump into the deep end of the pool. You know, it’s it is that that’s the whole concept of Mamona. My special is getting out of your own way and to stop caring what people think and to really put yourself first. And everybody has that thing they’ve always wanted to do. But they stop themselves because, you know, they’re too embarrassed or like, what if they fail or what are people going to say? And I’m my my whole message in this special is like Just do it, do it for you, especially now. The world is always on fire, it seems, so we got nothing to lose. We gotta just chase our dreams while we can.
Jerry Quijano [00:24:55] All right, we’re gonna have a link to the event out at HyperReal Film Club in today’s podcast, Show Notes, and we’ll also have a link to Vanessa’s comedy special, Mamona, which is now streaming on Hulu. Vanessa, congratulations, and thank you for taking the time to talk with us today.
Vanessa Gonzalez [00:25:09] Thank you so much, Sherry. Thank you.
Jerry Quijano [00:25:12] And thank you out there for spending the day with us. We have more at kut.org slash signal. Our team is Karoline Pfeil, Alexandra Hart, Kristen Cabrera, and I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We’ll be back with you tomorrow. Have a great day.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
