Texas news, down to the facts.

Early voting is open through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3, 4 days away. Elections

State Government

UT dedicates Architecture Library to Texas' first Black licensed architect

The University of Texas at Austin dedicated the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library on Oct. 22, honoring John S. Chase, Texas' first Black licensed architect and UT's first Black graduate from its School of Architecture. Chase's son and daughter-in-law made a $5 million gift to support the naming and endowments.

Where
Austin, Travis County
When
Oct. 22, 2026
Sources
Reported by 2 outlets

Counties: Travis

Taxes and money

The sources don't state an effect on taxes. They do state these figures.

  • Gift for library naming and endowments$5 million1 Who pays or receives it: Anthony Chase and Dina Al-Sowayel
  • Endowment pledges for School of Architecture$1 million1 Who pays or receives it: Anthony Chase and Dina Al-Sowayel

Does this affect you?

Who's involved

  • John S. ChaseFirst Black graduate of UT School of Architecture and Texas' first Black licensed architect
  • Anthony (Tony) ChaseSon of John S. Chase, made transformational gift
  • Dina Al-SowayelDaughter-in-law of John S. Chase, made transformational gift
  • Jim DavisUT President
  • Rodney EllisHarris County Commissioner
  • Jodie JilesUT Regent
  • William InbodenUT Provost
  • Robert H. McDonaldSenior Vice Provost and UT Libraries Director
  • Heather WoofterSchool of Architecture Dean

The facts

  • John S. Chase was UT's first Black graduate from the School of Architecture and Texas' first Black licensed architect.1
  • Chase enrolled at UT two days after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1950 Sweatt v. Painter ruling challenging segregation in higher education.1
  • Chase earned a Master of Architecture degree in 1952.1
  • Chase was the first Black member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and first Black architect to join the Texas Society of Architects and Houston AIA chapter.1
  • Chase co-founded the National Organization of Minority Architects and earned AIA Fellowship.1
  • Chase served as first Black president of Texas Exes during 1998-99 and received the Texas Exes Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1992.1
  • UT acquired and restored the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas headquarters, designed by Chase in 1952, dedicating it as the John S. and Drucie R. Chase Building in 2018.1

Who said what

These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.

  • UT President Jim Davis John Chase broke barriers throughout his career and created opportunities for those who came after him.1
  • Senior Vice Provost Robert H. McDonald The gift helps preserve John Chase's contributions to architecture and higher education and champions spaces that create opportunities for people to thrive.1
  • Architecture Dean Heather Woofter John Chase spent his career making room in the architecture profession for architects who came after him.1

How they headlined it

The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.

  • UT Celebrates Naming of Architecture Library for Alumnus and Texas’ First Black Architect John S. Chase

    UT News

  • UT dedicates Architecture & Planning Library to Texas’ first Black licensed architect John S. Chase

    KXAN Austin

Sources

Outlets: 2 not rated Who's covering Texas →

These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.

  1. UT Celebrates Naming of Architecture Library for Alumnus and Texas’ First Black Architect John S. Chase UT News Not rated, October 28, 2026
  2. UT dedicates Architecture & Planning Library to Texas’ first Black licensed architect John S. Chase KXAN Austin Not rated, October 29, 2026

This sheet was written by AI from the sources above and adds nothing they don't state. Read the originals for full context.

Spot an error on this sheet?

All corrections and updates

Keep reading

Rick Perry loses reelection to Fermi board of directors seat

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry failed to receive votes for reelection to the board of directors of Fermi, a planned data center and power generation company he co-founded, at an annual shareholder meeting Friday.

Rick Perry, Former Texas Governor and board member; Toby Neugebauer, Former CEO and co-founder; Fermi, Planned power and data center company and 1 more

One outletOnly left-leaning outlets reported thisFound via Google News

Texas Agriculture Department bars H-1B visa worker employers from state grants

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced that the Texas Department of Agriculture will no longer award eligible grants to businesses employing H-1B visa holders. Miller called on Gov. Greg Abbott and other statewide officials to adopt similar restrictions across their agencies.

Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner; Greg Abbott, Governor; JD Vance, US Vice President and 1 more

Reported by 2 outletsFound via Google News

Texas Agriculture Commissioner bars H-1B employers from TDA grants

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced that the Texas Department of Agriculture will no longer award eligible TDA-administered grants to businesses that employ H-1B visa holders, saying the policy prioritizes Texas workers and protects taxpayer funds.

Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner; Texas Department of Agriculture, administers affected grants

Reported by 2 outletsFound via Google News

K-water and Austin sign agreement on AI water management technology

Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) and the City of Austin signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on artificial intelligence-based water management. The agreement covers sharing best practices, holding joint seminars, and identifying pilot projects for local application.

Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water), signatory to memorandum of understanding; City of Austin, signatory to memorandum of understanding; Michael Rogers, assistant city manager/deputy mayor of Austin, led city delegation and 2 more

Reported by 2 outletsFound via Google News

FCC to vote on allowing prisons to jam contraband cellphones

The Federal Communications Commission announced it will vote November 19 on rules allowing state and local prisons and jails to deploy cellphone-jamming equipment to stop unauthorized communications by inmates. Texas prisons have recovered hundreds of contraband phones in recent years.

Federal Communications Commission, Agency voting on cellphone-jamming rule; Brendan Carr, FCC Chairman announcing the vote; Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Operator of state prisons affected by proposed rule

Reported by 2 outletsFound via Google News

Midterm elections Tuesday feature competitive Senate races and cost-of-living concerns

The U.S. midterm elections are scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026. All 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats, 36 governorships and over 6,100 state legislative seats are on the ballot. Senate races in Texas are among competitive battlegrounds that could determine control of Congress.

Donald Trump, President; Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO President; Stephen Moore, Former Trump economic adviser and 1 more

Reported by 2 outletsOnly left-leaning outlets reported thisFound via Google News

NADBank launches program offering $300 million in border environmental loans

The North American Development Bank started a new Access to Financing Program to distribute up to $300 million in loans to small border communities for environmental projects. Loans will be approximately $5 million each, distributed through financial intermediaries for water, sanitation, air quality and energy efficiency initiatives.

up to $300 million for access to Financing Program funding

North American Development Bank, launched new financing program; Jesse Hereford, NADBank director of institutional relations and communications; John Beckham, NADBank managing director

Reported by 2 outletsFound via Google News

Texas Secretary of State flags voter records for citizenship verification

Election administrators in Central Texas confirmed voter rolls remain secure as early voting concluded. The Texas Secretary of State's Office flagged 2,724 voter files statewide for citizenship verification and referred 117 cases to the Attorney General's Office for investigation.

Jared Goldsmith, McLennan County Elections Administrator; James Stafford, Bell County Public Information Officer; Dan Patrick, Incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. and 3 more

Reported by 2 outletsFound via Google News

All of today's news