Report card time

3 Dallas-Fort Worth universities make the grade on list of top Texas schools for 2022

Hooray for the Mustangs!

Back-to-school time means back-to-college-rankings time, and here they are.

Neighborhood review site Niche.com has just released this year's college rankings, which rely on U.S. Department of Education data coupled with reviews from current students, alumni, and parents to judge American colleges on 12 factors, including academics, campus, dorm life, and professors.

In results that look strikingly similar to last year's list, three Dallas-Fort Worth universities have made the grade among top 10 Texas schools this year.

Southern Methodist University came in at No. 4 (same as 2021), Fort Worth's Texas Christian University ranked No. 6 (same as 2021), and University of Texas at Dallas landed at No. 9 (up one spot from No. 10 in 2021).

Once again, Houston's Rice University was named the best school in Texas (and sixth best in the United States, up from No. 7 last year).

The complete top 10 in Texas (with national rankings included) looks like this:

Rice University, No. 6 in U.S.
University of Texas at Austin, No. 46 in the U.S. UT also ranks eighth on the list of best public colleges in the U.S. and first in Texas.
Texas A&M University in College Station, No. 75 in the U.S.
Southern Methodist University in Dallas, No. 82 in the U.S.
Trinity University in San Antonio, No. 99 in the U.S.
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, No. 104 in the U.S.
Texas Tech University in Lubbock, No. 148 in the U.S.
Baylor University in Waco, No. 172 in the U.S.
University of Texas at Dallas, No. 220 in the U.S.
University of Houston, No. 232 in the U.S.

Proving that the Mustangs can pony up and then get down to work, SMU earned an A+ in both "Party Scene" and Academics. It also earned an A+ in Campus, A in Athletics, A- in Diversity, and A- in Value. Find the school's complete ranking here.

Crosstown rival TCU earned an A (behind SMU's A+) in Academics and Party Scene. It did, however, get an A+ for Campus, A in Athletics, A- for Diversity, and B+ for Value. Find its whole report card here.

University of Texas at Dallas' highest grade was an A, in the category of Diversity. It earned an A- in Academics and Value; B- in Campus, and a C in both Party Scene and Athletics. Complete rankings are here.

The rankings compare more than 1,000 colleges and universities across the country.

“We know that choosing where to go to college is a major life decision, and we’ve always been committed to helping students and their families make their choice with as much information as possible,” says Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche. “With a mix of comprehensive data and millions of reviews, our 2023 best colleges rankings are a guide to the thousands of excellent institutions across the country.”

So, what is the best college in the United States this year? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston holds the top spot nationally.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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