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Medical anthropologist Emily Brunson Graduate student enrollment increases

discusses challenges of COVID vaccination at Texas State for spring 2021
with Big Ideas TXST

By: Jayme Blaschke | Issue: March 1, 2021

Division of University Advancement that goes inside the
Science, engineering continues to be the largest college
fascinating minds forging innovation, research and creativity
at the university.
Hosted by Daniel Seed, a lecturer in the School of Jour-
nalism and Mass Communication, each episode features
thoughtful interviews and discussion with the thought lead-
ers developing innovative ideas to make the world a better
place.
Big Ideas TXST can be found at news.txstate.edu/in-
side-txst/big-ideas-podcast. The podcast may also be listened
to or subscribed to at:
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Emily K Brunson

Emily K. Brunson, associate professor in the Department

of Anthropology at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas
TXST podcast to discuss the how vaccination hesitancy is
complicating the effort to immunize the U.S. population Despite the many challenges in the world students are striving for success
against the COVID-19 pandemic in the new episode for
March.
An applied anthropologist specializing in medical anthro- Texas State University has announced a graduate student increases in Black/African American graduate students
pology, Brunson received an M.P.H. in epidemiology and a enrollment of 4,108 for the spring 2021 semester, a signifi- (+22.7%), white graduate students (+10.9%) and Hispan-
Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Washington in cant increase of 9.2% over the previous year. ic graduate students (+3%). The international graduate
Seattle. Overall, Texas State reported total enrollment of 34,550 student population decreased by 5%. Overall, new master’s
Her primary research focus is health care access and deci- students for spring 2021, which was a 0.5% decrease from student enrollment was up 8.9% (32 students) over the pre-
sion-making, and particularly how policies, social structures last spring. vious spring while new doctoral students was up by 150%
Big Ideas represent partnership opportunities focusing
(including class and racial inequalities), social networks and Most colleges saw increases in their graduate enroll- (four students).
investment on cutting-edge research and supporting the best
personal experience combine to produce health outcomes for ments, with the largest increases seen in the McCoy New undergraduate enrollment, including new fresh-
and brightest minds at Texas State.
individuals. College of Business Administration (+46%), the College men, transfers and readmissions, also increased by 8%, or
They are inviting visionary philanthropic partners to
She is currently developing research plans and conduct- of Liberal Arts (+10.4%), the College of Fine Arts and 140 students, over last spring.
support the students and faculty in discovering sustainable
ing policy outreach in relation to COVID-19 vaccination Communication (+ 9.7%) and the College of Education The College of Science and Engineering continues to be
solutions for global issues through innovative research.
with colleagues from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health (+7.4%). the largest academic college by headcount with 5,927 stu-
Help Texas State recruit and retain high-achieving stu-
Security and working on a study of COVID-19 vaccination Texas State saw a greater increase in female graduate dents, followed by the College of Liberal Arts with 5,695,
dents, endow graduate fellowships to fund student research
knowledge, attitudes and behavior among college students. students (+10.8%) than male graduate students (+6.1%). In the College of Education with 4,699 and the College of
with faculty, or sponsor student competitions.
Big Ideas TXST is a monthly podcast from Texas State’s terms of race and ethnicity, the university had significant Fine Arts and Communication with 4,699.