June 15, 2026 / Andy Jechow Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin has fired KUT Public Media General Manager Debbie Hiott, following a back-and-forth fight with UT over the station’s inaugural festival. Hiott, who joined the organization in January 2019, and who has served on the NPR board of directors since 2024, said in an interview this April that she was surprised when the university ordered changes to the festival days before it began on May 1.