<p>I was reading an old issue of Texas Monthly concerning the then-outgoing president of Texas A&M. The writer mentioned that there is political pressure on the Texas legislature to upgrade one or more of the state universities to be on the same level as UT and A&M. The author went on to say that political pressure was strongest in north Texas, west Texas, the Dallas area and South Texas/Rio Grande valley. Needless to say that the A&M president was opposed.</p>
<p>Would a system such as the UC system in California work in Texas? Which schools would be the likeliest candidates for upgrades?</p>
<p>I would suspect that Texas Tech would be the most likeliest candidate. I think UTEP and North Texas would be other candidates?</p>
<p>I get the idea that Texas State University-San Marcos is the school they might have been talking about. Despite its proximity to Austin, San Marcos attracts students primarily from South Texas (at least, that's my impression of it; I don't have facts to back that up). In the past few years, Texas State has been renamed from SW Texas State to the more statewide-sounding Texas State (which is also the name of the university system TSU-SM is a part of, of which no other University bears the word "Texas" in its name). Texas State has 27,503 students, which means that it is roughly the same size as Texas Tech, larger than UTEP, and slightly smaller than UNT. </p>
<p>Texas Tech would be quite logical; however, the Texas Tech University system is very small. My thinking is that the state will try and build up the system, rather than upgrade Tech to UT/A&M level (Tech's football momentum might take it there anyway). </p>
<p>UNT is currently building a new campus in Dallas. This could also very well be a university being upgraded to the top level by the legislature.</p>
<p>UTEP is a part of the UT system and it will not be upgraded to the same standards as UT-Austin, without it breaking away from the system. UT-Austin is the flagship of that system and it has too much political power to allow for their power in the system to decline due to the addition of a second flagship.</p>
<p>Texas State has a long way to go, reputation-wise, before it will ever be considered a flagship. I think Tech would be a more logical choice, but since when has the Texas legislature done the logical thing?</p>
<p>I've also heard that Sam Houston will be part of the Texas State system.</p>
<p>Another strong contender for upgrading to a "flagship" campus in Texas would be the University of Houston along with Texas Tech and the University of North Texas. But the political will in the state legislature is not there. I believe Texas State would have less of a chance because of its proximity to UT in Austin.</p>
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Texas State has a long way to go, reputation-wise, before it will ever be considered a flagship. I think Tech would be a more logical choice, but since when has the Texas legislature done the logical thing?
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<p>I agree with you on that, especially the last phrase. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tsus.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tsus.edu/</a>
The Texas State University System Institutions
Angelo State University • Lamar Institute of Technology • Lamar State College-Orange • Lamar State College-Port Arthur • Lamar University • Sam Houston State University • Sul Ross State University • Sul Ross State University-Rio Grande College • Texas State University-San Marcos</p>
<p>The biggest reason it will never happen is the state legislature. Virtually every one of them graduated from either UT or TAMU. The money will never leave those two schools.</p>
<p>Regarding the next flagship, I'd like to offer a different opinion. It would never be UT-Arlington, UTEP, Texas Tech nor any schools in Houston, San Antonio and ... San Marcos(???)! </p>
<p>The school that comes the closest to the UT and TAMU standards is UT-Dallas. There are many reasons for an education triangle composed by Dallas, Austin, College Station. On the money front, UT-Dallas is a huge recipient of the TI founders largesse.</p>
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The biggest reason it will never happen is the state legislature. Virtually every one of them graduated from either UT or TAMU. The money will never leave those two schools
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<p>That was my first thought as well. Reminds me of how hard UL-Lafayette has tried to be recognized as the "other" flagship university in Lousiana. When they outgrew (well, in their minds) the regional Southwest Louisiana name they wanted to be known as the University of Louisiana. Right. Like the LSU-dominated legislature was going to go for that. They gave them UL-Lafayette instead.</p>
<p>xiggi, I agree that Dallas would be the most logical choice for the next "flagship" university in Texas. It seems though that, at least where we live, Texas Tech will get that designation. Most of the students around here who are top quarter or close, but don't get in to A&M or UT are opting for Tech (instate), which will certainly raise their freshman class statistics and their reputation. UT Dallas is a great school, but needs to raise it's profile.</p>
<p>These theoretical, probably won't happen in my lifetime, questions are fun to discuss. As for potential political clout, the most powerful politician in state government today is Tom Craddick, the Speaker of the Texas House, and a Tech graduate. His Democratic predecessor as Speaker of the House, Pete Laney, was a Tech graduate. When the Southwest Conference was breaking up and the then Big 8 Conference has openings for four teams, UT-Austin, Texas A&M, and two others. Laney used his clout to say Tech would be the third entrant. The fourth was basically between Baylor and TCU. The Lieutenant Governor and then most powerful state politician, Bob Bullock, was a Baylor graduate. </p>
<p>The University of Houston is the only comprehensive public university in the Bayou City (minus a medical school) so as the state's largest city, I believe its state delegation would be united around its push for flagship status.</p>
<p>In Dallas-Fort Worth there are two comprehensive universities, University of North Texas and UT-Arlington with their number of students in the high 20 to low 30 thousand range. UT-Dallas is more selective, but with a much lower number of students and college/graduate degree offerings base. There would be a political struggle in D-FW I believe between UT-Arlington (more perceived in Dallas as a Fort Worth oriented institution) supporters and University of North Texas supporters. UNT has some growing clout. For instance, hey have state legislature approval to open a law school in downtown Dallas in a couple years.</p>
<p>Technically, UT is ranked higher. However, you'll find thousands and thousands who will disagree that UT is slighlly better. UT is, however, a lot more diversified than TAMU, and has much better graduate schools.</p>
<p>Texas Monthly writes articles like this every time there is a threat to UT's piece of the Permanent University Funds. UT and A&M will never agree to give up their current shares of the PUF. I agree that Texas Tech is the next logical choice to get a bigger piece of the PUF pie but I don't think anyone in the Legislature - including Tom Craddick - has the will or the clout to make that happen right now. Part of the reason may be due to influence from UT and A&M alums, but I think the primary reason concerns how Texas leaders view higher education. There are some who want a uniform state-wide system but most want at least 1 or 2 universities that can compete with the public universities of Virginia, Michigan and Cal-Berkeley. Until UT-Austin or A&M are ranked in the top 5 public universities, I think the Legislature will continue to focus its resources on them.</p>
<p>JHS, I think it is a common perception in Texas that while both schools are "good", each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The differences used to be more pronounced, but as College Station has become more diverse, and UT has become more difficult to get into, in my opinion, as a parent who knows lots of kids at both schools, they are really getting more and more alike as time goes by.</p>
<p>I agree that the student bodies of UT and A&M are becoming more similar, but the perception of the two unviersities is still light-years apart in Texas. Most Texans consider UT THE flagship school of the State.... it's the biggest college in the State, the most diverse, has the largest alumni network and the richest athletic tradition, and is located in the state capital right across the street from the Texas capitol buliding and complex.</p>
<p>As far as academics, A&M has been consistently ranked below UT in almost all academic fields except engineering. In the past few years, A&M's USN&WR ranking has been slipping and its average entering SAT scores on the decline.</p>
<p>A&M was an all-male military school with an agricultural and engineering emphasis until a few decades ago, so its alumni network is much smaller. Its bizarre student rituals (which include everyone squeezing their privates at football games to feel pain with the team; I kid you not), zany but highly visible Corps of Cadets with their own wierd practices, all-male cheerleaders, military band (complete with leather knee boots and sabres), strong agrarian roots, and (some would say) thinly-veiled hostility ethnic minorities has made A&M the butt of frequent jokes and a source of real concern to others.</p>
<p>Most consider A&M to have a permanent case of p*nis envy about everything UT is, does, or stands for. Aggies deny that vehemently, and say that UT is filled with homos and liberals (i.e. Commies), a revealing statement in itself.</p>
<p>Still, if you're white, A&M has a friendly and open campus (as long as you don't walk on the grass; that's not allowed). The A&M alumni networks looks after its own much more than does UT's, and the fans of its hard-luck sports program are much less fair-weather than UT's. Any visitor to the A&M campus should go make time to visit the shrine to their dead dog mascots. All of the canine departed are buried just outside the staidum, and the graves are marked and chained off. When a recent stadium expansion blocked the dogs' "view" of the field, a special little electronic scoreboard was built right by the gravesites, just so the dead dogs would know the score.</p>
<p>You know, after reading all that - wow, just wow. I don't know that much about the traditions of A&M, being more of a UT person. My perceptions of the student bodies getting more similar is due to the fact that so many great kids from our area are now going to A&M, whereas when I was in high school, Texas was without question the school of first choice. There weren't many girls at A&M back then, but that is changing with a vengeance. Last year, I couldn't believe the number of kids (top 10%ers) who decided to go to A&M. My husband and I went to the Houston Athletic Club Scholar Athlete dinner and a disproportionately large number of top kids were going to A&M, and I'm talking city slicker type kids, not a farmer among them. I don't know why the change, but it is happening in suburban Houston. My s is going to UT next year, but he is one of few planning to go from his hs, most of the top kids are heading to A&M. Maybe it is the difficulty of admission to the business school, I don't know.</p>
<p>Times are changing.... I wonder how long it will take before some of the wierd traditions change too.</p>