Texas needs more research universities

Colleges & Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

<p>This was a letter sent out by the president of UT Austin:</p>

<p>Dear Friends,</p>

<p>I am very pleased that this summer, committees in the Texas Senate and House of Representatives examined higher education in Texas. One of the issues is whether Texas needs more national research universities. I testified at some of the hearings, and you may have seen the resulting news coverage or editorials.</p>

<p>My own view is that Texas does need more national research universities. They draw talent, federal research dollars, and innovation to our state. They bring research that has both short and long-term impact on our economy. For example, UT faculty generated more than $511 million in research awards in fiscal year 2007-08. Every state dollar invested in the University generates more than $18 in spending in the Texas economy. That's an exceptional return on investment. The presence of UT is a major reason why Austin attracted more venture capital investment than Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio combined in 2006 and 2007.</p>

<p>So where is Texas now? California has nine national research universities, New York has eight. Texas has three -- UT, Texas A&M, and Rice. We are a rapidly growing state, and those three schools can't perform all the needed research, and they can't begin to accommodate all our young people who want to attend a national research university. Too many are leaving Texas to realize their dreams. Some 10,000 high school graduates are leaving Texas each year to attend doctoral degree-granting universities elsewhere while only about 4,000 students from other states come to Texas to enroll at similar institutions. That's a potential brain drain of about 6,000 of our best and brightest students.</p>

<p>It's time for Texas to elevate one or two of its regional universities. We need to overcome the challenges of inadequate resources, of regionalism, and of institutional resistance to change. </p>

<p>However, the state cannot fund these emerging institutions at the expense of existing research universities. UT is already underfunded compared to our national peer institutions, as I have described in earlier messages.</p>

<p>This summer I had the privilege of visiting Normandy, which made me think about the Greatest Generation. We still benefit from the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation. What will people in the year 2020 or 2050 say about our generation? Will they say that we built the foundation of a first-class system of universities? Our current system of higher education can't keep up with the aspirations of our children or of our state. Let's change that. Let's build a great educational system for Texas. </p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Bill Powers
President
The University of Texas at Austin</p>

<p>So...which universities need to step up? Personally I think the University of North Texas is a good choice but what are some others besides:
-UT Austin
-Texas A&M
-Rice</p>

2

<p>Where is UT-Austin ranked nationally in research. I hear it's good.</p>

3

<p>UT Dallas is best suited. They are a very young university and fairly small, but with enough funding they could absolutley equal UT, TAMU, and Rice in the near future. They have a very high average entering SAT score, a very well qualified faculty, and a lot of support from the Dallas business community.</p>

<p>Other than UTD it's really hard to pick out another qualified school. Perhaps UTSA or Tech, but neither school has a particularly good academic reputation at the time, so it might take quite a bit of money to make this possible.</p>

4

<p>It'll be UTD. They get a ton of money from local industries and their CS/engineering department is already top notch</p>

5

<p>The University of Houston may get the most funding next due to Ike.</p>

6

<p>I vote for some geographic diversity, so UTD ur UNT.</p>

7

<p>I think UNT should take charge. They have 35,000 students, they are in need of some financial bolstering and I think Denton is a great place to foster Texas' next legitimate research university. UT Dallas is also a good option but I think since it is part of the UT system and naturally falls short of the bar that UT Austin sets Texas needs someone else besides another UT side campus taking charge. I'm actually surprised that Texas Tech isn't considered a research university, that's another school that would work out to promote some geographic diversity. Honestly, if money isn't seen as the biggest factor, UNT, Tech, UTD, Baylor, and perhaps the University of Houston should all become major research universities.</p>

8

<p>What about Baylor? Why isn't it considered a major research university?
It is in the top 100 schools according to the USNWR</p>

9

<p>Baylor is private and should not recieve state funding. The state of Texas should support Texas public universities.</p>