Perry signs bill to boost 'tier one' universities

RICHARDSON — Sitting outside a lab filled with stainless steel instruments and winding cables, Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a bill that creates an incentive program to award seven Texas universities millions of dollars to help them become top U.S. research institutions.

Perry signed the bill Wednesday in the natural science and engineering building at the University of Texas at Dallas, one of the campuses that would benefit from the legislation. The other schools that would receive matching funds from the state for grants, scholarships and endowment are: Texas Tech University, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, UT-Arlington, UT-San Antonio and UT-El Paso.

"Out of this lab will come world-changing technology," Perry said.

As part of the program, Texas would match gifts universities receive toward boosting them to "tier one" status. The state would also give schools incentive funding based on their research expenses.

The money will give the state an edge at a time when public universities in other states are struggling financially, Perry said.

The funding will have immediate impact on schools, UT-Arlington President James Spaniolo said. "It will allow us to expand what we’re doing at a more active pace," he said.

Lawmakers and university officials say the new effort will help the state add two or three more top research universities within a decade.

Texas has three tier one schools — Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University. California has nine.