Recent bill in Texas Legisature rewards promising research schools with incentives
June 2, 2009
By Ali Mustansir
State legislators began opening new doors for Texas universities to attain Tier One status by passing House Bill 51 on May 31.
The bill provides five incentives for universities to work toward Tier One status. Funding is allocated every other year.
- Research University Development Fund — $126 Million — Allows for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to distribute funds appropriated by the legislature or any other funds among qualifying universities. Amount appropriated is based on annual research expenditures of each university.
- Texas Research Incentive Program — $50 Million — Allows for private donations to the university to be matched on an escalating scale. Donations of $100,000-$999,999 will be matched to 50 percent, donations of $1 million to $1.9 million will be matched to 75 percent and donations of $2 million or more will be matched 100 percent. Donations exceeding $10 million that are pledged but not yet received will not be matched.
- National Research University Fund — $425 Million — Creates a point-based appropriation for designated funds. Points are awarded for varying achievements, including university endowments, number of graduated Ph.D. students or the average SAT scores of entering freshmen. The approval of this fund is contingent on public votes to amend the Texas Constitution in November.
- Texas Centers of Excellence Fund — $80 Million — Awards universities for graduations. The fund is open to all universities, and schools receive more for graduating students in critical fields — such as nursing, engineering and math — or students who are admitted with test scores below the national average.
- Institutions of Excellence — Funding not yet allocated — Awarded to excellence in specific colleges within a university.
University President James Spaniolo said it’s important for students to realize the bill is just the beginning.
“This is a long process — not something that happens overnight,” Spaniolo said in a statement. “We look forward to earning our way to Tier One status, and receiving matching funds from the state will help make that goal more attainable.”
The bill was written by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. Too many Texas students must leave the state to get an education at a Tier One school, he said in a statement on his Web site. With only three Tier One universities in the state — Rice, Texas A&M and UT-Austin — Texas lost 10,000 high school graduates and only brought 4,000 from out of state in 2006.
“More than ever, economic progress and cultural advancement are linked inextricably to research and education,” he said.
Branch said Texas lags behind other states in Tier One colleges. There are nine in California and seven in New York.
“Just think of what Berkeley and Stanford have done for Silicon Valley; Harvard and MIT for Boston; and Caltech, UCLA, USC and other institutions for southern California,” Branch said.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board identified UTA, UT-Dallas, UT-El Paso and UT-San Antonio, University of Houston, University of North Texas and Texas Tech as institutions with potential to become competitive research universities.
“We are extremely grateful for the legislature’s commitment toward paving the way for more Texas universities — including the University of Texas at Arlington — to achieve Tier One status, and we appreciate lawmakers’ efforts to provide funds for university researchers who are developing technologies for the new economy,” Spaniolo said.
The purpose for the bill is for emerging research schools to compete for national recognition, Branch said.
“Let the competition begin,” he said.