August 26, 2010

Brian Rollins

The Texas House of Representatives Committee on Higher Education held a public hearing on the campus of Texas State University Wednesday, Aug. 25 on the subject of reducing the cost of instructional materials in higher education institutions.

In addition to public testimony, the committee heard from C. Van Wyatt, vice president for information technology at Texas State, and William Angrove, associate vice president for distance learning at Sam Houston State University, on the topics of web-based resources and distance education.

August 20, 2010

Enrique Rangel

AUSTIN - It is not often that Texas Tech President Guy Bailey and the presidents of the state's six other public universities seeking national research institution status sit next to one another in front of legislative panels.

So, considering the seven schools are competing with one another for the prestigious designation, commonly known as tier-one or flagship, the first question Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, asked them was: "Everybody getting along?"

Everyone laughed.

August 20, 2010

Erin Mulvaney

The presidents of the seven emerging research universities in Texas touted a surge of enthusiasm from faculty and community members after a bill passed to help push their schools to compete for a coveted tier-one status.

Today’s joint higher education committee marked the first opportunity for the emerging research institutions to give the lawmakers an update on the 2009 bill that allotted nearly $300 million toward an incentive program for emerging research institutions. Each president presented a brief progress report before the committee with a clear message—the legislation pushed alumni into large donations, helped recruit prestigious faculty and pushed the universities closer to their goal of national recognition as a research institution.

August 20, 2010

Peggy Fikac

AUSTIN — University presidents shooting for top-tier status for their institutions pressed lawmakers Thursday to preserve funding for an initiative to help them get there, despite warnings of tough budget times, competing priorities and a tight job market.

A pot of state matching funds to help the seven emerging research universities - including the University of Houston - has already been trimmed in a round of budget cuts, from $50 million this two-year period to $47.5 million, said Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes.

The university heads testified before a joint meeting of the Senate and House Higher Education committees, whose leaders - Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat, and Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas - pushed the Tier 1 legislation last year.

August 20, 2010

Enrique Rangel

AUSTIN — It is not often that Texas Tech President Guy Bailey and the presidents of the six other public universities seeking national research institution status sit next to one another in front of legislative panels.

So, considering that the seven schools are competing with one another for the prestigious designation, commonly known as tier one, or flagship, the first question Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, asked them was: “Everybody getting along?”

Everyone laughed.

August 20, 2010

Andy Hogue

The Chairman of the House Higher Education Committee had a question more suited for a sports bar on game night than for the actual occasion – the get-together of a record number of university presidents in a Capitol committee room.

“Is everyone getting along?,” asked Rep. Dan Branch (R-Dallas), to the seven college administrators present for the Aug. 19 joint meeting of the House Committee on Higher Education and the Senate Higher Education Committee.

The resultant laughter reflected a congenial mood among the “emerging tier-ones,” as they’re being called. Each public research university is, in its own way, working toward a slice of a $300 million pie made possible by HB 51 in the 81st Legislature.

August 20, 2010

Peggy Fikac

AUSTIN — University presidents shooting for top-tier status for their institutions pressed lawmakers Thursday to preserve funding for an initiative to help get there, but tough budget times and competing priorities may work against them.

A pot of state matching funds to help the seven emerging research universities — including the University of Texas at San Antonio — already has been trimmed in a round of budget cuts, from $50 million this two-year period to $47.5 million, Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes said.

August 19, 2009

Reeve Hamilton

Seven Texas universities will meet in the Capitol today, all seeking the most coveted of higher education grails: so-called tier-one status.

It could take years before any of the emerging research universities transform into top-tier research institutions — if they do at all. But the state now pays them for demonstrated progress toward that goal, pitting them against one another in competition for limited funds.

The joint hearing of the House and Senate higher education committees will mark their first chance to assure lawmakers — who easily passed a landmark bill in 2009 geared toward growing the number of tier ones in Texas, despite its nearly $300 million fiscal note — that the state's money will not go to waste. If problems have arisen with the rules of the game established by House Bill 51, this hearing will be the first chance to voice them in an official forum. It will also provide the universities, which have spent the last year largely focused on their own performance, a chance to size up where they stand against their peers.

August 15, 2010

Posted by Univ. of North Texas at Dallas

State Rep. Dan Branch (District 108), State Sen. Royce West (District 23) and University of North Texas System Chancellor Lee Jackson were given a tour of the new building at the University of North Texas at Dallas Aug. 11.

NT Dallas Vice Chancellor John Ellis Price invited the legislators to get a sneak peek of the new building before its grand opening Aug. 26. UNT System Project Architect Lilia Gonzales led the tour.

The 103,000 square-foot building will allow the school to admit freshmen and sophomores for the first time this fall. The green roof, part of the building’s environmentally sound features, will be covered in buffalo prairie grass.

Chairman Branch traveled to San Antonio to tour Texas A&M University-San Antonio, located on the southwest side of San Antonio. Currently housed in a converted public school, Branch discussed with campus leaders and students the establishment of an official campus for the newly created, standalone university.