For that, she drafted House Bill 2556, which died in the current Legislative session because it passed the May 12 deadline for a second reading on the House floor. It never received a first hearing since it was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Higher Education in March.
The issue remains alive despite the demise of the bill.
State Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who chairs the House committee, has invited Morrison to a June meeting to discuss the issue. Also invited are Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, and state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, whose district includes the campuses, as well as both university systems' chancellors.
Morrison's proposal, while embraced by some Victoria-area proponents, isn't sitting well with others.
Richard Bonnin, a spokesman for the University of Houston System, said that the UH system doesn't want to lose the campuses. Short of commenting further because a state agency legally can't advocate for or against the passage of any legislation, Bonnin cited a UH System official statement that its leadership believes the system "remains the best partner for UH-Victoria and its students."
While Hegar's staff counsel Melissa Hamilton declined to say if Hegar supports the bill, Morrison's chief of staff Justin Unruh said Hegar has expressed to Morrison his reservations.
A&M spokesman Jason Cook said, "It's the role of the Legislature to add other campuses to the A&M system. We are not seeking to persuade or entice campuses from other systems to our system."
Feelings mixed
In Sugar Land, officials have mixed feelings about the issue.
Outgoing City Councilman Russell Jones said that while some city and community leaders have been unhappy with the UH System, officials aren't "thrilled to death" to see the Sugar Land campus annexed to the A&M system.
The dissatisfaction with the UH System is mostly centered on two issues.
First, the city and some in the local community want the Sugar Land campus to grow into something bigger academically, including becoming an independent university and offering more educational programs. UH System officials have made multiple promises to the city about coming up with plans to that end but have repeatedly failed to do so, Jones said.
Bonnin said the UH System Board of Regents voted last week to expand UH's program offerings at Sugar Land. Beginning this fall, new programs will include speech language pathology assistant, an upper-division certificate program; master of science programs in human resource development and in project management; and professional leadership, a doctorate of education program.
Jones said city officials - including Mayor James Thompson - were upset when the UH System refused to allow the city to plan a minor league baseball park on the 50 acres the city has been leasing from the system near the Sugar Land campus.
"Some members of the city council reached the breaking point," Jones said, noting that the city contributed financially for campus construction.
Bonnin said that "the statute and the ground lease specify that under the requirements of the UH System's deed from the state, the agreement must include a provision designating a 'higher education purpose.'
"The UH System has conducted extensive negotiations with the city, but an agreement on an appropriate 'higher education purpose' has not been reached," Bonnin wrote in an email.
City leaders, however, are reluctant to let the campus be taken by Texas A&M.
During a March conversation with Morrison, Jones gave her an earful of Sugar Land's displeasure with the UH System. But he said that although he shares the dissatisfaction, he is neutral on the transfer.
Why is transfer sought?
The mayor of Victoria, officials of counties surrounding Victoria, representatives of some chambers of commerce and other individuals there have been lobbying Morrison for legislation to move UH-Victoria to the A&M system, Unruh said. The lawmaker received more than 300 emails from a broad cross-section of the community pushing for the change, he said.
"The vision of the Victoria community and the vision of the UH System have diverged," he said, noting a local desire for the Victoria campus' increased enrollment and academic growth.
Unruh said the concerns are that the UH System has in recent years been focusing too much on becoming a Tier One research institution, a state designation for top-notch research universities which may entail more state funding.
"It takes a lot of the resources and attention to achieve that status, but we want to make sure UH-Victoria gets the attention it needs to become an excellent destination university," he said.
Since Texas A&M is already a Tier One university, becoming its affiliate would free up the resources and energy to be used for UH-Victoria's other critical needs such as student recruitment and facilities, he said.
"A&M has a track record of helping its component campuses achieve those goals," he said.
'Firmly committed'
In a joint statement, UH System Chancellor Renu Khator and Carroll Ray, chairman of the board of regents, highlighted the system's focus on transitioning UH-Victoria into "a four-year destination university of choice that offers quality, accredited, face-to-face and online programs to students in the Gulf Coast region and beyond." They described the system as the best undertaker of that task.
"We are mindful that our first priority must be to chart a course that serves the best interests of the state of Texas. We remain firmly committed to a destination university in Victoria," they said. "We will work closely with the Legislature to ensure that the higher education needs of Victoria residents and all of Texas are fully served."
Unruh said Morrison has no plan to revive her bill, but would continue to make her case at the June meeting.
Hamilton said Hegar didn't draft a companion bill contrary to rumors.
"He's committed to listening. He wants to hear from everybody," she said.
