Posted on Wednesday, March 11

By Gary Scharrer

AUSTIN — Support from state leaders will boost the chances of the University of Houston and UT-San Antonio gaining elite status as national research universities under a plan likely to get a legislative go-ahead this spring.

Texas only has three elite Tier 1 universities — Texas A&M, UT-Austin and Rice, compared with nine in California and seven in New York.

House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and other legislative leaders are pushing a plan to gradually elevate seven

03/11/2009

The issue of race took center stage at the Texas House Higher Education Committee Wednesday.

Black and Hispanic state representatives sat at the head of the room to voice opposition to the elimination of the top 10 percent rule, because they said they fear the decision would reduce minority enrollment numbers at the University of Texas at Austin.

The rule grants Texas high school students automatic admission to any of Texas' 35 public universities, if they graduate in the top 10 percent of their class.

The committee heard testimony surrounding the proposed bill by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, to cap the number of students enrolled into the

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Holly Hacker

Business and college leaders from North Texas gave a thumbs-up Wednesday to a plan that would provide more state funds to build elite research universities in Texas.

"Our top students need more nationally respected options," said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. Texas loses 6,000 high school graduates each year to out-of-state universities, he said. "Many of these students will make their lives elsewhere and never bring their talents and skills back home to Texas."

Posted on Wednesday, March 12

Ralph K.M. Haurwitz

The Texas Legislature might or might not enact a law this session to sketch out a plan for lifting one or more public universities to tier-one status.

But this much is certain: None of the contenders will get there anytime soon.

"They all have a way to go," Raymund Paredes, the state's higher education commissioner, said at a hearing on Wednesday.

All seven candidates — the University of Houston, Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas System

Friday, March 13, 2009

Gary Scharrer

AUSTIN — Support from state leaders will boost the chances of the University of Texas at San Antonio gaining elite status as a national research university under a plan likely to gain legislative approval this spring.

Texas only has three elite Tier 1 universities — the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Rice University — compared with nine in California and seven in New York.

"One of the reasons we are behind is we've picked a particular university (to join the elite status) and the other regions ganged up and said,

Posted on Monday, March 23, 2009

By James D. Spaniolo

There is a growing consensus that Texas must develop a plan to support the next generation of national research universities – so-called Tier One institutions – and that we must do so soon.

We have a window of opportunity to chart a new course in Texas, but time is running short. To secure our economic future, ensure the best possible education for our students and maintain global competiveness, we need to act now.

For years, such states as California and New York have invested heavily in higher education. So it is no surprise that some of the best research universities in the world are located there. The reality is that Texas needs a bold strategy to make up for lost time and fulfill its

Last Edited: Monday, 23 Mar 2009, 10:15 PM CDT

Created On: Monday, 23 Mar 2009, 10:15 PM CDT

Foti Kallergis

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/032309_Cell_Phones_in_School_Zones_Debated

It could soon be illegal to talk on your cell phone without a hands-free device while driving in a school zone.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Katherine Leal Unmuth

Thousands of textbooks and other materials worth an estimated $4.6 million sit unused in an Irving school district warehouse. No one knows how many $50-$75 textbooks sit unused in school bookrooms or storage warehouses across Texas.

Irving ISD officials say the problem stems from two major factors: the increased use of computer-based instructional materials and the reluctance to issue textbooks to each student for fear they might lose or damage them.

"It's not like you've gone and thrown a million dollars off the top of a building, but I think we could do better things with the money," said Lea

Thursday, March 26, 2009

William McKenzie

Opinion Blog

There was a terrific debate on the floor of the Texas Senate Tuesday, the kind that can make you fall in love with politics. Really, I mean that. Great debates are like watching the strategy in play at a tennis tournament or chess match.

The subject was Texas' 10 percent rule, which took effect back in 1997 after a federal appeals court prevented the University of Texas from considering race when looking at student admissions. (Since that ruling, the Supreme Court has restored allowing schools to use race as one

Posted on Friday, March 27

Compiled from Staff Reports

RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES

Proposal to elevate schools gains ground

A proposal to boost one or more public universities in Texas to tier-one status advanced this week in the Texas Legislature as a consensus on the importance of the issue, if not on all the details, seemed to emerge among higher education leaders and lawmakers.

The House Higher Education Committee approved a proposal by its chairman, Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, that would provide extra funding to so-called emerging universities depending on how much they raise in research grants and gifts and how much progress they make in