The state Legislature passed two bills late Sunday that puts UH in position to become a top-tier university.
The first bill is a constitutional amendment that would create the fund to finance top-tier research by UH. The second is the legislation that would create a pathway to access those funds.
‘Building upon this constitutional and legislative foundation, the University of Houston will be in the strongest position ever to complete our tier one journey,’ UH President Renu Khator said in a press release.
President Khator made achieving flagship status a goal when she secured the job in February 2007.
Khator’s determination has been shown in her 30-plus visits to Austin during the legislative session and her constant outreach for support from economic development organizations, businesses, civic groups and UH students and alumni.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the bills would target about $500 million from two sources of state funds and $163 million in new money to UH and six other Texas universities trying to achieve tier one status. The money would be used to attract high-quality faculty and more funding for research.
‘UH will be able to enhance the quality of student education, attract and retain more high-quality faculty, use state appropriations as leverage for greater federal research support, increase technology transfer to the private sector, attract new companies and industries to the Houston area and produce spin-off companies,’ UH Director of Media Relations Richard Bonnin said in a press release.
The Center for Measuring University Performance determines school tier rankings using nine measures: Total Research, Federal Research, Endowment Assets, Annual Giving, National Academy Members, Faculty Awards, Doctorates Granted, Postdoctoral Appointees and SAT/ACT range.
A flagship school features as a high-performing research facility that is a member of the American Association of Universities. Top-tier universities are also entitled to a minimum $100 million in federal research grants per year and have high-achieving students.
Texas has three top-tier universities compared to California’s nine and New York’s seven: Texas A&M, the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University.
With only two public (Texas A&M and UT) and one private (Rice) top-tier schools, nearly 6,000 high-achieving high school graduates per year are lost to out-of-state flagship schools.
Gov. Rick Perry still must sign the enabling legislation before it becomes law. The constitutional amendment will go before a statewide vote in November.
For more about UH tier one initiative, visit http://www.uh.edu/about/tier-one/index.php
