Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A great city needs a great university—the case for tier-one at UTEP

Every great Southwestern city has a great university at the heart of her education and economic endeavors.  El Paso is no different.  For our community to succeed, UTEP must thrive.

During the 81st Legislative Session, tier-one universities will be a hot topic.  Although there is not a precise definition of what tier-one actually means, the criteria is generally regarded as:

 * Membership in the Association of American Universities;
* Annual research expenditures of at least $100 million; or
* A university's ranking in U.S. News and World Report.

Only two public universities in Texas are considered among the top tier of research institutions nationally - The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University.  California, on the other hand, exemplifies what can happen when a state prioritizes higher education and sets out a goal to build numerous top-quality research universities aimed at generating jobs, spurring technology growth, and advancing the cause of higher education.  Currently, California has eight tier-one universities, resulting in a huge boon to the state's research base and commercial development.  It is not just a coincidence that companies such as Google and Qualcomm have developed on the west coast.

Texas cannot be competitive - neither in the U.S. nor globally - with only two public tier-one universities.  Recently, the Select Commission on Higher Education and Global Competitiveness, created last session by a resolution sponsored by our office, released a report examining how to make Texas competitive once again.  The report found:

Texas is not globally competitive.  The state faces a downward spiral in both quality of life and economic competitiveness if it fails to educate more of its growing population (both young and adults) to higher levels of attainment, knowledge and skills.  The rate at which educational capital is currently being developed is woefully inadequate.  Texas also needs an innovation-based economy in all the state's regions that can fully employ a more capable workforce.  It must generate more external research funding, and commercialize ideas and intellectual property at a volume substantially greater than currently taking place.

All of these goals - increasing educational capital, generating more external research funding, and commercializing ideas and intellectual property - lie in truly prioritizing higher education, and growing the number of tier-one public institutions must be part of that priority.

At our Session Start Press Conference, the entire El Paso delegation placed UTEP's tier-one status at the top of our legislative agenda this session.  Our office is currently drafting a bill that will create a Challenge Trust Fund for emerging tier-one universities, thus allowing UTEP to compete on a level playing field for state incentive funding.

After all, it should not be the Legislature's job to decide which emerging tier-one university ought to receive an advantage over others.  Instead, it should be up to the institution, its talent, and its community.  Competition will provide the greatest return on the state's investment.

UTEP and El Paso have demonstrated their competitiveness and momentum toward achieving tier-one status.  UTEP currently ranks 4th among all 35 Texas public universities in annual federal research expenditures, and UTEP's externally funded research has grown from $3 million per year in 1987 to more than $50 million in 2008.  Since 1987, UTEP's single doctoral program in geology has grown to 16 programs across all colleges, with an additional seven in the approval pipeline.  With new labs and classrooms to support rapidly expanding academic and research programs, UTEP is positioned to become the next top tier research university in Texas.

As UTEP President Diana Natalicio said, "Our extraordinary progress during the past two decades has earned us designation as one of the state's seven Emerging tier-one universities; 20 years ago we surely wouldn't have been a part of that conversation.  In football terms, we've fought our way into the Red Zone, and we've now got to get the ball across the goal line."