Recently appointed UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa urged the Legislature on Monday to provide the UT System with the necessary funds to continue attracting top faculty and conducting research.
Cigarroa presented a brief overview of the system’s financial needs to the Texas House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. Money will be allocated to various university systems later in the Legislative session.
Higher education is one of the best investments the state can make, Cigarroa said. In 2005, the Texas comptroller’s office estimated that every dollar invested in higher education produces a return of more than $5.
“I strongly believe that in the current economic and cultural climate, people want to come to Texas,” Cigarroa said. “The key to a prosperous future for Texas is a healthy and an educated workforce, and these are precisely the missions of the University of Texas System.”
The chancellor also stressed the need for higher education to remain accessible. Last year, more than 195,000 students were enrolled in the UT System, and one-third of college graduates from public institutions in Texas come from a UT System school.
“The state must provide enough dollars directly to institutions and through financial aid to students to minimize tuition dollars required to provide a high-quality education,” Cigarroa said.
Tuition at UT remains below the national average, and enrollment continues to climb despite the economic climate.
Rep. Scott Hochberg, chairman of the subcommittee, raised concerns about the number of diplomas the state is actually awarding. The state of Texas ranks seventh from the bottom in terms of degrees awarded versus number of undergraduates.
“We need to substantially increase the number of degrees that are awarded in the state if we want to maintain a competitive advantage,” Hochberg said. “Some of this is overall funding, but some of that is also productivity gain.”
UT System administrators are in the process of evaluating a variety of different performance measures to present to the Legislature.
“We’re looking at program effectiveness,” Cigarroa said. “Number of degrees produced, research dollars per square foot, number of endowments. Almost every spectrum that can actually make the university better is being measured.”
The amount of money donated to the UT System was one measure the committee discussed. Over the past 3 1/2 years, communities around the state have donated $150 million to the UT System. The donations, however, were not distributed evenly across all of the System campuses.
“UT-Pan American has an alumni participation of 13.8 percent, compared to UT-Brownsville with 1.8 percent,” Hochberg said. “It sounds like some of the other institutions could be doing a lot better.”
The subcommittee heard testimonies from chancellors of other major university systems, including Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Cigarroa stressed to the board that UT remains one of the most competitive university systems in the state.
“The competitive advantage we have is real,” Cigarroa said. “But it may be fleeting. Our future will be brightest if you invest now in a healthy, educated Texas.”
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