More Tier-One Schools For Texas ?

At the current time, the state of Texas only has two tier-one research universities -- the University of Texas and Texas A-M University. I have no quarrel with either of these schools. They are both great universities, but with the size of the state and the number of students in Texas universities, there should be more than just two tier-one research schools.

There have been efforts in the past to elevate another school to this status, but they have always failed. The supporters of just one or two schools just cannot seem to get enough statewide support to get the job done. But there is a new approach being taken this year that just might work.

Bills introduced to create new tier-one universities in Texas this year have lumped six universities together -- University of North Texas, Texas Tech University (pictured), University of Houston, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Texas at San Antonio and University of Texas at Dallas. These bills would either elevate all six universities, or none at all. It is estimated that it would take about $500 million to get this accomplished.

The two senate bills are still pending in the Higher Education Committee, but that does not mean they are dead. The chairwoman of that committee and author of one of the bills, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, still has high hopes for passage of the bills. That's because there are 21 state senators that either represent the district containing one of the universities, or live in the general area where their constituents would be affected by the elevation. That's over two-thirds of the Texas Senate.

But there is one school that doesn't like this approach -- Texas Tech University. Chancellor Kent Hance is afraid there is not enough money to get all six approved. He wants his school given consideration above the other schools, saying he believes Tech is closer to tier-one status than the others.

I believe Hance is making a mistake. If they try to go it alone, there is a very good chance they will be shot down again. They could easily lose the support of most of the other 20 senators, who could be upset that their local school is being left out.

Since they are not located in or near any major urban area, Tech needs the support and goodwill of all the senators it can get. The way to do that is to stick with the other five schools. All or none may sound drastic to the Texas Tech people, but it is their best shot to climb to tier-one status this year.