UT-Austin President Details 'State Of The University'

AUSTIN, TX — With an eye toward the future of the school he leads, University of Texas at Austin President Gregory L. Fenves mused on how the work done at the 40 acres can best change the world by unveiling the Council for TEXAS Impact report during his 2019 State of the University address on Wednesday.

“The council’s purpose will be to think deeply about the future and identify key areas where UT can have the most impact on Texas, the nation, and the world,” Fenves said. “At UT, we say, ‘What starts here changes the world.' With the Council for TEXAS Impact, we will think about what that world will look like decades from now and imagine the breakthroughs, discoveries and goals we should focus on to change it for the better. I hope all of you will join me in this effort.”

Composed of more than 20 faculty members, along with two staff members and three student leaders, the council is to be chaired by professor Bobby Chesney in the School of Law and Lauren Meyers in the College of Natural Sciences. The group will host a series of forums across campus in the coming months, and. Fenves urged members of the UT community to bring their boldest ideas to ensure the fledgling council best reflects the university’s vision.

During the annual address in the B. Iden Payne Theatre on the UT campus, Fenves also announced a number of initiatives:

• The “Texas Challenge” to raise $50 million to build on the Texas Advance Commitment financial aid program for middle- and low-income students.
• Long-term efforts to increase student housing spaces.
• A new graduate fellowship program in the College of Liberal Arts.

Earlier this year, UT expanded its financial commitment aid to cover the full cost of tuition for students whose families earn up to $65,000, with some form of aid guaranteed for families earning up to $125,000. The financial aid is made possible by virtue of a $160 million endowment approved by The University of Texas System Board of Regents.

Photo of UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves via university.

That golden opportunity for low- and middle-income students comes via the university's reserves of black gold — oil, that is. In July, the UT system's governing board approved a $160 million distribution from its endowment designed to fully cover tuition and fees of student from families earning up to $65,000 in annual adjusted gross income in 2020. The new funding source also help mitigate tuition costs for student from households earning up to $125,000 annually once financial need is demonstrated.

Related story: UT-Austin To Offer Low-, Middle-Income Students Free Tuition

The median household income in Texas was $59,206 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The university will fill the gap with its Permanent University Fund derived from oil and gas royalties earned on state-owned land in West Texas, officials said.

"Recognizing both the need for improved access to higher education and the high value of a UT Austin degree, we are dedicating a distribution from the Permanent University Fund to establish an endowment that will directly benefit students and make their degrees more affordable," Chairman Kevin Eltife said at the time of the announcement. "This will benefit students of our great state for years to come."

Since that historic announcement, Fenves said, many alumni have approached the university asking: “Can we do more?” In his address, the university president replied in the affirmative.

“The answer is yes,” Fenves in unveiling the Texas Challenge — a call to donors for a goal of raising an additional $50 million for financial aid. Every dollar alumni and friends contribute to the challenge will go directly to student scholarships, Fenves added.

Notwithstanding such bolstered financial aid designed to reduce tuition costs, the rising cost of housing in Austin continues to present significant obstacles for many, Fenves conceded. Given that reality, a thorough examination of student housing availability will be conducted, he said.

“If a student can’t afford to live in Austin, that’s a barrier to their success,” Fenves said. “And as a university with a history of denying equitable access to qualified students, it’s our responsibility not to allow barriers but to create opportunities for students from all backgrounds.”

To that end, university officials plan to will hire an experienced consulting firm to study student housing at UT, with the ultimate goal of offering on-campus housing to all first-year undergraduate students. Several steps toward that goal already have been implemented, Fenves noted. One step includes making 700 spaces available in the newly acquired West Campus apartment complex at 2400 Nueces St., and the planned replacement of the Creekside residence hall that will add 700 to 900 new spaces, he said.

A generous new endowment will address another area of ongoing financial concern: Funding for graduate students. A donation from the Littlefield Estate will enable the College of Liberal Arts to create the Clyde Rabb Littlefield Distinguished Graduate Fellows Endowment to recruit exemplary graduate students, Fenves said.

In addition to these new initiatives, the university this year allocated $10 million to support graduate student tuition while the Graduate Funding Task Force finalizes sustainable, long-term recommendations due later this year. Fenves added that 63 new faculty members have been hired in the second phase of UT’s Faculty Investment Initiative. Another 40 lines were just announced for cluster and interdisciplinary hiring of faculty members who cross the boundaries of disciplines and fields, the president said.

“The scope of our influence is enormous,” Fenves said. “And as a result, people everywhere are looking to us to lead.”

To realize its ambitious goals, the university needs to look toward the future — informed along the way by the newly formed Council for TEXAS Impact: “And when we think about the future, we have a responsibility to make good on the promise of our potential. To expand our influence. To be bold. To reach even higher heights,” Fenves said.

For a full transcript of his speech, visit the president’s website.