Republican Jumps On Top-Tier Universities Bandwagon Months After Democrats Ignite The Debate, But His Plan Is Lacking

More than three months after Democratic legislators and the Texas Legislative Study Group sounded the clarion call concerning the need for more top-tier research institutions in Texas, one lonely Republican has publicly proclaimed his agreement.

State Rep. Dan Branch (D-Dallas, Chair of the House Select Committee on Higher and Public Education Finance, made the announcement last week according to the Austin American-Statesman.

There is, as with all Republican pronouncements, however, a twist:

Branch favors an approach along the lines of a proposal by David Daniel, president of the University of Texas at Dallas, who has suggested allocating additional state money to the emerging research schools that raise the most in philanthropic and community donations.

The potential contenders are UT-Dallas, UT-Arlington, UT-San Antonio, UT-El Paso, Texas Tech University, the University of Houston and the University of North Texas.

While it’s great that Branch wants more top-tier universities, this particular plan is a terrible idea.

In short, it would turn the entire affair into a contest rather than elevating the schools on the cusp of being tier-one universities first and then working down the list.

Furthermore, it will become a tax-shift. Mark my words: if the Legislature gets a hold of this plan, you can bet that there will be something thrown in that allows municipalities and counties to kick in cash to elevate the universities in their area, which will ultimately result in higher sales and property taxes–the two most regressive brands of tax used in Texas. Without saying this in so many words, Branch even hints at this:

“It will cause alumni groups, local communities and other supporters to put their money where their mouth is. I anticipate legislation on this subject, and I will certainly be at the front of either filing legislation or strongly supporting legislation whether that’s in the form of general law or budget riders,” said Branch, who also serves on the appropriations committee and its subcommittee on education. [Emphasis added]

Asking Texas’ universities to have what amounts to a money race to see who gets state funding to become top-tier is just an exercise in futility and disgracefulness. Everyone knows that donations–even corporate donations–to universities are most often tied to alumni relationships to those universities. Certain among the schools listed will be at a significant advantage.

In addition, because the stakes are so high related to the donations that would be being solicited, it seems like this plan would be wide open for compromising academic and educational integrity. If, for example, AT&T, Dell, or Wal-Mart made the huge donation that made Texas Tech go over the top to get the state match, they would have a lot of leverage to call some shots with research and development and more.

Creating even more of a whoring-for-private-dollars atmosphere at Texas’ colleges and universities isn’t the answer. This plan, strictly speaking, may not even be constitutional under the state constitution.

Without question, Texas must have more top-tier universities. However, the state needs to step up and make the funding commitment to make it happen.

It is also no surprise that Branch’s plan is similar to that of the president of a University of Texas System school, either, as the story notes. There has been so much fear over the years that UT-Austin and Texas A&M will lose state funding at the expense of the enhancement of other universitieis it is no wonder a UT System school president thinks this is the best option.

Tweet This Post   Ping This Post

Technorati Tags Dan Branch, David Daniel, House Select Committee on Higher and Public Education Finance, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Legislative Study Group, Texas Tech University, Tier One University, University of Houston, University of North Texas, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas System

Bookmark It