A packed room in the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center buzzed with anticipation as the four panelists and the moderator took the stage. Attendees expected a discussion on higher education in Texas, but they probably didn’t expect some of the answers the panelists gave.
On Monday, Texas Tech University Systems Chancellor Robert Duncan, Juliet Garcia, Ph.D., state Senator Charles Perry, and Wynn Rosser, Ph.D., took the stage along with moderator Evan Smith to discuss “Higher Education: The Next Five Years,” each with a particular perspective and specialty on the subject. The Texas Tribune hosted the event.
“A better Texas is a smarter, more informed Texas,” Smith, chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, said to begin the discussion.
Smith stressed there are three key factors to success in higher education: access, affordability and excellence.
An overarching theme throughout the entire discussion was Texas’ rapidly growing population. Since Texas has the fastest growing population in the United States, many questions were asked about how that will affect the accessibility and quality of higher education in the state. Garcia said it was something the state will have to figure out.
“The nature of the population in the Rio Grande Valley is already such that it will continue to grow exponentially in the next 10, 20, 30 years,” Garcia said. “So, it’s not a matter of stopping that growth. It’s there.”
From left to right: Evan Smith, Robert Duncan, Juliet Garcia.
Access to higher education is something Garcia knows well. The executive director of the University of Texas Institute of the Americas and former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville has primarily worked in South Texas — sometimes referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. Garcia said her area faces some of the most difficult struggles when it comes to accessibility of higher education.
“You have people prepped, ready to take advantage of higher education in a way that we did not years ago,” Garcia said. “We listened. We did all of the math and science academies; we did all of the dual enrollment and early college high schools.”
Garcia said the Valley, which was recently named the poorest area in America, has plenty of bright people wanting to go to college but are unable to pay for it. Garcia said the funding of state grants and other tuition assistance programs would allow more people to access higher education despite their economic status. She said there are good ideas in place but little action behind them.
Another accessibility issue mentioned frequently during the panel discussion was the importance of community colleges. Wynn Rosser, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Texas Foundation, stressed community colleges are some of the most affordable and accessible institutions for students to attend. However, Rosser said, they need more resources to truly thrive.
“Community colleges enroll about 700,000 of our 1.3 or 4 million higher education students,” Rosser said. “They are also the least well resourced from a state appropriations perspective. And, on affordability, community colleges have less financial aid available.”
State Senator Charles Perry will be the chairman of the higher education committee during the 84th Texas Legislative session.
As Texas Tech strives to become a tier one research university, excellence is an issue on Red Raiders’ minds. Chancellor Duncan, a former state senator, R-Lubbock, said there are many factors involved with maintaining excellence at a university.
Duncan said the research and faculty needed to maintain excellence are expensive necessities.
“Because higher education, generally, is an industry in this state that requires investment,” Duncan said. “And so, we believe what benefits others, as long as we look at the general formulas and the research areas, benefits us as well.”
State Senator Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, a Texas Tech alumnus, said the ultimate goal for higher education is simple.
“At the end of the day, I have a pretty simple objective,” Perry said, “Graduate someone who is going to be a productive, tax-paying citizen with an economically viable degree.”
Watch the full panel discussion below, courtesy of The Texas Tribune.
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
