Op-ed: 'UT invasion of Houston' should be delayed until next year

Nelson

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By Welcome Wilson Sr.

Admiral Bill McRaven, the chancellor of the University of Texas System, has announced that UT plans to purchase 332 acres in Houston only 5 miles from the University of Houston campus.

If Texas A&M University purchased 332 acres in Austin, 5 miles from the UT campus, would UT and its alumni be concerned? What if Texas Tech University bought 332 acres in El Paso, 5 miles from the UT-El Paso campus?

I think UT would be concerned, and for that same reason, I write this editorial to express my grave concern as a UH alumnus, former chairman of the UH board of regents, and as chairman of the University of Houston Political Action Committee.

Competition is good in business. Competition is bad among Texas state agencies. A university is an agency of Texas. It creates unnecessary duplication and it wastes taxpayers' money.

The Texas Legislature created the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the specific purpose of preventing such action. Will Texas universities continue to be coordinated, or will it be dog eat dog? By this action, UT has thumbed its nose at this Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Legislature. It has thumbed its nose at the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, and others in the Houston area.

In a letter to Chancellor McRaven from 19 Houston-area state representatives, they said, “we respectfully ask for the UT system to step back and work with these local and state leaders, including the Legislature and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board before taking any major steps, including the purchase of the land.” UT closed on the purchase of the first 100 acres on Jan. 15.


To quote Professor Michael Olivas, director of UH's Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance, this “would unravel years of cooperation and strategic planning by the coordinating board and the Texas Legislature.”

I have the highest respect for UT. It is a wonderful institution that Texas should be proud of. Why wouldn’t these funds be better used to invest in UT-Dallas, or UT-San Antonio, or UT-Arlington, or UT-El Paso — all of which are emerging research universities — to make them nationally competitive in keeping with the states commitment to develop more Tier One universities.

If this purchase stands, Texas A&M will be next to initiate a major expansion into Houston, again using Permanent University Fund money to bypass the Texas Legislature. This violates the higher education framework, under which limited state dollars are distributed to public universities to provide college across the maximum number of students while avoiding duplication. If the State of Texas does allow the UT invasion of Houston, and its accompanying duplication of services and competition as a practice for higher education, the Legislature must provide parody and resources, including Permanent University Funds for the UH system.

Although I was once chairman of the board of regents of UH, today I have absolutely no official status. However, I am chairman of the UH Political Action Committee. I have been involved with UH for 70 years since arriving as a junior in 1946. Click here to read Welcome Wilson Sr.'s story.

I urge the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to demand that UT delay this action until the Texas Legislature meets next year and has an opportunity to fully vent this action and carry out their responsibility.

Welcome Wilson Sr. is the former chairman of the University of Houston Board of Regents. He is chairman of Houston-based GSL Welcome Group, an industrial development company.
Courtesy: Houston Business Journal
 
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