The University of Texas at Austin announced the biggest philanthropic campaign ever undertaken by a Texas university Friday, pledging to raise $6 billion, with one-sixth of that sum to pay for student scholarships and support.
The $1 billion for students is believed to be the largest fund-raising goal for such purposes in the history of public higher education and is part of the institutionโs aim to become the โhighest-impact public research universityย in the world,โ administration officials said.
โWe face incredible opportunities as we pursue our goal of becoming the worldโs most impactful public research university,โ President Jay Hartzell said in aย statement. โWe will accomplish this by continuing to attract highly talented people, by taking advantage of our unique place in Austin and Texas, and by focusing on transformative pursuits.โ
The campaign, calledย What Starts Here, aims to attract and retain top talent and elevate the universityโs research. It will also focus on recruiting students and helping with financial aid.
UT Austin already offers a degree of income-based tuition assistance: The UT System Board of Regents in 2019ย creating a $167 million endowmentย to cover tuition and fees for students whose families earn less than $65,000 a year.
Austinโs cost of living has skyrocketed in recent years.
The university relies on a mix of state government, tuition and donations but the portion of its revenue coming from the stateย has fallen from 34%ย two decades ago toย 10%ย in 2020-21.
As part of the campaignโs goal, the university hopes to strengthen its Dell Medical School, which opened in 2016, as a clinical and research center and a โhub for destination care, much like Houston, Dallas and other major health care centers,โ the university said in a press release. It will also focus on helping Austin become a โhub of innovation and entrepreneurship.โ
The campaign will seek to recruit talented faculty as that has become increasingly competitive across the country.
Last month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrickย said he wanted to end tenureย for new hires at the stateโs public universities in an effort to combat professors who โindoctrinateโ students with teachings about critical race theory. Conservatives over the past year have used the term as a broad label to attack progressive teachings about race and gender.
Patrick, whose position overseeing the Senate allows him to drive the stateโs legislative agenda, also proposed a change to state law that could make teaching critical race theory grounds for revoking tenure for professors who already have it. He suggested reviewing tenure review annually instead of every six years.
Academics said weakening tenure would damage the stateโs universities and drive students and faculty elsewhere. They said tenure is intended to protect professors from politics and safeguard academic freedom.
In a statement, Kevin Eltife, a former Republican state senator and chair of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, said the universityโs new fundraising campaign builds on its support from Texas lawmakers.
โWe are grateful for all the philanthropic support already provided and are confident that this fundraising effort will ensure a future where The University of Texas continues to produce Longhorns who change the world,โ Eltife said.
The โquiet phaseโ of the latest UT campaign began in September 2016. Since then, more than 240,000 donors have contributed at least $3.3 billion, more than contributed to the universityโs previous fundraising campaign between 2006 and 2014.
โThe What Starts Here campaign has gotten off to an incredible start because of the volunteer leaders and individual donors who are passionate about the impact The University of Texas at Austin has on changing the world,โ Scott Rabenold, vice president of development, said in a statement.
This article was written by LOMI KRIEL, of The Texas Tribune.ย The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans โ and engages with them โ about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.ย This article originally appeared at:https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/05/university-texas-fundraising-endowment/