Texas's $4B investment fund for colleges such as UH, Texas Tech, to be decided by voters in November

UH President Renu Khator addresses the crowd during the UH Athletics Department celebrate the men's basketball team's run to the 2021 Final Four at the Fertitta Center in Houston on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.The University of Houston and three other state institutions could become the beneficiaries next year of a nearly $4 billion investment fund – a major financing asset that supporters hope will place more Texas schools in the company of nationally esteemed universities.

With voter approval, the new fund will begin with a $3 billion investment from the Legislature, plus nearly $900 million that rolled over from the National Research University Fund, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. That amount will grow, with additional amounts added each year from the state’s rainy day fund.

The universities will use the income in a variety of ways, but spending will generally be geared toward measures that will influence their institutions' national rankings. UNT President Neal Smatresk said he believes the Texas University Fund will help the school grow enrollment and meet workforce needs in a rapidly growing North Texas region.

“This is about realizing our potential as a national powerhouse, achieving the ranking of being a top 50 public university,” Smith said.Achieving an investment fund was a long time coming, especially for the University of Houston and Texas Tech. Both repeatedly failed to tap into the coveted “Permanent University Fund,” or PUF, a pool of money that collects oil and gas royalties from 2.1 million acres of state-owned land in West Texas.

Taking advantage of a massive budget surplus, UH, Texas Tech, Texas State and University of North Texas opted for aLegislators overwhelmingly supported the effort for a new, separate fund, especially as Texas universities have fallen behind in ranked lists. UT-Austin and Texas A&M University are the only Texas institutions ranked in U.S. News & World Report's top 50 public universities in the country, while California has nine listed.

“We did see UH, Texas Tech and UNT all become R1 universities since 2010,” Barringer said. “I do think that suggests that giving public support for these institutions can help them become more nationally prominent.”

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