Texas Voters Have Easy Decision on TUF

For some time now, the University of Houston’s star has been on the rise. Everything leading the University here, to the present moment, occurred without the same funding afforded two other flagship public research universities in the state. But as this article goes live, UH sits at the tipping point of becoming one of the nation’s top research institutions.

In September, UH announced its remarkable rise of 21 spots in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. At No. 70, UH is within striking distance of realizing its vision of becoming one of the top 50 public universities in the nation (Texas currently has only two). Approval of Proposition 5 on the November ballot would dramatically bolster research capabilities at four of the state’s emerging research universities, including UH, and would provide the necessary financial resources to reach the top 50.

The Texas Legislature passed a bill last spring to create a $3.9 billion endowment to fund Texas’ emerging public research universities—those universities with proven track records in research and innovation.

The endowment, called the Texas University Fund, was created using the state’s budget surplus and is the realization of more than a decade of work towards this moment. It will primarily benefit the University of Houston, Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas and Texas State University. Others public universities can become eligible in future years.

Before TUF can distribute funds to these institutions, Texas voters must approve a requisite constitutional amendment in a statewide referendum on November 7, 2023.

Of the People, By the People, For the People

What got UH to its current stature is a story of the city of Houston itself. As Houston grew from a humble city with a nearby port and a bunch of hard-working people, so did UH grow from a junior college to a four-year college, and then that four-year school grew to become a top-tier national research university. Because of its junior college roots and the changing population of the city, the University of Houston embraced a commitment to diversity long before it became an imperative for other institutions. Since its inception, the school has quietly existed as one of the most financially and socially accessible higher education institutions in Texas.

“We have been on an incredible journey … a journey full of leaps and bounds, of trials and triumphs, of courage and passion. We took many gambles like starting a medical school, that too during the pandemic, and investing in athletics. We took the hard road and increased student success by focusing on breaking barriers for students and not by changing the profile of the students we enrolled. We are here now ranked #70 among all public universities in America! We have left behind universities that if you hear their names you may say, ‘Really? “Are you serious?’ Well, it is serious.

“Now is not the time to rest; now is the time to seize the moment and build on our momentum,” UH President Renu Khator explains at her 2023 State of the University address.

Build It and They Will Come

Another reason for UH’s esteemed reputation: professors, from nearly every subject area of research, have sought jobs in the city because of its intellectual community—a village of sorts—formed by the cluster of schools and institutions within a 10-mile radius of UH: Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, UT Health Science Center and the Texas Medical Center are among renowned schools and scientific research centers here. An academic milieu like this creates an ever-changing intellectual ecosystem for thought, collaboration and interinstitutional networking for grants. Only the East Coast has a similar proximity advantage like Houston. 

The sticking point is this: Houston is America’s fourth largest city, but its premier public research university has not received comparable state funding to the state’s other flagship universities. The University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System are both beneficiaries of the state’s Permanent University Fund, or PUF, the nation’s richest endowment supporting public universities.

 Proposition 5
The constitutional amendment relating to the Texas University Fund, which provides funding to certain institutions of higher education to achieve national prominence as major research universities and drive the state economy. (Official ballot language)

Voting Schedule
Early Voting: Oct. 23—Nov. 3
Election Day: Nov. 7

To continue its climb, UH needs a comparable permanent fund to build facilities and recruit top researchers to its campus.

“Research is really about solving societal problems,” Khator says. “It addresses global challenges. For UH, it’s very important to expand our research regionally and statewide as there are challenges regarding energy and energy transition. Institutions such as ours can help provide viable solutions.”

TUF will give UH enough financial firepower necessary to expand its research and drive economic growth according to Jason Smith, UH’s vice president of government relations.

“Better facilities, and more top faculty equals more federal funding,” says Smith.

UH has seen a 53% growth in federal research expenditures by faculty in the last five years alone. But it takes additional resources for UH and other emerging research universities to hire more acclaimed researchers who are top federal grant-winners from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. UH must be able to offer elite researchers specialized laboratory space and state-of-the-art equipment.

All of these things are necessary to do the kind of research that transforms the world. UH already pulls in about $98 million in federal research each year, but the goal is to increase that amount to $170 million. Existing funding isn’t enough.

UH Is on an Upward Trajectory

UH already boasts a slew of cutting-edge scientists, and they too need the tools that TUF will provide. One of those researchers is Professor Haleh Ardebili in the Cullen College of Engineering.

Today, Ardebili is one of America’s most promising scholars in materials science. She works in the innovative field of energy conversion technology using molecular scale electricity generators (scientists call them nanogenerators.) Her laboratory has also developed a prototype lithium-ion battery that stretches and bends. Think of the implications of her research: electricity generators so small, they can only be seen under a microscope and pliable lithium batteries that can be worn like clothing.

It’s science like this that changes the world. TUF funding will give the University of Houston and scientists like Ardebili an opportunity to compete for grants awarded to the nation’s most prestigious, resource-abundant institutions.

TUF has been funded by three sources without the burden of additional or increased taxes. Texas’ budget surplus (extra money left over after the state pays all its bills) is the first source. Additional money for the TUF comes from two other ready sources of cash:

1. Investment revenues of the Economic Stabilization Fund, the result of taxes collected on oil and natural gas production in the state, and
2. Money rolled over from an existing higher education account created in 2009 called the National Research University Fund.

If passed by voters, UH is already making plans for how it will allocate its yearly TUF distribution in the next few years.

“The Legislature authorized bridge funding as cash for this year in anticipation that in future years the endowment income will cover the spending. Given this context, we are authorizing the recruitment of 20 research faculty this year. We have also allocated funds for faculty startups and Research Core Facilities, as per the research plan,” Khator says.

Texas voters need to make it happen. Ultimately, Texans are deciding how we fund valuable public assets like the University of Houston. Just like Ardebili, you have the power to effect change through your vote.