UNT looks for more than $70 million in state money

by Mary Pharris of of North Texas Daily

Watch out, Texas Legislature -- UNT acts cute, but they'll grab your money in a second.

North Texas hopes to gain more than $70 million in legislative appropriation requests and strengthen relations during the 81st session of the Texas Legislature.

"We're appreciative of the support we've received from our legislative delegation in the past, and we hope to be able to build on the success the institution has had in student growth and number of degrees awarded," said Jack Morton, vice chancellor for governmental relations. "That will allow us to see additional funding to continue to grow and provide the state with more graduates and more people to enter the workforce."

Kim Reasoner, director of external and government relations, said the university will seek the authorization of $63 million in tuition revenue bonds to construct a new building for the College of Visual Arts and Design; $10 million in institutional enhancement money for fiscal years 2010 and 2011; and $2.5 million for the Next Generation Course Redesign Project for those same years. She also said several of the university's research initiatives could benefit from additional money.

"If you don't have the ability to provide the legislature with the information about the problems they may have or the good things you're doing then they don't have any way of knowing what's going on," Morton said. "You want to be able to provide the information that highlights the good things you've done and allows you to have a relationship with the legislature."

Both Morton and Reasoner said the university does not lobby the legislature because it is illegal for state employees to attempt to influence the passage or defeat of legislation. It is important, however, for the university to have working relationships with legislators to let them know how a certain bill will impact NT, Morton said. The university's role is to provide information, Reasoner said.

"UNT is a public institution," she said in an e-mail. "Therefore, we are greatly affected by both policy and appropriations decisions made by the legislature."

The institutional enhancement money would go toward new faculty to improve the student-faculty ratio and increase research, Reasoner said. In a Jan. 16 e-mail from President Gretchen Bataille to the NT community, Bataille wrote that this session provides an opportunity for NT to become a national research university, and Texas currently has only three such universities - The University of Texas, Texas A&M and Rice University.

Reasoner said there is no single definition for what a national research university is, but membership to the invitation-only Association of American Universities is key as there are only 62 member universities in the country.

"These universities are able to attract the most prominent scientists and researchers into their classrooms and communities, which greatly benefits the learning experience and opportunities of students," she said. "It also encourages economic development in the region by attracting businesses eager to partner and/or relocate in research-intensive communities."

According to a handout outlining NT's legislative initiatives, $63 million in tuition revenue bonds authorizations would allow construction on a 120,000 square foot Visual Arts and Design building, and additional funding of the course redesign project would allow the university to offer more classes and train more faculty with the blended teaching methods.

For more information on the Next Generation Course Redesign Project, visit qup.unt.edu/Content/Home/.