September 8, 2009

Dallas Morning News - UPDATE: Race for research dollars

BACKGROUND: Tuesday, a state program debuted with $25 million designed to help seven Texas universities become stronger research institutions. House Bill 51 provides $50 million over two years. Schools that receive donations between $100,000 and $10 million can receive anywhere from a 50 to 100 percent match from the state. In the program’s first day, universities announced donations totaling well over the $25 million. Only Texas Tech did not release a dollar amount. WHAT’S NEW: Texas Tech announced Wednesday that it has received private gifts totaling $24.3 million, including $21.5 million that is eligible for matching state funds. The gifts come from 20 individuals and eight corporations. “We are thankful to everyone for their support of Texas Tech University and our goal of becoming the state’s next national research university,” Tech chancellor Kent Hance said in a statement. “The fact that the fund is oversubscribed for 2010 as of today shows that this is good for all seven emerging research universities and will be extremely beneficial for the state of Texas.”