85R11633 KSM-F
By: Frullo H.R. No. 624
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Distinguished representatives of the Texas Tech
University System are gathering at the State Capitol on March 1,
2017, to celebrate the system's vital role in the Lone Star State;
and
WHEREAS, The Texas Tech University System, governed by its
board of regents and Chancellor Robert L. Duncan, consists of Texas
Tech University, Angelo State University, and the Texas Tech
University Health Sciences Centers at Lubbock and El Paso; the
system is a $2 billion enterprise currently educating more than
51,000 students, averaging approximately $225 million in research
expenditures annually, and counting nearly 325,000 alumni; in
addition, it has an endowment of over $1 billion and some 20,000
faculty and staff focused on advancing higher education, health
care, research, and outreach across the state; and
WHEREAS, Each component of the system provides innovative
educational and research opportunities; Texas Tech University is a
major comprehensive research university, led by President Lawrence
Schovanec; enrolling more than 36,000 students in 10 colleges and
two schools, TTU has set a new fall enrollment record for the past
eight years, and it has seen an enrollment increase of 23 percent
since 2007; with the goal of being one of the nation's premier
research institutions, the university's total expenditures in that
area have increased to $166 million in 2016, up more than 20 percent
since 2012; additionally, the Carnegie Classification of
Institutions of Higher Education listed Texas Tech in its Highest
Research Activity category, elevating the university as one of the
115 Tier One research institutions in the nation; and
WHEREAS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is
composed of five schools in various health care disciplines,
including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health professions, and
biomedical sciences, and has trained more than 24,000 health care
professionals; overseen by Dr. Tedd L. Mitchell, TTUHSC enrolls
more than 4,600 students and has dedicated more than $260 million in
research expenditures over the past five years, with significant
studies in areas such as aging, cancer, reproduction, and genetic
diseases; the university also graduates more health care
professionals than any other health-related institution in Texas
and addresses the medical needs of more than 2.7 million people who
live throughout a vast 108-county area; and
WHEREAS, Joining the system in 2007, Angelo State University
enrolls more than 9,600 students in six colleges and is directed by
President Brian J. May; designated a Hispanic Serving Institution,
ASU was the first university in the state to offer a degree in
computer science and has been named to the Princeton Review's "Best
Colleges" list for the past eight consecutive years; unique to ASU,
its Carr Scholarship program is funded by one of the largest
endowments at a regional university in the United States, thus
making scholarships attainable by one of every three of its
students; and
WHEREAS, The fourth and newest member of the system, Texas
Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso became a
comprehensive health-related institution in 2013 and encompasses
the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, the Gayle Greve Hunt School
of Nursing, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; headed
by Dr. Richard A. Lange, the university has enrolled more than 600
students, is home to the first medical school on the nation's
southern border, and conducts important research focused on cancer,
diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, and neurosciences; and
WHEREAS, Through their missions, the Texas Tech University
System and its four component institutions continue to better the
higher education and health care landscapes, and in so doing, they
are contributing to the remarkable achievements of the state as a
whole; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize March 1, 2017, as Texas Tech
University System Day at the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome
to all those from the system who are visiting here today.