LUBBOCK, Texas — As one chancellor leaves office, another one steps in. And that means a new vision for the Texas Tech University System.
As of Nov. 19, Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton has taken the helm of the third-largest higher education system in Texas as Dr. Tedd Mitchell retires as chancellor emeritus and advisor to Creighton.
But prior to taking the helm, Creighton visited with the West Texas Homebuilders Association during his tour of getting acquainted with local communities, leaders and the five universities in the system.
Talking candidly, Creighton provided insights into the future of the system — specifically, its flagship university, Texas Tech.
How is Texas Tech going to achieve 50,000 by 2035?
Creighton brought up that Texas Tech is still reporting remarkable growth, with this year’s enrollment seeing the largest freshman class. In September, Tech announced a fourth consecutive year of record fall enrollment with 42,272 students — an increase of more than 1,200 from a year ago.
“The applications for new enrollment into the university, compared to this time last year, is nearly a triple factor,” Creighton said.
One reason Texas Tech and the system is drawing in new students is due to the academic achievements, like the Texas Tech veterinary school having the highest pass rate of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) in Texas and the second-highest in the nation.
Another reason is the national attention Texas Tech Athletics has received — such as ESPN’s College GameDay coming to Lubbock for the first time in almost two decades to cover the Red Raiders.
“When you combine athletics and you combine the examples across all the academics, I wouldn’t say that Texas is paying more attention to Texas Tech,” Creighton said. “I would say the entire country is probably talking about Texas Tech – is on a short list of comparisons to other universities that are on the fastest trajectory upwards, with no ceilings and many victories to come as any university in the country.”
What is the impact of AAU status?
Creighton said that for many decades, the Texas higher education system has been hurting due to an isolationist mindset among lawmakers that has allowed other universities to excel in research funding.
“About five years ago in the legislature, we changed that to allow Texas Tech and the University of Houston and many other universities across the state to climb towards that Carnegie Mellon Tier One University Research status, so that those big dollars can continue to flow,” Creighton said.
Tech’s goal to achieve Association of American Universities (AAU) status is just one more step toward reaching higher research designations.
Creighton said that earning just status would allow Texas Tech and the system to draw in more federal research dollars to help it excel in its research specialties — national defense, agriculture, healthcare and energy.
How is AI transforming education at Texas Tech?
AI is already in the lecture halls at Texas Tech, but Creighton said the system is looking to get in on the AI data center boom.
Most recently, the system announced a partnership with AI giant Fermi to collaborate on 18 million square feet of AI data centers, powered by up to 11 gigawatts of electricity from nuclear, solar, wind, and natural gas sources.
“There is a very strong agreement that’s already in place that as that project and other projects hit certain benchmarks and milestones, there are heavy fee and revenue feeds into the university system itself that will — based on the success of projects like that and others — will be like a Permanent University Fund that lives over time, like A&M and UT receive now,” Creighton said.
Mateo Rosiles is a reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and USA TODAY Network in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him: mrosiles@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech Chancellor Creighton talks about future of academics, research and enrollment
Reporting by Mateo Rosiles, USA TODAY NETWORK / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
