Greater Houston Partnership Resolution Supports Tier One Research Excellence for UH
The Greater Houston Partnership supports the establishment of a Texas Tier I Research Excellence Fund to help support the University of Houston in meeting the demands for a well-educated and highly skilled workforce, to create new knowledge, and to develop new technologies that will keep the University and the Greater Houston area competitive in the 21st century. Texas Tier I Research Excellence Funding will also have a profound effect on students in Houston and all of Texas by opening the doors of opportunity and providing access to the highest quality educational programs. It will attract nationally ranked faculty and staff, create new centers of research and spin-off companies, and increase the capacity of the University of Houston to serve our community.
Texas is the nation's second largest state, but ranks sixth in the receipt of vital federal research funding. Texas has three of the ten largest cities in the nation in Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, which also are the only cities among the ten without flagship universities. Texas cannot be a leader while trailing in the number of flagship research universities that attract and leverage essential research and development funding.
The Texas Tier I Research Excellence Fund is a sound investment for the Greater Houston area, which represents 22 percent of the state's population and work force, and 28 percent of the gross state product. The return on this important state investment will be enhancement of quality education for the coming generations of Texans, increased retention and graduation rates, and a steadily increasing flow of federal research funds to keep Houston competitive globally in the fields of education and industry.
James R. Royer, Chairman
Jim C. Kollaer, President & CEO
R. Bruce LaBoon, Secretary
