Dive Summary:
- Fears over disheartening enrollment figures and state leaders' readiness to cut funding along with unproductive academic programs have prompted local community members to push for a realignment of Sul Ross State University from the Texas State University System to the Texas Tech system.
- Sul Ross caters to West Texas students, enrolls higher-than-average numbers of Hispanic and first-generation students, and is the largest employer in the town of Alpine and the only four-year institution in the state's Big Bend region.
- A spokesman for the Texas Tech system declined to comment on the realignment proposal to The New York Times, saying only that a decision would be "driven by the community and the Legislature."
From the article:
On the evening of Oct. 24, a small group of local leaders and concerned citizens in this remote West Texas town assembled on the first floor of the historic Holland Hotel. They were there to consider the merits of severing Sul Ross State University’s longstanding ties to the Texas State University System but had not anticipated how quickly the news would spread. That morning, more than 400 miles away in his downtown Austin office, Brian McCall, the system’s chancellor, got wind of the gathering. With little time to spare, he hopped on a westbound plane, showing up unannounced and flanked by a well-dressed entourage that included Sul Ross’s president, Ricardo Maestas. “If people have concern about any of our universities, it’s my job to be there and hear what they have to say,” Mr. McCall said later. ...