COLLEGE STATION, Texas — On Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott approved a record $1.19 billion in new spending for the Texas A&M University System, according to a release from the university.
The money will freeze undergraduate tuition and fees for Texas residents for the next two years. It is also the first time that Texas A&M has surpassed $1 billion in new funding from the state.
Included in the funding increase was a state match bump for Prairie View A&M to qualify for federal funding among other things.
“We are thankful to state officials for meeting the needs of higher education in what is a historic legislative session for higher education,” said John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System in a news release.
According to the release, the funds that allowed the changes to be made "was tied to tenure reform as well as legislation addressing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in higher education."
The new spending overall for the A&M System includes:
- $180.9 million for the Texas A&M System institutions’ share of the affordability contingency
- $43.1 million in formula and research performance funding for the A&M Health Science Center
- $159 million for the Texas A&M System Agencies for “Keeping Texas Prepared” and 5% pay increases for agency employees in each of the next two years
- $775 million in new initiatives.
Funding for emergency systems managed by the Texas A&M University System was also provided, which includes:
- Texas Division for Emergency Management, $14.6 million for Workforce Development
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, $24.2 million for the Extension Agent Network
- Texas A&M Forest Service, $34.7 million for Emergency Response Capacity and Local Firefighting Capacity
- Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, $3.7 million for Rapid Detection of Animal and Human Disease Threats
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, $19.5 million for Recruitment and Retention
The $775 million in new initiatives for the A&M System will also include:
- Texas A&M University System, $226.4 million, which includes $200 million for quantum and artificial intelligence chip fabrication; $26.4 million for the Center for Microdevices and Systems at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station; and $1.5 million for a mental health study
- Texas A&M University, $200 million for constructing facilities adjacent to the Johnson Space Center and $25 million for the Virtual Production Institute in College Station and Texas A&M-Fort Worth.
- Prairie View A&M University, $15 million for the Ag Match so the university could qualify for federal funding.
- Tarleton State University, $5 million for Better Health for Rural North Texas
- Texas A&M Central Texas, $1.8 million for instructional programming at East Williamson County Higher Education Center
- Texas A&M International University, $4 million for Clinical Lab Sciences and Occupational Therapy Programs
- West Texas A&M University, $6 million for Advancing Food Animal Production
- Texas A&M University – Texarkana, $4.9 million for Better East Texas Phase III
- Texas A&M University Health Science Center, $15 million for Texas A&M Care, Rural Health Care Initiative and $25 million for an education and research facility in at the Higher Education Center in Hidalgo County
- Texas A&M AgriLife Research, $25 million for Research Capability and $15 million for tornado damage at the Vernon Research and Extension Center and the Texas A&M AgriLife Foundation and Seed facility
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, $1 million for the Bee Pollinator Program
- Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, $30 million for a new Hypersonic Wind Tunnel and $5 million for the ongoing NASA Aerospace Scholars Program
- Texas A&M Forest Service, $2.5 million for aviation support costs, including fire retardant, $146.1 million for reimbursement for response to natural disasters and $2.1 million for vehicles
- Texas Division of Emergency Management, $13.3 million for vehicles
“It was a team effort, but the Regents, in particular, were focused on keeping college affordable in Texas,” Sharp said in a release. “Our students and their families will reap the benefits of their efforts.”
Click here to read the original release by Texas A&M.
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