Top 4 takeaways from Texas Tech president's 2025 State of the University address
LUBBOCK, Texas — Walking on stage in front of the campus and the Lubbock community, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec delivered his annual State of the University Address on Wednesday.
Highlighting major academic, enrollment and research achievements from the past year while also praising the faculty, staff and students making it possible, while also looking to the future.
Others are reading: Texas Tech System leaders tout university wins from the past year. Here's what they said
"Our history is one of ambition," Schovanec said. "The work ahead won't always be easy, but it will always be important — every student we educate, every discovery we make, every community we serve, every life we touch, all of it matters, and all of that contributes to the ongoing story of Texas Tech."
From seeing enrollment growth — despite the decline nationally — to reimagining the future to suit the university's Association of American Universities membership aspiration, here are the top four takeaways from this year's address.
Texas Tech is beating the national decline in enrollment trends at universities
President Schovanec has previously mentioned what is being called the "enrollment cliff" in higher education, where universities and colleges are seeing declining enrollment rates nationwide. However, Texas Tech is not one of them.
"This fall, we welcomed our largest first-year class in University history, with more than 7,600 first-time in college students, most of whom are on this campus today," Schovanec.
In total, Texas Tech welcomed 10,000 new undergraduates, contributing to a record enrollment of 42,272.
Dig Deeper: Texas Tech enrollment sets records for largest first-year class, graduation rates
Other enrollment and graduation rate wins include:
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Texas Tech has seen a 140% increase in enrollment in online courses.
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The four-year graduation rate has increased from 43% in 2020 to 54% in 2025.
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The six-year graduation rate has increased from 66% in 2020 to 70% in 2025.
Seeing growth in Texas Tech's research enterprise
Texas Tech also saw another banner year in its research expenditures.
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"This past year, research activity at Texas Tech reached an all-time high," Schovanec said. "The total research expenditures exceeding $289 million — more than a 45% increase since 2020."
Broken down, the university saw over $100 million in federal research funding, with another $128 million coming from other entities.
But research dollars are the other aspect of Texas Tech's research enterprise that is growing in strength.
"We're strengthening core areas like agriculture and engineering, health and social sciences and energy, while expanding national security," Schovanec said. "This approach ensures we build on our historical strengths while positioning ourselves for emerging opportunities."
Dig Deeper: FBI, Texas Tech System sign agreement to strengthen America's national security needs
Texas Tech's roadmap to joining the Association of American Universities
First heavily talked about at last year's State of the University address, Schovanec this year provided the campus community an overview of the university's plan to achieve AAU membership.
"Our performance shows that Texas Tech is in a competitive position to be included among the most elite research universities in the country," Schovanec said. "While there is still much work ahead, our commitment remains unwavering — not for prestige alone — but for the opportunities it will create for our students and our faculty and the future of this institution."
Schovanec presented four strategies the university is pursuing to achieve the distinguished membership:
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Hire new faculty in areas of research strength.
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Enhance faculty retention and success.
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Enhance services and resources to support faculty and student research
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Improve facilities and instrumentation that support research.
Dig Deeper: TTU System regents hear Texas Tech's AAU plan, approve $3.7 billion budget
Reimagining the Texas Tech campus for the future
As previously reported by the Avalanche-Journal, Texas Tech is looking to change the layout of the university in strategic ways.
During the address, Schovanec highlighted two projects already in the works to do just that.
Dig Deeper: Texas Tech seeks to transform architecture, design education through new building
"Plans are being made to break ground on a new academic building for the Davis College," Schovanec said. "This facility near 15th Street and Detroit will house state-of-the-art classrooms, research laboratories and collaborative spaces."
This new building would replace the current Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources building and as Schovanec said, would complement the new Academic Science Building on campus.
The other plan that is moving forward is the so-called Design Village.
"A bold collaborative space for studio, learning and innovation, this project brings together architecture, art, landscape, architecture, engineering and other disciplines in a facility that encourages interdisciplinary education," Schovanec said.
Through these key items plus others, Schovanec said the university is set to have a lasting impact that goes beyond the campus boundaries. While he noted that higher education is in a precarious situation, he said the university is ready to tackle the issues head-on.
"The challenges we face are real. Higher education is increasingly under scrutiny and pressure from multiple directions. Funding is increasingly competitive. Public trust must be earned and maintained," Schovanec said. "In spite of the challenges we face, our progress at Texas Tech has been steady and constant. With each challenge, we've adapted and emerged stronger."
Mateo Rosiles is the Government & Public Policy reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Got a news tip for him? Email him: mrosiles@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Top 4 takeaways from Texas Tech president's State of University address
