Proposals to change Tech layout include more green space, moving facilities

As the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents convened for its last quarterly meeting of the calendar year in Lubbock, one big-ticket item was notably pulled from the agenda at the last minute: tuition rates.

Tuition rates at Texas Tech, Angelo State and Midwestern State University were set to be considered - including a potential increase - for the 2025 fiscal year. However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stepped in the day before the meeting , announcing his opposition to any tuition increases at public universities through 2027.

Here are takeaways from the meeting.

Abbott 'prohibits' tuition increase at Texas public universities, extends state tuition freeze

For background, in their August 2023 meeting, the Texas Tech Regents froze tuition at TTU, ASU, and MSU until the 2025-26 academic year at the request of state lawmakers.

Previous A-J reporting stated that this freeze came from the 88th Texas Legislature General Appropriation Bill Special Prevision III Sec. 58., which states "resident undergraduate academic costs, including tuition, mandatory academic fees, all academic-related general fees, and college course fees at currently approved levels."

Dig Deeper: Texas Tech regents OK coach and leadership contracts, freeze tuition rates

The reason for this is that the state is experiencing a large surplus this year, and some of this funding is going to universities in an effort to make higher education more affordable.

On Nov. 13, Gov. Abbott sent a letter to all Texas public university boards of regents prohibiting tuition increases.

"As this tuition freeze expires, let me be clear: I will not support any tuition increase at any public higher education institution in the upcoming biennium," reads the letter.

Read the full letter: Governor Abbott Prohibits College Tuition Increases In Texas

Abbott cited ongoing economic pressures, including inflation, for his opposition to a tuition increase. He also vows to make college affordability a top priority for the state in the next legislative session that starts in January 2025.

Tech looking to restructure how its campus will look; board shows caution

Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec has a vision for the future of the university campus in how it will navigate and operate in the future to better align with aspirations to be accepted in the Association of American Universities.

Gregory Janks of DumontJanks presented the board with the preliminary findings of its campus landscape research and how its buildings are utilized.

Janks noted that the heart of campus — the engineering key to the Administration Building — was built with a north-to-south flow but that the campus has grown westward.

Other findings include:

• Most campus occupants socialize in the east-to-west corridor on the south side of campus, which runs from the Student Union Building to the Student Recreation Center.

• Two major classroom hubs — Holden Hall and the College of Media & Communication Building — are more than 11 minutes apart - over the allotted time, the university allows students to get from one class to another if they are back to back.

While these are preliminary concepts, some proposed changes to the campus layout are:

• Getting rid of surface parking lots on the campus, opting for parking garages on the outskirts of campus.

• Adding 1/3 more green space on campus.

• Creating various corporations on campus to foster interdepartmental collaboration using promenade spaces.

• Moving and consolidating research spaces, student resources and collaboration spaces.

• Creation of an inner transportation loop on campus.

"It's not an unusual story that universities often start with a more commuter orientation and a more localized parking solution," Janks said.

However, Janks said as institutions mature and evolve, the realization for prime real-estate within the heart of campus is recognized and reconfirmed in a way that provides more value for the campus community.

However, several regents on the board showed some hesitancy to this plan.

Regent Dustin Womble said this endeavor Tech is looking to undertake needs to be fully thought out before the board should consider acting on it.

"It's a big commitment that would be talking about making if we start to shift this needle and it only has impact if we are fully committed to seeing it through to conclusion," Womble said. "If this lasts for six or eight years, and then we have a whole other direction, then we have not done a service to this institution long term that we need to do."

Regent Clay Cash also asked for the board to be provided with documents for this proposed master plan, to which Janks responded by saying DumontJanks is working on the final version of the plan.

Womble said committing to such a plan would span across several variations of boards of regents, as they are appointed for six-year terms, with regents cycling in and out every two years.

TTUS Board leadership, makeup may change

The board leadership will soon change. Regent Mark Griffin and Ginger Kerrick Davis were elected as chair and vice chair, respectively, by the board in November 2022.

However, Griffin's and Kerrick Davis' tenure on the board, along with regent Womble's, is set to expire on Jan. 31, 2025, which sets the stage for who might be the new board leaders.

Under Texas law, the governor appoints individuals to serve on the governing bodies of public higher education systems for six-year terms, meaning the TTU System will see possibly three new regents. However, Abbott does have the power to appoint individuals to serve on the board for another term.

There has been a history of this, such as Mickey Long and John Steinmetz, who were both reappointed during their tenure on the board.

The board will also soon appoint its new chair and vice chair.

After Jan. 31, 2025 its members will be:

• Arcilia Acosta — term expires 2027.

• Cody Campbell — term expires 2027.

• Pat Gordon — term expires 2027.

• Clay Cash — term expires 2029.

• Tim Culp — term expires 2029.

• Shelley Sweatt — term expires 2029.

The board will reconvene for its next regular meeting in March 2025 in Lubbock.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tech regents look at campus layout changes; drop tuition hike talks