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Regents approve plan to expand academic medicine in Austin
The governing board of the University of Texas System unanimously approved a plan today to expand medical education and research in Austin through a partnership involving the system, the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the Seton Family of Hospitals.
“It really is a historic day for the UT System and Central Texas,” said James Huffines, chairman of the Board of Regents.
The board’s approval comes as no surprise. Officials have been working for years to strengthen academic medicine in Austin. The plan could advance efforts to establish a medical school here, but there are no guarantees.
My story about the plan in today’s paper describes it in greater detail.
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By good for them
October 12, 2009 1:47 PM | Link to this
When you consider that Boston has 50 schools and Harvard sits on over 300 acres, and MIT on over 1oo acres, UT is behind the times in utilizing and advancing academics. All it has done is fire people (most likely not politically aligned) and talk about retail deveopment on those 400 acres Mr. Brackenrige donated for University purposes.
UT should be aggressively promoting academics (more than football)like real tier 1 univerisites.
By GenericPerson
October 12, 2009 1:55 PM | Link to this
To By good for them: AMEN! Texas needs to step up to the plate BIG TIME. The global economy does not care about football. Texas College Regents: where is the increase in funding for academic research and development?
By Round_Rock_Laughter
October 12, 2009 3:17 PM | Link to this
It is rather amusing that the Aggies seem to be able to put a medical school in Round Rock without any difficulty and the folks down on the forty acres are having trouble putting a couple of extra residents in Austin.
By good for them
October 12, 2009 4:04 PM | Link to this
Why is UT campus crowded on 4o acres while retail developement is being contemplated for use of the 400. The state of Texas is behind o the times regarding universities. It’s been nothing but politics, investment and grading schemes and Tom Delay type internal “redistricting” that has kept the entire system waaaay back there.
More academics and better offerings should have been the priority the last two decades.. The lost decades. Texas should keep trailing, it needs to be leading.
By LawKHM
October 12, 2009 4:13 PM | Link to this
GoodForThem is about a hundred and fifty years behind the times. The UT Austin campus sits on around 350 acres. The “Forty Acres” is the original campus size when the U was created. It’s grown a bit since then!
By tb
October 12, 2009 4:17 PM | Link to this
good for them wrote: “…UT should be aggressively promoting academics (more than football)like real tier 1 univerisites.” ______________ Yeah, like the University of Michigan, right? The quality of an athletic program has no particular impact on its academic worth.
By ROBERT
October 12, 2009 5:26 PM | Link to this
WITH AUSTIN ALREADY TAXING PEOPLE TO THE WALL A MEDICAL SCHOOL WITH ALL ITS CHARITY PATIENTS WILL ADD A SUBSTANTIAL TAX TO AUSTINITES. ASK LUBBOCK RESIDENTS HOW THEY LIKE THEIR MEDICAL SCHOOL. IT IS A DISASTER TAX WISE.
By Christlikegirl
October 13, 2009 8:18 AM | Link to this
Has anyone looked at the Nov. 3 ballot? Proposition 4 paves the way for UT and other universities to obtain funding. BTW, vote NO for Propositions 2 & 3!
By Good for them
October 13, 2009 2:09 PM | Link to this
To LAW KHM you don’t know the facts. The UT campus was expanded beyond the 40 acres when UT bought the land in the 60’s it isn’t part of the Brackenridge acres that were donated in the early 1900’s . That land houses grad residents and a lab.
To tb: not knocking the athletics dept. But it doesn’t contribute to education . It is a money maker but they keep it all or most. Athletics and education aren’t the same.
Same thing for research which focuses on publishing or taking things to market. It doesn’t contribute to classroom education or allow for majority of grad or PHD students to do the research. It is done by profs. who teach little and “research” more. They get paid to do it.
This medical education and research in theory sounds like it does both. SO that is why I say good for them (and Cigaroa). You can’t do one and ignore that UT sytem’s core mission is a public education. Research is the icing on the cake that brings in $ and prestige improve the academics.
Vote for Prop 4.