According to the Texas Tribune, there should be a report coming out next week about the status on the UT-Houston task force. Oh yeah, UT is eliminating 50 positions, asking for voluntary retirement, and possibly looking at laying off system employees as well as reevaluating over 40 projects in order to gain funding for UT-Houston and other McRaven approved projects.
As the Texas Legislature isn’t currently in session, what can be done?
3 different links for today’s report from the board in regards to UT-Houston: Let’s play who leaves out what may be pertinent information (you’ll never guess ):
Houston Business Journal - Here’s what UT could do with its Houston campus
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The task force wants the campus to be a combination of professional and educational opportunities for UT students. On the campus, public and private organizations and companies would offer programs for UT students to get hands-on experience in various fields.
Houston Chronicle/Ben Wermund - UT won’t start ‘4-year campus with a mascot’ in Houston, task force co-chair says
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The task force is six months into a planning process expected to be wrapped up in December. The group has formally reached out to 60 non-profits and companies across town about possibly collaborating on the land, Hobby said. Work at the site will center around health, energy, water and the environment and cyber and data sciences, he said.UT will also likely work with kindergarten through high school students and launch a leadership institute.
The task force’s recommendations for the Houston site currently focus on the work study program and an online course system, Hobby said. But he added, “Eventually, who knows what it will be?”
So, in the above 3 links, the Texas Tribune has the most information that not only spells out what the board stated, but also brings up Garnet Coleman’s and Welcome Wilson’s response and gives a lot more detail:.
My issues:
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The un-level competition aspect (UH has no access to PUF, more funds go to UT from the state)
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The amount of money this is going to cost and not knowing who’s going to fund it ($250M for land + $200M for debt service + ??M for infrastructure like water, electricity, sewer + ??M to build buildings + ??M to bring in employees - AND the UT system is cutting positions and possibly laying people off)
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The circumvention of Houston/Texas taxpayers and government officials with no coordination through the Higher Education Board
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Then, there’s also this article by the Chronicle Real Estate reporter today:
Energy downturn hammers commercial real estate
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Not much right now, but the UT-Houston Board is still working on their plan. In January, they are supposed to present it to the Higher Education Board. Hopefully, and based off their reaction at the last Board meeting as well as what I’ve heard from others, this plan won’t receive any public funding. If that’s the case, UT will have to decide if it wants to continue down that path right now, hold on to the land and try again in the future, or sell the land off. My guess will be Option #2 and McRaven will try again in the future if he’s still Chancellor. If he’s not (good chance as there are rumors that he’ll get picked up by one of the presidential candidates to be in their cabinet), they’ll probably wait until the Houston economy recovers and sell the land off, making a tidy profit for the PUF and things will continue on.
However, the main issue is to ensure that the Board doesn’t approve this plan this winter.
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This will prove to be the most expensive mistake ever made by UT.
They won’t be able to sell the property for a profit. I personnaly know a commercial real estate broker who was asked to evaluate the property at the time of this deal. He tells me that UT over paid in multiples of what the land is worth.
The deal stinks of a severe misappropriation of public funds and people that matter know it. UT is screwed.
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Wermund wrote an under the radar article about how UT (and A&M) have an internship program going on in Houston with Occidental Oil. The interns are working on how to get wells going in West Texas on PUF land. Theory is that this will be the beginning of what McRaven wanted to do in Houston with the campus.
Texas college engineering students help Houston energy firms tap more oil
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The first round of internships at the oil and gas institute wrapped up Friday. In some ways, the oil and gas institute is a precursor of UT’s planned expansion into Houston, where the UT System plans to build on a 300-acre tract. Plans for the oil and gas institute stretch back beyond the latest expansion plans, which University of Houston officials have called an “invasion” and which have been questioned by numerous state lawmakers. UT was planning the internship program for at least a year before Chancellor William McRaven announced UT would buy the Houston land.
The internship program was developed after a 2013 report found that Texas needs 9,000 more engineers every year. UT, which now educates about half of the state’s engineers, can help carry the load, the report said. And Houston, rich with industry opportunities from the Texas Medical Center to energy companies, could be key to accomplishing that goal.
The institute, already eyeing an expansion, asked officials at Occidental if they could accommodate more interns going forward. They eagerly asked how many more they could have, Spath said.
UT system’s Houston report may not come this month
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The advisory group exploring how the University of Texas system should expand into Houston said Monday that their report may not be complete until early next year, past the year-end deadline set by UT’s chancellor in February.
Both Wilkinson and a UH spokesperson said the Texas legislature should be addressing this issue during its current session. Additionally, Wilkinson said this will likely be a topic of discussion at UH Day at the Capitol on March 1.
“We remain opposed to such expansion,” the UH Media Relations spokesperson said. “Nothing has changed.”
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My guess is that this (fingers crossed) is basically the nail in the coffin of this idea. With 2 of the 3 UT BORs coming out against the idea…and the third not exactly in favor of it…it’s obvious where Abbott stands on the plan. Remember, Abbott needed Houston voters to win the election last time around, and probably needs them this time around…and we’re in an election year.
My sneaking suspicion is that McRaven pissed off a lot of people when the land was bought and he came up with the plan. My guess is that it was made clear to him that if he wanted it to go through, UH to the Big 12 better happen. FOX and the northern schools stopped that idea in its tracks, and Fenves, who isn’t a proponent of UT-Houston, didn’t try to change anyone’s mind (if UT wants something, they can get it). Throw in the taking of our former coach and Abbott has to mend some fences.
McRaven probably also believed he’d be out of here by now; strong rumors he’d have a spot in the new presidential administration…except Trump happened. McRaven is linked to the previous administration so no chance he would be picked up. Probably why he delayed the report that was originally supposed to be out before the end of the year as well as I doubt there was really a report forthcoming that would be acceptable. Now, he’s scrambling and my guess is this gets shelved for the time being unless McRaven wants to feel the heat.
Hopefully, shelving it means selling the land off and hopefully our administration sees that as the end goal. I’d hate for them to hold onto that land and UT does something with it down the road.
Senator Whitmire going after McRaven:
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I still would like to see an investigation into this. Did we, the taxpayers, overpay for this land?
So…Today is the end of February and no report as McRaven promised Sen Whitmire:
Google Search Link: UT System chief says Houston land acquired can be fully developed - Google Search
McRaven has a local advisory group that has been assessing what the university should do with the tract. He has said the land is possibly the largest contiguous site near the center of Houston and he expects to receive by the end of February the advisory group’s recommendations on how to use the land.
“The UT System completed all the usual and required appraisals, environmental due diligence and title review prior to closing on the different portions of the property,” McRaven wrote earlier this month in a five-page letter to Whitemire. “There are no environmental or other conditions that will prevent full and complete development on all of the property, except for required water retentions.”
Google Search Link: UT System chancellor acknowledges land acquired in Houston was largely an old oil field - Google Search
McRaven assured Whitmire and other lawmakers that the system did its due diligence before the property purchase. McRaven said an environmental assessment was conducted, but the Houston Chronicle could not immediately obtain that review or reach consultants who did it for comment. The university spokeswoman said Tuesday she couldn’t immediately provide a copy of it.
It’s dead. UT selling off the land.