Chancellor Provides State of the TTU System Address
Chancellor Kent Hance addresses the audience at the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce’s
annual “State of the Texas Tech University System” luncheon.May 22, 2013 | Written by Dailey Fuller
During the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce’s annual “State of the Texas Tech University System” luncheon, Chancellor Kent Hance outlined the significant progress of the TTU System and its impact on the local, regional and statewide economy.
“Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center are vital to Lubbock and the South Plains,” Hance said. “Additionally, during my time as chancellor over the past six years, the Texas Tech University System has accomplished many great things that would not have been possible without the continued support of this area and its communities.”
In February 2013, Hance announced the TTU System generated a combined economic impact of $9.98 billion for the state of Texas in 2012. Of this number’s total economic output, approximately $3 billion in total economic output was felt specifically on the South Plains region in 2012. Additionally, total jobs sustained in the South Plains region totaled to nearly 32,000 in 2012.
“Approximately 40 percent of all nonagricultural economic output in the South Plains region comes from the activities of the Texas Tech University System in Lubbock,” Hance said. “In the past six years, we have added more than 9,000 people in this city and plan to recruit 12,000 more by 2020.”
Comparable to the population of Brownfield or Lamesa, more than 9,000 additional students, faculty and staff have joined the TTU System presence in Lubbock since 2006. This growth is a direct result of the progress made at Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center over the past six years.
Specifically, student enrollment at Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has increased by approximately 21 percent, or 6,383 students, since 2006. Each institution is well on its way to reaching enrollment targets of 40,000 students at Texas Tech University and nearly 7,000 students at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center by 2020 as well.
Since 2006, both institutions have achieved record-breaking numbers not only in student enrollment, but also in research expenditures, degrees awarded and economic output.
Total research conducted throughout the TTU System approached $200 million in 2012, which has more than doubled since 2006. Additionally, a record 9,723 degrees were awarded throughout the TTU System in 2012, which is an increase of approximately 24 percent since 2006.
This was the second year in a row for the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce to host a “State of the Texas Tech University System” luncheon. The event was held at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center on the Texas Tech University campus. The South Plains region as defined by the Texas Workforce Commission includes the following 15 counties: Bailey, Cochran, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Garza, Hale, Hockley, King, Lamb, Lynn, Lubbock, Motley, Terry, and Yoakum.
About the Texas Tech University System
The Texas Tech University System is one of the top public university systems in the
state of Texas, consisting of four component institutions and operating at 12 academic
sites and centers. Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, the TTU System has an annual operating
budget of $1.5 billion and approximately 17,000 employees focused on advancing higher
education, health care, research and outreach.
In 2012, total research expenditures approached $200 million and total enrollment exceeded 43,700 students for the first time in the TTU System’s history. Whether it’s contributing billions of dollars annually in economic impact or being the only system in Texas to house an academic institution, law school, and medical school at the same location, the TTU System continues to prove that anything is possible.