UTEP President Addresses Challenges, Sets Goals
University of Texas at El Paso President Diana Natalicio was among those honored for her 40 years at UTEP during the university’s 2011 Fall Convocation. She spoke about UTEP’s triumphs, challenges and future plans.
Enrollment at UTEP continues to climb, with a 2.4 percent increase this year alone. There was also a 10 percent increase in grants awarded last year, and gains in the university’s number of doctoral programs — UTEP has 19 and others in the works.
“In sharp contrast to all this good news, however, the Texas Legislature met this past year and the outcome of its deliberations was disappointing,” Natalicio said during her speech.
The state is calling for a $27 million budget cut at UTEP over the next two years. Natalicio said the news from Austin will not affect construction on UTEP’s multimillion-dollar projects, which include the new College of Health Sciences and School of Nursing, as well as the chemistry and computer lab.
“We’ve been very fortunate in our construction plan. We received commitments for funds just before the economic downturn,” Natalicio said.
Still, Natalicio said she wished the city and other local entities would be more supportive. During her speech, Natalicio described a “municipal indifference” when it comes to the university’s budget woes. “We’re very, very concerned about that,” she said. “Other cities and other regions are making major commitments to their institutions to try to encourage their momentum.”
Natalicio said UTEP is considering a tuition hike to help bridge the budget and achieve the goals she set for the university as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2014. Those goals include expanding the doctoral program even more, building new labs and getting more parking garages.
Meantime, UTEP is courting other streams of revenue like the Shakira concert last October in the Don Haskins Center.
Natalicio said it would be a matter of years, not decades, before UTEP reached its ultimate goal of becoming a Tier 1 research university.
