Texas Tech University
Closing the Gaps Goes From Vision to Reality for Whitmore
Jon Whitmore had his work cut out for him by the time he was installed as Texas Tech University�s 14th president in February 2004.
His main goals included expanding its presence as a top research institution while creating an environment conducive not only to attracting some of the brightest applicants in the world, but also transforming those applicants into top-rated graduates.
To accomplish these goals, Whitmore laid out an aggressive campaign to recruit 100 new faculty at the university over three years. This fall, almost a third of those new hires will arrive on campus.
In addition to filling about 30 new positions at the university, Whitmore implemented the Graduate on Time guarantee, a program which is expected to dramatically improve the average time it takes a student to graduate.
While the funding required to hire new faculty at the university required a series of moderate tuition increases, Whitmore expects the payoff to come in the form of an overall increase in the quality of education students receive.
�In order to offer students a Graduate on Time guarantee, we must provide sufficient sections of courses taught by first-rate faculty who have made a commitment to the classroom experience,� Whitmore says. �I believe that to create new faculty positions to achieve these goals is a good use of tuition dollars.�
Whitmore�s recruitment goals go far beyond offsetting enrollment growth. The hiring of high quality faculty directly translates into higher quality students and research.
Colleges filling new positions include the College of Arts and Sciences, with eight new faculty members, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the College of Engineering with four new hires each.
New faculty hires are expected to have an important effect on the West Texas economy.
�There�s going to be a significant impact on the Lubbock economy from hiring 90 new and replacement faculty,� Texas Tech Provost William Marcy says. �The average faculty salary for all professorial ranks is about $70,000 per year, so we expect these expenditures to contribute $18.9 million to the economic activity in Lubbock.�
-Michael Castellon
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