Texas Tech University

OUR PATH

TO THE AAU

Texas Tech University has seen continuous growth in federal and total research expenditures and awards. Additional funding from the state through the Texas University Fund (TUF) means that we are well positioned to expand the excellent research, scholarships and creative activity already taking place on campus, as well as its impact.

Members of the Association of American Universities (AAU) are considered leading contributors to scientific, economic and community advancements. AAU membership indicators serve as guidelines for investments and as goals for achieving new heights of academic and research excellence through Texas Tech’s four strategies.

OUR STRATEGIES

Hire new faculty in areas of research strength

Texas Tech has identified five strategic themes where the university excels in research and innovation. By hiring additional faculty in these areas, we can better support the research that maximizes our impact.

Tactics

  1. Over the next five years, appoint at least 65 new faculty aligned with Texas Tech’s strategic research vision.
  2. Work with colleges to pursue faculty hires synergistic to those funded by TUF.
  3. Collaborate with Advancement to fund strategic research distinguished professorships that build upon positions funded by TUF.
  4. Five-year institutional investments of $300 million ($220 million from TUF) in expanding the Texas Tech research endeavor.

Expected Results

  • Moving toward the 10-year goal of $200 million in Federal Research Expenditures
  • Increasing the presence of Texas Tech publications in top-ranked journals and significantly boosting their impact factor
  • Efficient leveraging of TUF with institutional philanthropic resources to reap a greater return-on-investment

Enhance faculty retention and success

Retaining our brightest faculty depends on creating an environment where our emerging scholars see no ceiling to their career growth.

Tactics

  1. Develop programming and support structures designed to retain faculty.
  2. Create a culture of departmental and college support for nominating faculty for prestigious awards, fellowships and memberships.

Expected Results

  • Targeting high performing faculty for award nominations and counseling junior faculty on career development plans
  • Sustaining progress in improving retention rates to 95% for junior faculty
  • Consistently promoting significant scholarly achievements internally and launching national advertising campaigns highlighting key areas of strength
  • External awareness of Texas Tech’s impacts in research, scholarship and creative activity

Enhance services and resources to support faculty and student research

Institutional resources will be committed to support cutting-edge research, scholarship and creative activity, including increased staff support for pre- and post-award management.

Tactics

  1. Stage expansions of research development and pre- and post-award capacity to support increased proposals and external-sponsored project activities.
  2. Restructure support offices, such as Procurement and Operations, to include a separate function focused solely on research.
  3. Create a TUF Matching Program to leverage substantial federally sponsored project awards.
  4. Create new seed-funding programs that grow strategic areas of research.

Expected Results

  • Expanding staff to drive a higher volume of grant submissions, with the goal of exceeding 2,000 proposals annually
  • Enhancing our visibility and reputation by advertising open positions in prestigious outlets-such as Nature, the U.S. Department of Labor and HigherEdJobs.com-and launching a centralized marketing campaign that spotlights the significant achievements of our faculty in key strategic areas
  • Maximizing state funding by securing $3 in federal funding for every $1 of state investment

Improve facilities and instrumentation that support research

World-class research requires world-class research facilities. Texas Tech will devote a portion of the TUF resources to upgrading instrumentation to better support our strategic research priorities.

Tactics

  1. Invest in facility renovation and new construction aligned with planned strategic hires.
  2. Invest in equipment and instrumentation that serves the research enterprise.
  3. Develop intra-university partnerships to obtain and sustain instrumentation and service support functions that facilitate cutting-edge research.

Expected Results

  • Enhanced opportunity to recruit top thought leaders in strategic research areas
  • Providing cutting-edge instruments and testbeds to support researchers, as well as private sector and government collaborators
  • Increasing research teams’ ability to compete for major funding and partnerships

Targeted Outcomes

2024

747 Federal Proposal Submissions

$63M Federal Research Expenditures

$257M Total Research Expenditures

48,974 10-Year Average Citations

11 Books Published

415 Doctoral Graduates

95 Postdocs

40,969 Enrollment

85% 1-Year Retention Rate

51% 4-year Graduation Rate

68.5% 6-year Graduation Rate

9,995 Degrees Awarded

10,461 Pell Enrollment

*Projections and estimates outlined here reflect current levels of federal and state support as well as existing AAU criteria.

2035

2,500 Federal Proposal Submissions

$200M Federal Research Expenditures

$500M Total Research Expenditures

90,000 10-Year Average Citations

46 Books Published

550 Doctoral Graduates

125 Postdocs

50,000 Enrollment

90% 1-Year Retention Rate

55% 4-year Graduation Rate

75% 6-year Graduation Rate

12,250 Degrees Awarded

12,800 Pell Enrollment

*Projections and estimates outlined here reflect current levels of federal and state support as well as existing AAU criteria.

2024

2035

747

Federal Proposal Submissions

2,500

$63M

Federal Research Expenditures

$200M

$257M

Total Research Expenditures

$500M

48,974

10-Year Average Citations

90,000

11

Books Published

46

415

Doctoral Graduates

550

95

Postdocs

125

40,969

Enrollment

50,000

85%

1-Year Retention Rate

90%

51%

4-Year Graduation Rate

55%

68.5%

6-Year Graduation Rate

75%

9,995

Degrees Awarded

12,250

10,461

Pell Enrollment

12,800
*Projections and estimates outlined here reflect current levels of federal and state support as well as existing AAU criteria.

THE TIME

IS NOW

We have an obligation to this state and our nation to continue responding to the world's challenges through impactful research. As the only Texas flagship research university located in the western half of the state, Texas Tech is a proven national research university partner accomplished in innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development.

Office of Research & Innovation

© 2025  Texas Tech University Aug 13, 2025 3:43 PM