Highlights

• Under the leadership of Sen. Rodney Ellis as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, along with his colleagues Mike Jackson, Jon Lindsay, and John Whitmore, and House Appropriations Committee members Garnet Coleman, Craig Eiland, Jessica Farrar, Peggy Hanric, Talmadge Heflin, Scott Hochberg, and Sylvester Turner, and many other legislators from across the state, the UH System received increased support for instructional and research programs.
• A groundbreaking bill authorizing excellence funding for Texas public universities was signed into law. Under this so-called “tier one” legislation, the University of Houston will receive $12 million over the next biennium (the largest amount appropriated), UH-Clear Lake will receive $1.4 million, and UH-Downtown will receive over $100,000 to help retain top faculty researchers and to upgrade the infrastructure necessary to support research for the 21st century.
• $51 million in tuition revenue bonds was approved for a new science, engineering and classroom building at the University of Houston, the largest such project for any university in the state this biennium.
• $31 million in tuition revenue bonds was approved for a student service and classroom building at UH-Clear Lake.
• $18 million in tuition revenue bonds was approved for a new classroom building at UH-Downtown.
• UH-Victoria will receive $2.8 million in tuition revenue bonds for various campus projects.
• Funding was also approved in the amounts of $2 million for the Texas Learning and Computation Center and $1.2 million for the Small Business Development Center, both at UH; $2 million each to UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown, and UH-Victoria for institutional enhancement. UHV also received $100,000 for its Small Business Development Center.
• The TEXAS grant program received substantial increases by the Legislature. UH System students will receive over $6 million in direct grants in FY 2002.
  

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