Stephen F. Austin State University’s regents voted in a 8-1 decision on Tuesday to accept the system’s offer for affiliation. The board member who opposed expressed worries that the system would eventually change the university name.
The East Texas university in Nacogdoches had also been courted by the Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas State systems. SFA officials tasked with reviewing offers found that joining any of the four systems would help the university grow.
Officials told KXAN that the system wouldn’t require changes to the university’s name, mascot and colors. Additional school funding drove the regents’ decision.
UT System’s offer includes additional funding for scholarships, the forestry program and mental health resources, as well as $5.5 million for staff salaries and access to its online library system, according to its response to a series of questions presented by students, faculty and staff. Each system was asked to respond to the questionnaire.
The UT System also benefits from money from the state’s Permanent University Fund, which is revenue largely based on oil and gas from land in West Texas.
Lawmakers must approve legislation next year to allow for the incorporation of the university. The legislative session starts on Jan. 10 and is set to address a range of education issues.
If successful, SFA would join more than a dozen academic and health institutions, including UT-Dallas, UT-Arlington and the UT Southwestern Medical Center.
UT institutions enrolled a record-high of 244,276 students this fall. The system has an operating budget of $25.2 billion.
