For more than 130 years, The University of Texas System (the “U. T. System”) has been committed to improving the lives of Texans and people all over the world through education, research and health care.
The U. T. System is one of the nation’s largest systems of higher education, with 14 institutions that educate nearly 240,000 students. Each year, U. T. System institutions award more than one-third of all undergraduate degrees in Texas and more than half of all health professional degrees. The U. T. System is one of the largest employers in the state with about 21,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and members of the National Academies – and more than 85,000 health care professionals, researchers and support staff.
Life-changing research and invention of new technologies at U. T. System institutions places the U. T. System among the top 10 “World’s Most Innovative Universities,” according to Reuters. The U. T. System ranks fifth in the nation in patent applications, and because of the high caliber of scientific research conducted at U. T. institutions, the U. T. System is ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 2 in the nation in federal research expenditures.
In addition, the U. T. System is home to three of the nation’s National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Centers – U. T. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, U. T. Southwestern Medical Center and U. T. Health Science Center at San Antonio – which must meet rigorous criteria for world-class programs in cancer research. Also, the U. T. System is the only system in the country to have four Clinical and Translational Science Awards from the National Institutes of Health.
Transformational initiatives implemented over the past several years have cemented U. T. as a national leader in higher education, including the expansion of educational opportunities in South Texas with the opening of U. T. Rio Grande Valley in 2015. The U. T. System was the only system of higher education in the nation that established not one, but two new medical schools in 2016, at U. T. Austin and U. T. Rio Grande Valley.
For FY 2021, changes in the operating budget are largely driven by growth in health care activities primarily related to hospital patient income and professional fees charged by U. T. faculty physicians and contractual arrangements with affiliated hospitals and health care systems. These gains are partially offset by a proposed reduction in general revenue state appropriations at U. T. academic institutions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all institutions’ auxiliary activities.
