Convocation 2022

• Texas State was named one of the nation's best institutions for students to earn their college degree by the Princeton Review in the 2022 Best 387 Colleges.
• Texas State was recognized as one of the Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics by Hispanic Outlook magazine in 2021, nationally ranked in 7 categories.
• Texas State was named among the Best National Universities for 2022 by U.S. News and World Report.
• Texas State was named one of America's Best Online Learning Schools 2022 by Newsweek magazine. TXST was ranked number 7 out of 150 universities.
• Texas State was named one of the nation's top Green Colleges by the Princeton Review for the use of renewable energy, recycling and conservation, and environmental studies.
• Texas State celebrated 10 years since receiving the designation of Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education.

Texas State continues to evolve its degree programs to remain competitive and meet the workforce needs of Texas.

• TXST is launching a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering this fall. The program anticipated attracting 66 majors in its first year, but preliminary data suggest significantly higher demand than anticipated, as 172 freshman and 39 new transfer admits have declared the major.
• The master’s degree in long term care administration is expected to be approved for a fall 2022 launch.
• As part of the strategic planning process, TXST is exploring opportunities to create additional face-to-face and online master’s and doctoral degree programs with high workforce needs.

• Infrastructure Research Lab at STAR Park will provide research space for the civil engineering program to study technology-enhanced infrastructure. Students, faculty and industry leaders will collaborate to build safer, more durable infrastructure. Construction will conclude this fall, with research to commence in the spring.
• Hilltop Housing Complex broke ground in May 2022. Once complete in spring 2024, the complex will include more than 1,000 beds and addresses the university’s growing need for more on-campus housing options.
• Live Oak Hall features a film sound stage, TV studio, recording mix classroom, and editing lab. The new facility will open this fall and ultimately serve approximately 600 students and faculty of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.
• Pecan Building next to the Speck Street Garage opened to house the University Police Department. The UPD offices in Nueces transformed to become the new Testing Evaluation and Measurement Center.
• Campus Services Building on the Round Rock Campus opened to serve facilities staff, Environmental, Health, Safety and Risk Management, Parking Services, the University Police Department, and the Office of Distance and Extended Learning.
• Streets on the Round Rock Campus were re-named in honor of Dr. Adolfo “Sonny” Barrera and Dr. Elvin Holt. Dr. Barrera was an assistant vice president for Student Affairs and director of multicultural affairs. Dr. Holt was the first tenured Black professor in the Department of English.
• Two residence halls on the San Marcos Campus were re-named to honor the university’s first Black students and Latina student. Elena Zamora O'Shea Hall bears the name of TXST’s first known Latina student in 1906. First Five Freedom Hall honors Dana Jean Smith, Helen Jackson Franks, Georgia Hoodye Cheatham, Gloria Odoms Powell, and Mabeleen Washington Wozniak.
• Undergraduate Academic Center was renamed the Denise M. Trauth and John L. Huffman Undergraduate Academic Center in honor of Dr. Trauth’s two decades of leadership as president.

Texas State experienced four consecutive record-setting quarters in restricted research expenditures. For the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, restricted research expenditures topped $10.3 million. TXST was awarded the following grants to lead innovative research that quarter:

• The School of Health Administration was awarded $1.4 million from THECB to build an accessible, high-value credentialing and certification program for data analytics to support current and future Texas workforce requirements.
• The Department of Mathematics received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to generate a research-informed transition to a mathematical proof curriculum and to develop theory regarding how learning occurs.
• The School of Criminal Justice and Criminology was awarded $500,000 from the National Institute of Justice to help improve police officer investigations and community relations by providing evidence-based interviewing skills for officers.
• The Department of Counseling, Leadership, Adult Education and School Psychology was awarded nearly $500,000 from the THECB to increase access to counseling services for underserved populations and offer training in multicultural counseling.
• The Department of Computer Science received $400,000 from the National Science Foundation for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site program which researches edge computing and applications on smart wearable devices.
• The Department of Anthropology received approximately $400,000 from the National Institute of Justice to improve the forensic analysis of human skeletal remains using geographic information systems software.
• The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support a multidisciplinary chemistry research community with a focus on molecular innovation and career exploration.
• The Department of Organizational, Workforce, and Leadership Studies was awarded a grant totaling more than $800,000 from the National Science Foundation to help Black and Hispanic women in STEM and computing pathways.
• The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs received continued funding from the Johnson Space Center to provide scientific and technical support including developing tools related to discovering the origins of extraterrestrial life.
• The Department of English was awarded a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies to partner with community members to create knowledge and increase community, cultural, and educational engagement.
• The Department of Psychology was awarded a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to address major gaps in literature on alcohol use among U. S. Latinas and ultimately reduce alcohol-related health disparities.

• College of Science and Engineering undergraduate students completed a NASA grant to design, build and test their innovative idea that microorganisms can turn extraterrestrial soil into resilient structures through 3D printing.
• Texas State partnered with Anterix, a private broadband network company, to establish a university-wide, cutting-edge, 4G/5G broadband network. Texas State is the only university in the nation with such a license.
• Texas State and NEC Corporation of America partnered to generate new ways to use technology, research and data to fight human trafficking. Student teams used real-world data to identify human trafficking threats and create a user-interface that law enforcement can use to build an archive of sex trafficking activities.
• Texas State and Dell Technologies partnered on a study of Dell's Data Science Workstations for high-speed computing. Dell provided the Ingram School of Engineering and the School of Health Administration with high performance computing technologies with advanced graphic processing units for evaluation.
• A study led by TXST faculty found that Texas State’s economic impact for fiscal year 2020 resulted in more than $2 billion in total economic activity for the state of Texas and the creation of nearly 16,000 jobs.

• In the fall of 2021, Texas State publicly launched NEXT IS NOW, the largest fundraising campaign in university history. The campaign is focused on student success and becoming an R1 research university. The NEXT IS NOW capital campaign has exceeded $200 million towards the goal of $250 million.
• TXST experienced three consecutive quarters of $8 million in philanthropic contributions. For the third quarter of FY2022, TXST received $8.2 million in gifts.
• Texas State is pursuing eligibility for NRUF and one of the required metrics calls for the university to have two consecutive years of a $400 million endowment. The total endowment value has topped $342 million.

Texas State is responding to the rising cost of college by leveraging federal and state grants, donor support, and institutional funds to reduce as much as practical the cost of attendance for current and future students.

The university increased scholarships to freshmen and transfer students; and received and dispersed grant funding for students to re-enroll after dropping out, and to clear some student balances for fees and financial holds.

• In Fall 2021, TXST implemented the first year of a $40 million, four-year plan to increase assured and merit scholarships for freshmen by $11.6 million annually. Scholarship acceptances increased by more than 42%. This increase is fueling other increases in new student orientation registration and housing contracts.
• In January 2022, TXST implemented the first year of a $4.2 million, two-year plan to provide assured scholarships to transfer students beginning in Fall 2022. More than 1,300 scholarships have been accepted, with increases in new transfer student orientation registrations and new transfer student registrations for Fall 2022.
• In 2021 and 2022, TXST received a $3 million grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to provide scholarships to help former students and displaced workers return to college to complete their degrees. As of May 2022, TXST awarded $1.9 million to 599 students, and enrolled 479 former students and graduated 116.
• In January 2022, TXST received $250,000 from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund to clear institutional-level outstanding student balances, such as accumulated fees and institutional-level financial holds.

• Texas State won the 2021-22 Sun Belt Conference’s Vic Bubas Cup for the second time in the last four years. The Bubas Cup is awarded to the top athletic department in the conference.
• TXST men’s basketball capped their conference championship season with a program first -- playing in the National Invitation Tournament.
• TXST baseball had a historic season: a best record in program history; regular season conference champions; selected to the NCAA baseball championship tournament; and ranked in the nation’s top 25 for nearly the entire season.
• This fall, Bobcat Nation will see a highly anticipated football team of more than 30 newcomers, 19 returning starters, and other key returners take the field on September 10, 2022, in the home opener against Florida International University.
• TXST softball entered the conference championship game on a 15-game winning streak.
• Alyssa Wilson in Track and Field won the conference championships in the hammer throw, shot put, and discus and qualified for all three events at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.