This page documents the major initiatives, investments, partnerships, facilities, and organizational changes implemented under each pillar of Hopes & Aspirations High. It focuses on how TXST executed its strategic vision. For current performance metrics, trend data, and outcomes associated with each pillar, readers should refer to the Strategic Metrics Dashboard. Together, the Executing the Vision and Dashboard pages provide a comprehensive view of TXST’s strategic transformation. 

Academic Year 2022–2023

  • Established the Division of Research and appointed TXST’s inaugural Vice President for Research.
  • Convened the Commission on the Run to R1 to guide institutional planning and recommend strategies to achieve Carnegie R1 status by 2027.
  • Invested approximately $18M to support 100 Ph.D. students and 30 postdoctoral researchers.
  • Submitted planning notifications for 11 doctoral programs to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and committed $50M to support doctoral education, strengthen graduate enrollment, and advance TXST's Run to R1 strategy.

Academic Year 2023–2024

  • Secured voter approval of Proposition 5, establishing the Texas University Fund (TUF), a $3.9 billion permanent endowment supporting TXST and three other emerging research universities and providing TXST with at least $22.5M annually to accelerate research growth.  
  • Invested $6M for faculty startup packages, $2M for research acceleration initiatives, $3M for research staffing, and $30M for strategic faculty recruitment and retention.
  • Received TSUS Board of Regents approval for nine of the 11 proposed doctoral programs, nearly doubling TXST's doctoral portfolio and expanding research capacity in engineering, mathematics, chemistry, construction management, engineering management, and other high-demand fields.

Academic Year 2024–2025

  • Launched the Research Pivot Grant Program to help faculty sustain research momentum and pursue new funding opportunities amid shifting federal research priorities and funding uncertainties.  
  • Invested $7M in faculty startups and $4M in Research Enhancement, Pivot, and Accelerator programs.
  • Acquired 75 acres of federally conveyed property valued at approximately $10M to serve as the future home of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center.

Academic Year 2025–2026

  • Acquired approximately 128 acres within the Sink Creek watershed, adding a nationally significant research asset that expands opportunities for water, environmental, ecological, and climate-related research.  
  • Convened a series of university-wide research town halls in water, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, digital humanities, and aging/dementia to identify collaborative opportunities, shape investment priorities, and support the recruitment of senior research leaders.
  • Launched a five-year, $300M investment strategy to advance research excellence through investments in infrastructure, academic programs, faculty, grant activity, laboratory capabilities, and research staffing, with a strategic focus on five priority areas: water and the environment, semiconductors, dementia and aging, artificial intelligence and robotics, and technology and society.  
  • Advanced strategic faculty recruitment efforts focused on attracting distinguished scholars capable of expanding externally funded research, mentoring doctoral students, and strengthening TXST's national reputation in priority research areas.
  • Strengthened doctoral education through one of the most significant investments in the university's history by providing tuition scholarships covering up to 21 credit hours annually for research doctoral students holding assistantships through the Texas University Fund.
  • Expanded life sciences research capacity by securing a $3M congressional appropriation through the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with the support of Congressman John Carter, to establish a Gene Sequencing Facility at the Round Rock Campus. The facility will strengthen biotechnology research while supporting the rapidly growing life sciences ecosystem in Central Texas.