Texas A&M budget cuts free up faculty positions, drive long-range plans

As many public universities tread water in the midst of state budget cuts, Texas A&M University, to stay afloat, has converted its own belt tightening into an aggressive hiring strategy.

Texas A&M is embarking on what officials call a "dramatic" initiative to add 400 new faculty positions - a 25 percent increase in faculty - during a four-year span. Thirty-seven positions are earmarked for Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

Dr. H. Richard Adams

"Instead of retrenching as many of the other universities are, we're going to leap forward boldly," says Dr. H. Richard Adams, the veterinary college's dean.

That leap involves a $20 million reallocation of funds.

"The first thing we did was we scrubbed the entire university's budget. We looked for ways to identify state dollars and free up those state dollars," says Adams.

For example, at the veterinary college, school leaders moved more than 50 individuals' salaries from state dollars to extra-murally funded projects, hospital income and other external sources to free up funds.

Those monies plus the state-approved flexibility for tuition increases represent new resources that will fund 400 new positions during the next several years, according to Adams.

"This amounts to a reinvestment into the heart of the university, meaning faculty," he says. "We believe that the success of this massive new infusion of faculty will so dramatically increase our success in bringing in extramural funding and hospital income that we'll be able to hire even more staff to serve in this new capacity."

Prior to the hiring move, Texas A&M had experienced a sizeable loss of faculty in the past decade as funding from higher education relative to state legislature continued a downward spiral.

The arrival of Texas A&M's newly appointed president, Bob Gates, a former CIA director, launched the bold hiring plans, as he identified a need for increased faculty. The plan merges with the university's 2020 vision, which declares Texas A&M plans to be ranked in the top 10 of all public universities by that year.

The 37 positions designated for the veterinary college are newly created roles, according to Adams, who says they fit into the school's so-called "signature approach," which will determine where positions are allocated.

CVM's signature strategy

"Instead of trying to spread these new resources everywhere as a veneer, we have identified those programs where we literally want to have the nation's No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 programs," he says. "Those would become Texas A&M's signature."

That approach is being adopted throughout the university.

Some of the thematic signatures at the veterinary school include programs in biodefense and emerging infectious diseases, genomics, reproductive biology, cardiovascular medicine, environmental medicine and toxicology.

"It's an unbelievably exciting and challenging time to be at A&M and the veterinary college. With the new hires, we'll be laying out the future of this college for the next quarter century or so. That's an immense responsibility, but it's sure going to be a lot of fun," Adams says.