Regents approve research incentive program for UT Brownsville, UT Pan American, UT Permian Basin and UT Tyler

AUSTIN – On the heels of successful programs to increase funding for research at UT’s emerging research institutions, The University of Texas System Board of Regents unanimously voted Thursday to begin a similar program for UT System’s four comprehensive universities. 

The Regents authorized $1 million from the Permanent University Fund to begin the UT System Research Incentive Program for the Comprehensive Universities, or UTrip-CU.

The UT System’s comprehensive universities include UT Brownsville, UT Pan American, UT Permian Basin and UT Tyler. The UTrip-CU money will be used to augment philanthropic gifts that support research at these four institutions.

A gift ranging from $25,000 to $99,999 would be matched by the UT System at 20 percent, which would mean an additional $5,000 to $19,999.90 for the institution. Gifts of $100,000 to $249,999 will be matched at 30 percent, and gifts of $250,000 or greater will be matched at 50 percent but will not to exceed $250,000.

In 2009, the Texas Legislature created the Texas Research Incentive Program, or TRIP, and the UT Regents created the UT Research Incentive Program, or UTrip, to leverage philanthropic gifts at UT’s four emerging research institutions.  Those institutions include UT Arlington, UT Dallas, UT El Paso and UT San Antonio.

“Research is integral to the mission of the UT System because it improves the lives of Texans and people throughout the nation and world,” Regents Chairman Paul Foster said. “We hope the matching funds provided by the UTrip-CU program will be the seed to encourage donors to give gifts to fund research at our comprehensive institutions. We are thrilled with the impact of the UTrip program at our emerging institutions, and we hope to see a similar success story at our comprehensive institutions.”

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States, with nine academic universities, six health institutions and a fall 2013 enrollment of more than 213,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public universities in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $14.6 billion (FY 2014) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.