The Shorthorn - Yudof visits Arlington businesses

HOME

Yudof visits Arlington businesses

Written by Amber Tafoya

Sunday, 27 July 2003 11:00 PM

The UT System chancellor will encourage partnerships between businesses and the university to help with a $10 million deficit. Chancellor Mark Yudof will tour Arlington businesses Wednesday to promote private partnerships with UTA. The Arlington Chamber of Commerce invited Dr. Yudof to speak at a luncheon where he will address the collaboration of UT System universities in the Metroplex. Yudof’s visit is expected to help UTA make alliances with corporations that can help fund research projects, said Wes Jurey, president and chief executive officer of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. “The push to make UTA a top-tier university has been important,” Jurey said. “The chancellor’s visit will hopefully prove to be proactive.” While the chancellor will not make an announcement of a collaboration, he will concentrate on expanding avenues of resources within the Metroplex. “We would not jump the gun and talk about any prospects until something was finalized,” said Monty Jones, system associate director for public affairs. “There are always a number of opportunities being considered.” Yudof will point out opportunities for research collaboration to support economic development, Jones said. The idea is to increase those opportunities, he added. “We want the universities in the Metroplex to work together,” Jones said. Because the university has a $10 million deficit from state budget cuts, finding private sources of funding has become increasingly important, said Dan Williams, senior vice president for finance and administration. As money is cut from the university, more creative options must be explored and expanded on, he said. The university has partnerships with businesses that help support research programs including the Automation & Robotics Research Institute and the Arlington Technology Incubator. Some city officials say they hope to find a business venture similar to what UT-Dallas developed in early June with Texas Instruments. The selection of Texas as the location for a $3 billion factory is the result of a collaboration among Texas Instruments, Texas leaders and the UT System. The company gave UT-Dallas a grant of $300 million dollars and caused some city leaders to question Yudof’s promise to put UTA to top-tier status. Jones said he hopes Yudof’s visit will help clarify the system’s support for UTA and all of the universities in the Metroplex. Lana Wolff, District 5 City Council member, said she was disappointed in the system when she learned of UT-Dallas’ collaboration. Some city leaders are genuinely confused because they have heard that UTA and the city had reached an agreement with the chancellor that the area universities would be treated equally, she said. “The trust has been marred a little bit,” she said.
Views: 43 | E-mail

Be first to comment this article

Last Updated ( Monday, 31 August 2009 05:21 PM )

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]