Office of the President

Speeches & Reports

Campus News and Updates from Interim President Loftin

October 27, 2009

Howdy from your Interim President! I've said it before and I'll say it again: We are fortunate to be associated with Texas A&M during this time of unprecedented growth and development. In an era when many of our peers nationally are facing budget shortfalls and cutbacks, we are moving forward on numerous projects intended to help us reach our Vision 2020 goal of becoming known as one of the nation's ten best public universities by the year 2020. Here are the most recent examples:

• This afternoon, I had the pleasure of announcing our plan to begin construction of an arts and humanities building to house the departments of English and Performance Studies. The four-story, 107,000-square-foot building will be between the Melbern G. Glasscock History Building and the Jack K. Williams Administration Building. The facility will cost about $46 million, $20 million of which will be funded through the Permanent University Fund. Construction will begin in early 2010.
• Good news from the National Science Foundation: Texas A&M is now one of the NSF's Top 20 Academic Research Performers in the United States. That puts us in the company of elite universities such as the Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State, Penn State, Duke, Stanford and MIT — and we are the only Texas institution in this group for 2009. Our $58 million commitment to the Academic Master Plan over the next five years will enhance our status even further. Dr. Jeffrey Seemann, our vice president for research — and my fellow participant in the China-U.S. Relations Conference in Beijing last week — assures me that the NSF Top 10 status is within our reach.
• New buildings and higher rankings won't mean much if we can't continue to bring top students to Aggieland. "Operation Spirit and Mind," led by the Texas A&M Foundation, will create hundreds of endowed scholarships, graduate fellowships and study abroad opportunities. Just one year after its official launch, the campaign has raised about $185.6 million toward the $300 million goal.
• This Saturday is the deadline for contributing to the 2009 State Employee Charitable Campaign. The SECC allows us as state employees to give to many of our favorite charities through one-time gifts or convenient payroll deductions. If you haven't already done so, please consider giving to the SECC and help us meet our goal.
• I'll admit, it's much easier to discuss football following a huge win. Congratulations to Coach Sherman and our team. I look forward to seeing the 12th Man in action this Saturday as we BTHO Iowa State!

Until next time, Gig 'em Aggies! As always, you can send comments or questions to president@tamu.edu.

Dr. R. Bowen Loftin '71
Interim President