Performance review

At the end of her first year A&M's President Murano reflects on progress made.

By: Calli Turner

Posted: 12/1/08

"We're just getting started."

Texas A&M President Elsa A. Murano said that progress has been made toward the emphasized areas of Vision 2020 but that there is still a lot of work to be done.

At the academic convocation and investiture, Murano said she will focus on five areas under Vision 2020: academics, globalization, great value, infrastructure and enlightened governance (AGGIE.)

One of the main areas that has been in the spotlight is infrastructure, namely the Memorial Student Center Complex. The renovation process began the year before Murano was appointed president.

"Now it's my job to take what someone else started and make it happen," she said.

Murano said she has felt the need to push the renovations forward, saying if the University is going to charge students a fee, they better get cracking. But the renovation has been met by setbacks.

The Student Senate passed a bill calling for a student body referendum on the MSC renovation Nov. 19.

"I would expect that what [the bill] means is that people want to make sure we know that they're paying attention," she said.

Murano said she agrees with the points students have put forward, but there are realities that need to be faced.

"I hope that they educate themselves to a few realities," she said.

Murano said the construction experts have determined that the MSC is a hot building.

"It's very much asbestos laden," she said.

She said if the remodeling were done in phases, the University would spend millions on containing the exposed asbestos.

"I don't know about you, but that scares the heck out of me," she said. "I don't think it's worth it for us to try to keep a few parts open.

"I'd rather not put our students or faculty in that situation."

Murano said the renovation is an inconvenience like remodeling a kitchen.

"It's going to be fantastic when it's done," she said. "We're not going to remember it was closed for three years."

Murano said the MSC is yet another sacrifice the University has been making since 1876 and she commends the students for deciding to charge themselves a fee.

"It's selfless service," she said. "We're going to make a small sacrifice for the better of the University."

Murano said the University will ask for $95 million from the Legislature as part of a tuition revenue bond proposal to renew buildings on campus.

Aggies leading Aggies

"We jump-started each of the five [areas of emphasis] with an Aggie," she said.

Murano said a main point of the academic emphasis was the academic master plan and the plan began with Murano's appointment of Jeffrey Vitter.

"I had to get a provost hired. I wanted to have someone I could charge with the task of what we can do to follow the academic master plan."

She said the plan will be complete by the summer. After that it will be a matter of implementing and executing it.

She also said globalization was a major focus point, emphasizing international experiences for students. Murano said the University will continue the efforts in Qatar in hopes of continuing and expanding the branch campus. One accomplishment is the signing of the $22 million KAUST Project in conjunction with other universities.

"It expands our research into the Middle East and establishes a really good linkage for our students," Murano said.

The University will also establish a center in Costa Rica next year, which Murano said is another effort to further the globalization emphasis. The center will focus on environmental research, natural resources, endangered species and wildlife.

She would like to make degree plans account for international experience to allow students to go on international experiences without falling behind.

She wants to continue to offer as great a value as possible to students. Fall 2008 tuition rates were held to 4.99 percent, the lowest rate of increase for A&M students in a decade.

In perspective

She said the current state of the economy needs to be taken into account when offering a great value, and the University must use resources efficiently.

The state of Texas has been very fortunate, she said, in not being impacted as much by the current economic situation when compared to other states. She said other universities, such as those in Florida, Georgia and California, are being foreced to reduce faculty ranks and limit enrollment.

At the fall convocation, Murano unveiled the Aggie Assurance program, which provides full tuition scholarships to students with household incomes of $60,000 or less. Murano said the funding for the Aggie Assurance program comes from existing financial aid resources that can only be spent on financial aid for students.

"More specifically, the funding comes from a portion of the state-mandated set-aside funds that are underutilized due to lack of participation by students, students who end up getting a scholarship, students who did not return to school or who enrolled in fewer classes than expected."

She said the population of students being affected by the Aggie Assurance program is critically important, but not very large.

"Out of the 1,500 eligible students, we assisted approximately 150 students this fall. The remainder of the students already have financial aid from other sources that are helping defray their tuition costs.

She said the anticipated cost of the program for this year is approximately $300,000 and approximately $3 million when fully implemented.

Texas A&M still remains affordable compared to other universities, Murano said, and the more money the Texas Legislature allocates, the less the University will have to charge students.

Reaching out

Murano said one major accomplishment within the accessibility emphasis was the Class of 2012, which had the largest number of black and Hispanic students in University history.

"[The enrollment is] through the tremendous efforts of our prospective student centers throughout the state," she said.

Murano said that high school is the critical point for students to decide if college is right for them, and the University plans to utilize this starting point by reaching out to less-targeted high school students. She hopes to become involved in the Early College High School Initiative that is already in place. The program allows high-risk, low-income minority students to graduate high school with 60 college credit hours.

"What we need to do is be the third partner," she said. "Students that go through a program like that are really good students."

She said the program will expand the students' horizons and increase minority enrollment.

"You're getting the complete education," she said. "We want more and more students to be able to have that."

She said students who visit the prospective student centers have already made the decision to attend college. The "Do You Wonder" marketing campaign is intended to reach the students who do not seek the prospective student centers, she said, with a tour bus that will travel throughout the state.

"It's like we're taking a piece of A&M to them," she said.

Presidential Presence

In addition to Vision 2020, Murano has spent her semester finding a commencement speaker. That speaker turned out to be the president of the United States.

"I was recently appointed by President Bush to serve on the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, and presented the opportunity for him to speak at our fall commencement ceremony in passing at a meeting in Washington, D.C., this fall.

"Then, prior to one of the football games, I was visiting with his father, [George H. W.] Bush, and again mentioned this opportunity. After that meeting, we extended an official invitation to the president through the White House, and we were excited to learn that our invitation had been accepted," Murano said.

Murano said it is quite an honor to have the president of the U.S. to address graduates, particularly as his term is coming to a close.

"This is an opportunity that simply does not occur often. President Bush has led our country through many historical events; if you look back to 9/11, the invasion of Iraq and the current economic crisis," she said.

"I know that Aggieland has a special place in the hearts of the Bush family, and we are looking forward to welcoming the president back home to Texas."

Murano said some of the items left to complete are attracting a nationally renowned scholar as vice president for research; initiate the Campus Pointe mixed-use development on University Drive - state-of-the-art graduate living - and preparing the perfect winter holiday turkey.

"I've got a lot of cooking to do," she said. "Having been a former food safety official and microbiologist, I take everything very seriously."