Texas lawmakers seek to transfer University of Houston-Victoria to Texas A&M system

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Lawmakers want to put the small University of Houston campus in Victoria under the Texas A&M University System’s umbrella, saying the move will better support the region’s workforce needs.

Under A&M, the University of Houston-Victoria will be able to offer degrees in engineering and agribusiness that are not currently available there, said state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, who introduced legislation to make the move last week.

“Texas A&M agribusiness offerings are incredible and known throughout the world so I cannot tell you how beneficial this could be not only for Victoria, but for the state of Texas,” she said in a phone interview with The Texas Tribune.

Rep. A.J. Louderback, R-Victoria, has filed an identical bill in the Texas House.

Four out of the top nine employers in Victoria, which is 30 miles from the Gulf Coast, are petrochemical companies — Formosa Plastics, the Inteplast Group, Invista and Dow Chemical Company, according to the Victoria Economic Development Corporation.

Meanwhile, the agriculture industry in Victoria County generates between $35 million and $55 million each year from beef cattle and growing corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans and rice, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office.

This is not the first time Victoria representatives have proposed moving the university to the Texas A&M system.

In 2011, community members pushed then-Rep. Geanie Morrison to file a similar bill. They thought the Texas A&M system had a better track record of growing rural universities like theirs, according to the local newspaper, the Victoria Advocate. The University of Houston System did not support the effort and the bill did not gain any traction.

Kolkhorst thinks now is the best time to try again. She said the university lost an advantage when more schools began offering online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its enrollment declined from 3,271 students in 2019 to 2,661 in 2023, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Kolkhorst also sees Texas A&M University in College Station’s decision to cap enrollment at 15,000 undergraduate students annually for the next five to seven years as a good opportunity to market the Victoria campus as an alternative for college hopefuls. The flagship is capping enrollment so it can build infrastructure to accommodate more students.

“People want a Texas A&M degree,” Kolkhorst said.

Leaders with both systems said they are amenable to the change.

“We will be extremely happy to welcome the Victoria campus into the Texas A&M University System, if that is what Gov. [Greg] Abbott and the members of the Legislature decide,” Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said in a statement to the Tribune.

The University of Houston System said it only wants what’s best for its students and the state.

“With the proposed transfer of the University of Houston-Victoria to the Texas A&M University System, we recognize that the academic programs offered by the TAMU System, specifically in the areas of agribusiness and agricultural economics, may be better aligned to support the Victoria region’s economic growth and local workforce needs.”

If the legislation is approved, the Victoria school would become the Texas A&M System’s 12th university on Sept. 1 and the University of Houston System would be left with three.

University of Houston-Victoria has been a freestanding institution within the University of Houston system since 1983.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Disclosure: Dow Chemical, Texas A&M AgriLife, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University System, University of Houston and Victoria Economic Development Corporation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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