PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Prairie View A&M University could separate from the Texas A&M University System if the National Alumni Association president has his way.
Mark Falls claims the Board of Regents doesn’t adequately fund the Historically Black College/University.
“The federal government has committed to providing financial support to PV so long as Texas matches that support. We’re a land grant college that was established in 1890,” Falls said. “The state of Texas fails to provide the same level of one-to-one matching dollars as compared to the University of Texas and Texas A&M University.”
Laylan Copelin, Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications for the system, disputes the allegations. In a statement to KPRC 2, Copelin says funding has increased, “the System has allocated $341M in construction projects to Prairie View A&M over the past 11 years.”
The statement goes on to say, “Also notably, Prairie View A&M’s allocation from A&M’s permanent endowment increased by nearly 150%, from $12.1M in 2011 to $29.9M this year. And on an annual per-student basis, System funding has more than doubled to $3,306 per student, up from $1,384.”
“We feel devalued,” Falls said. “We feel underserved. We feel like we don’t have a say so. They’re always in control.”
Falls says he has spoken with several Houston-area state lawmakers about leaving the system. He adds if he succeeds, then PVAMU won’t become private but instead operate like any Texas Southern University and have its own Board of Regents.
“Since we are a first-class institution, there’s no need for us to be under the Texas A&M system,” Falls said.
THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM STATEMENT:
“We can’t speak to past inequities, but under Chancellor John Sharp and the Board of Regents, the funding for Prairie View A&M University has been the best it’s ever been. For example, the System has allocated $341 million in construction projects to Prairie View A&M over the past 11 years. Further, the System has given $36 million in research funding from the chancellor’s research fund to the university in the same period. Also notably, Prairie View A&M’s allocation from A&M’s permanent endowment increased by nearly 150 percent, from $12.1 million in 2011 to $29.9 million this year. And on an annual per-student basis, System funding has more than doubled to $3,306 per student, up from $1,384,” Copelin said.