Legislation to merge Stephen F. Austin State University into the University of Texas System awaits the governor's signature. | Tamarcus Brown/Unsplash
Legislation to merge Stephen F. Austin State University into the University of Texas System awaits the governor's signature. | Tamarcus Brown/Unsplash
Pieces of legislation that will merge Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) with the University of Texas (UT) System have emerged out of both chambers of the Texas Legislature and await Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature into law.
Per a report from Tyler ABC affiliate KLTV, after the approval of Senate Bill (SB) 1055, House Bill (HB) 2639 garnered a unanimous vote to move on to the Office of the Texas Governor.
LegiScan described the sister bills as “relating to the creation of a new university in Nacogdoches, Texas, within the University of Texas System and the allocation of the annual constitutional appropriation to certain agencies and institutions of higher education” in addition to the abolishment of SFA.
The development comes nearly five months after the SFA Board of Regents elected to accept the system’s offer for affiliation.
According to the university, the vote followed what it described as “a comprehensive process” that involved feedback and responses from the school community and members of the public.
“We are excited about the enormous opportunities this affiliation will provide for our students, faculty and staff,” SFA Board of Regents chair Karen Gantt said in a press release, Austin Journal reported in December. “We know that the future of SFA will be enhanced by becoming a member of the leading university system in the country.”
KLTV reported that UT System Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife believes the merger will make both institutions better.
“We are honored and enthusiastic about taking the next steps with SFA in this process, with confidence that this union will make each of us stronger,” Eltife, a former member of the Texas Legislature, said in the report.
Tyler CBS affiliate KYTX reported that SFA President Dr. Steve Westbrook assuaged fears of the school losing its identity.
"As we have made very clear from the start, the name of the university will not change, the colors will remain purple and white, we're Lumberjacks and we're very proud of that," Westbrook said, per the station. “We've been working really hard to ensure that our faculty, staff and students don't see any interruption in any service through this."
SFA, which was established in 1923, has an undergraduate enrollment of at least 10,000.
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