Benson Lauds Era of Accomplishments in State of the University

In his final State of the University address, University of Texas at Dallas President Richard C. Benson pointed to successes in enrollment growth, record faculty recruitment, new campus construction, increased research expenditures and top national rankings.

He attributed the University's achievements to its staff and faculty, while lauding UT Dallas students as being among the brightest in the country.

"Our students are talented beyond measure, and we are fiercely dedicated to their success," he said. "A college education is a gateway to a better life - for the students, for their families and for our communities."

Benson, the Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership, shared his annual update in a video posted online, in which he noted that U.S. News & World Report recently ranked UT Dallas as the third-best public university in Texas. He also highlighted a nearly 25% increase in undergraduate enrollment over the past eight years.

"It is my firm belief that UT Dallas is well positioned to remain on this extraordinary upward trajectory for many years to come."

UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson

At the same time, he said graduate enrollment has dipped. Various university teams are working to build toward the ongoing goal of 10,000 enrolled graduate students. UTD also has strengthened its outreach to countries all over the world, partially through new recruitment offices in South Asia and Africa.

In 2022 Benson announced the strategic faculty hiring initiative, aimed at reaching the University's ambitious goal to grow the size of the tenured/tenure-track faculty to 625. UTD surpassed that hiring mark this academic year, Benson said.

Turning to research, Benson said that since being designated in 2016 as a Carnegie R1 doctoral institution with very high research activity, UTD has seen a nearly two-thirds increase in total research expenditures and has more than double its federally funded research expenditures. He said the University will surpass its target of $65 million in federal research expenditures when final numbers are reported in December.

The University exceeded another goal this year when the endowment hit $859 million, surpassing the target of $800 million.

As Benson discussed new construction on campus, he highlighted the opening of the first phase of the Edith and Peter O'Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, which houses the Trammell and Margaret Crow Museum of Asian Art of the University of Texas at Dallas and other important collections. He noted that in his inauguration speech in 2016 he had emphasized the importance of boosting the arts at UTD and was pleased that the arts - and many areas of the University - had been enhanced over the past eight years.

Benson became UTD's fifth president in July 2016. He announced in August that he was stepping down from the role and that a national search is being conducted for his replacement.

He said the last eight years have been enormously satisfying and that no other Tier One research university has outpaced UTD.

"It is my firm belief that UT Dallas is well positioned to remain on this extraordinary upward trajectory for many years to come," he said.

Additional Speakers

Other speakers featured in the presentation were Dr. Michael Kesden, speaker of the faculty for the Academic Senate and professor of physics; Staff Council president Heather Oltmann, administrative services officer for biological sciences; Vishva Bhagirath Patel, a cyber security, technology and policy graduate student and president of the Graduate Student Assembly; and Student Government president and philosophy senior Devin Schwartz.

Each speaker's video presentation is available on YouTube and on the State of the University webpage.