After the storm: The future of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
M. Roy Wilson, M.D., M.S.
President, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
When hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast region, the nation paused and then began to
wonder, “What will happen now?” Many even verbalized doubt in the people’s ability to prevail after
the storm.
What happens during the course of a storm and in its aftermath gives great indication about the
potential to not only survive, but to rise to a level of excellence not seen before. What we have today
as Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is evidence of that. In our short 35-year history,
we have not only dispelled any doubt of why the Health Sciences Center should exist, but we have
become a source of pride not only for West Texas, but for the state and the entire southwest region.
However, we have not yet reached our full potential, which is to become recognized as a top-ranked
health sciences center. The time has now come for a new paradigm, one based on our mission to
improve the health of people by providing educational opportunities for students and health care
professionals, advancing knowledge through scholarship and research, and providing patient care
and service.
We have established ourselves as a leader in training health care professionals for West Texas and
beyond. Of our 7,737 graduates, more than half have stayed in Texas and half of those have remained
in West Texas. Yet for many people in the Health Sciences Center service area, accessing quality health
care remains a challenge. That is why, for the future of this institution, our focus must be on emerging
excellence in the areas identified in our strategic plan: research, education, patient care and diversity.
Research, especially when supported by extramural funding, is the most significant factor in
determining an institution’s national status. We’ve made significant progress in recent years attracting
federal research dollars as well as establishing a local support base. However, we need to expand
these efforts. Raising the bar in the research arena is imperative for the Health Sciences Center. In a
research-rich environment, faculty members are on the cutting-edge of their disciplines and in turn
can provide students with the most up-to-date knowledge in their fields. Additionally, a research-rich
academic teaching environment offers unique treatment opportunities for patients.
There are three areas rising to the forefront of our research endeavors. We believe these key areas
– aging, cancer and rural health – are among the top priorities in health care and ones in which the
Health Sciences Center already is gaining some recognition. These will continue to be the areas of
focus for our research in the coming years.
In the educational arena, the Health Sciences Center has achieved excellence in many areas related
to education. We were among the pioneers of implementing distance education and remain one of
the leaders as technological capabilities continue to develop. Future advancements in our educational
endeavors include creating more effective teaching environments as well as providing a leadership
role in educating the public about health issues. Although we have made great strides in improving
the health of the communities we serve, the Health Sciences Center’s 108-county service area remains
one of the most medically underserved in the nation. In this regard, it is imperative that we succeed in
opening the four-year medical school in El Paso.
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One final area in regards to education that will receive attention in the coming years is increasing
diversity throughout all of our disciplines. Already, through our Office of Diversity and Multicultural
Affairs, we’ve established a pipeline leading more minority students from elementary and secondary
schools into our programs. The result, as evidence has repeatedly demonstrated, is a student body that
better reflects the patient population. Presently many health care professionals are challenged to serve
their patients due to barriers such as language and culture. Projected growth in minority populations,
especially in Texas, will only increase these challenges in the future. Training a diverse health care
work force translates into better health care for all.
Our remaining challenge is to better promote the excellence of our programs so that we become the
preferred health care provider among all populations in our service region. For those we serve, the
Health Sciences Center is dedicated to providing high quality, accessible health care, and we will
continue to pursue that goal.
Achievement of our vision to become nationally recognized as a top-ranked health sciences center will
require a commitment of resources and energies to enhance each of the areas vital to our institutional
mission: education, research and patient care. Excellence already is evident in many of our current
programs. The challenge before us is to support and enhance those programs as they compete for
further national prominence and to foster an environment of academic excellence that will pervade
every aspect of life at the Health Sciences Center. We hope you will join us in meeting this challenge.
The result of doing so will be the establishment of a legacy of accomplishment that will benefit
generations to come.
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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
STRATEGIC PLAN
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) is to improve the health
of people by providing educational opportunities for students and health care professionals, advancing
knowledge through scholarship and research, and providing patient care and service.
VISION STATEMENT
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center will be recognized nationally as a top-ranked
health sciences university.
STRATEGIC GOALS
EDUCATION
Provide enhanced learning experiences and academic programs to prepare highly competent health
professionals and scientists
RESEARCH
Increase externally funded, peer-reviewed research, especially from the National Institutes of Health
PATIENT CARE
Improve the health status of the TTUHSC’s target populations by providing high quality, accessible
health care
DIVERSITY
Prepare health professions students for an increasingly diverse workforce and patient population
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Operate TTUHSC as an efficient organization
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