Texas does not lack courage. Today, special bravery is needed. Regional public universities, key institutions that built rural Texas, are facing challenges from population decline, financial strain and growing skepticism about the importance of higher education. The temptation is to handle these issues quietly, to consolidate, and to use gentle terms like “right-sizing.” Giving in to this temptation would be a serious mistake. Rural population decline is not just a seasonal dip; it tests our resolve. Rural Texas is fundamental, not secondary.
Nearly 70% of Texans live within the Texas Triangle. However, the food, fuel and fiber that support this state and much of the nation are produced outside of it. Agriculture, energy, water, manufacturing and rural healthcare form the core of Texas’s prosperity. Regional universities play a vital role by educating teachers in small districts where recruitment is becoming more challenging, by training nurses who keep rural hospitals operational, by developing engineers and technologists who maintain energy independence, and by nurturing first-generation students who go on to become business owners, civic leaders and taxpayers.
When a regional university weakens, rural Texas doesn’t just lose enrollment; it loses capacity, confidence and young people who don’t return. Texas can’t afford a two-state future with prosperous urban corridors and hollowed-out rural counties. Enrollment isn’t the main issue—mission drift is. While enrollment is falling, chasing headcount without discipline causes universities to lose their soul. For decades, higher education has commodified degrees, promised happiness, inflated grades, softened standards and expanded missions for revenue. When universities try to be everything to everyone, they become indistinguishable and dispensable.
Regional institutions must instead declare, without apology, that which does not align with the mission deserves scrutiny. Fiscal discipline is stewardship, not cruelty. Universities exist to serve students and the public good of the people in the communities where they are located, not to preserve internal comfort.
Seventy percent of students borrow money to attend college. That fact alone should sober every university leader in America. Universities have a moral obligation to graduate the students they admit or redirect them early to help reduce debt. Entitlement without performance undermines both the institution and the individual. Everyone deserves a chance, but no one deserves a guarantee. Retention is not just a marketing slogan; it is a covenant that requires clear academic pathways, serious advising, faculty who teach with rigor and care, honest grading and career-connected learning. Students are more likely to persist when standards are clear, and purpose is evident. Lowering the bar to protect enrollment is institutional cowardice, the opposite of Texas courage. The freedom to fail early and honestly is better than carrying a lifetime burden of debt and disappointment.
As the nation nears its 250th anniversary, universities face a constitutional challenge. Regional universities are not just providers of the workforce; they are civic institutions that cultivate citizens who understand liberty, responsibility and ordered freedom, and they educate teachers who shape the next generation’s understanding of the American experiment. When universities replace civic formation with ideological trends or focus solely on economic metrics, public trust diminishes. Without public trust, public universities cannot endure, leading to a civic crisis. A republic depends on institutions committed to truth, humility and reasoned debate.
Some say market forces should determine which universities survive. Public universities are not established to maximize profit; they aim to expand opportunity across different regions. When a rural university fails, the effects spread: teacher shortages worsen, rural hospitals shut down, small businesses lose talent, economic benefits diminish and brain drain speeds up. Higher education needs to be better understood and held accountable, but metrics must reflect each institution’s mission. Regional universities should be recognized for placing teachers in high-need districts, graduating nurses who serve rural areas, supporting first-generation students and driving measurable regional economic growth.
One-size-fits-all funding models create internal cannibalism instead of fostering institutional alignment around student success. Funding should follow mission-driven performance, not mimic flagship standards. Mission-driven performance is a strategic argument, not a plea for charity.
Strengthening West Texas A&M University and regional institutions is a workforce strategy, a rural healthcare strategy, an agricultural and energy strategy and a civic stability strategy. But, above all, it is a courageous Texas-first strategy. Texas built regional universities to expand opportunities beyond metropolitan borders. Allowing regional universities to erode is a clear signal that geography determines destiny. That is not the Texas I know.
The question isn’t whether demographic headwinds exist. It’s whether Texas still has the resolve to defend the institutions that define it. Fearless leadership is crucial. Steady focus is necessary. Clarity of purpose is vital. We have it at WT.
Walter V. Wendler is President of West Texas A&M University. His weekly columns are available at https://walterwTop of Formendler.com.
