There is no reason to believe the current interdependency between the regional community and West Texas A&M University will fundamentally change between now and 2035. Ideally, WT can be a vehicle that accelerates regional economic development by providing meaningful educational programs that attract additional employers to the region. A combination of agriculture, technology, finance, transport and energy companies are ideal prospects to locate in the Texas Panhandle and rely on local educational resources for human capital needs. The attractiveness of the region is further enhanced by a low cost-of-living combined with quality health, education and performing arts amenities tied directly to WT. In the end, the future prosperity of the Texas Panhandle and WT are highly correlated. West Texas A&M University will need to be increasingly responsive to market conditions and local needs across all disciplines if there is a desire to drive regional engagement, innovation and impact. 17 SERVING THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS BY SERVING STUDENTS A vitally important role for WT is to successfully serve the needs of the Texas Panhandle and the surrounding region by educating students to fill important local and regional positions in business, health care, engineering, education, technology, agriculture, communication, fine arts and more. The intention is to create working relationships that lead to economic benefit for students and industry in this region first, and eventually to the state of Texas to create a perspective that encourages distinctive programs at WT.
Art, theatre, dance and music students and faculty provide needed talent that supports the ballet, orchestra, opera and theatre. English, Philosophy and Modern Languages supports literary discussions, poetry circles and visiting artists. These areas also support educators for the region and state who continue educating our youth in these areas. This is an important economic impact for the region.
—WT Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities wtamu.edu/wt125cofah
By 2035, the School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics will have a four-year program for high school students which will result in them graduating with a Master of Science in Engineering. They will complete their undergraduate engineering degree within the first two years of graduation from high school and then complete the Master of Science degree within the last two years of the program. This will allow students to take full advantage of the dual-credit courses offered by community colleges through their high schools, while also allowing them to mature and develop for four years before entering the workforce. —WT School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics wtamu.edu/wt125secsm
wtamu.edu/wt125wp-responsiveness-to-industry
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