Key indicators point to healthy UTMB
MARCH 30, 2007--Editor’s note: The past year has been eventful for UTMB, which has taken a number of steps (some of them difficult) in order to secure its financial future and ensure its continued ability to serve the people of Texas. This has also been a time of significant opportunity and achievement for UTMB. Here is a look at some of the indicators that demonstrate the health of UTMB.
- The Board of Regents and the UT System remain steadfast in their support of UTMB; the executive vice chancellor for health affairs has publicly affirmed that “UTMB is not moving to Austin,” and the search for a new president is on track.
- UTMB’s legislative priorities have the full support of its local delegation. Included in the base bill is restoration of a 10 percent cut in general revenue that would have affected all state agencies, and a $57 million tuition revenue bond to fund the local share of the Galveston National Laboratory.
- The GNL—one of only two in the nation and the only national laboratory in Texas when completed in summer 2008—is on budget; UTMB recently received an additional $5 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, bringing the federal contribution to construction to $115 million.
- UTMB is on target to have a break-even adjusted operating margin (which includes $50 million each in depreciation and medical inflation) for fiscal year 2007; this will represent an improvement of $70 million to $80 million within a $1.4 billion budget.
- UTMB was recently ranked in the top 10 among Texas universities in philanthropic dollars raised. Only UT-Austin, Texas A&M University and UT-Southwestern ranked higher. UTMB is currently securing commitments of approximately $1 million per week and is poised to successfully complete its $250 million campaign by the end of the year, 19 months earlier than the five years planned
- Approximately 98 percent of the School of Medicine’s faculty are earning the base and incentive portions of their salary under the new faculty compensation plan. The very small number of faculty who have seen a decrease in their base salary have the opportunity to increase their productivity accordingly.
- Despite a slight increase (from 10 percent to a projected 14 percent), faculty turnover at UTMB remains below the national average. Since June 2006, UTMB has recruited 55 new faculty, including two widely recognized infectious disease experts, a radiology chair, a chair of obstetrics and gynecology, a chief of the infectious diseases division, a director of medical transplantation and a chief medical officer.
- Three UTMB faculty members are recipients of prestigious STAR (Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention) Faculty Recruitment Awards from the University of Texas System—only UT-Southwestern has received as many.
- The caliber of the medical school curriculum was reflected during the recent nationwide Match Day, which was one of the most successful in UTMB’s history.
- Approximately 97 percent of its graduating class matched during the first round (a percentage that likely exceeds the historic national average); the other six students matched during subsequent rounds.
- UTMB residencies were also in high demand; graduates who listed all of the UT health components when ranking residency slots chose UTMB more frequently than UT-Southwestern, M.D. Anderson, UTHSC-Houston and UTHSC-San Antonio.
- The School of Medicine had the largest number of applicants in its history and expanded its class size by 20 students this year; applicants had higher GPAs and MCAT scores than at any time in the past five years. UTMB medical students had a pass rate of 99 percent on Step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, exceeding the historic national average by 6–7 percent.
- Eight School of Medicine departments were listed among the top 20 medical school departments receiving NIH funding. UTMB as a whole ranked third in Texas; only Baylor College of Medicine and UT-Southwestern ranked higher.
- UTMB recently received a sterling report and full accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
- Thanks to the generous support of The Sealy & Smith Foundation, UTMB is developing a comprehensive Transplant center.