Even in the turbulent years of the recent recession, Dallas stayed relatively strong economically and maintained higher-than-average employment rates than most other American cities. Last summer, the unemployment rate in Dallas dropped to 5.1 percent, well below the national average at the time of 6.3 percent.

And the city’s employment growth rate has continued to increase, while the rates in other Texan cities, such as Houston and Austin, became more subdued. But while Dallas may have plenty of jobs to offer, it does not always have the easiest time filling them, especially for highly skilled positions in technology. As recently reported by The Dallas Morning News, Dallas has a high demand for people in tech jobs, but the talent just isn’t there.

That is where The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) comes in. Or at least, that is where it is supposed to. UT Dallas has been striving to become a tier-one research facility since as early as 2004, when the Washington Advisory Group, LLC told the university that its small size was the biggest obstacle holding the school back from tier-one status.

Since then, the school has dramatically expanded in size, and what was once widely regarded as little more than a night school for Texas Instruments hopefuls has become a full-fledged university with state-of-the-art tech labs and distinguished staff.

But despite the administration’s promises that the school is closer and closer to tier-one status each year – it always comes up during the annual alumni donation squeeze – the goal continues to be perpetually just a few years away. Official “tier-one” status in Texas involves meeting several requirements, including certain levels of research funds, Ph.D.s awarded, and more.

“Major urban research universities are economic engines for growth”

Tier-one status is at the top of UT Dallas’ priority list, and it even has its own dedicated website, which argues that a tier-one UT Dallas would be good for the city in general. “Major urban research universities are economic engines for growth,” the site says. “The research dollars they attract lead to new startup companies, venture capital investment and jobs in high-paying fields.”

Currently, Texas has three tier-one schools in the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and Rice University. UT Dallas hopes to join that list, but it is not alone in that race. Other schools like the University of Houston are aiming for the same goal, and Texas Tech University recently announced that it raised $1 billion in its drive to tier-one status, more than any other Texas university.

While UT Dallas may not be leading the pack in terms of funds, it does have the advantage of being located near several major technology corporations, such as The Raytheon Co. and the aforementioned Texas Instruments, Inc. (which makes far more than graphing calculators), as well as several well-known game studios like Gearbox Software, LLC and Id Software.

But whether or not that and the school’s relentless drive to reach tier-one status will succeed still remains to be seen.

Image By Drumguy8800 at en.wikipedia [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia Commons