Schovanec Talks New Chiefs Partnership and Vet School Funding

Wednesday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin, The President of Texas Tech University Dr. Lawrence Schovanec joined Dave and Matt to talk about Tech's plans for online vs face-to-face classes, Tech baseball's performance, their recent partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Texas Legislative Session, and more.

The President started the discussion by talking about how Tech is planning to work in the future. Schovanec explained that they announced a committee 3 weeks ago to talk about the issues that Tech was facing as far as face-to-face vs online classes, as well as staff working online vs in person. He said that Tech has always been about personal interactions, however, they know that they need to be more adaptable. He wants to create a situation where, when a student reaches out, that there will always be someone there for them, as he expects many people will work from home. Schovanec went on to say that many upper division classes prefer an online format, and for some students, online classes are the only way they will complete a course in the first place. So, while Tech will always have face-to-face classes available, they still want to keep the online options open for those who want it.

Dr. Schovanec was then asked about Tech baseball, who recently lost 2 games, but still did well in the regionals. The President recently tweeted that, while this last weekend wasn't what they were hoping for, he was still very proud of the team, was happy to have them representing Tech, and knows these games mean a lot for those athletes. The topic then shifted to the question of athletes being payed for their name-image likeness. Governor Abbott recently signed a bill that would allow athletes to be payed. Schovanec said that this is a changing world, and that he is a bit worried about the "guard rails" that will be there to keep rogue activity to a minimum, but in the end, why not allow athletes to get paid anyway.

Keeping on the track of athletic talk, Schovanec was asked about the recent developments between Tech and the Chiefs, seeing as Patrick Mahomes has really resonated with the recent generation of college students. Schovanec explained that Texas Tech signed an agreement this week with the Kansas City Chiefs for a partnership that would allow Tech certain amounts of air time during their games, would put Tech imagery on the scoreboard, allow Tech to bring guests to games, and much more. Dr. Schovanec said that this will be an opportunity to expand the brand of Tech, and that it could help them with advancement and fundraising.

Finally, with the Texas Legislative Session recently wrapping up, Dr. Schovanec was asked how Tech came out of it. The President said that they did very well, and chalked up their success to the work of Senator Perry, John Frullo, and Dustin Burrows. He explained that Texas Tech did get the extra funding that they had requested for the veterinary school. Additionally, due to their growth and enrollment, the state funded an enrollment increase for the formula, which he said Tech benefited from quite a bit. Overall, he was very grateful for how Tech has ended up despite the pandemic.

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Lawrence Schovanec in the audio above.

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