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Texas Speaker, local dignitaries visit UNT Dallas
(l to r) UNT Dallas Vice Chancellor John Ellis Price, Wilmer Mayor Jeffery Steele, UNT System Chancellor Lee Jackson, Rep. Helen Giddings, Hutchins Mayor Artis Johnson, Speaker Joe Straus, Lancaster Mayor Marcus Knight, Desoto Mayor Bobby Waddle, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, and Cedar Hill Mayor Robert Franke pose at UNT Dallas Sept. 29. Giddings arranged for Straus to visit the school to help him be more familiar with her district.
DALLAS—In a visit arranged by Rep. Helen Giddings (District 109), Texas House of Representatives Speaker Joe Straus made his first trip to the University of North Texas at Dallas Sept. 29.
In the two-hour meeting, Giddings, and the mayors of six local communities spoke briefly about their successes and needs in an effort to educate Speaker Straus about the area. Straus and Giddings discussed the critical need for investment in higher education, citing the growth of enrollment at UNT Dallas as proof.
Straus said the new building was “good news” for Dallas, one of the few large cities in the nation without a public university. When UNT Dallas opens its doors as a four-year institution in 2010, Straus said, “You won’t be able to build out the campus fast enough with the rapid growth in this region.”
The speakers, which included Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and five other local mayors, cited jobs, education, and transportation as critical areas of need.
Giddings organized the event to give Straus a tour of her district. She said District 109, which consists of Dallas, Lancaster, Wilmer, Hutchins, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and parts of Red Oak and Ovilla, has added jobs, but still needs to make progress in education. The high school dropout rate in the area is “way too high,” while the college-going rate is “way too low,” she said.
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