After being named a Tier One university, leaders at Texas Tech explained what this means for the future.

“Being a Tier One university is huge, because what it, in effect, is saying, is you’re one of the top research universities in the nation,” former Chancellor Kent Hance said.

This designation is something leaders at the university have worked on for a number of years.

“We set a goal some time ago to make Texas Tech a Tier One university, and we were able to achieve it,” Hance said. “Chancellor Duncan has done an excellent job in helping us get across the finish line. But this is–all the faculty, all the administrators, all the students–this is something that we have all been working for for at least the last 10 years.”

Provost and Senior Vice President Dr. Lawrence Schovanec said this new designation could help bring a new level of awareness to the university.

“In one sense, by Tech being in this Carnegie highest research category, it raises the elevation and reputation of the university,” Schovanec said.

It’s something Schovanec said will help when it comes to recruiting.

“This is going to help us, I think, in recruiting students, especially at the graduate level, and it’s also going to help us in recruiting faculty, ultimately just the whole quality of the Tech education will be enhanced by this,” Schovanec said.