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| By Wes Peoples '78 |
IT’S FUNNY HOW THINGS COME FULL CIRCLE. When I left TLU after graduating in 1978, I was deeply involved as Guadalupe County Manager for Bob Krueger’s campaign for US Senate (we lost) and not even remotely interested in a career in the homebuilding industry. After all I was one of Layne Hoppe’s political science hopefuls (I think I was more hopeful than Dr. Hoppe may have been about me). Thirty-one years later, I am heavily involved in politics on the local and state level as a part of my duties as president of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Austin and I am still in the homebuilding industry.
Those two experiences, politics and homebuilding, brought me back to TLU in late 2008 and early 2009. I was pleased to have the opportunity to close the circle when I was asked by President Svennungsen to head up the Facilities Task Force as part of the Strategic Plan process. The series of meetings that we went through sure stirred some of the old memories about my time at TLU, but more importantly, it forced me to think in the context of what did I get from my time at TLU, what made it special, and what did it offer that my original choice, The University of Texas, did not or could not offer me.
Through the process of the Strategic Plan, I came to realize that some of the questions that TLU faces were some of the same issues I had faced in both my personal life and my business career. First, what did I want to be when I grew up or more specifically, when I graduated? As you can tell from my opening, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be, but I was confident that the educational and social experience I received at TLU prepared me for whatever I would chose.
TLU had to make that same decision and hence the Strategic Plan. What did they want to be? Larger, smaller or the same size campus? Broader curriculum or more focused courses of study? There were more questions than answers. This brings me to the next issue. One of the basic axioms of successful homebuilders is that you don’t build what you want to live in, but you build the home that the market you are addressing wants to live in. It’s a hard thing to do sometimes. You would like to build bigger, cutting edge, fancier and thus more expensive homes, but if the market you are addressing is for a smaller home with more features at a lower price point, then you build to that market in order to be competitive. TLU has to make those decisions as well. What market does it want to address and what facilities, faculty, and infrastructure does it need to be competitive? In short, how does it take its strengths and turn them into a competitive edge?
As we went through the process, to put it in the same building analogy, we found that TLU was the smaller home with more features at the lower price point–not the larger, fancier home that addresses that “other” market. TLU’s campus size will not change much due to geographic and market reasons. First, while it has land assets around it, they are not large enough for the university to expand much, especially since the largest asset is separated from the campus by a highway. Second, expansion to a much larger campus and student body would take us out of our competitive edge. TLU offers students not only exemplary faculty and staff but the opportunity to learn from them on a personal basis. Where else in Central Texas can you get the low student to professor ratio with the QUALITY staff that TLU offers and at a very competitive price? All of those factors create a value that others have trouble competing with. With this in mind, how does TLU raise the ante even farther? The Strategic Planning process was meant
to delve into that.
On the Facilities Task Force we looked at what TLU needed to build to keep that edge. Walking around and studying both the inside and outside of TLU’s buildings before the task force meetings, I realized that TLU and I had a lot in common. With few exceptions, we basically looked the same but only older. One of the exceptions to this was Emma Frey. It was old when I was a student and, well, let’s just say that it has gotten old enough to reach icon status, or is that relic status. I digress.
I had the opportunity to work with a great group of leaders on the task force who gave freely of their time and knowledge. So with the goal of proposing a path that would both maintain that competitive edge for TLU while staying true to its mission of creating a great value through educational, social, and spiritual growth, we came up with the following strategies:
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| Chairs of the Strategic Plan’s task forces are (left to right), Jon Lee, Glynn Bloomquist, Lynnell Burkett, Wes Peoples, Xavier Rodriguez, and, not pictured, Ann Saegert. |
First, we felt that the master plan and future buildings should always take into consideration that education is constantly evolving and that our technology should reflect that change. Technological considerations should include hardware, software, networking, and the appropriate number of personnel to ensure that TLU is competitive, if not cutting edge, from a technological stand point.
Next, we need to explore the opportunity to partner with both public and private entities as it pertains to the pool, library evolution and rehab, medical facilities, residential facilities, real estate owned, and a possible recreation center and/or stadium. This would enable TLU to expedite building with less cost to the university. We felt that the priorities for new facilities were a new fine arts complex, new residential facilities, athletic fields and convocation facility, library improvements, and then there’s the “what in the world to do with Emma Frey?”
Finally, we needed to produce a life expectancy assessment of all of the buildings and adjust maintenance plans accordingly. Going forward, we should design new buildings with sustainability in mind and ensure that we have analyzed not only the construction costs but the life cost of a building. None of these are simple or inexpensive tasks. They will take a lot of effort and fundraising by all of us. This leads me to my final note.
My coming full circle reminded me that I was only one of many circles from which the fabric of TLU is woven. It is incumbent that all of us do what we can to ensure that fabric is woven for future generations of TLU graduates. I hope all of you will get involved with your alma mater and support it in its mission.
♦ About the Author: A 1978 graduate of Texas Lutheran, Wes Peoples owns two homebuilding businesses in the growing Austin area: Wes Peoples Homes and WJP Construction Services. He is heavily involved in the Mueller Redevelopment Project on the site of the former Mueller Airport and also serves as president of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Austin. Earlier this year Wes was recognized at the Seventh Annual Ethics in Business Award Dinner for displaying the highest level of ethical standards and social responsibility. He and his wife, Karen (also a TLU alumnus), have three children.
“First Person” is an original, personal piece about any topic, written by a student, faculty or staff member, alumnus or friend of TLU. To contribute or for more information contact the Torch editor at 830-372-8049 or khughes@tlu.edu.
