 The Texas A & M University system , in 2006 , was the first to explicitly state in its policy that technology commercialization was a criterion that could be used for tenure . Passage of this policy was intended to give faculty more academic freedom and strengthen the university 's industry partnerships . Texas A & M works with both state and university agencies on various local and international research projects to forge innovations in science and technology that can have commercial applications . This work is concentrated in two primary locations – Research Valley and Research Park . Research Valley , an alliance of educational and business organizations , consists of 11 @,@ 400 acres ( 50 km2 ) with 2 @,@ 500 @,@ 000 square feet ( 232 @,@ 000 m2 ) of dedicated research space . An additional 350 acres ( 1 km2 ) , with 500 @,@ 000 square feet ( 46 @,@ 000 m2 ) of research space , is located in Research Park . Among the school 's research entities are the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine , the Texas Transportation Institute , the Cyclotron Institute , the Institute of Biosciences and Technology , and the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology . Texas A & M University is a member of the SEC Academic Consortium . 
