UTRGV President Guy Bailey is shown here with student Victoria Gutierrez and her family, from Port Arthur, at a signing event for Luminary Scholars recipients in 2022, at the UTRGV Visitors Center on the Edinburg Campus. (UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy)
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Announcements
By Victoria Brito Morales
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – UTRGV President Guy Bailey is one of the newest members of the Excelencia in Education Presidents for Latino Success network.
Excelencia in Education is the nation’s premier authority on efforts accelerating Latino student success in higher education. And the network itself and its campus teams actively collaborate to put evidence-based practices and strategic analysis of student data to use to support and advance the talents, skills and contributions of Latino students and the institutions.
Bailey is one of 25 university leaders from across the country to join the network this year.
“We are proud to have earned the Seal of Excelencia in 2021, and now, joining the Presidents for Latino Success network will only help UTRGV enhance our priority of student success,” Bailey said. “The tools gained from this network will help forge a path for Latino students for many years to come.”
Currently, there are 37 total university leaders including Bailey in the network, five from the UT System. The network is made up of college and university presidents and chancellors committed to making their institutions a learning environment in which Latino students can thrive.
Sarita Brown, co-founder and president of Excelencia in Education, said the communication and information the network provides is crucial for unified growth.
“Higher education leaders with skills and vision are fundamental to our country’s strong recovery,” she said. “Those prepared to engage and intentionally serve Latino students, while serving all their students, will lead the way.”
Through the network, Bailey will collaborate with Excelencia to leverage collective expertise and resources, foster partnerships and amplify current efforts at the national level.
In 2021, UTRGV was one of 10 institutions to earn the Seal of Excelencia. The 10 institutions earned Seal certification by demonstrating specific inclusive strategies, implementing programs with evidence of effectiveness, and registering results that showed they are intentionally serving Latino students among all their students.
For more information on Excelencia in Education, visit edexcelencia.org.
ABOUT EXCELENCIA IN EDUCATION
Excelencia in Education accelerates Latino student success in higher education by promoting Latino student achievement, conducting analysis to inform educational policies and advancing institutional practices, while collaborating with those committed and ready to meet the mission. Launched in 2004 in Washington, D.C., Excelencia has established a network of results-oriented educators and policymakers to address the U.S. economy’s needs for a highly educated workforce and engaged civic leaders.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.