Fall 2023 CEP Faculty Spotlight in External Grants
2022-2023
UTRGV CEP Community
By Dr. Javier Cavazos
EDINBURG, TEXAS - Future of Texas
Dr. Nancy P. Razo, Professor of Practice and School Psychology Program Coordinator in the Department of Human Development and School Services, is at the forefront of expanding school mental health care accessibility in South Texas. Dr. Razo is involved as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator in four major external grants worth over 17.5 million dollars that seek to improve mental health awareness and services in the schools. She is the Co-PI on a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) grant called “Project Bridging the Way,” and she is the PI on two of the three Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants, MHS ACCESS and MHS ACCESS 2, from the U.S. Department of Education. These grants will provide critical mental health services to K-12 students in South Texas.
The external grants Dr. Razo is leading in collaboration with faculty and students across departments in the College of Education and P-16 Integration and the School of Social Work are helping address the shortage of mental health professionals in schools and impacting the mental health services provided to K-12 students in South Texas. Dr. Razo’s work in external grants is fueled by her commitment to ensuring that School Psychology, Social Work, and Counseling graduate students from UTRGV are prepared and empowered to spread mental health awareness and provide robust mental health services in our underserved region. Dr. Razo stated, “Although our grants are considered training grants and not research grants, the impact we are having on our students and the community cannot be undermined.”
Driven by her motivation to document the impact of her external grants, Dr. Razo and her colleagues have received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to publish and disseminate their findings on the critical work they are doing to bridge the gap in mental health services and resources in South Texas. Dr. Nancy Razo’s incredible dedication to pursuing and carrying out external grants to improve mental health resources in South Texas exemplifies a transformative professor and researcher. Her story represents not only commitment to writing grants to provide resources for UTRGV interns but also to shaping access to mental health services in South Texas.
Congratulations, Dr. Nancy Razo!