A Message from the President
June 12, 2015
Dear Alumni and Friends,
I want to thank all of you who came out to The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Tour of Texas for your support. Traveling to Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Weslaco (where our Valley reception was held) provided me with a unique opportunity to meet some of the alumni, donors, partners, and friends who have helped make The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College and The University of Texas-Pan American such special places. It also gave me a chance to present our vision for UTRGV. I deeply appreciate the comments and suggestions I received in response.
As we move forward, UTRGV will remain focused on:
- Student success,
- Expanding educational opportunity,
- Improving health care in the Valley, and
- Conducting research on the most critical issues facing the Valley.
UTRGV’s regional campus will span four counties and six locations and serve a student population of more than 28,000. Further, UTRGV’s access to the UT System’s Permanent University Fund (PUF) has made it possible to construct new buildings and support the operations of a distributed university. In addition, along with UT Austin, UTRGV will be one of the first universities in Texas to combine a School of Medicine with a general academic institution. In addition, our Centers of Excellence will yield cutting-edge research to address serious issues affecting the region. Our centers include:
- The South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute,
- The Center for Advanced Manufacturing,
- The South Texas Coastal Research Center, and
- STARGATE.
As we near the opening of UTRGV on August 31, your partnership with UTRGV is crucial. We have more than 100,000 alumni spread across the globe from our two legacy institutions. With the support of this strong alumni base, UTRGV will become a significant force in higher education both in the state and in the nation.
We encourage you to stay engaged - fill the stands at sporting events, join us at homecoming, and visit our campuses when you can. We are building something special and hope that you will be part of it.
Thank you for your support. You will always be welcome at UTRGV.
Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President
P.S. To view photos from the Tour of Texas, please visit our Facebook photo gallery.