Message from the President and Provost
January 25, 2023
Dear UTRGV Family,
Welcome back to campus! The coming year promises to be as busy and eventful as 2022 was. In 2023, we will go through another legislative session, begin implementing our new strategic plan, and continue our progress toward becoming an Emerging Research university.
As you know, UTRGV celebrated some remarkable initiatives this past fall — a new Cancer and Surgery Center with advisory services provided by The University of Texas M.D. Anderson, new collegiate high schools in Edinburg and McAllen, and a new campus life initiative that will comprise additional student housing options, new marching band and spirit program opportunities, and the expansion of athletics, including women’s swimming and diving and football.
What sometimes gets overlooked in the excitement over these initiatives, though, is the incredible job our faculty, staff, and administrators do every day in the core work of our university — educating students and conducting research. During the holiday break, we had the opportunity to pause and reflect on where we are, which reminded us of just how well UTRGV is doing in education and research. Two things in particular stood out.
1. Student Performance has Dramatically Improved
The first is the performance of our students. As you know, the pandemic had a very negative impact on the educational performance of our students. Many of them lacked access to high-speed internet, something crucial for remote learning, and first-generation students (like we were many years ago) often need face-to-face interactions with faculty, advisors, and others as they learn to navigate a complex institution. As we returned to more normal operations this past fall, the performance of our students improved dramatically, and the numbers show it. Our preliminary spring enrollment is currently up over last spring by more than 650. This increase is almost entirely due to improved student retention (remember that we admit very few new students in the spring). As we have come back together in-person, our students are excelling again, and our current fall-to-spring retention rates of 93.4% are only .4% behind our highest fall-spring retention rates (F19-S20).
Faculty have been true partners in student success, leading to notable achievements such as the historic closing of retention equity gaps for students in our Vaquero Innovators Program, continued success in degree progress initiatives that contribute to timely graduation, and increased participation in professional growth opportunities in teaching and leadership.
Thanks to our faculty, staff, and administrators for your transformative work with our students.
Later this semester, Dr. Maggie Hinojosa, Senior Vice President for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs, and Dr. Jonikka Charlton, Associate Provost of Student Success and Dean of the University College, will provide updates on our improved retention rates and other outstanding student success initiatives.
2. Experiencing Spectacular Growth in Research
Rather quietly and under the radar, UTRGV has experienced spectacular growth in research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) measures research and ranks universities by research expenditures. Between FY16, our first year as UTRGV, and FY22, our research expenditures more than tripled, going from $20.78 million to $64.4 million.
Our NSF research rankings have improved in spectacular fashion as well. In FY15, the year before UTRGV began, the combined ranking of UTB/UTPA was 279th out of 625 universities. In NSF’s most recent rankings (for FY20), UTRGV was 194th – a stunning improvement of 85 positions in six years. UTRGV ranked 12th among Texas general academic institutions and ahead of such universities as SMU, Baylor, and TCU.
As we continue to implement the Huron recommendations and build our research infrastructure, both our research expenditures and rankings should continue their dramatic improvement. Dr. Can Saygin, our Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate College, will provide the campus with a detailed report on our progress toward R1 and Emerging Research status later in the semester.
We should all be especially proud of our success in the core work of the university. This is the ultimate measure of our work.
More University Updates
- Last fall we initiated a national search to hire a Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. As an update, the university will welcome candidates for the position to campus next month, so please be on the lookout for upcoming communications and schedules.
- Congratulations to our UTRGV Chess Team, which recently qualified for the coveted Final Four of Chess. UTRGV’s Team A earned a spot in the Final Four by finishing third at the 2023 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, played on Jan. 5-8. UTRGV’s Team B placed fourth at the championship event, which included 85 teams representing 44 universities. UTRGV’s Team A will move on to compete for the national championship at the Final Four in April.
- Finally, thank you to everyone who purchased a set of holiday cards that were designed by our students as part of a fundraiser for the UTRGV Food Pantry. In all, we sold 200 sets of cards, which raised $2,400 for the Food Pantry.
Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President
Janna Arney
Executive Vice President and Provost