Message from the President
June 30, 2023
Dear UTRGV Community,
If you are in South Texas, you know that summer is here. And while the heat has been relentless these past few weeks, that has not stopped us during the Summer I term, which ends July 12. Best of luck to all the students and faculty wrapping up our first summer session.
It has been a busy month, which is why I am reaching out to share some updates about recent events that affect UTRGV, students, and institutions of higher education, more broadly.
SOM Accreditation
Congratulations to the UTRGV School of Medicine (SOM), which earlier this month received full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). This marked the final stage of a three-stage LCME process, and will allow the SOM, which already receives an average of 6,000 to 7,000 applicants from prospective students each year, to increase the number of future doctors it is able to admit each year. As you know, developing and training future doctors will allow our SOM to continue to address the shortage of medical care throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
So much time, effort, and patience went into achieving this, and I want to especially thank Dr. Michael Hocker, Dean of the SOM and Senior Vice President for UT Health Rio Grande Valley, for his leadership throughout this rigorous process.
Welcome Provost Zayas!
You may have heard, but our new Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Luis H. Zayas, started here on June 1 and hit the ground running. We are thrilled to have someone of his caliber not only join the University, but to also be a deeply passionate and active member of the RGV community. Once again, welcome to the UTRGV family, Dr. Zayas!
SCOTUS Ruling Against Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) decision to end affirmative action marks a significant shift in admissions policies for some schools. While we acknowledge the impact this ruling will have on those institutions, it will not affect the holistic approach we use to evaluate prospective students here at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. UTRGV remains committed to providing our students with world-class educational opportunities at an affordable price and will continue to serve the people of the Rio Grande Valley, the state of Texas, and the students who are deeply embedded in our community.
SCOTUS Ruling Against Student Debt Relief
We support any program that helps students finish college and enter their professional careers with little to no student debt. That said, we also believe that universities should work with government entities to address the root problem behind the student debt crisis.
UTRGV has already gone a long way toward doing this. We currently rank second among national public universities for least student debt, and based on the 2021-22 Academic Year, of the 86% percent of our undergraduate students who qualified for need-based aid, 100% of those students did not pay any tuition or mandatory fees.
Continuing Our Work
There will always be changes to navigate, and some of them will be challenging. However, we are resilient, and you — our students, faculty, and staff — have continued to achieve remarkable outcomes because of your hard work and dedication to UTRGV, our community, and each other. You are The Future of Texas. Now more than ever, I am confident that we have the people, talent, and values in place to accomplish anything.
Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President