University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with its main campus in Edinburg, Texas, and multiple other campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas. It is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 after the consolidation of the University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas–Pan American.

In the fall of 2024 the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley enrolled 34,343 students, making it the ninth-largest university in the state of Texas and the fourth largest (student enrollment) academic institution in the University of Texas system. In 2018, UTRGV was also one of the largest universities in the U.S. to have a majority Hispanic student population; 89.2% of its students are Hispanic, virtually all of them Mexican Americans.

It is classified in 2020 among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

History

On December 6, 2012, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a proposal to merge, eliminating both the University of Texas–Pan American and the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College. This led to the creation of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The new institution was planned to include a medical school and have access to the Texas Permanent University Fund (PUF). Texas Governor Rick Perry signed SB 24 into law, approving the creation of the new university in June 2013. In December 2013, the UT System Board of Regents voted to name the new institution the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV).

Guy Bailey was selected as the founding university president. Bailey, in turn, selected Havidan Rodriguez as the founding Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (EVPAA) and Janna Arney as Deputy President. In late August 2017, Rodriguez resigned his position as provost/EVPAA to become the 20th president of the University at Albany, SUNY. After his resignation was approved, Bailey appointed Patricia Alvarez McHatton as the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

In November 2014, the UT System Board of Regents approved the "Vaqueros" as the athletic nickname for University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. They also approved the official colors of blue, green, and orange.

The university officially opened on August 31, 2015, with UT System chancellor Bill McRaven, U.S. Representative Rubén Hinojosa and Texas State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa attending the flag-raising ceremony. McRaven said, "One hundred years from now, Texas will look back and say that this day changed Texas forever."

To honor the largest donation in the history of higher education in the Rio Grande Valley, the College of Business and Entrepreneurship was named Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Robert C. Vackar, CEO of Bert Ogden Auto Group, donated $15 million in the form of an endowment to the college.

Campuses and buildings

The university's property totals 550 acres. UTRGV owns 105 buildings; the properties include:

• Brownsville, Texas
  • The Brownsville Campus (regional)
  • Casa Bella
  • Cueto House
  • Lucerna House
  • Resaca Plaza
  • Vaquero Plaza
  • Stargate
• Edinburg, Texas
  • The Edinburg Campus (main campus)
  • Alumni Center
  • Community Engagement and Student Success Building
  • Visual Arts Building
  • Advanced Tooling Engineering Center
• McAllen, Texas
  • McAllen Teaching Site
• Harlingen, Texas
  • Academic and Clinical Research Building
  • Pump House
  • Clinical Education Building
• Rio Grande City, Texas
  • UTRGV at Starr County
• South Padre Island, Texas
  • Coastal Studies Lab

Students and employees with dependent children may live in the Village Apartments in the Edinburg Campus or the Casa Bella Apartments on the Brownsville campus. The Village Apartments is zoned to the following Edinburg CISD schools: De La Viña Elementary School, B. L. Garza Middle School, and Edinburg North High School.

Academics

Rankings

UTRGV offers 86 bachelor's, 75 master's, and 15 doctoral programs. For the academic year 2015–2016, 92.7% of enrolled students came from the Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties. The ethnic enrollment is 89.2% Hispanic (Fall 2017).

In 2017, Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine ranked UTRGV 3rd in the country in awarding bachelor's degrees to Hispanic students.

In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked UTRGV 58th among 438 national universities in the U.S. based on UTRGV's contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.

Financial aid

In 2017, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was ranked No. 6 (out of 56 Texas universities) for lowest student loan debt in the state of Texas.

Colleges and schools

Eleven colleges and schools formed the academic foundation for UTRGV, including:

Academic accreditation

UTRGV inherited the academic accreditation of its legacy institutions. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

UTRGV was notified on December 6, 2016 that it was being placed on a 12-month probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The probation came about because of the complexity of a transition that involved the separation of UTB/TSC, the separate accreditation of TSC, and the formation of UTRGV. The probation-removal decision by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees was announced in December 2017, and the SACSCOC Board of Trustees on December 11, 2017 announced that it had removed the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley from probationary status. This decision was based on the university successfully addressing the Statewide Single Audit for FY 2017 conducted by the Texas State Auditor's Office.

The UTRGV School of Medicine received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in October 2016. In May 2016, the School of Medicine received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to offer a medical residency program in psychiatry.

Proposed expansions

Legislation to establish a law school in UTRGV was introduced by representative Eddie Lucio III in November 2014 but did not pass in the Texas Senate. On May 21, 2019, the Texas House of Representatives approved House Bill 103 during the 86th Legislative Session, whose author was Representative Armando Martinez; it calls for the establishment of a public law school in the Rio Grande Valley.

Student life

Athletics

The merged university inherited UTPA's Division I membership; most of the athletic facilities are located in Edinburg. They have membership with the Southland Conference, having left the Western Athletic Conference in 2024. Only the men's soccer and women's swimming programs still compete in the WAC.

On November 19, 2016, the UTRGV Women's Volleyball Team defeated the Utah Valley Women's Volleyball team, making them the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Volleyball Champions of 2016.

Mascot

The choice of a new university nickname was met with some contention from members of the communities of the two merged schools. UTPA supporters, the larger of the two merged schools, argued for keeping the UTPA nickname, Broncs, while UTB supporters wanted a nickname new to both merged schools. UTPA Alumnus Alex Del Barrio created a petition to "Say No To Vaqueros" that garnered over 11,000 signatures after the announcement was made. Several local city councils also passed resolutions in support of one option or the other. President Guy Bailey recommended a new nickname, Vaqueros, to the University of Texas System Board of Regents on November 5, 2014. The suggestion for Vaquero was inspired by the UTPA student Studio Art projects, where the Toro and Vaquero were the most popular projects.

Bailey also recommended school's athletic colors be UT System orange, green (formerly the secondary color of UTPA), and blue (formerly the secondary color of UTB).

The announcement to the decision generated a swift and mainly negative reaction from some UTPA supporters on social media. These supporters, displeased that the Broncs was being moved to the wayside, determined the name was culturally insensitive, racist, and sexist. Nevertheless, the UT System Board of Regents approved the recommendation the following day, making Vaqueros the fifth NCAA Division I nickname that is a Spanish language word after the Cal State Northridge Matadors, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, San Diego Toreros, and New Mexico Lobos. Bailey considered the decision "final" following the approval by the board of regents. About 500 students protested against the Vaquero mascot on the UTPA campus on 13 November 2014. A petition calling for Bailey's immediate resignation garnered more than 700 signatures. Articles of impeachment were filed against the Student Government President Alberto Adame and Vice President Carla "Fernanda" Pena by Jonathan Lee Salinas (Senator at Large '14–'15) partly for their roles in the mascot committee, though the impeachment process was ended due to insufficient evidence. Following the protests, the UT System issued a press release supporting the "Vaquero" decision.

At the height of the controversy in November 2014, Texas legislator Terry Canales suggested he was considering filing a bill requiring UTRGV to abandon the Vaquero nickname. Canales submitted HB901 in January 2015. If passed, the legislation would require UTRGV to hold a student election for the athletics nickname, with "Broncs" and "Ocelots" on the ballot.

The mascot design was revealed in February 2015. The logo features an orange faced rider in green on a navy blue and green horse. The logo features an outline of Texas in the negative space between the legs of the horse.

In June 2019 the new design for the Vaquero mascot was revealed. The new costumed version was voted on and created by UTRGV students.

Notable alumni (including UTPA and UTB/TSC)

• Pablo Almaguer: Chair of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors
• Gloria Anzaldúa: novelist, educator, cultural theorist
• Jose Luis Betancourt, Jr.: retired Rear Admiral of the United States Navy
• Mike Brisky: former member of the PGA
• Minerva G. Carcaño: bishop
• Oscar Cásares: writer
• Mire Chatman: Euro Basketball player
• Kika de la Garza: former U.S. Congressman
• Dan Firova: former MLB baseball player and current Mexican League manager
• William Garrison: retired Major General of the United States Army
• Apple Green: retired NBA player
• Greg Guy: former NCAA basketball scoring champion
• Jim Hickey: MLB pitching coach
• Perry Hill: MLB assistant coach
• Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa: Texas State Senator
• Rubén Hinojosa: U.S. Congressman
• Lucious Jackson: Olympic gold medalist and NBA player
• Rossy Evelin Lima: poet
• Eddie Lucio: Texas State Senator
• Glenn Martinez: dean, College of Liberal and Fine Arts, University of Texas San Antonio
• Otto Moore: retired NBA player
• Valente Rodriguez: actor
• Marshall Rogers: former NCAA Basketball Scoring Champion
• Rogelio Sáenz: dean, College of Public Policy, University of Texas San Antonio
• Paul Michael Stoll (born 1985): American-Mexican basketball player
• Fred Taylor: retired NBA player
• Jim Tyrone: retired MLB player and member of UTPA College World Series team
• Wayne Tyrone: retired MLB player and member of UTPA College World Series team
• George Williams: retired MLB catcher
• Jaime Zapata: U.S. Homeland Security special agent

References

Notes

External links

• Official website
• UTRGV Athletics website