by Legislative Media | Aug 31, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Carlos Sánchez, editor, The Monitor, and Guy Bailey, the founding president of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Thursday, August 27, during the kick-off of the second season of The Monitor’s Newsmaker Breakfast Series, held at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce.
Photograph By DAVID PIKE
Guy Bailey, founding president of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, has put more than 37,000 miles on his pickup truck since July 1, 2014, driving from one end of the Valley to the other to ensure a stellar launch for this distributed university on Monday, August 31. For Bailey, the trips across the Valley are worth it, as it all will lead to success for everyone involved in the creation of this new, one-of-a-kind university that will include a School of Medicine – from students to the community in general, he said. “It is also rewarding because we understand that our mission is Valley-wide,” Bailey said. Bailey will be joined at the Edinburg and Brownsville events by numerous state legislators, county and city elected officials, economic development leaders, with William McRaven, the chancellor of the University of Texas System, to be a featured speaker. McRaven, Bailey and other area leaders will be featured leaders during a Flag-Raising Ceremony from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the flagpole on the north side of the Student Services Building at the UT-RGV Edinburg campus on August 31. Those same leaders will then travel to the UT-RGV campus in Brownsville for a Proclamation Ceremony at the Main Building in the Plumeria Courtyard from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. “We are ready and we are excited about it, too,” Bailey told an audience of South Texas dignitaries and residents on Thursday, August 27, during the kickoff of the second season of The Monitor’s Newsmaker Breakfast Series. The interview format series is a partnership between the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and The Monitor and is sponsored by IBC Bank. Bailey was interviewed by Monitor Editor Carlos Sánchez. The Edinburg Mayor, the Edinburg City Council, and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation were key players in lobbying for the state legislation in 2013 that resulted in the creation of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville, were the author and sponsor, respectively, of Senate Bill 24, approved by the Texas Legislature in May 2013, which combines the resources of UT-Pan American, UT-Brownsville, and the Regional Academic Health Centers in Edinburg, Harlingen, and Brownsville into the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, were joint authors of Hinojosa’s SB 24. Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, Rep. Armando “Mando” Martínez, D-Weslaco, Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, D-San Benito, Rep. Óscar Longoria, Jr., D-La Joya, Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen, Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville, and Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, were joint sponsors of SB 24. Another major aspect of SB 24 is that the new law gives the UT System the authority to draw much-needed revenue from the Permanent University Fund, which uses money from more than $14 billion in assets to help pay for crucial construction programs throughout the UT System.
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by Legislative Media | Aug 18, 2015 | Politics
Featured: The following proposed seal for the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley will be up for approval by the UT System Board of Regents when it meets in Austin on Wednesday, August 19, and Thursday, August 20, 2015 for its regular board meeting. The motto, Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis, is an approximate Latin translation of a famous quote by Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar, who proclaimed, “A cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.”
Graphics: THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg could expand by 53 acres, and a $37.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building could grace the existing campus under key items set for action by the UT System Board of Regents when it meets in Austin on Wednesday, August 19, and Thursday, August 20, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Rupert as Members. Those two items, along with the appropriation of $10 million for the UT-RGV School of Medicine and the new proposed official seal for UT-RGV and, are among local interests being monitored by the EEDC and the Edinburg City Council, which championed those measures last spring through the Texas Legislature. The measures relating to UT-RGV are part of the regular board meeting of the UT System Board of Regents, which will be held on the ninth floor of Ashbel Smith Hall, 201 W. 7th Street in downtown Austin. The agenda book and links to the live webcast for the meeting are posted online by logging onto: https://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/meetings/board-meeting-2015-08-19. At the Austin meeting, the regents will be asked to authorize the recommended purchase of unimproved real property, totaling approximately 53 acres, located at the southeast quadrant of North Sugar Road and West Chapin Street, in Edinburg, from Norquest Family Holdings, Ltd., for “future campus expansion”. According to the regents’ agenda packet, the purchasing price will be determined by fair market value as established by independent appraisals, plus all due diligence expenses, closing costs, and expenses to complete the acquisition as deemed necessary by the Executive Director of Real Estate. The appraisals are confidential pursuant to Texas Education Code Section 51.951. More is known about the $37.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building. According to the synopsis provided by the UT System: This project will construct an approximately 77,000 GSF (gross square feet) building on the Edinburg campus for interdisciplinary space necessary to support enrollment growth in the rapidly growing region; the facility will include a large, 250-seat lecture auditorium, 150-seat lecture hall, 60-seat classrooms, and offices. Although particular emphasis will be placed on preparation of engineering students, this facility will also address flexible space requirements for other disciplines as needed. Additionally, the project will include an outdoor pavilion to be used as a gathering area and study space to relieve pressure on more expensive indoor space and also to support academic events. Design development plans and authorization of expenditure of funding will be presented to the Board of Regents for approval at a later date. EEDC’s Iglesias, who on Saturday, August 15, was unanimously elected President of the EEDC Board of Directors, welcomed the latest planned advances at the Edinburg UTRGV campus. “During our joint workshop with the Edinburg City Council over this past weekend, we reviewed what the EEDC, the Mayor, and the City Council, along with our state lawmakers, have done over the years to help get us to this point, and how very important UTRGV and its School of Medicine are for the economic growth and quality-of-life for our city and region,” said Iglesias. “We are dedicated to helping create one of the best public university systems in the nation.” Mayor Richard García, during his three terms as the city’s top elected leader, has played vital roles before the UT System Board of Regents and the Texas Legislature in rallying political and financial support for UT-RGV in Edinburg. “The UT System leadership recognizes that the future of Texas is right here in South Texas, which has one of the largest and youngest populations in the nation,” the mayor noted. “Just as important, the expansion plans by the UT System for UT-RGV are further proof that we do, indeed, have the brainpower, willpower, and strength of character to overcome all challenges and succeed. This is the message being sent to the world.”
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by Legislative Media | Apr 12, 2015 | Politics
Featured, front row: As Valley lawmakers celebrate Gov. Greg Abbott’s promise to help deep South Texas, the governor gives an appreciative handshake to Ana María García, Regional Director for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during the governor’s appearance at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance on Thursday, January 22, 2015. Back row, from left: Rep. Óscar Longoria, Jr., D-La Joya; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; and Sen. Sylvia García, D-Houston.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
More than $30 million would be available to help build a proposed Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building at the Edinburg campus – currently The University of Texas Pan American – of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation have announced. UT-Pan American, along with The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Regional Academic Health Centers in Edinburg and Harlingen, are in the process of utilizing their assets and resources to create a new university, The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, which will include a full-fledged School of Medicine with campuses in Edinburg and Harlingen. The EEDC, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council, along with the mayor and city council, have made the construction of the new engineering complex one of their legislative priorities at the State Capitol. The proposed financing is included in a statewide measure, House Bill 100, of which Canales is a co-author, which received final approval in the House of Representatives on Thursday, April 9. An identical measure is being considered in the Senate. House Bill 100, whose primary author is Rep. John Zerwas, M.D., a Republican from Richmond – and Chair of the House Committee on Higher Education – authorizes the issuance of $3.1 billion in tuition revenue bonds throughout the state for institutions of higher education – including in the UT and Texas A&M systems – to finance construction and renovation of infrastructure and facilities “The UT System has plans for a $50 million, state-of-the-art academic complex that would help prepare more engineering students while also addressing space requirements for other academic disciplines as needed,” Canales said. “What the House has approved – $30.6 million – goes a long way toward helping the UT System reach this very important goal.” Canales noted this latest project is in addition to several major facilities already underway at the Edinburg campus. “In 2013, the UT System authorized funding for the construction of a $70 million Science Building Annex at UT Pan American and $54 million for a UT medical school academic building next to the Edinburg campus,” Canales said. “This is in addition to the $42.6 million, 1,000-seat Academic and Performing Arts Center at UTPA, also already funded, which is well on its way to being completed.” All higher education institutions seeking revenue through House Bill 100 had to settle for less than they had originally requested, but still are on the way to receiving major facility upgrades and new construction at their respective campuses, the House District 40 lawmaker explained. Canales said the UT System could provide the balance to reach the $50 million target for the new complex through numerous ways, including by using some of its own vast financial resources, through cost-savings at UTRGV, private contributions, or other options. “We have come up with most of the bonding authority requested by the UT System, and I am confident they will do what it takes to meet the needs of our best and brightest students,” Canales said. The $30.6 million for the new facility in Edinburg authorized by HB 100 would be raised in part through the use of tuition revenue bonds, which are funds generated from tuition charges levied against students or universities. As more students are enrolled, more money from tuition is generated that is used to help repay the debt from tuition revenue bonds. The majority of the money for the new construction, however, comes from funds provided by the Texas Legislature, not from the students. Canales gave credit to UT-RGV leaders, including President Guy Bailey and UT-Pan American Ad Interim President Havidán Rodríguez, as well as to the Edinburg mayor, Edinburg City Council, and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, for helping rally legislative and political support for what would be the latest and one of the largest new facilities on the Edinburg campus. “Mayor (Richard) García, along with President Bailey and President Rodríguez, continue to play vital roles in helping the Valley state legislative delegation successfully fight for our fair share of state and UT System resources,” said Canales. “Once final legislative approval is secured, and we get the governor behind it, as I expect he will support this legislation, there will be another monument of higher education rising into the Valley skyline.” Mayor García also serves as President of the Board of Directors for the EEDC, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. Agustín “Gus” García (no relation to the mayor), serves as EEDC Executive Director. “The decision of the House of Representatives to support UT Rio Grande Valley through $30.6 million in legislative funding for UTRGV’s Engineering and Academic Studies Building will enhance the learning experience for our students and greatly impact student success. We are thankful to Representative Canales for his commitment to UTRGV and the entire Valley delegation for their support on this endeavor and all of our major priorities for this legislative session,” said Bailey, the founding president of what will become one of the largest higher education systems in the state. Once the funding plan clears the Legislature, facility programming could begin in October 2015, with design development approval scheduled for August 2016, leading to occupancy by August 2018. “The University of Texas Pan American continues to experience an increase in its student population, and with nearly 30,000 students enrolling and transitioning to UT Rio Grande Valley, it is imperative that we address our critical need for space to support this enrollment growth,” said Rodríguez, who has the honor of being the final president of UT Pan American. Rodríguez, who also serves on the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, will remain with UTRGV as its founding Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Enrollment in UTPA’s engineering programs has already exceeded 2,200; however, our current engineering building was only designed to accommodate about 1,400 students. UTRGV is the perfect steward of these state funds, which are going to be utilized in the best interest of our students and to ensure their success,” said Rodríguez. “The support of our legislators speaks volumes about our strong and ongoing partnerships and their interest in the success of our students in South Texas.”
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