Victor Ortega BROWNSVILLE – UTRGV will celebrate its 10-year anniversary full of achievements and breakthroughs on Wednesday.
KVAQ-TV spoke with Patrick Gonzales, vice president for university marketing and communications, to learn more on the university’s decade-long journey.
“UTRGV has surpassed all the key milestones that you would expect from a university,” Gonzales said. “Our enrollment is higher than it’s ever been.”
According to UTRGV’s annual report, the university has increased enrollment from 28 thousand students in Fall 2015 to 34 thousand in Fall 2024.
UTRGV now offers over 40 new degrees and athletic programs since its merging of UT Pan American and UT Brownsville, such as the recently announced School of Optometry and College Football.
“So, before UTRGV, there was not a school of medicine,” Gonzales explained. “Some of our best students in the valley were simply leaving because they couldn’t get the programs that were offered outside the Valley in the Valley.”
Sergio Martinez, associate director of Student Union, has been with the university since 1998 and said the transition from the legacy institutions to UTRGV was an exciting but demanding time for faculty and staff members.
“I know it was [a] very challenging and stressful time for us, but also very worth it, you know, because we were starting something new, with building upon the legacy of both institutions,” Martinez said.
Beyond the new programs, both campuses have also received major updates, such as the Robert and Janet Vackar stadium in Edinburg and the upcoming Brownsville Visual Arts Complex.
Gonzales said research expenditures are at an all-time high this year, expected to reach 100 million in September; 10 million higher than 2024.
University officials shared their excitement for these milestones, but according to UTRGV President Guy Bailey, they still plan to grow beyond these achievements.
“We want to really strengthen the student experience on campus,” Bailey said. “We have a pretty good one now, but we want to make that even better.”
Bailey said the university plans on creating more opportunities for students to live and work on campus in the future while also providing high quality programs.
Celebrate UTRGV’s 10 anniversary throughout Welcome Week on both campuses.
The Stomp, Thursday, September 4 (Edinburg) – Games, music and more await at The Stomp, a huge event for new and returning UTRGV students where they can get involve and discover everything that their respective campus has to offer.
Vaquero Dive-In, Tuesday, September 2 (Brownsville) – Cannonball into a fun poolside movie screening with free snacks and giveaways in Housing and Residence Life’s Casa Bella apartments.
