Jasmin Espinosa EDINBURG – After UTRGV’s contract with its previous bookstore partner ended, a new opportunity opened, the upbringing of a new regalia design for future graduates.
The new gown for bachelor’s degree students will feature an embroidered UTRGV seal and orange trim on the sleeves.
The master’s degree gown will also have an embroidered UTRGV seal and orange trim. Additionally, it will have orange piping along the front of the gown and elongated sleeves.
The Doctoral degree gown will be colored gray with orange sleeve chevrons and front panels. The university seal will also be embroidered on the front panels of the gown.
Executive Director of Creative Services Roberto Castro said the idea behind this new design was for it to be prestigious.
“[I’ve] probably had like i want to say at least six concepts and then from there obviously we involve a lot of people, a lot of voting and decision-making, right. and then from there we’re now narrowing it down until we got to this to the last one because we wanted something prestigious but also fresh and also bold and cool,” Castro said.
Follett Higher Education was UTRGV’s former partner providing the universities regalia since 2015.As the contract neared an end, Herff Jones, a manufacturing facilities company, won the bid to be a partner.
Associate Vice President of Campus Auxiliary Services Letty Benavides said one of the main concerns was the financial impact on students. However, Herff Jones was able to match the prices from UTRGV’s previous partner.
“The second one was to Herff Jones for regalia. and it’s actually a symbiotic relationship because the pricing that Herff Jones was able to offer us,” Benavides said. “That was the most important thing,” she said. “I didn’t want this to be a financial burden for our students. and when we selected this partner, it was with that intent, yeah.”
According to Benavides, Herff Jones offers 150 annually donated gowns to UTRGV graduating students who have financial needs or special circumstances.
Castro said although some companies only offer announcements in one language, Herff Jones was willing to offer both English and Spanish.
“So, we wanted to have the opportunity for them to also be informed and to help our students, right to, for them to communicate. A lot of times the parents are the ones who help them with
their regalia or to buy certain things. So, then that’s why they’re doing these announcements in both languages,” he said.
Nursing senior Gabriel Delgado said he is excited about the new design and that it reflects the university’s school spirit.
“It got the colors of the university, which I think it’s really, really fun,” Delgado said. I don’t think, like, we need to stand out of the other schools. Right? So we don’t want to be generic with the whole white thing. So, I think the colors of the school, like the orange and the white that will be reflecting really good.”
According to the UTRGV guide to graduation and commencement website, although the newly designed regalia is encouraged to those graduating, students may still use the black regalia from previous semesters.
An optional memorial stole with an exclusive tenth anniversary design may also be purchased.
The 10th anniversary memory stole will only be available for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026. For any information on how to rent or purchase a regalia, visit the Herff Jones website or the campus bookstore in Brownsville and Edinburg.
