Jasmin Espinosa BROWNSVILLE – Students are the priority of a new initiative headed by the City of Brownsville and UTRGV.
According to Patrick Gonzales, vice president for university marketing and communications, Task Force of the Future is coming together to grow educational programs and reduce travel time from Brownsville to Edinburg.
Gonzales said expanding academic offerings in Brownsville will not happen right away, but students can expect to see a difference in the spring of 2026.
According to the memorandum of understanding, the task force members will hold monthly meetings to discuss programs, issues and future plans.
“The purpose is simple, it’s to enhance the experience of our students who spend most of their time on the Brownsville campus,” Gonzales said. “We have made tremendous strides in student success across the region with UTRGV as we approach our 10th year anniversary.”
One of the heads of the task force is District 38 Representative Erin Gamez. In an email sent to KVAQ-TV, Gamez states she is pleased in assisting and supporting UTRGV in holding commencement ceremonies on the Brownsville campus each semester.
She also said she is pleased that the memorandum will ensure that the university will work toward equitably allocating the primary facilities among the counties. According to a document shared by Gamez, UTRGV has invested 102 million dollars to the Edinburg campus compared to Brownsville campus over the last 10 years.
Mia Muñoz, a UTRGV nutritional science major, said she travels early to Edinburg for class and said she would not commute to Edinburg, if the class was offered in Brownsville.
“Usually I don’t like going to Edinburg because let’s say, the I like morning classes like at 8:30 a.m. so I’d have to take the really early bus so I would say if you want morning classes and you just don’t [want to] have travel so early for an hour and a half bus then I’d say that it is good to get more classes here in Brownsville,” Muñoz said.
Cristina Vela, a UTRGV nutritional science major said traveling from Edinburg to Brownsville is far, but she finds the Brownsville campus interesting to see.
“I would honestly feel tired if I was the one having to drive myself to and back just because driving can be tiring, especially going so far, being in traffic. But if I could mix in an option, like maybe to drive myself and then maybe take the bus, like I feel like it can definitely work because the campus over there is really pretty,” Vela said.
The Task Force is expected to meet later in April to continue its monthly meetings.
