Brownsville to work with UTRGV to reduce student travel to Edinburg

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley President Guy Bailey poses in his office on Monday, June 24, 2024, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announced on Monday that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the city of Brownsville to establish what the university is calling a “task force of the future.”

The goal is to reduce the need for Brownsville students to travel to UTRGV’s Edinburg campus for classes; expand academic programming to allow students to complete more full-degree programs in Brownsville; allocate resources equitably to support undergraduate, graduate and medical programs; and align Brownsville campus offerings with area workforce needs, according to UTRGV.

Guy Bailey, the university’s president, said the new partnership comes at a “pivotal moment in the university’s evolution.”

“This task force will strengthen the remarkable progress we’ve already achieved in Cameron County, particularly on the Brownsville campus,” he said.

Bailey thanked state Sen. Adam Hinojosa and Brownsville Mayor John Cowen for collaborating and sharing the university’s “vision of continually enhancing student success.”

Hinojosa, who played a key role in facilitating the MOU, called the agreement a “commitment to ensuring our students have every opportunity to succeed right here in the Rio Grande Valley.

“By bringing local and state stakeholders together, we’re demonstrating what can be accomplished when we all invest in the future of our communities and the next generation of Texans,” he said.

Back in October, following UTRGV’s announcement that Brownsville’s graduation would be moved to Edinburg, Cowen said he would continue to advocate for graduation to return to Brownsville, but also push for “more local class programming, better student life and a return to UTRGV athletics in Brownsville.”

Likewise, Cowen said there was “definitely more to be done” in terms of the investment per student at the Brownsville campus.

“This is a pivotal moment for our local leadership to collaborate with UTRGV to ensure a brighter future for our local students and community,” he said at the time.

John Cowen Jr.

On Monday, Cowen told The Brownsville Herald that “we’ve escalated the discussion with the UT administration.”

“We were able to get (UT System Chancellor James) Milliken down to Brownsville last week, and had a very frank and open discussion with him and Dr. Guy Bailey and his team about how we would like Brownsville to be considered moving forward in terms of investment, in terms of expansion of programs, and ensuing that our kids aren’t burdened as much by busing to Edinburg,” he said.

“In my opinion that’s a barrier for our kids to be able to graduate, to be able to have a part-time job. It’s something that we need to work on, and they are very aware of what we’d like to do, and they’re onboard and they want to work with us moving forward.”

Cowen said he had received lots of feedback on the issues from families and businesses in Brownsville.

“Obviously before UTRGV our kids were able to get a four-year college degree here in Brownsville and not have to travel,” he said. “We want to return to that level.”

Cowen said the MOU is a major win for Brownsville and that the UT System indicates it wants to work closely with Brownsville to “increase investment, expand programs and in the future bring back graduation and sports programs back to Brownsville.”

“That’s something we’re working on,” he said. “We’re going to meet monthly going forward to make sure we’re communicating, collaborating and moving the needle forward when it comes to education opportunities for our kids.”

Cowen said the MOU is on the Brownsville City Commission’s Tuesday meeting agenda for formal approval.

Highlighting UTRGV’s notable achievements since launching in 2015, the university noted that — building on the foundations of UTB and UTPA — enrollment had increased to nearly 34,000 students, and first-year retention and four- and six-year graduations rates had improved, while average total academic costs are still lower than that of the “legacy institutions.”

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