Manuel ‘Manny’ Vela ready to retire from Texas A&M University in McAllen

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After serving the Valley as a leader in the healthcare field and in higher education, Manuel “Manny” Vela, associate vice president and chief operating officer for Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen (HECM), is ready to spend as much quality time with his family as possible.

Vela was born and raised in Harlingen and graduated from UT Austin in 1985. He immediately entered the University of Texas School of Law right after and earned a doctor of jurisprudence in 1988.

He is set to retire on May 31 after serving in his current position since 2023. Prior to his time at HECM, Vela was the president and CEO for Valley Baptist Health System.

Serving in many roles on a local, state and national level throughout his life, such as a board member on the Lt. Governor’s Healthcare Advisory Committee in 2016, Vela said he had conversations with his wife about transitioning from health care to higher education and how it would be a two to three year opportunity.

“When I got to the center, one of the primary goals was the establishment of a comprehensive master plan that would take us out to 30 years or so … We are probably one month away from completing those plans,” he said. “So my internal goal was to make sure we accomplished those goals and then I could contemplate retiring from higher education so that I could spend more time with my wife and our family.”

Vela shared some memories from his two years at HECM and said he was inspired, motivated and honored by the team around him and the students on campus every day.

“It’s been an absolute honor and a privilege and pleasure to work with all of our colleagues here locally but just as importantly all of our colleagues in College Station,” he said. “It’s been a privilege to learn about the Aggie core values and Aggie traditions. I’ll walk away after May with an immense sense of respect for everything that it means to be in the Aggie family.’

Getting a slight glimpse of his retirement, Vela talked about enjoying the weekend at the South Padre Island with his family and specifically his granddaughter, who shared a special moment with him watching turtles being released back into the Gulf of Mexico by Sea Turtle, Inc.

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“The goal is just to spend as much quality time with the family as absolutely possible,” Vela said. “I won’t disengage from our community. It’s something that our whole family enjoys, getting involved with our communities.”

Golf and fishing are some of the hobbies that Vela hopes to get back into. Traveling is another hobby for Vela and his wife, who are scheduled to scratch an item off their bucket list by hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

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