UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY

The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation has awarded $210,000 to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s office of Workforce and Economic Development to help fund research in virtual reality and artificial intelligence software for Future SQC Software LLC, which plans to commercialize the software for use in manufacturing.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in partnership with McAllen ISD broke ground Wednesday on its third collegiate academy in partnership with area school districts.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in partnership with McAllen ISD broke ground Wednesday on its third collegiate academy in partnership with area school districts. Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremoniously kicked off construction on a new collegiate academy in McAllen. “The goal of this facility is really very simple: We want to provide students in McAllen ISD with the best opportunities for education in the United States,” Bailey said. He explained that the academy will help high school students get at least two years ahead in their college education. During Wednesday’s event, they introduced the 102 students that will make up the first cohort at the UTRGV-McAllen ISD Collegiate Academy when it opens in the fall of 2024.

About 50 volunteers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley joined day-to-day operations at Brownsville’s Good Neighbor Settlement House on Monday, the National Day of Service honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

About 50 volunteers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley joined day-to-day operations at Brownsville’s Good Neighbor Settlement House on Monday, the National Day of Service honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Karen Castillo, a senior special education major from Brownsville was one of them. She said she had been unaware of the GNSH, and that she was glad she had volunteered during the national service day. “We’re a soup kitchen, we’re a food pantry, we have our welcome center downtown. In all, about 100 UTRGV students, staff and faculty volunteered their time to four social causes across the Valley in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision of a “beloved community.”Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act in 1994, designating the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday as a National Day of Service. At the Salvation Army soup kitchen in McAllen, volunteers prepared and served food, while also helping hang clothes, restock shelves and cleaning at the agency’s family store.

A new Texas Department of Agriculture report also points to other factors that are making it harder for Texans to access and afford food, including wages falling behind rising costs of living.

A new Texas Department of Agriculture report also points to other factors that are making it harder for Texans to access and afford food, including wages falling behind rising costs of living.

EDINBURG — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Edinburg CISD broke ground Tuesday morning on the land that will house a new collegiate high school. “Think about this, Edinburg Independent School District right there; UTRGV right over here; UTRGV and Edinburg Independent School District together right here,” Bailey said, motioning the close proximity of the two entities to the new collegiate high school. It is a true partnership in every way.”The school will be the fifth high school for the Edinburg school district. The collegiate high school was announced on March 23. We’re building high school number five at 50% cost — staffing and construction cost.”

EDINBURG — Hidalgo County announced a new initiative Thursday morning that is aimed at addressing childhood trauma throughout the county. “The Handle With Care initiative is a very simple program,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said after the announcement. Program, to help the Handle With Care initiative get off the ground. So it really is just taking on the initiative to make this happen for our kids,” Razo said. “It’s got to be a partnership between school districts and law enforcement agencies.”

Visitors to the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park took a deep dive into archaeology Saturday morning with the park’s Archaeology Fair to celebrate Texas Archaeology Month. The fair featured booths with hands-on activities and presentations for attendees from local and state organizations like the Brownsville Historical Association, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) and Texas Parks and Wildlife. “People might have a preconceived idea of what archaeology is, whether that’s Indiana Jones or just digging holes. So it’s nice to have here at the event a lot of those disciplines within the field of archaeology on display,” Ibarra said. Hands-on displays like Estero Llano Grande State Park’s booth are popular with event attendees.

EDINBURG — UT Health RGV broke ground Friday on the construction of its new Cancer and Surgery Center that UTRGV President Guy Bailey said will help fill healthcare gaps in the region. UTRGV, city of McAllen and state officials attended the event to celebrate the partnership between the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The new center is expected to be a three-story facility that will allow the UTRGV School of Medicine to expand its cancer research, according to UTRGV. UTRGV President Bailey told a personal story about why the work conducted at the center holds significance for him. He added that in order to receive proper treatment for her cancer she traveled to Houston.

EDINBURG — DHR Health informed the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Monday that it’s unilaterally terminating the affiliation agreement between the two entities and ending its role as a teaching site for residents and fellows from the university. Currently that partnership with DHR supports 135 UTRGV residents and fellows in a dozen programs. UTRGV’s medical school is set to continue growing without the partnership with DHR Health. Patients currently seeing a UTRGV-employed physician at DHR Health will see no immediate change, but those services will gradually be transitioned to a university site. A standalone medical research building at DHR Health leased to the university through a public-private partnership will not be impacted by the termination, Bailey said.

It ranked tops among Texas public schools — and 12th nationally — in terms of social mobility, or economic improvement after acquiring the degree. To be sure, the rankings reflect the high potential for improvement among UTRGV students. Most importantly, UTRGV students are doing their part. South Texas once was known for high dropout rates and low achievement; today more than 80% of first-year students return for their second year. Fortunately, the change appears to have been made in earnest, and brought new opportunities that has helped many Valley residents improve their futures, and improve South Texas as well.

Abbott’s team rejected the assertion, saying that O’Rourke agreed to the audience-free debate months ago.

Texas gubernatorial candidates face off at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas.

Here's where to watch the Texas governor debate between Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke on Friday, September 30.

MERCEDES —South Texas Independent School District and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley held a signing ceremony Monday morning to announce a new partnership between the two entities. UTRGV President Guy Bailey, South Texas ISD Superintendent Marco Antonio Lara Jr. and Board President Douglas Buchanan participated in Monday’s event which was held at South Texas ISD’s Biblioteca Las Américas in Mercedes. The partnership will expand dual enrollment opportunities for South Texas ISD students who wish to pursue their education with UTRGV. “UTRGV spans the Valley and has facilities in Brownsville, Edinburg, Weslaco, and I think as far as Rio Grande City. South Texas ISD also spans a three-county area; Willacy, Hidalgo and Cameron County.

The city of Brownsville, Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Thursday announced a grant of $150,000 from GBIC’s Launch BTX program to support the development and eventual commercialization at UTRGV of cosmic radiation shielding for use on satellites and spacecraft.

He was on hand for the announcement with a group of his undergraduate students who are working on the project. “It’s basically we’re going to be working on special formulations,” Tarawneh told the Brownsville Herald. “It’s really a win-win for the students,” Tarawneh said. “We see a lot of opportunities in being able to capture that industry, being that we already have a SpaceX presence here. That opens the door to a lot of opportunities and it’s up to us to capitalize on those opportunities.”

The Texas Education Agency has dismissed the notion that the accountability ratings are a poverty rating. As evidence, they point to districts like those in the Rio Grande Valley, which have achieved high marks while serving a high number of economically disadvantaged students.

Opposition to McAllen ISD’s partnership with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for a collegiate high school crashed and burned Monday. In a 4-1 vote, the board approved a construction agreement and a lease of facilities agreement, and also authorized Superintendent J.A. Some regret over special projects sprouted up on the board during tough budget talks earlier this summer. Trustee Sofia Peña said she opposed the school in those talks, arguing that the district could use the $12.5 million it’s contributing to the project more effectively. Those trustees particularly highlighted the school’s planned association with UTRGV’s medical school, an association they said was too good to pass up on.

A $145.7 million cancer and surgery center could break ground at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s McAllen Academic Medical Campus as soon as next month.

Environmental experts, and many government officials, worry when they learn about non-native, also called invasive, species. Because they are foreign, many don’t have native predators or environmental controls, and can overtake an area, to the expense of native species that lose food and habitat to the invaders. Some of those native species die out if they have limited diets and can’t compete with the competition. The U.S. National invasive Species Council — yes, there’s an entire government agency dedicated to it — holds invasive species responsible for significant levels of unemployment, damaged items, power outages, environmental degradation, increased rates and intensity of natural disasters, disease epidemics and lost lives. Like hydrilla, the Australian crawfish is thought to have dumped into our waters by a resident cleaning out an aquarium.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is welcoming 5,827 incoming freshmen this semester — a school record — as it heads into its third straight year with a first day enrollment of more than 32,000. The university has a record number of doctoral students as well, with 492. In 2019, the university announced its Tuition Advantage grant program, enabling qualifying students with an adjusted gross family income of $75,000 or less to attend UTRGV for free. “We think that we have organized ourselves to help Valley students be successful,” Bailey said. So it’s partly price, it’s partly quality: if you add price and quality together, you get great value, and that’s really what we’re trying to do.”That value’s paying off for students, Bailey said.

The species can also carry parasites and diseases such as crayfish plague and this could have an impact on native crayfish in these areas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.

Researchers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley recently collected invasive Australian redclaw crayfish in Brownsville.

Rio Grande Valley business and political leaders often tout their migrant farm roots. In the coming months we’re bound to see plenty of commercials from candidates bragging about their parents to toiled in agricultural fields and orchards, and their ability to escape that life and find success in the political world. Lawyers especially talk about similar backgrounds, suggesting that such a life has steeled them to be tough and persistent as they advocate for their clients.

They were found in an apartment complex pond, officials said.

Researchers in the Rio Grande Valley discovered an invasive crayfish that can have a negative effect on native species and can also carry the crayfish plague.

Gov. Greg Abbott accepted an invitation on Tuesday to debate his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in September.

UTRGV women’s soccer team trains youth in BrownsvilleUTRGV REPORTBROWNSVILLE — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley women’s soccer team trained 40 girls ranging from 9 to 18 years of age during a free youth clinic Saturday at Brownsville Sports Park. When I interviewed for this job, our administration talked about the whole Valley being our community. “I’ve enjoyed talking to some of the parents and even had some local coaches out, so it’s great. They were given tips and advice from Vaqueros players at skills stations, where they worked on dribbling and passing. The Vaqueros women’s team opens its season at home against Texas A&M International at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex in Edinburg.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley women’s soccer team trained 40 girls ranging from 9 to 18 years of age during a free youth clinic Saturday at Brownsville Sports Park.

While the risk of exposure to monkeypox remains low, health experts say college students living in close proximity to each other could spur outbreaks. They encourage schools to share their plans and relevant information about the virus.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is joining the RGV Partnership Foundation to conduct free digital literacy training for local businesses this August, training that will be funded by a $25,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation. The university announced the partnership at a news conference on July 19. According to Gonzales, the basic digital literacy training will provide valuable information to business owners in need of an understanding of how to use the internet and how to avoid being hacked online. Available in both English and Spanish, the in-person training sessions will focus on communities that have struggled to understand the internet and engage online, Linda Ufland, UTRGV’s director of entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization, wrote. To register or receive more information on the digital literacy training, call the UTRGV Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center at (956) 882-4119.

HARLINGEN – The Harlingen Concert Association presented scholarships to three young musicians. “This is our second year that we’re giving out $1,500 scholarships to three students,” said Keith DiSantis, co-president of the Harlingen Concert Association. “The Harlingen Concert Association has been wanting to do this for several years and last year we made it happen for the first time,” he said. Benjamin is a graduate of Harlingen High School and will attend Texas A&M University – Kingsville where he will study music performance with emphasis on jazz studies. Izaiah just graduated from Harlingen High School South and will attend Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

García served as the president of the University of Texas at Brownsville until it merged with the University of Texas-Pan American to become the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is the first Mexican American woman to lead a college or university in the United States.

Efforts to equip law enforcement with the knowledge and tools to better communicate with the public were on full display in a classroom here at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday, where officers got a crash course on American Sign Language.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is less than a decade old, but from its inception university officials, and the UT System regents who authorized its creation, have expressed lofty goals. Recent achievements by the university’s sister campus, UT-San Antonio, which has many similarities albeit in a much larger market, can help inspire and motivate local officials to keep working toward their goals. UTRGV Founding officials announced that they intend to make the Valley’s university a Tier 1 school, a designation that identifies the top schools in the state. The state in 2009 created the Texas National Research University Fund to set a level of prestige among top universities. They also help attract even more top students who want to study at universities that are known for excellence in their chosen fields.

Ten faculty members from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s various campuses have been named recipients of the 2021-2022 UTRGV Faculty Excellence Award. The university bestows the award each year to faculty who have demonstrated outstanding work in seven areas in teaching (tenure, tenure-track and non-tenure track), online teaching, research, service, student mentoring, community-engaged scholarship, and sustainability education. The awards come with a $5,000 prize for each faculty members. Two new categories were added this year: Distinguished Career and Emerging Scholar. Six of the 10 awards this year went to faculty in UTRGV’s Department of Biology in the College of Sciences.

The Department of Human Genetics of the South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Brownsville campus is getting its own building, the Center for Human Genetics, which will allow the institute to expand its cutting-edge medical research even further. That’s been kind of our progress to date.”In 2017 the institute’s core faculty founded the Department of Human Genetics. The new center will mean capabilities and a greater impact on the Valley from the center’s research, Williams-Blangero said. The Center for Human Genetics will also a feature a vivarium that will house the department’s “very unusual colony of laboratory opossums,” Williams-Blangero said. “It’s useful to realize that this has an impact way beyond the Valley,” Williams-Blangero said.

Thanks to the pandemic upending public events that included high school graduations, some UTRGV graduates walked a stage to publicly receive a diploma for the first time Friday in Brownsville. “It’s like a celebration of the past four years, especially with COVID,” said Castro, who received a bachelor’s of science in biology. “It’s like she was saying, it’s our first time getting a real graduation because I was also in high school when 2020 happened. That’s when I graduated high school, and we didn’t get a graduation—it was just cut off. The 3-year-old therapy dog would walk the stage with JoAnna Lee Hernandez, of Brownsville, who received a bachelors of business administration in accounting.

LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos high jumper Penny Alaniz signed her letter of intent to continue jumping with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s NCAA Division I program. It is an unreal feeling.”Alaniz finished second in the high jump at the district and area meets, with her best jump of the year at 5 feet, 4 inches. “She has worked extremely hard,” said Ariel Torres, Alaniz’s high jump coach. Being so close to UTRGV factored into Alaniz’s decision. I think it is perfect, and it worked out perfectly.”Alaniz will be living in the dorms and plans to study nursing at UTRGV.

The current distance event group is almost exclusively made up of student-athletes hailing from the 956 area code, from Brownsville to Laredo. He echoed Mendoza’s sentiment that the new training process the Vaqueros are on, brought in by new distance coach Travis Pope, has been extremely beneficial. UTRGV’s roster is very young, so most of the distance runners will continue growing under Pope’s intensity-over-mileage philosophy. I feel there’s a lot of talent in the Valley, you just have to give them the training,” Mendoza said. That’s my plan, to coach here in the Valley, and hopefully in the future I can come back to UTRGV as a coach.”

In a ceremony Tuesday, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley presented a scholarship covering graduate and undergraduate degrees to a top graduating senior at the South Texas ISD’s Medical Professions high school in Olmito.

UTRGV has now drawn 30,569 fans (not including the dogs) through 20 home dates, the highest total since prior to 1990. Junior Chris Mondesi finished 2-for-4 with his first home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Graduate student Jacob Hirsh went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and one run scored. Freshman Vela alum Isaac Lopez finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. UTRGV and Tarleton complete this three-game series at noon today.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announced an expansion of a collaboration with The UT Center at Laredo on Thursday that will expand the university’s social work program in Laredo at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announced an expansion of a collaboration with The UT Center at Laredo Thursday that will expand the university’s social work program in Laredo at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

A recent study by Welcome Home RGV and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has brought good news and allayed fears of many local officials and residents: Our Winter Texans are coming back. The COVID-19 pandemic raised many concerns among Valley residents and officials. Winter Texans’ presence obviously adds much to Valley life and culture. Fortunately, the Welcome Home RGV report reveals that Winter Texans’ presence once again is increasing. According to the report, Winter Texans overall are getting younger.

Overnight thunderstorms and power outages have prompted San Benito CISD’s closure Tuesday and class and operation delays at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, with other school districts monitoring the weather. Storms barreled through the region Monday evening, drenching the area, leading to power outages and some storm-related damage in the Upper Valley. The district had previously announced delays at 10 campuses, although district officials didn’t identify which campuses, early Tuesday morning. Classes in San Benito are expected to resume on time Wednesday. Classes scheduled before 10 a.m., online classes included, are canceled for all university campuses.

The UTRGV baseball team is set to host No. 7 Texas at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday for a nonconference contest at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg. “The Texas game is unique because it means more about the Broncs,” UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said after the game against Texas was announced in November. When the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team hosts Texas on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium, there are a number of things fans need to know:Can I Still Buy Tickets? Students will be able to park throughout the day in available parking in the other 32 lots on campus.

Montero’s family, especially her mother, Roxana, has taken it upon itself to make the Vaqueros feel at home despite being far from biological family. “They all moved very far to be on this team, and we all have each other as our family,” Montero said. She was a four-time district champion, the All-Valley girls tennis player of the year in 2019 and she never lost a match in the Valley. Now she’s trying to be that mentor for younger athletes and create a tennis family to motivate them. The UTRGV women’s tennis team held four free tennis clinics during its 2021-22 season, reaching hundreds of local children from 4 to 18 years old.

UTRGV REPORTSThe University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Wednesday an investment of $30 million to upgrade existing athletics facilities that will impact all current 16 sports over the next three years, including enhancements to the UTRGV Fieldhouse, UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex, Orville Cox Tennis Center, UTRGV Baseball Stadium and weight room, and the building of a new golf facility at McAllen’s Champion Lakes Golf Course. Per state law, neither tuition dollars nor state appropriations may be used to support the UTRGV athletics department. “The commitment to athletics at UTRGV is tremendous,” Conque said. Future renovations to the area around the fieldhouse include a new practice gym for the basketball and volleyball teams. Additionally, the fieldhouse itself, the university’s largest multi-purpose facility that houses basketball, volleyball, and campus and community events, will be renovated to now include:

Leadership from Edinburg CISD and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will meet Wednesday to discuss partnering to develop a collegiate high school.

Police at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley arrested a college employee Saturday who detectives said threatened a mass shooting. Weslaco resident Joseph Phillip Diaz, 30, was charged with terroristic threat reaction emergency. A probable cause affidavit for his arrest said the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office alerted UTRGV police on Feb. 21 that Diaz made threats against the university. “Sheriff Deputy informed Detectives that a male individual identified as Joseph Phillip Diaz … revealed his intent during his interview … that he had planned to conduct a mass shooting at the University,” the affidavit for his arrest said. He was arrested Saturday and bailed out on a $5,000 bond that same day, records indicate.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team opened up an eight-game home stand with a 6-4 victory over the Youngstown State University Penguins in front of a crowd of 1,591 on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. UTRGV, which has sold more than 1,400 multi-game ticket packages this season, has now drawn 6,144 fans through four home games, their largest attendance through four home dates since moving into UTRGV Baseball Stadium in 2002. Pimentel finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, marking his fifth multi-hit game of the season. Rojas went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored during his fourth multi-hit game of the season. UTRGV and Youngstown State play a single-admission doubleheader at noon Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.

The endowment will increase the number of students who qualify for free tuition and fees at UT-Arlington, UT-Dallas, UT-El Paso, UT-Permian Basin, UT-Rio Grande Valley, UT-San Antonio and UT-Tyler.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will use $1.5 million it was awarded in May by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last year to address physician assistant training in mental health and substance abuse, the university announced Monday.

In this Feb. 2, 2019, photo, provided by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is the Eli Jackson Methodist Church and cemetery in San Juan, Texas. It is located on a ranch once operated by Nathaniel and Matilda Jackson, a biracial couple believed to have been "conductors" of the Underground Railroad to Mexico. Across Texas and parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas, scholars and preservation advocates are working to piece together a puzzle of a largely forgotten piece of American history: a network that helped thousands of Black slaves escape to Mexico. (David Pike/University of Texas Rio Grande Valley via AP)