, mottoeng = Education, the Guardian of Society , established = , closed = , type =

Public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

, endowment = $65 million , president = Havidan Rodriguez (interim), final , city = Edinburg , state =

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, country = United States , coordinates = , students = 20,053 (2013) , undergrad = 17,602 , postgrad = 2,451 , faculty = 836 (2012) , campus =

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

, , colors = Green and Orange
, sporting_affiliations =

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

– WAC , nickname = Broncs , mascot = Bucky the

Bronc A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

, academic_affiliations =

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

CONAHEC The Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) ( es, Consorcio para la Colaboración de la Educación Superior en América del Norte, french: Consortium pour la collaboration dans l'enseignement supérieur en Amériqu ...

, website = , logo = UPTA Logo.svg , logo_size = 250px The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) was a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 74,569 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and in 2019, its estimated population was 101,170, making it the second-largest city ...

. Founded in 1927, it was a component institution of the

. The university served the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

and South Texas with baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. The Carnegie Foundation classified UTPA as a "doctoral research university". From the institution's founding until it was merged into the

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas ...

(UTRGV), it grew from 200 students to over 20,000, making UTPA the 10th-largest university in

. The majority of these students were natives of the Rio Grande Valley. UTPA also operated an Upper Level Studies Center in Rio Grande City, Starr County, Texas. On August 15, 2014, Dr. Havidan Rodriguez was appointed interim President of UTPA, the institution's final leader. In 2015, UTRGV entered into operation following the merger of UTPA and UT–Brownsville, founded as an extension of then-Pan American University at Texas Southmost College. UTRGV also created a new medical school. On August 31, 2015, UTPA formally ceased operations to yield to the newly formed university, the

History

Edinburg College

Edinburg College was founded in 1927 as a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

administered by the Edinburg School District. It was formally designated as a junior college in 1933 as Edinburg Junior College, and admitted to the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of Southern States.

Pan American College

Hidalgo County held a referendum for a four-year university in 1951; the school became Pan American Regional College on December 20, 1951. Its name changed to Pan American College in January 1952, followed by the appointment of a board of regents. The first graduate to receive a four-year degree was Harold W. Billings, BA, in 1953. It became the 22nd member institution of the Texas System of Colleges and Universities in 1965, as a state senior college.

Pan American University

Approved to offer graduate programs in 1970, the school began with

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

, Master of Education, and

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degrees. In 1971, Pan American College achieved full university status and changed its name to Pan American University. In the 20-year period from 1965 to 1984, enrollment grew from 2,000 to nearly 10,000. A second campus at Brownsville was established in 1973 (which became the University of Texas at Brownsville, and later merged with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley).

The University of Texas–Pan American

In December 1988, board members reached merger agreement with the

pending state legislative approval (one of a series of similar mergers among state universities during that time), granted in September 1989. It adopted its final name subsequent to entry into the UT System, preserving the nearly 40-year legacy of the Pan American name.

Merger with UTB and Medical School

On December 6, 2012, University of Texas regents approved a proposal to merge UTPA, the

UT-Brownsville , mottoeng = Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy. , established = , closed = (merged with UT–Pan American to form The UTRGV) , type = Public State University , presid ...

, and a planned medical school into one regional institution. On December 12, 2013, the UT Board of Regents voted to name the new organization the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. On November 5, 2014, UTRGV's new nickname of Vaqueros was announced. Almost immediately, students on both campuses began objecting to the new name as a caricature and racial stereotype of Mexican, Latino, Chicano, and Hispanic culture. Two days after the new mascot was approved, the UTPA student government passed a resolution in opposition, and three days later, hundreds of students rallied on the Edinburg campus to protest the new name. On August 31, 2015, UTB was officially dissolved and UTPA's name was changed to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Campus

Main campus

UTPA's main campus, now one of the primary campuses of UTRGV, is located in the western part of Edinburg, and comprises 289 acres. Most of the academic buildings are enclosed by or span a covered walkway over the perimeter of the original campus. In 2007, UTPA added a new wellness center, and dormitory (Unity Dormitory 2007). On the northeast corner of campus is the Edinburg Baseball Stadium, which is considered one of the premier college baseball settings. The stadium was completed in 2001.

Starr County Upper-Level Center

The Starr Country Upper-Level Center is located in

Rio Grande City Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas. The population was 14,411 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is west of McAllen. The city also holds the March record high for the United States at . The city is co ...

. The center opened in 2003 and was rededicated and moved to a new location in 2009. Most courses offered are in bilingual education. There are also limited courses in criminal justice, history, English, and anthropology. over 200 students have graduated from the Starr County Upper-Level Center.

Coastal Studies Laboratory

Established in 1973, the Coastal Studies Laboratory (CSL) began as UTPA's marine biology laboratory and now serves the same role for UTRGV. It is located in the city of South Padre Island, which is located about 70 miles east of main campus. The CSL offers graduate-level biology courses and houses several ecological programs that are independent of UTPA.

McAllen Teaching Site

The McAllen Teaching Site was opened in 2009 in McAllen, Texas, and offers education and business courses. The site primarily serves professionals in the city of McAllen.

Academics

The university offered a wide variety of degrees spanning across seven colleges. At the time of the UTRGV merger, there were 56

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

degrees, 56

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degrees, three

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

degrees, and two cooperative doctoral programs.

Colleges

The university included these academic divisions: * College of Arts and Humanities * College of Business Administarion * College of Education * College of Engineering and Computer Science * College of Health Sciences and Human Services * College of Science and Mathematics * College of Social and Behavioral Sciences * College of Physics and Geology

Reserve Officers' Training Corps

* The University of Texas–Pan American hosted the college-based Army ROTC program, which was carried on by UTRGV.

Rankings

''U.S. News & World Report'' rated UTPA as a tier 2 University. In ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

' '' 2009 best college rankings that heavily weighted proportion of graduates who obtain a job upon graduation, UTPA ranked 32nd among public universities and 218th among all universities. Among public schools in Texas, UTPA ranked only behind the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. In 2009 UTPA ranked behind only

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

for bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanic students. According to the U.S. government, among schools with an enrollment of at least 5,000 students, UTPA ranked as the second-most affordable school in the nation.

Admissions, enrollment, and retention

Historically, UTPA had open enrollment such that any student able to graduate from an approved public or private high school was granted admission. This policy was implemented by former president Miguel Nevarez. After Nevarez retired, UTPA moved towards minimum admission standards. The minimum standards for fall 2011 admission were a diploma from a recognized high school and a combined math/verbal SAT score of 860 or an ACT score of 18. Additionally, the minimum criteria were met with a SAT score of 810 or ACT score of 17 if the applicant is in the top third of his/her graduating class or an SAT score of 760 or ACT score of 16 sufficed if the applicant was in the top quarter of his/her graduating class. Any student who graduates from a recognized Texas high school as a member of the top 10% of his/her graduating class is guaranteed admission. In 1997, UTPA started the University Scholars Program in an attempt to retain top local high-school students. The program is an objective academic scholarship based on three tiers. The first tier is high-school graduation standing. The second tier is advanced placement testing. The third tier is standardized testing scores. UTPA guaranteed full tuition funding for any student who meets one of many objective minimum requirements in all three tiers. UTPA's first- to second-year retention rate for full-time students was 71%. UTPA's four-year graduation rate is 13% and the 6-year graduation rate is 36%. The proportion of students who receive some sort of financial aid is 86%.

Student life

Housing

All students under the age of 21 who have earned fewer than 30 credit hours are required to reside on campus unless they are married, a parent, or have a permanent residence within 60 miles of campus. UTPA offers three residence halls and one building of community of on-campus apartments. Troxel Hall and Heritage Hall are the oldest residence halls on campus, and until 2000, were the only residence options for students. Heritage Hall is an all-female residence hall. At the end of 2009, Troxel Hall closed due to low capacity. In 2000 the Bronc Village Apartments were completed on north campus and offered students 1, 2 and 4 bedroom options. In fall 2006, Unity Hall was opened as the first new residence hall in more than 30 years; it has 204 double rooms and is divided into male and female wings. Heritage Hall, Unity Hall and the Bronc Village apartments combined can hold around 800 students

Athletics

Teams

Before the UTRGV merger, the University of Texas–Pan American sponsored eight men's and nine women's teams in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

-sanctioned sports. About a year before the merger, the UT System announced that UTRGV would inherit the UTPA athletic program, and the UTPA Broncs officially became the UTRGV Vaqueros on July 1, 2015. Men's intercollegiate sports *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

(

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

and outdoor) * Women's intercollegiate sports *

* Cross-country * Golf *

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

* Tennis * Track and field (indoor and outdoor) *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

The University of Texas–Pan American competed in the

, in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC); UTRGV has maintained UTPA's WAC membership. It is one of five schools in the University of Texas System that compete in Division I. The other UT institutions that do so are

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, and Arlington.

Notable alumni

Pablo Almaguer Pablo Javier Almaguér (born 1971) is an American lawyer from Texas. He is a former chair of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. Biography Almaguer was the first legal aid lawyer to serve on the State Bar of Texas Board of Director ...

(born 1971), chair of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors *

Gloria E. Anzaldúa Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa (September 26, 1942 – May 15, 2004) was an American scholar of Chicana feminism, cultural theory, and queer theory. She loosely based her best-known book, ''Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza'', on her life ...

(1942–2004), novelist, educator, cultural theorist * Jose Luis Betancourt Jr., retired rear admiral of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Mike Brisky Michael Charles Brisky (born May 28, 1965) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Brisky attended Pan American University (now called the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) where he was a stan ...

(born 1965), professional golfer, former member of the PGA *

Norma V. Cantu Norma V. Cantú (born November 2, 1954) is an American civil rights lawyer and educator. Since 2021, she has served as chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the first Latina to hold the position. She previously served as a prof ...

, chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights *

Minerva G. Carcaño Minerva Garza Carcaño (born January 20, 1954 in Edinburg, Texas) is the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the episcopacy of The United Methodist Church (UMC), the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. She was elected ...

(born 1954), American Methodist bishop * Celeste De Luna (born 1974), American printmaker, educator *

Mire Chatman Mire De Juan Chatman (born October 24, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Standing at 1.87 m (6'2"), he played at the point guard position. He is a Texas Pan American University alumnus who as an American became the all-t ...

(born 1978), professional basketball player * Richard Cortez (born 1943), mayor of McAllen, Texas; county judge of Hidalgo County * Gustavo de la Viña, former Chief of the

United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...

Dan Firova Daniel Michael Firova (born October 16, 1956) is an American professional baseball catcher and coach. He is the quality control coach for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball. As a player, he caught 17 games: 13 in and three in for the Se ...

, former MLB baseball player and current Mexican League manager * William Garrison, retired major general of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Apple Green Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, colorfulness, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shad ...

, retired NBA player *

Greg Guy Gregory Guy Jr. (born October 17, 1971) is a retired American professional basketball player most known for being the NCAA Division I scoring champion during the 1992–93 season. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and his father Gregory Gu ...

, former NCAA basketball scoring champion * Jim Hickey (born 1961), MLB pitching coach *

Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa Juan Jesus "Chuy" Hinojosa (born March 7, 1946) is a Democratic member of the Texas Senate representing the 20th District ( Corpus Christi–McAllen). Biographical information Born in McAllen, Texas, Hinojosa was a farm worker who worked his ...

(born 1946), Texas state senator * Perry Hill, MLB assistant coach * Rubén Hinojosa (born 1940), Congressman * Lucious Jackson (1941–2022), Olympic gold medalist and NBA player *

Rossy Evelin Lima Rossy Evelin Lima-Padilla (born August 18, 1986, Veracruz, Mexico) is a United States-based Mexican writer, scholar, translator and activist. She has published her work in numerous journals, magazines and anthologies in Europe, North America and ...

, Mexican-American poet * Eddie Lucio Jr. (born 1946), Texas state senator *

Otto Moore Otto George Moore (born August 27, 1946) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'11" center (basketball), center from the University of Texas-Pan American, Moore played nine seasons (1968–1977) in the National Basketball Assoc ...

, retired NBA player * José R. Rodríguez, state senator *

Valente Rodriguez Valente Rodriguez (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ernie Cardenas on the sitcom ''George Lopez''. He also starred as Cesar in the TV Land sitcom ''Happily Divorced'', as well as guest starring on ' ...

, actor * Marshall Rogers, former NCAA basketball scoring champion * Fred Taylor, retired NBA player *

Jim Tyrone James Vernon Tyrone (born January 29, 1949) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 to 1977, for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics. He also played ...

, retired MLB Player and Member of UTPA College World Series team *

Wayne Tyrone Oscar Wayne Tyrone (born August 1, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball player. He played in the 1976 in baseball, 1976 baseball season with the Chicago Cubs. Tyrone batted and threw right-handed. He played in 30 games in his one-year career, h ...

, retired MLB Player and Member of UTPA College World Series team * George Williams (born 1969), retired MLB catcher

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas-Pan American, University Of University of Texas Rio Grande

University of Texas Pan American A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

University of Texas-Pan American University of Texas-Pan American University of Texas-Pan American University of Texas-Pan American Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools University of Texas-Pan American Educational institutions established in 1927 Educational institutions disestablished in 2015 1927 establishments in Texas 2015 disestablishments in Texas