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THE FUTURE
OF TEXAS
Legislative Priorities 88th Legislative Session
Message from Dr. Guy Bailey
With an enrollment of almost 32,000, UTRGV is one of the nation’s largest Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), serving the 150-mile Texas/Mexico border region known as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). The RGV is a “medically underserved area” with one of the highest shortages of physicians and mental health providers in the nation. To meet numerous healthcare needs, UTRGV and its School of Medicine (SOM) engages in instruction, research, medical education, health care, and public service.
Affordability has always been a cornerstone of UTRGV’s mission. We are proud to have been ranked:
• 1 st in Texas and 2nd nationally for “Least Student Debt” by U.S. News and World Report
• 1 st in Texas and 8th nationally by Forbes.com for “Top Colleges for Your Money”
• 1 st in Texas and 2nd in the nation among public universities for lowest net price of attendance by Washington Monthly (2021)
• 4th in the nation for “Most Economic Mobility” by Thirdway.org (2022).
The SOM welcomed its first class in 2016 and since then has graduated three classes of diverse and talented physicians. While young, the SOM has had a dramatic impact on increasing access to primary and specialty care in the RGV. The school continues to grow its clinical footprint across the Valley. The SOM is also conducting important research in diabetes, Alzheimer’s, addiction disorders and various cancers as part of an ambitious plan to build a robust clinical trials program to translate research into tomorrow’s cures.
UTRGV’s Institute of Neurosciences (ION) is establishing a world-class center of excellence in brain health education, research, and personalized treatment. The School of Podiatric Medicine (SOPM) is the first podiatric medical school in Texas, and only one of eleven in the nation. When the Cancer and Surgery Center opens in 2025, UTRGV will have the first comprehensive academic cancer treatment program in the region and will be positioned to rapidly expand its research portfolio in biospecimen and oncology clinical trials research.
UTRGV is a game changer for the RGV, and we thank you for your investment in UTRGV and our SOM. With your continued support, we look forward to what UTRGV will accomplish for the RGV and the State of Texas.
School of Podiatric Medicine (SOPM)
The new UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine (SOPM), the first podiatric school in Texas, will play an integral part in delivering healthcare services to local communities in the Rio Grande Valley. One of only eleven schools of podiatric medicine in the US, UTRGV is ready to prepare students to provide the highest level of care focusing on the health, individual needs, and humanity of the patients.
Approximately 2.8 million people in Texas, or 14.2% of the adult population, have diabetes. Coupled with obesity and heart disease, the complications from these diseases can cause blindness and lead to amputations, often of the lower extremities. Including a podiatrist on a healthcare team can reduce a patient’s risk of limb amputation by up to 85%. UTRGV’s SOPM will collaborate with the UTRGV School of Medicine and the South Texas Diabetes Obesity Institute to improve and provide high-quality healthcare in South Texas through evidence-based practice, and medical research.
UT Health RGV Cancer & Surgery Center
UT Health RGV is expanding its healthcare offerings in South Texas with a new Cancer and Surgery Center, with oncology advisory services provided by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The UT Health RGV Cancer Center and Surgery Center will provide our patients in South Texas with access to state-of-the-art facilities and world-class doctors.
WHY?
The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) along the Texas-Mexico border is a medically underserved and low resources community with an extremely high cancer rate and a lack of access to specialty care. Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates are approximately 55% higher in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) compared with the average rates in the US. Currently the nearest Cancer and Surgery center is approximately 300 miles away in San Antonio. Nearly 2 million people live south of this facility in deep South Texas and the population is expected to grow by 10% over the next 10 years while the number of cancer cases are projected to grow by 15% over the same period.
2024-2025 BIENNIUM REQUESTS
General Academic Unit
FUNDING FOR INSTITUTIONAL ENHANCEMENT
RETAIN $16.2 MILLION IN CURRENT FUNDING; ADD $6.4 MILLION IN EXCEPTIONAL ITEM FUNDING
Request to increase Institutional Enhancement (IE) funding to expand educational opportunities to students at the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels. Until such time as suffi cient formula funding is generated, UTRGV seeks the additional funding for fi ve programs within its IE line item; each of the programs will addresses an urgent national need of diversifying the scientifi c and healthcare workforce by preparing graduates from the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) for careers. RGV based, there will be a natural focus on the diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect minority populations:
• Ph.D. in Physics
• Ph.D. in Human Genetics
• Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT)
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
• Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD)
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR BORDER ECONOMIC & ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
RETAIN $1 MILLION IN CURRENT FUNDING; ADD $150,000 IN EXCEPTIONAL ITEM FUNDING
Exceptional Item Request to allow UTRGV’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to add two business advisors (BAs). BAs play a vital role in the prosperity of the region by providing no-cost, 1-on-1 BA services.
FULLY FUND ENROLLMENT GROWTH
Requesting that the State fully fund enrollment growth.
CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE PROJECTS (CCAP)
Should the Legislature consider funding for CCAP, UTRGV requests funding support for a new Science, Engineering & Arts Building for the Brownsville campus.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR STARR COUNTY UPPER-LEVEL CENTER (ULC)
RETAIN $55,230 IN CURRENT FUNDING ; ADD $100,000 IN EXCEPTIONAL ITEM FUNDING
Funding would allow expanded services in one of the most chronically underserved areas of Texas. With this modest investment, UTRGV can broaden services provided to include components of its social work programs and health and mental wellness trainings.
CONTINUE FUNDING SUPPORT FOR COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES (CRUs)
Continued support for the state’s CRUs is vital to universities that educate a disproportionate level of At-Risk students such as UTRGV.
POLICY PRIORITIES
ENHANCED FUNDING FOR STUDENT SUCCESS TEXAS
Grants and work-study programs.
TUITION
Preserve tuition set-asides and the current tuition-setting process.
RESEARCH
Research investments are a critical component of operations and broadly benefit the state.
HAZLEWOOD
Provide funding for the increasing cost of the Hazlewood tuition benefit.
CONTINUE EXPANSION OF BROADBAND COVERAGE
Will benefit students’ transition to online education across the state and in the Rio Grande Valley
School of Medicine (SoM)
TOP PRIORITY
MEDICAL SCHOOL NON-FORMULA START-UP FUNDING
RETAIN $39.9 MILLION IN CURRENT FUNDING
The UTRGV School of Medicine’s highest priority is the continuation of the Non-Formula Support used to deliver medical education to the full complement of medical students. The SOM’s practice plan, while robust, is still young and is providing care to a largely uninsured and Medicaid population without the benefit of a healthcare district. Appropriations are needed to meet curriculum requirements, to support new hires, and to reach full accreditation.
EXCEPTIONAL ITEM FUNDING
SCHOOL OF PODIATRIC MEDICINE START-UP
$12 MILLION IN EXCEPTIONAL ITEM FUNDING
The THECB in October 2020 approved a request to create a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree for the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine (SoPM), the first school of podiatry in Texas. Start-up appropriations are needed to support operating costs until full formula funding materializes, and would fund key faculty, staff, and other programmatic costs.
CANCER IMMUNOLOGY CENTER / CANCER
RETAIN $1.9 MILLION IN CURRENT FUNDING AND ADD $3.1 MILLION IN EXCEPTIONAL ITEM FUNDING
The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has long been a medically under-served area with wide gaps in specialty care and research; cancer research and cancer care are among the most critical shortages. The UTRGV SoM has built the first South Texas Center of Excellence on Cancer Research housing 6 investigators and 10 lab personnel from diverse fields.
In addition to maintaining the $1.9M appropriation to continue research to develop advanced diagnostic, imaging, and therapeutic modalities for combating cancer in the RGV, UTRGV seeks $3.1M to support the operations of a new Cancer Center opening in 2025 in McAllen, the first comprehensive academic cancer treatment program in the region.
OTHER SIGNIFICANT FUNDING & POLICY PRIORITIES
TEXAS CHILD MENTAL HEALTH CARE CONSORTIUM (TCMHCC)
Continued adequate funding is vitally important to support telehealth care in schools, to train primary care providers and improve the delivery of child and adolescent mental health services.
ENHANCE THECB’S GME EXPANSION PROGRAM
Retain and increase GME Expansion Program funding for medical residents and fellows.
CANCER PREVENTION & RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF TEXAS (CPRIT)
Continue funding to support its mission to invest in the research prowess of Texas universities and research organizations and enhance the potential of breakthroughs in prevention and cures.
MEDICAID 1115 WAIVER
Support the Texas Incentives for Physicians and Professional Services, the program that Texas Health and Human Services has proposed as a successor supplemental payment program to DSRIP.
Workforce & Economic Development
Through a comprehensive portfolio of programs, UTRGV serves local businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals to enhance workforce & economic prosperity throughout the region.
ECONOMIC IMPACT:
• 1,885 Jobs Created & Retained
• 160 Businesses Started & Expanded
• $11,865,034 Capital Investments
• $56,103,004 Sales & Contract Awards
WORKFORCE & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:
• 410 Training Events & Courses
• 5,770 Training Participants
• 2,126 Clients Consulted
Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Statistics*
(Data Information & System, Entrepreneurship & Commercialization, Procurement Technical Assistance, Professional Education, Small Business Development, & Veteran’s Business Outreach)
UTRGV’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) promotes economic development throughout the 4-county region by providing comprehensive business advising, training, and technical assistance services to start-up and existing businesses.
ANNUAL ECONOMIC IMPACT:
• 425 Jobs Created
• 990 Jobs Retained
• 134 Businesses Started & Expanded
• $10,103,634 Capital Formation Created
• $36,571,753 New Taxable Sales Generated
• 155 Training Sessions to Businesses
• 1,338 Training Participants
• 852 Clients Consulted
“Building the Texas Economy One Business at a Time”
Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Statistics*
(Small Business Development Center)
About UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016
Source: Money.com, 2022
Source: Forbes.com, 2021
About UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the fi rst major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its fi rst class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its fi rst class in the summer of 2016
Legislative Priorities
Legislative Priorities | 88th Texas Legislature
The 2022-2023 biennium brought The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) much success. In 2015, UTRGV enrolled its first class of students, and seven years later, UTRGV is nationally known for providing affordable, high-quality education, accessible healthcare, pursuing and disseminating research, preparing an educated workforce, and engaging community partners in novel and impactful ways.
PRESIDENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY
1st in
Texas
LOWEST NET PRICE OF ATTENDANCE
1st in
Texas
AMONG ALL TEXAS UNIVERSITIES FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY
1st in
Texas
LEAST STUDENT DEBT
2nd in Texas
BEST PUBLIC UNIVERSITY
1st in
Texas
PERFORMANCE OF PELL-ELIGIBLE STUDENTS
TOP 10
BEST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY
#3
BEST COLLEGES IN AMERICA FOR VALUE, AMONG TEXAS SCHOOLS
Total Number of:
MEDICAL STUDENTS
222
MEDICAL RESIDENTS
259
UT Health RGV-operated sites:
29
COVID-19 vaccines administered:
COVID-19 tests conducted/analyzed:
92,812
127,847
Most updated figures as of February 2022
92,812
127,847
SERVICES OFFERED:
• Ambulatory Surgery
• Clinical Laboratory Services
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Infusion Pharmacy
• Infusion Therapy
• Outpatient Cancer Care
• Outpatient Orthopedic Care
• Radiation Oncology Rehab and Physical Therapy
1st in Texas
Public Podiatric Medical School in Texas - opened in 2022
27 Students
in its Inaugural Class, and future classes will consist of 40 students per class
Up to 85%
of amputation can be prevented if you have a podiatrist on the healthcare team
in Podiatric Medical Schools in the nation and the only one in the U.S. at a major state university
Only 1 of 11
Collaborates
with UTRGV's School of Medicine and the South Texas Diabetes & Obesity Institute
Year In Review 2022
Contact Us
Veronica Gonzales
Senior Vice President for Governmental & Community Relations
Office: (956) 665-2128
Cell: (956) 451-1969
Richard P. Sanchez
Associate Vice President for Governmental Relations
Office: (956) 665-3668
Cell: (956) 369-1010
Veronica E. De La Garza
Director of Governmental Relations
Office: (956) 665-7373
Cell: (956) 496-4358
For more information regarding the enclosed content and funding priorities for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, please contact
Marco Arriaga, who was born in Brownsville and raised in Matamoros, Mexico, is a first-generation student. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from UTRGV in 2015 and a master's degree in biology in 2018. He is currently in the first cohort of UTRGV's Human Genetics Ph.D. program. (UTRGV Photo)
“I’m excited for this program,” Arriaga said. “I will be able to contribute to potential treatments for serious health disparities that affect people all over the world, and in our community.”
MARCO ARRIAGA
Human Genetics PhD Program
Vanessa Cortez, from San Antonio, with her brother, John Paul. She saw doctors save his life five times and was inspired to dedicate herself to similarly helping families. Cortez is slated to graduate from UTRGV in 2026 from the School of Podiatric Medicine. (Courtesy Photo)
“I saw that a lot of the patients, many of them diabetic, could have avoided catastrophe if they just had someone to advocate for a healthy lifestyle change.”
VANESSA CORTEZ
School of Podiatric Medicine, Class of 2026
Dr. Christine Elizabeth Loftis is part of the inaugural class of UTRGV School of Medicine that graduated in 2020. Upon completing her UTRGV School of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency at DHR Health, she will join the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine's competitive Rheumatology Fellowship. (Courtesy Photo)
“Although I will be relocating to Colorado for a Rheumatology Fellowship, I plan to return to the Valley and pay it forward. And I hope to eventually start a Rheumatology Fellowship at the UTRGV School of Medicine with the help of my mentor, Dr. Dulgheru."
DR. CHRISTINE ELIZABETH LOFTIS
UTRGV School of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency
Concha, Daniella a Rio Grande Valley native and 2020 graduate of the UTRGV School of Medicine, has been selected as a fellow of the 2023-2024 Texas Heart Institute Cardiology Fellowship Program.
“I feel incredibly honored and grateful to get the opportunity to train in the exciting field of cardiology,” Concha said. “My dream is to improve the cardiovascular health of my community with a focus on the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure in underserved populations across ethnic groups.”
DR. DANIELLA CONCHA
UTRGV School of Medicine 2020 graduate
2023-2024 Texas Heart Institute Cardiology Fellowship Program
2024-2025 BIENNIUM REQUESTS
Eloy Lozoya, from Brownsville, graduated with a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. He is part of the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP), a partnership between nine UT System medical schools to provide a seamless transition from undergraduate to medical school. He will be attending the UT Health McGovern School of Medicine in Houston this fall. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)
“The reason I got into medicine was because I feel that it is a profession I can wake up to every day and know that I'm going to effect change, every single day.”
ELOY LOZOYA
UTRGV Class of 2022
Year In Review 2022
2022 Year In Review
Here is a look back at what UTRGV started, the bonds strengthened, accolades achieved, and the paths created all with our ‘V’s Up’. New beginnings and growth were the themes at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2022. The university community welcomed new partnerships, broke ground on future projects and made campus history. UTRGV continues its commitment to helping its students succeed, receive a quality education and expand the opportunities available.
UTRGV hosts kickoff, Texas Legislative Tour in the RGV
UTRGV hosted legislators from across the state on two stops of their Legislative Tour of the Rio Grande Valley. The first stop was at the UTRGV Harlingen Collegiate High Scholl with a Healthcare panel discussion where panelist included Dr. Michael Hocker, Dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine and Dr. Javier La Fontaine, DPM, Dean of the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine.
UTRGV College of Engineering & Computer Science
Dr. Edwin & Dr. Jane LeMaster visit the UTRGV College of Engineering & Computer Science. As the founders of the engineering program in the RGV, they share some of the history and accomplishments including the size, 4,200 students in the College of Engineering and the degrees offered, Bachelors, Masters, and soon to be a PH.D. in Engineering.