Author Archives: VBR

Symposium Addresses Healthcare Disparities

Education Events Featured Healthcare News Comments
Students are able to show their research at the School of Medicine Research Symposium. (photo Silver Salas, UTRGV)

From advances in studying determinants of health, to public health initiatives to combat obesity and patient case studies, researchers from across the country and world gathered recently at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine’s second annual Research Symposium to discuss how they are addressing disparities in healthcare. “Health Disparities 2018: Closing the Gap” featured keynote speaker Maria Elena Bottazzi, associate dean of the National School of…

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INNO Highlights Impact of Future Workforce

e-Brief Features Education Events News Comments
South Texas College held its sixth annual INNO Conference dedicated to the discussion of preparing students for the workforce and jobs of the future. (photo STC)

It is urgent students are ready for jobs of the future. According to those speaking at INNO at STC, now more than ever, college graduates with real-world experience are needed for even the most entry level of jobs. Last week, INNO, STC’s sixth annual Binational Innovation Conference, welcomed those in industry, education and economic development. Each brought information focused on innovation as well as the impact of students on the…

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Lance Ames Promoted to Health System CEO

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Lance Ames

Lance Ames is now the chief executive officer of South Texas Health System Edinburg and South Texas Health System Children’s. Ames recently served as chief operating officer and then interim CEO of the system’s facilities in Edinburg. Under his leadership, the hospital opened a new 26-bed inpatient unit dedicated to the care of surgical patients. The hospitals also saw an increase in total surgeries by 8 percent during the prior year. Prior…

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STC Receives Grant to Pursue Latino Success

Education News Comments
Adult Learner 360 Grant

South Texas College is the recipient of a $40,000 grant to scale and sustain learner success for adult Latino students. The Adult Learner 360 Grant comes from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in partnership with Excelencia in Education. The initiative seeks to provide Hispanic Serving Institutions with tools and support to implement researched-based practices to improve outcomes for adult Latino students. The grant enables STC to participate in a three-year…

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Local Unemployment Continues Drop

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unemployment down

The Texas economy added 32,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in August, which marked 26 consecutive months of employment growth. Over the year, Texas added 394,500 jobs for an annual employment growth rate of 3.2 percent. Private-sector employers added 32,800 positions over the month. Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August, down slightly from 4.0 in July 2018. Locally, unemployment rates are also down in Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Brownsville-Harlingen…

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Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence Opens

Education Events Government News Comments
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joins South Texas College for a grand opening and building dedication ceremony for its Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence Sept. 18. (photo STC)

South Texas College held a grand opening and building dedication ceremony for its highly anticipated Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence Sept. 18. Helping the college open the facility was Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, delivering the keynote address to a gathering of local, state and federal law enforcement professionals. The new Regional Center intends to make STC the first border community college in the nation to establish integrative training along the…

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UTRGV Offers Accelerated Online Masters

Education Finance/Banking News Comments
utrgv-college-of-business-and-entrepreneurship

A new online Master of Accountancy program is now an offering in UTRGV’s Accelerated Online Graduate Programs in the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship. The MACC program is for accounting professionals seeking skills and knowledge to advance into a leadership role. It also enables students to satisfy the 150-hour requirement of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy to sit for the Certified Public Accountant examination. “The online accelerated MACC program…

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TWC Grant at Work in Cameron

e-Brief Features Education News Comments

Thanks to Skills for Small Business grants from the Texas Workforce Commission, Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Texas State Technical College are working with local small businesses in Cameron County to help them have the trained personnel they need. The grants total $156,000 provide both professional training and development among small businesses. This will continue into 2019 training from TSTC which has helped more than a dozen small businesses since 2016.…

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McAllen Takes Top National Spot in Rising Salaries

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McAllen is number one in the list of boomtowns cities of rising salaries, according to CNBC. The ranking comes from CNBC the top 10 cities in Magnify Money’s Top 10 of the biggest boomtowns in the United States. These cities identify where populations have been growing, as well as median wages rising. That methodology looked at three categories: population and housing; workforce and earnings; and business growth over a five-year period.…

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Local Colleges and ISDs Earn JET Grants

Education Featured News Comments

The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded 23 grants totaling $4,998,598 to public junior colleges, public technical institutes, public state colleges and independent school districts for programs that focus on supporting high-demand occupations through the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant program. Of note, eight of those grants went to local community colleges and school systems. “These grants will focus on advanced technical training, and will keep our Texas businesses…

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