Category Archives: Education

Las Huellas Association Creates UTRGV Endowed Fund

Education Featured News Comments

UTRGV has announced the Las Huellas Association Endowed Fund which benefits students in the university’s College of Sciences. The Las Huellas endowment – a gift in the amount of $500,000 – provides scholarships to students pursuing a wildlife habitat conservation career. Kelly Nassour, UTRGV executive vice president for Institutional Advancement, said the university greatly appreciates the gift from the Las Huellas Association. “The fund will impact our students, community and…

Read More

McAllen ISD’s Aviation Program To Expand 

Education Featured News Comments

McAllen ISD’s new aviation program for high school seniors took flight last fall and now the course of study will be expanding with the addition of more classes starting next school year. Starting in the fall, students will be able to take additional courses over a two-year period to give them in-depth training and more flying time as they earn a private pilot license and remote drone license through McAllen…

Read More

VIDA Helps Spark Electrician’s Success

Community e-Brief Features Education Featured News Comments
Cain Ballesteros

After graduating from high school, McAllen resident Cain Ballesteros took the step many young people feel is expected of them; he enrolled in college. But after a year and a half, he realized college wasn’t for him.  Ballesteros tried to find his calling through a number of career paths, including certified nursing assistant, but none felt right. His dad, Arturo Ballesteros, a master electrician for over 40 years who manages…

Read More

Biomedical Engineering Coming To UTRGV

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
UTRGV College of Engineering and Computer Science (photo Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley plans to offer a new graduate program – a master of science degree in biomedical engineering – starting Fall 2023, as part of the UTRGV College of Engineering and Computer Science. The program has received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and is pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Biomedical engineering is a multidisciplinary field…

Read More

Villalobos Becomes UTRGV’S First AMS Fellow

Education Featured News Comments
Cristina Villalobos (photo Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

Associate dean for the UTRGV College of Sciences Cristina Villalobos has been elected Fellow of the American Mathematical Society “for contributions to modelling and optimization and for broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in mathematics.” Villalobos, who is also a Myles and Sylvia Aaronson endowed professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, becomes the first UTRGV faculty member to be named an AMS fellow. “It is an honor to have…

Read More

UTRGV SOM Signs MOU With Valley Grande Institute

Education Healthcare News Comments
The UTRGV School of Medicine signs a memorandum of understanding on Dec. 12 with Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies, at the VGI Campus in Weslaco. (photo David Pike, UTRGV)

The UTRGV School of Medicine recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies to strengthen the pipeline between the two institutions in training allied health professionals. The program will prepare students to be part of healthcare teams by exposing them to clinical procedures under the direct supervision of UTRGV faculty or staff. This includes UT Health RGV clinical nurse educators and staff registered nurses. “The…

Read More

Brownsville ISD Teacher Receives Prestigious Award

e-Brief Features Education Featured News Comments

Alma Salazar, an English teacher at Faulk Middle School in Brownsville, is one of 15 recipients of a 2022 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Award. Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. and former Humanities Texas board member Manuel Medrano presented Salazar with her award during the Brownsville ISD board meeting at on Dec. 13. Salazar also received a $5,000 cash award with an additional $1,000 for Faulk Middle School to purchase…

Read More

UTRGV Educator Prep Receives National Recognition

e-Brief Features Education News Comments

UTRGV is one of 55 providers from 28 states and the United Arab Emirates to receive accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation for its Educator Preparation Program. UTRGV offers a university-based teacher preparation curriculum and graduate degrees designed to produce exemplary educators. National accreditation was earned for the teacher preparation programs, for the Master of Arts in School Psychology and for the Superintendent Certification programs. CAEP…

Read More

Forbes Laudes UTRGV For Quality Education

e-Brief Features Education Featured News Comments
UTRGV Brownsville Campus (Photo David Pike, UTRGV)

UTRGV has again attracted the attention of Forbes magazine, being recognized for its return on investment in education. Edward Conroy’s article “Which Colleges Are Doing The Most For Students With The Least?” highlights UTRGV’s success in graduating students with low post-graduation debt. The findings used price-to-earning metrics compiled by Washington, D.C.-based think tank Third Way. UTRGV has programs in place both encourage a turnover in graduation rates and low rates…

Read More

UTRGV-Edinburg CISD Establish New High School

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
The UTRGV Mascot welcomes students to the UTRGV and Edinburg CISD groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 29 for the new collegiate high school. (photo Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

UTRGV and the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District broke ground on Nov. 29 on a new collegiate high school to serve the students of Edinburg. The facility will be located at 1407 E. Freddy Gonzalez Drive, just off the Expressway 281 frontage. A collegiate high school like this one focuses on academic pathways in the areas of education, engineering, computer science and health professions, as a way to create more…

Read More