Tag Archives: UTRGV

New UTRGV Doctorate Program Approved

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare Comments
(photo UTRGV)

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish a new degree program for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology. The new PhD program will focus on producing clinical psychology scientist-practitioners with knowledge about Hispanic cultures in the Rio Grande Valley and the United States. “Providing new educational opportunities for the students of the Rio Grande Valley is…

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Building ‘Soft Skills’ for Success

Education Events News Technology Comments
UTRGV students collaborate on last-minute details during the GreenpowerUSA South Texas Electric Car Competition. (Courtesy)

Public-private collaborations to build a workforce for the future have picked up speed in recent years amidst growing concerns that some skills needed to prosper are lagging behind advancements in technology. Electric cars whizzing around at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour offer a recent example of how some young people in the Rio Grande Valley are looking forward. Thirty-one teams representing middle schools, high schools and colleges…

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Finding Solutions to Bad Behavior

Business Advice Events News Comments
Human resources expert Dr. Marco Garza talks with business people about progressive discipline in the workplace. (VBR)

One of the least favorite aspects of a supervisor’s job is having to discipline, and possibly terminate, an employee. It can be fraught with emotion and legal pitfalls if not done correctly. But there are ways to minimize the unpleasant and sometimes risky task. Former corporate human resources manager Marco E. Garza, who today serves as assistant chair and faculty with the Department of Management at the University of Texas…

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UTRGV Receives Grant for Latina STEM

Education Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Technology Comments
Latinas in STEM

The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley a $249,992 grant for the NSF INCLUDES Symposium for ADVANCING STEM Latinas in Academic Careers. The federal funds will be made available to UTRGV on Aug. 1. The funding allows UTRGV to place emphasis on increasing the number of Latinas in STEM workforce areas. The NSF symposium will provide a national platform to  discuss and address the issues that affect…

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UTRGV Students Take Trading Competition

Education Featured Finance/Banking News Comments
Christopher Martinez, Michael Villarreal and Jose Naveja with faculty advisor Bruno Arthur (UTRGV Photo)

A group of undergraduate business students from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley recently beat out more than 500 teams from 37 countries to capture their first ever championship win in the 15th annual CME Group Trading Challenge. Christopher Martinez of McAllen, Michael Villarreal of Rio Grande City and Jose Naveja of Progreso finished the competition with a total of $706,585. They beat out second-place competitor Kansas State University, who…

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Federal Reserve Official Talks Economics During Valley Visit

Events News Comments
Economics professor Marie T. Mora moderates a discussion with Robert Kaplan, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. (VBR)

Higher education called upon to close skills gaps Somewhere between 50,000 and 75,000 Texas jobs were lost in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but the state’s economy is already showing signs of recovery, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Robert Kaplan said during remarks at the seventh annual Border Economic Development and Entrepreneurship Symposium in McAllen on Dec. 1. “We are already seeing a rebound…

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Hispanic Business Leader Touts Economic Growth

e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
Javier Palomarez greets Valley civic and business leaders. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)

The Hispanic population in the United States continues to grow at a rapid pace, and that translates into big money when it comes to business in America. President and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Javier Palomarez told a group of Rio Grande Valley business leaders that Latino entrepreneurs contribute more than $668 billion to the U.S. economy each year. “The Hispanic community has become a defining feature…

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‘Fab Lab’ Plants Seeds of Creativity

Education Featured News Comments
UTRGV students Vilma Flores and Alissa Flores with Dr. Emmett Tomai, UTRGV Computer Science Associate Professor, on Monday, July 17, 2017 at the UTRGV Fabrication Lab in the Visual Arts Building in Edinburg, Texas. (Photo by Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

Lab serves underprivileged areas Technology, science and art will come together in a learning laboratory setting to design new products. Two faculty members at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are teaming up to create what will be known as a fabrication laboratory, or “fab lab.” Donna Sweigart, associate professor of art, and Dr. Emmett Tomai, associate professor of computer science, received an Internal Seed Research Program grant from…

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Creating High-Impact Entrepreneurs 

News Comments

Last month, VBR published an article describing UTRGV’s efforts to create the next generation of high-impact entrepreneurs in the RGV. The piece ends by asking the question of whether or not competitors in this year’s Rafael Munguia UTRGV Business Plan Contest will “become the next great Texas startup.” This got us to thinking about the real impact of our business plan contest as well as other entrepreneurship program initiatives. We…

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