UT
Juliet V. García, Ph.D.
Speaking Notes
PAC 2003 & 04
Gran Salon, Student Union
Where (context),
for whom (demographics), how (measures),
and with whom (faculty, staff)?
Purpose of the partnership:
to provide more access to higher education to an underserved region in a more
efficient and streamlined manner. This was to be accomplished with a
partnership between a community college and a university, sharing all assets:
fiscal, physical and human.
The purpose of this committee
is to meet once a year and determine progress toward that end.
Map of Texas/Mexico
We are as far from
We are as far from
We are closer to
And, we extend further south into
We
are international, coastal, but at home in our community.
And
our campus extends from high up in the clouds of
The context of where we do our work influences how
we do our work. So first the where…
Off Campus Sites
South of the Main Campus
·
As far back as 1964, faculty at
·
We had taken our first step into
Look -out @ Rancho
Cabin
Students
Working
North of the
Main Campus
·
About 20 years later, in 1986, the college received another opportunity
to expand beyond its main campus, when the Old Coast Guard Station at SPI was
deemed surplus by the federal government.
This off-campus acquisition was a bit easier to sell to the trustees;
after all, it wasn’t in a foreign country on the side of a mountain and it was
free, except for the cost of renovation and continued maintenance. And, it lies
within the community college taxing district and service area. It would be
renovated and become available for the study of marine science in prime real
estate within 6 months.
Coast line
Picture of
Student Scientist
·
Both off-campus sites required us to stretch a bit. In the case of Rancho
del Cielo, we had to learn how to operate in
·
In the case of the
Port
·
Another opportunity for gaining property for coastal research came just
two years ago when TSC acquired the former coast guard station at Port Mansfield
after a similar process of competing with other institutions for surplus
federal property. This acquisition gave
us a presence in
Neighborhoods
But we are also very much of the community in which our main campus
resides. Afterall, over 66% of our students come from within a 7 to 8 mile
radius of the main campus, so our focus in more recent acquisitions has been
closer to home.
Historical restoration
Our work in historical restoration was born out of our own history
located on the original historical
Since then historical restoration has begun to evolve from something that
is done for us, to something that we do for ourselves and for the
neighbors.
A joint effort between Gorgas Science Society and
Alonso Before/After
Young House
A
few years later in 1996, the historic Young House next door to the Alonso
(originally built in 1912) became available, and the college purchased and
restored it just in time to become the official headquarters of the newly
constituted Cross Border Institute for Regional Development (CBIRD) that George
Kozmetsky helped us envision. Today, CBIRD has become a valuable tool for local
public entities in need of research to inform good public policy decision
making.
Original Young House
Before/After picture Staircase
Restoration
of the Young House became the first time our own students became involved in
historical restoration projects. Students from our construction technology
associate degree program honed their basic construction skills with the more
refined craft of restoration. Instead of new construction, they were now
involved in taking things apart, salvaging every piece of lumber and hardware,
and carefully restoring it.
Cueto
Picture of Cueto
(historical)
Cueto in
disrepair
Before/After
The
most recent acquisition, the
Students
On
the border, we are affected as much by the price of oil in
Hundreds
of workers were being laid off from the garment industry that was quickly
heading further south. (Haggar, Levi). Concurrently, the population was exploding,
having grown 41% over the past decade, (twice as fast as the state of
Additional
facilities were again needed and the region could not wait until the
legislature met again to decide whether or not to issue tuition revenue bonds.
Chase bank was moving out of
the downtown area (2000) and offered us their building. The need was great; the
price was right, prompting the TSC trustees to purchase ‘
But soon even
Tuition revenue bonds
approved by the state of
In 2002, UTB was cited by
THECB as the most utilized campus in
So on a cool December morning
as most folks were making plans for upcoming holiday vacations, Simon
Properties contacted us offering to sell us a mall. Within a week, we also learned of bankruptcy
proceedings against the owners of the hotels on the
Picture of ITECC
ITECC with Students
Why
would a university buy a mall and two hotels?
Because
we were in need of space, the price was right and finally, because it would
have taken us 20 years to acquire the same amount of space through the TRB
process, based on our present rate of success.
Mall Blueprint
So,
two years ago, we learned that the Amigoland Mall property was available. With
the purchase of that property, we added 600,000 square feet to our campus, more
than doubling the instructional space available and more than doubling the
number of parking spaces available.
This
last year, we took $1 million dollars that Senator Hutchinson had helped us get
a few years earlier for business incubators, but that we had been unable to
spend because of a lack of space and converted a former Dollar Store into a
complex of business incubators….
Dollar Store/Business Incubator
In
addition, we were awarded $5.5 million by the Greater Brownsville Investment
Corporation. They understand that an investment to help the university expand
yields a high return. Those funds are being used to convert the space that
housed the former Bealls store into our new workforce training center
Bealls/Workforce
Training
But
the vision for the use of the mall space has never been solely as an
instructional site. It has always included the notion of bringing training
together with small business incubators, with business itself, and with
those agencies that support business. To that end, we have begun to recruit new
tenants to our space as well.
Space
is being prepared for the offices of the Brownsville Economic Development
Council in the former Wyatts cafeteria. Companies thinking about moving to our
region will now visit with members of the business council in their new
location and while there, are able to visit our classrooms and labs to observe
the kind of technical job training available for the expansion of their
business or industry.
In
addition, the Department of Commerce, and the
Export-Import Bank have also relocated in order to work side by side
with each other and with us.
Wyatts /BEDC
Each of these projects has its place; however, immediately, we began to
move in and expand our offerings. Over a two-week period, we converted retail
stores into 17 classrooms and office space.
Stores/ classrooms
Much
remains to be done to complete the transformation of a mall into an
International Education Technology and Commerce Campus. Along with our efforts
to continue to seek funds for renovation and investment, we have hired
architects (3 DI) to update our master facilities plan, help us with the
transformation of the mall and guide us in relating the new ITEC campus to the
main campus.
Aerial Acquisitions Enhanced
What began as a campus of 47 acres is now 382 acres.
But as challenging as the acquisitions and renovation have been, it is
not so easily limited.
Here is an aerial view that encompasses the acquisitions and the neighborhoods.
Transition
We’ve
also begun a conversation with the mayor and others interested in these same
neighborhoods to see what role the university can best serve in revitalization
of downtown, in historical restoration of the original town site and in the
lives of those that live in our adjacent neighborhoods.
Downtown
In
the downtown area,
Buena Vida
in
the Buena Vida neighborhood,
421
and
in the 421.
Last
October, the Brownsville Herald carried the headline, Living the Good Life, which implied more
of a question about one of the long neglected areas of the 8000 member Buena
Vida community:
The
Herald’s story covered the findings of an environmental scan report prepared by
our own CBIRD.
The
findings showed that our neighbors, including our students, are living in one
of the highest crime areas of the city. A community bordered by the Police
Station, the Cathedral, the new Federal Courthouse, both the old and the new
county courthouses, the Brownsville Herald, and the Boys Club. A community where
most folks are transient, live there only a few years while in transition from
their former home in
A
neighborhood where 80% pay rent, where a community which has professionals’
office there during the day, albeit in their sheltered silos, and leave at
dark, when the neighborhood takes on a new character.
In
cooperation with CBIRD, our Office for Civic Engagement has been creative in
developing projects aimed at helping stimulate the revitalization of the
neighborhood. Still in its infancy, this effort led by our professor Joe
Zavaleta and Father Armand Mathew, have begun to incorporate these activities
with a service learning component in the curriculum.
Part II. Economic Context
Population Change 1990 to 2000
2000 Census
·
One of the fastest growing regions in the state.
o
§
From 98,962 to 139,772 people
o
§
From 303,293 to 418,141 people
§
Three times as large as Brownville
o
o
·
One of the poorest counties in the State
o
33% below poverty vs.15% in state
o
Median income $26K vs. $40K in state
·
One of the most undereducated areas.
o
H.S. grad 25+: 55% vs 76% state
o
Bachelors 25+: 13% vs 23% state
·
One of the youngest populations.
o
Under age
Students walking
The context of where
we do our work influences how we do our work.
Our mission has been to build on the strengths of the
context. “On the border and by the sea”,
but also with a predominantly bilingual population with a strong work ethic and
close family ties.
Now to the ‘how’ part. It has
become tradition to update this committee on an annual basis along several
measures
Enrollment
Growth at UTB/TSC
Since the partnership
·
Lower level has increased by 30%
( 6,429 to 8362)
·
Upper level has increased by 109%
(1,376 to 2881)
·
Graduate has increased by 189% (299 to 851)
·
Lower level has increased 10%.
·
Upper level has increased 107%.
·
Graduate level has increased 149%.
This is probably
the most compelling evidence that the partnership model achieved its purpose.
With open access
at the front end, to push students through to the bachelor’s and master’s
degree levels.
WORKFORCE TRAINING AND
CONTINUING EDUCATION
In
just the last five years, enrollment growth at Workforce Training and
Continuing Education has almost tripled from 5,900 registrants to 16,442.
Retraining for Life headline
The student in
this picture had worked at Levi Strauss for 24 years. When Levi’s closed, she
found herself without a job and with limited literacy skills. She is very
typical of the students we serve in the Workforce Training Division.
Today, after a
year of intensive training, she has completed a GED, she has new skills in English
and in literacy and she’s working with children, something she had always hoped
to do.
In her first week
of work, one of her three-year-old students wrote her note to tell her that he
loved her.
Degree
Programs
Bachelor Degree Programs
·
In 1992
UTB had in place 13 Bachelor degree programs.
·
Nearly tripled
to 34.
·
However,
our ability to continue to develop essential degree programs for our area has
been essentially flat for the last five years. We have simply not had the resources
necessary to address both our burgeoning enrollment growth and to create new
programs.
·
In spite of the
tremendous advances that have been made in program growth, the fact remains
that the number and diversity of our undergraduate degrees continues to lag far
behind.
·
For example,
UT-Pan American has 55, and comparatively, UT-SA has 68, and UTEP has 73. We
have surpassed Texas A& M International who has 33.
·
But while adding
only a limited number of new programs, they have been of the highest quality.
Permit me to highlight just
one. The Bachelor’s degree in Applied Technology, the first
of its kind in the state of
Begun
just over a year ago, it has already produced 9 graduates, received national
recognition via a Community College Futures Bellwether award, and is now being
offered by other universities including UTSA.
Master Degree Programs
·
In 1992, UTB
offered 4 Master’s degrees and has been able to quadruple that number to 17 in
2003.
·
NEW Master’s Degree Programs in 03
1. Biology
2. MAIS music emphasis
Dr.
Luis Colom came to our campus from Baylor with a grant award in tow from NIH.
It was for beginning to establish a biomedical research grant. Shortly
thereafter, through his efforts and in collaboration with the UT Health Science
Center Houston’s School of Public Health located on our campus, we received our own independent NIH grant, a
$2 million dollar grant that can be expanded to $20 million focusing on
neuroscience, led by Dr. Colom and infectious diseases, by Dr. Daniele
Provenzano.
Neuroscience
research can play a critical role in understanding a variety of neurological
disorders that affect our region’s population, such as Alzheimer’s disease, as
well as laying the groundwork for cognitive and aging studies.
Comparatively
speaking we still have a long way to go:
·
TAMIU 23
UTPA 42
UTSA 66
UTEP 77
·
The way
to increase our graduate student enrollment is to increase the number of
master’s degrees available to our students;
·
The way
to increase the number of master’s degrees is to add new graduate faculty.
While this is possible in a few isolated fields like the sciences, external
funding through grants is almost never available in the much needed, but not so easy to fund externally areas like liberal
arts.
1 more Master’s
The
good news is that just this past week we received authority from THECB to offer
a new master’s in physics.
(In
fact, it was just this last fall that we brought that request to the Academic
Affairs Committee for your consideration.)
While awaiting our own Master’s in
Physics, our collaborative agreement with UTEP produced its first graduate who
received research opportunities & masters level
classes here on our campus
Our physics professors report that they
have graduate and undergraduate research assistants through their NASA grant.
Percent Increase Degrees Awarded
·
97% increase in
certificates (145 to 286)
·
99% increase in
associate degrees (323 to 644)
·
132% increase in
baccalaureate degrees (264 to 632)
·
152% increase in
master’s degrees (62 to 156)
Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education,
US TOP 100 Producers May 2003
(data from 2000-2001
year)
·
UTB/TSC in the
top third among the top 100 baccalaureate producers in the country, with a
total of 488 Hispanic graduates, we are number 29.
Of the top 10,
What would it take for UTB to
be a top 10 producer like Pan American,
We would have to double the
number of graduates.
We’ve made significant
headway over the years in specific areas.
Protective Services
·
We ranked 10th in
the nation with 54 Protective Services graduates. Three other component
universities make up the top 10.
Mathematics Graduates
·
5th in the nation
with 18 Math Baccalaureate graduates. Two other components are ahead of
us.
Hispanic Outlook Magazine
Top 10 Foreign Language
·
And 1st
in the nation with 79 Foreign Language graduates.
·
We’ve found our niche
in liberal arts.
Hispanic Outlook Master’s
Degrees
Top 100
At the master’s level, the
·
UTB/TSC ranked 52nd
in the top 100 producers of Hispanic graduates with a total of 96 master’s
degrees awarded.
We believe that investing in
a few high need and strategically chosen new master’s degrees could propel this
number dramatically.
Again, as with bachelor’s
degrees, if we doubled the number of graduates, we could reach the top 10
overall in master’s awarded.
Additionally it is
particularly important to grow the number of graduate degrees available in our
region. Our biggest graduate programs are in education and business.
These are graduate students
who are working full-time as teachers and seeking a master’s degree or graduate
students working in business seeking a master’s degree for promotion.
Neither can they leave the
Valley easily; they have jobs, homes and family responsibilities. Having the
degrees offered at UTB is most often their only option.
Federal Funds:
Grants and Contracts
Increased
federal grants and contracts 869% since 1994.
UTB/TSC has experienced a 4,500% increase in research expenditures from
1999 to 2003, the fastest growing sponsored research activity among the UT
component institutions.
Source:
UT System Accountability Survey
STATE and LOCAL
Contribution
Local Contribution --All Blues
State Contributions --All Reds
·
Value of land
1991=$1
million
2003=
19 million
·
Value of
buildings
o
1991 = 44.9
million
o 2003 = 72.7 million
o In progress 11million and 26 million
Total 154.6 buildings and 19
million for land
This represents a local
investment of 59% and state investment of 41%.
Transition to
Funding
We’ve
been successful by many measures.
·
Increased retention has produced increased graduation at all levels,
·
Increase in degree programs has increased number of graduates,
·
an increase in external funding has provided students
more financial aid, more student support services and more opportunities to
participate in research.
State Appropriations
All
of this has been possible because in conjunction with local funds, state funds
were allocated with the explicit purpose of growing universities like us
through the funding of special items for the creation of new degree programs
and tuition revenue bonds for facilities….an increase
of 131% in General Revenue
until this last legislative session.
General Revenue
Per FTE UTB/TSC
Down 25% UTB
Down 14% TSC
Together its 24%
Component Comparisons
Chancellor’s own chart on per student
appropriation lost after the last session showed UTB lost 25% per FTE student,
highest among UT components.
Special Funding /Capital Improvement
So,
·
at a time when the imperative is for us to do more to meet the
state’s Closing the Gaps Goals,
·
when the folks have been gathered that have the skills to accomplish
more,
·
when the seeds have been planted for success,
·
the state drastically cuts our funding.
The work before us is to find a way to
continue to grow.
I.
Add more upper level and graduate programs
II.
Adding more faculty
III.
Adding more facilities
Most of our
funding is at the lower level.
Vision for the Future of the University
What about the next decade and the one after that?
To grow to 20,000 we must grow our programs.
Program, Student & Faculty Growth
The following
three lines have been drawn proportionately to one another for the purpose of a
relative comparison.
·
The yellow line is a graph of the numbers for degree
program growth, 1992-2002 that we have already examined. The growth while significant is modest when
compared to what is needed and what could be.
Notice that the line for program growth has been essentially flat during
the period 1996 to 2000. We’re starting
to move up a bit. A Master’s in Public
Health Nursing (MSPHN) and a Bachelor in Applied Technology have been
added.
·
The orange line represents enrollment growth
1992-2002. It is no accident that the
green line climbs with the yellow line through 1998, and then surpasses it in
1999 and beyond. The historic increase
in degree programs, 1992-1996, promoted enrollment growth.
·
Finally, and most
importantly to this comparison is the red line,
which represents our acquisition of full-time faculty during the period 1992 to
2002. While very real faculty growth has
taken place in the past, proportionate to continued enrollment growth, faculty
positions have effectively (not actually) declined. Without the continued acquisition of new
programs and faculty positions enrollment growth cannot be sustained to meet
the demonstrated population growth imperative in this region of
Valley will grow by 232% by 2030.
Transition to
Close
With
all effort and success, the THECB report on Progress on Closing of the Gap – we
are not making progress like we hoped.
Used Tire Store Sory
Llantas Usada
Located
on campus
Reminded
me that poverty, not the lack of caring for one’s family, would make one a
customer for a used tire.
LHS
is the present view, but the business just relocated. There is still much need
in our community.
Funding Need
We need to double our faculty over the next 10 years to maintain the 31
to 1 student to fulltime faculty ratio. That would take about $40 million over
a decade.
Picture of Regent Krier and Trustee Breedlove
We know that we have support for the partnership.