By David A. Díaz – Legislative Media
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – Former Rep. Roberto Gutiérrez, D-McAllen, on Wednesday, December 11, released the contents of his letter to the University of Texas System Board of Regents expressing his support for keeping the name of The University of Texas-Pan American for the new university system that is resulting from the merger of UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville.
A new name for that university could be decided in Austin on Thursday, December 12 by the UT System Board of Regents.
The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley seems to be the most popular name, based on input from South Texans, followed by the University of Texas-South. Keeping the name of UT-Pan American is a distant third.
Those three proposed names top the list of recommendations from the public, according to an assessment by Pedro Reyes, Ph.D., Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Barry McBee, J.D., Vice Chancellor and Chief Governmental Relations Officer, for the UT System.
The letter from the former legislator, addressed to Paul L. Foster, Chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, follows:
November 29, 2013
Paul L. Foster
Chairman, Board of Regents
The University of Texas System
601 Colorado Street
Austin, Texas 78701-2982
Dear Chairman Foster,
First and foremost, I am writing to you and your colleagues on The University of Texas System Board of Regents to highly recommend The University of Texas-Pan American remain as the name of the new university that has being created by Senate Bill 24.
As part of this legislation, the UT System Board of Regents is authorized to select the most appropriate name for this new, groundbreaking university, which involves the merger of UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville, and will feature the construction of a UT medical school for deep South Texas.
Before I continue, I want to express my appreciation for the outstanding work performed by you and the other regents, along with the inspirational efforts by my good friend, UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, M.D., on this monumental accomplishment for the UT System and the State of Texas. This vision for progress helped make it possible for South Texas state senators and representatives to achieve one of the most transformational legislative initiatives in the recent history of the Texas Legislature.
As a former legislator myself, having served as House District 41 state representative from January 1991 through December 2004, I know how remarkable it was for SB 24 to sail, almost unopposed, through the Legislature. Especially significant, SB 24 provides our new university with unprecedented and vital access to the Permanent University Fund, which has already been tapped to provide $196 million for new construction projects for the university and medical school.
As House author of legislation that proposed the creation of the University of Texas Regional Academic Heath Center, I wholeheartedly welcome the advent of the University of Texas medical school, which will be part of the Valley’s and State of Texas’ landmark university.
One of the many far-reaching results of SB 24 involves the name for this milestone achievement – a title that must project its impact, prestige and influence throughout Texas and beyond. It is for those very reasons – and more – that the proud name of The University of Texas-Pan American must remain.
Keeping the name The University of Texas is obvious since being associated with the UT System, which is the gold standard of learning in the world, is invaluable. Protecting the name Pan American is just as essential because Pan American literally symbolizes the current and future reach and mission of this multi-cultural, bilingual, and multi-national center of higher education.
According to the official website of UT-Pan American, “the name Pan American was selected to reflect the institution’s desire to bridge the cultures of North and South America and to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the university.” Pan American has been the premier symbol of higher education in the Valley since 1952, when Pan American College made its transformation from Edinburg Junior College to a four-year institution. The very idea of Pan American in the names The University of Texas-Pan American, and its predecessors, Pan American University and Pan American College, is in keeping with the illustrious past and glorious future of this new university.
Not to be minimized are the negative political, professional, and personal consequences of eliminating Pan American from the huge number – upwards of 70,000 and higher – of diplomas that have proudly adorned the offices and homes of graduates, the majority who still live in the Rio Grande Valley. Many of those alumni whose diplomas feature the name Pan American are from, or live in, Cameron County, which for many years also featured a branch campus in Brownsville bearing that distinguished name.
The depth of support for the name Pan American is so powerful that in the 1990s, legislation was introduced to rename The University of Texas-Pan American to The University of Texas at Edinburg. Needless to say, that proposal, filed by a Valley legislator, was dropped. Since then, tens of thousands of diplomas have continued to carry the name The University of Texas-Pan American.
During a town hall meeting at UT-Pan American on Thursday, October 24, I publicly urged the UT System leadership to keep Pan American in the name of the new South Texas university. I was most gratified when my comments received strong applause from the full house of UTPA faculty and community leaders.
Sadly, there is a broad misconception that SB 24 prohibits keeping the name The University of Texas-Pan American or Pan American. Many alumni have revealed to me that they have not spoken out because they have been led to believe that abolishing that name “is a done deal.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Similar to The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, which has a presence in Odessa and Midland, the name of The University of Texas-Pan American achieves the goal of minimizing regional rivalries, thus allowing all Valley communities to continue rallying around The University of Texas and Pan American – two of the most prestigious names in higher education.
During the early 1990s, when I worked with other legislative and community leaders to create South Texas Community College – now known as South Texas College – I understood the importance of coming up with a name that extended its positive image and reach to a regional level.
As a result, in addition to McAllen, which has three major campuses, Weslaco, Rio Grande City, Pharr, Mission, and other Valley cities now have campuses or facilities in their communities. Yet, there is no demand by McAllen, even though it is by far the population center of STC, to have the name changed. That is the result of having a unifying name for this community college system.
The University of Texas-Pan American remains the most appropriate unifying title, and best of all, this current name would not limit our new university to a portion of the state. It is indeed global in nature, as are the people of the Rio Grande Valley, and our contributions to Texas, the United States, and indeed, the world.
In closing, I ask you, how would the alumni of The University of Texas at Austin or Texas A&M University – the two flagship universities of our state – react if the name of their respective campuses were to be changed, thus condemning their diplomas to the “Ash Heap of History”, where evidence of their excellence would be forgotten or marginalized?
We in South Texas have just as much pride, as much history, as bright a future, and as many achievements associated with The University of Texas-Pan American as any other college or university in the nation.
Respectfully yours,
Roberto Gutiérrez
1318 Shasta Avenue
McAllen, Texas 78504-4604
