Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
UTRGV continues its collaboration with the City of Brownsville for the Task Force of the Future with the opening of more seats on the Brownsville campus and the expansion of the engineering program.
The Task Force of the Future was made as part of a memorandum of understanding between UTRGV and the City of Brownsville “to enhance the experience of students on the Brownsville campus,” according to a previous report by The Rider.
According to a report in May by the City of Brownsville, “the task force helped identify and elevate several priorities designed to strengthen Brownsville’s future and improve the experience of students on the Brownsville campus.”
The priorities the report states are to reduce the travel and expand academic access in Brownsville, expand facilities, strengthen healthcare and research presence in Cameron County and improve life and community connection.
The Rider contacted the City of Brownsville for an interview about the task force. As of press time, they were not available for comment.
Patrick Gonzales, senior vice president for UTRGV Marketing and Communication, said the task force accomplished adding about 3,000 seats on the Brownsville campus the last academic year.
“I heard a lot of reaction from people on the Brownsville campus, that the Brownsville campus seemed a little more vibrant,” Gonzales said. “There were more students around, so I think that’s a direct reflection of adding seats.”
Gonzales said the university and the City of Brownsville have been able to work together to prioritize the academic programs.
“One thing that came out of the task force was the need for more engineers in the future because of what the City of Brownsville workforce is looking like with SpaceX and [NextDecade LNG] and everything that’s happening at the [Port of Brownsville],” he said.
Gonzales said with the task force, the university has started the expansion of the engineering programs in Brownsville by replicating the labs and equipment on the Edinburg campus.
As reported by The Rider on April 6, “the Task Force of the Future has been collecting data on all students who are traveling from Brownsville to Edinburg.”
Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
He said the ridership data shows the university a lot of the students traveling to Edinburg were from the civil and mechanical engineering program for the third and fourth years of their career.
“So we are now in the process of replicating those facilities and those labs,” he said. “So, Brownsville students who are majoring in civil and mechanical engineering can now take third year and fourth year classes on the Brownsville campus.”
Gonzales said the university will always look at what is best for students.
“Not only during their academic journeys, but afterwards, making sure that we’re providing a career path that is meaningful,” he said.
