Senator Roland Gutierrez files Bill Transferring Sul Ross State University to Texas A & M University System
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-Bexar) filed on February 1, 2021 Senate Bill 523 in the 87th Texas Legislative Session to officially transfer Sul Ross State University and its associated Rio Grande Colleges in Eagle Pass, Del Rio, and Uvalde from the Texas State University System to the Texas A & M University System.
Senator Gutierrez stated “the negative direction of Sul Ross State University is a regional problem affecting more than a dozen West Texas counties. After speaking with the community at length and having thoroughly researched Angelo State University’s vast improvement after joining the Texas Tech University System, moving Sul Ross State University is the right decision for the institution, the students and faculty, and both Alpine and West Texas as a whole. As President of Texas A & M University, Lawrence Sullivan “Sul” Ross was known for saving the college from closure and expanding campus facilities. It’s time that we bring Sul Ross State University to the larger Texas A & M University System where there is a synergy across several major areas of study including range management, veterinary science, energy, and archaeology.”
Gutierrez cited that “Sul Ross State University and Rio Grande Colleges have experienced a long period of declining enrollment numbers, posting new lows this Fall semester. Combined enrollment total from Sul Ross State University and Rio Grande College campuses in 2009 was 3,063 students. In 2019, the combined headcount was 2,465–a decline of nearly 20% in just a decade. It’s larger West Texas counterpart, Angelo State University, has seen enrollment rates skyrocket from 6,860 in 2010 to 10,568 in 2019.”
Gutierrez added that “Sul Ross has languished in the Texas State University System and is failing to pull its weight financially.” Gutierrez aims to turn that around by joining Sul Ross State University with a university system that has a reputation for rehabilitating and improving institutions. “The Texas A & M University System has made successes out of universities it took over in Laredo, Corpus Christi, Canyon, and others,” said Gutierrez.
Gutierrez continued, “Texas A & M University has an excellent record of providing its students with a world class education whether they are in College Station or Qatar. Texas State University System is an outstanding system run by a Chancellor whom I respect very much, but my first priority must be the people of the 19th Senatorial District. I have the utmost confidence that this will give Sul Ross State University and Rio Grande Colleges the stimulus we need for these institutions to grow and prosper.”
