5 things to know from UTEP President Heather Wilson's State of the University Address
Cristina Carreon
UTEP President Heather Wilson delivered the annual State of the University Address during the fall convocation ceremony Tuesday.
She gave her first address in 2019 and delivered a radio address last fall amid a high number of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.
Here are the five key takeaways from Wilson's speech this week:
UTEP leverages cross-border partnerships
Wilson said the university has endeavored to "leverage" its location in a place where three states and two countries converge along a portion of the Rio Grande River in the Chihuahuan Desert.
The University of Texas at El Paso now has close to 50 cooperative agreements with Mexico and has awarded 2,502 degrees to Mexican national students over the past decade.
"While more than 1,200 students cross the bridge every day from Mexico to attend UTEP, even more of our students take advantage of our closeness to Mexico to study away, conduct research abroad, and engage in service," Wilson said in her speech.
UTEP recently signed an agreement with INIFAP, Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research, "to promote and strengthen collaboration with Mexico on understanding the Rio Grande watershed and the environmental challenges we share," Wilson said in her speech.
UTEP educators are creating opportunities for UTEP faculty and students to do research that could impact Mexican and American agriculture, Wilson said.
Researchers with the university's geological and biological sciences departments also are studying dryland ecosystems in West Texas, as well as in northern and Southern New Mexico, "examining how soils control water dynamics, the availability of nutrients for plant life, and carbon exchange in the air that we breathe," Wilson said.
"This research is of consequence on both sides of the border and is an example of the value of leveraging our place."
UTEP signs agreement with US Space Force to create worker pipeline
UTEP signed an agreement with the U.S. Space Force in August, becoming one of 11 members of the military branch's University Partnership Program and one of only two in Texas.
"Over time, we will seek to expand our sponsored research and teaching in everything from satellite technology to space flight guidance systems, microgravity 3-D manufacturing, and rocket propulsion," Wilson said in her speech.
More:UTEP, UT Austin join US Space Force partnership to help meet personnel, industry needs
The university approved its newest undergraduate degree this year, a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering.
UTEP also has signed partnerships with the Air Force Research Lab and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest Laboratory.
UTEP releases 10-year strategic plan in April
UTEP released its 10-year strategic plan in April, which seeks to boost enrollment, virtual learning and campus expansion. The plan has four goals for improvement: teaching, research, service and leadership.
The university said at the time it would use federal funds to improve virtual learning options and offer more online course options during the fall semester.
The university will recruit more aggressively around El Paso County, Southern New Mexico, West Texas, Arizona, Southern California and Northern Mexico to combat declining student enrollment over the next five to 10 years.
UTEP also will build a Business Engagement Center that will leverage partnerships with Fortune 500 companies along the U.S.-Mexico border and train workers.
The university also plans to enhance the on-campus experience, focusing on areas like living, dining and entertainment, although movement might not start for two years.
More:UTEP 10-year strategic plan aims at boosting enrollment, virtual learning and campus expansion
UTEP seeks to improve academics, internships
UTEP's College of Education created a new master's degree in bilingual education that can be completed in person or online in response to a national shortage of bilingually certified teachers.
The College of Liberal Arts adjusted its curriculum so more of students' transfer credits from El Paso Community College may be applied directly to requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree.
The College of Engineering started using the Texas Common Numbering system, which is used by community colleges, so it will be easier for students to get credit for lower division classes.
Occupational therapy will become a doctoral program at the College of Health Sciences and UTEP plans to double the size of both Physical and Occupational Therapy programs by 2026. The Las Palmas building on Mesa Street will house this new, larger program in 2022.
In fall 2020, the College of Nursing established a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program to combat a shortage of psychiatric nurses in the region.
UTEP used federal aid to improve student advising at both the university's schools and the Advising Center.
"Every undergraduate student will have a dedicated professional adviser who will have not more than 350 students," Wilson said.
Because many internships were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, UTEP has used federal aid dollars to pay for internships for more than 110 students at 70 local businesses and nonprofits.
There were 500 students who participated in remote professional development institutes this year led by area employers.
"As we come out of the pandemic, we will seek to expand internships, co-ops, and volunteer experiences that connect students to real world challenges," Wilson said in her speech.
Via its membership in the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, UTEP will lead a national initiative to increase the number of Hispanic students who complete degrees in computer science, which will include 10 top tier universities and many other Hispanic-serving institutions.
A group of nine UTEP faculty members began redesigning the university's core curriculum classes this year, starting with larger freshman classes with historically high withdrawals and failure rates. UTEP's goal is to impact all areas of the core curriculum over the next five years.
"Fully one-third of the credits of an undergraduate degree in Texas are in the core curriculum," Wilson said. "This is a tremendous opportunity to increase engaged learning — getting beyond the forced march through a standard textbook."
UTEP reinstituted faculty development leave this year for faculty to conduct research and complete scholarly work or work on grant proposals.
The university also will continue trying to add new Ph.D. programs and this year, proposed adding a Ph.D. in sociology.
The newly refurbished Sun Bowl Stadium reopened this year.
UTEP administers 30,000 COVID-19 vaccines, 70,000 tests during pandemic
Volunteers at UTEP administered more than 30,000 COVID-19 vaccines to students, faculty and staff, as well as community members, during the pandemic.
Roughly 100 pharmacy students started the effort, joined by more than 200 volunteers and reassigned staff from other departments like Student Affairs, Human Resources, Facilities, Information Resources and even lawyers. The School of Nursing also was involved.
UTEP held 29 vaccine clinics over five months.
"This effort was on top of using our research capacity in the College of Science to conduct nearly 70,000 COVID tests, getting results back in less than six hours so that we could keep the campus safe," Wilson said in her speech.
"Very few universities ran programs like this, which I attribute to our culture of care and a certain scrappiness."
UTEP quick hit stats:
• UTEP is now in the top 5% of research colleges and universities in America.
• UTEP serves a student body that is 94% minority and primarily from lower-income families. Nearly half of UTEP students are the first in their families to go to college, Wilson said.
• UTEP raised more than $26 million for scholarships and fellowships, facilities and faculty in 2020 — one of the top two fundraising years in the history of UTEP.
• UTEP's endowment is now $315 million due to fundraising and investing by the University of Texas Investment Management Co.
• UTEP set a new record for the second year in a row for the number of grant proposals submitted by faculty; 679 grant applications were submitted over the past year.
• The sum of UTEP's proposal amounts this year increased 42% over the prior year to $468 million dollars.
• UTEP increased enrollment in Ph.D. programs by 8.2% over last year in the fall semester; the university now has more than 800 Ph.D. students in 23 Ph.D. programs.
• A UTEP-record 202 student athletes earned more than a 3.0 GPA during the previous academic year and a school-record 71 earned higher than a 3.75 GPA.
More:UTEP 'El Grito' event celebrates Mexico’s independence from Spanish rule
Cristina Carreon may be reached at ccarreon@elpasotimes.com and @Cris_carreon90 on Twitter.