The Third Decade

E2 | Sunday, November 17, 2019 | lmtonline.com | Laredo Morning Times #%! &""$(),+*,' Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of 12 in Laredo Morn- ing Times’ special look at Texas A&M Internation- al as it celebrates its upcoming 50th anniversary in 2020. LMT will be counting down to that momen- tous occasion with a monthly look at the univer- sity’s past, present and future. By Lisa Dreher Laredo Morning Times A fter 20 years sharing a campus with Laredo Junior College, TAMU acquired its own prop- erty to bring all its internation- al and local students together in one physical space. The university secured 200 acres of land — which eventually was expanded to 300 acres — in a peaceful area with frolicking deer at the edge of northeast Laredo. The campus could have been adorned in burnt orange, but the university picked the Texas A&M System over the Univer- sity of Texas. This would not be the only time the UT System was considered, much to the behest of many Laredoans. With its third decade rolling in, sweeping changes were made and new goals were set. It also underwent a name change, from Laredo State University to Texas A&M International University, signifying its international pull and well-rounded programs. With the help of state politicians and local Laredoans, the university secured its long-await- ed four-year status. TAMIU stands today as an affordable option for students in an area which severely lacked higher education as a ladder of upward mobility. New name, new grounds After dodging many budget cuts by the Texas Legislature in the 80s and a near clo- sure, the college came out on the other side stronger and vastly supported, especially in South Texas. @* 4114D /%I%: /:*C ?$;6%7 KI9J'6*6 )9 Laredo wrote Senate Bills 732 and 1232 – the latter with the help of the young, State Rep. Henry Cuellar. Senate Bill 732 allowed the Texas A&M Regents to change its institutions’ names. Senate Bill 1232 made a “technical correction” to a “defective and unnec- essarily limiting and confusing law.” .=F H655 &(:<6J:; %7I% >I':;) /%I%: University could teach upper-level and master-level courses, instead of merely accepting only students clas- &6J:; I% )*: )9 %7)&: 5:#:5&D- KI9- J'*6 &I6; 6* I* :+I65:; &%I%:+:*% %) LMT. “As a result, for example, a &%$;:*% <5I&&6J:; I& I &)(7)+)': at Laredo Junior College or some- one with a postgraduate degree could register for junior, senior or master’s de- gree courses at LSU.” State Rep. Henry Cuellar’s House version of appropriations allowed the university to receive 6%& J'&% ':#:*$: H)*;& )9 ,3B +6556)*D !$:55I' told LMT. KI9J'6*6 I5&) I$%7)':; 7:' )G* I+:*;+:*% I$%7)'6E6*8 (')#6;6*8 ,3B +6556)* 6* %$6%6)* ':#- enue bonds to the university for constructing buildings and renovations, but it did not pass. “Though my Senate colleagues supported my proposal, the bill ultimately did not pass because of irreconcilable differences between the Sen- I%: I*; %7: A)$&: )9 0:(':&:*%I%6#:&D- KI9J'6*6 said. In 1993, Senate "655 2D I$%7)':; HF KI9J'6*6 I*; !$:55I'D renamed LSU to Texas A&M International Uni- versity and made it a four-year university rather than just an “upper-level” institution. It would be effective September 1995, and it authorized TAMIU to award doctoral degrees with Mexico and Canada. KI9J'6*6 &I6; %7I% &6*<: &7: GI& :5:<%:; 6* 1986, she needed support from the outside to help build up a four-year university in Laredo. She and Cuellar passed multiple bills and resolutions for TAMIU, along with the strong TAMIU’s 50th anniversary The Third Decade Illustration of master plan