The Third Decade

Laredo Morning Times | lmtonline.com | Sunday, November 17, 2019 | E3 #%! &""$(),+*,' support from then-Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, who “without question” had “made a dif- ference” by helping them au- 9J>;I+M A>;M 9JW@ BUS# AIG- lion in tution revenue bonds for construction from 1993 to 2003. “My Senate Bill 6 was the culmination of decades of dedication and persistence by all of the trailblazers who dreamed of a four-year uni- 7M;:I9- I@ 1W;MN>&* XWL";I@I said. In 1993, Cuellar also se- cured money as the appro- priations committee member L>; 9JM 8@I7M;:I9- .I9J BTR million through tuition rev- enue bonds. There were several ideas !>W9MN L>; 9JM @M. @WAM& including a humorous acro- @-A$ XWL";I@I :WIN N8;I@K the Society of Martha Wash- ington Colonial Pageant and Ball, there were some dis- agreements over the name. “I said, ‘I don’t want it to be Texas A&M Laredo, so it would be like ‘TAMALE,’” :WIN XWL";I@I .I9J W GW8KJ$ “The System Chair of the Board of Regents would not agree to using the name. Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock asked me what I wanted to do, since I’m the one who passed the bill giving the board the au- thority to name the institu- tion.” After some delibera- tion, Bullock announced the name as Texas A&M Inter- national University on the NW@OM !>>;$ For all their accomplish- ments in getting the univer- sity off the ground, Cuellar, XWL";I@I& C;$ 3>W<8I@ DIKW;- ;>W& 'WNOGILLM 2IGGWA W@N C;$ Leo Sayavedra were named Laredoans of the Year by Laredo Morning Times. XWL";I@I): VIGG :9W9MN 9JM new university with its cam- pus would open in 1995, yet some, including Sayavedra, TAMIU’s President, wanted it to open in 1997. “He said, ‘It would be a new campus, new buildings. We’d have to work day and @IKJ9&)* XWL";I@I :WIN$ ,F@N I said, ‘And the problem is?’ So we opened in 1995 with >8; ";:9 V8IGNI@K W@N K>9 W=- propriations for the building and a master plan.” The master plan laid out goals including constructing at least 12 buildings, expand- ing the university from an ,8==M;%GM7MG* 9> L8GG%!MNKMN four-year institution, invest- ing in opportunities and re- sources, and capitalizing on its location to become a truly “international” university. “Thankfully, these goals were accomplished because of the leadership of elected >L"OIWG: GIHM 19$ 6>7$ E>V Bullock and our legislative colleagues, the trailblazing support of local leaders, the generosity of philanthropists like Radcliffe Killam and his family ... and the support of F?0 :-:9MA >L"OIWG: W@N local university educators,” XWL";I@I :WIN$ Cuellar also helped in 1995 to add appropriations to help fund the university’s transition into a four-year institution, which included funding the Killam Library. This also secured extra fund- ing for phases three and four construction. “We were adding huge amounts of money, this was the transitional monies,” Cuellar said. “That same year we added additional money for Laredo State Uni- 7M;:I9- L>; >7M; BQ AIGGI>@ 9> start creating programs we did not have.” TAMIU underwent its ";:9 =JW:M >L O>@:9;8O9I>@& .JIOJ "@I:JMN I@ />7MA- ber 1995, marking its 25th anniversary. The Killam family also donated an ad- ditional 100 acres. In the fall of 1995, there were 2,510 students en- rolled, according to TAMIU records. The new campus helped accommodate Lar- edo’s booming growth as it was the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S., according to TA- MIU records. C8;I@K (JW:M 4 L;>A UPPT to 1995, the university was :=M@NI@K WV>89 BR AIGGI>@ on campus infrastructure. It WG:> :=M@9 WV>89 BUR AIGGI>@ on the Killam Library, said Joe Garcia, who was Vice President for Finance and Administration. 5I:9>;- =;>LM::>; C;$ Jerry Thompson, who has taught at TAMIU since the 70s, said it was a marvel to senator judith zaffirini congressman henry cuellar