Longtime University Faculty Member, Administrator Madrigal Retires from TAMIU

A 45-year veteran of Laredo’s higher education profession, Dr. Julio F. Madrigal, executive director of Special Programs, will mark his retirement from Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) with a special reception Friday, Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. at TAMIU’s Helen Richter Watson Gallery in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library.

Dr. Madrigal, a lifetime Laredoan, has served at the University as a faculty member since 1972. He directed the University's "Bridge to Success" programs since their inception in 1997, and the Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program (TexPREP) programs since 1984.  He later led the then-Department of Special Programs which included Bridge, pre-College and Continuing Education programs.

In the span of his 45-year-long career Madrigal was pivotal in TAMIU’s receiving substantial federal funding that drove critical programming such as the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), College Readiness Programs, Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP), the Advanced Placement Summer Institute, and one of the nation’s largest and continuously funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP). Since 1993 grants developed by Madrigal have exceeded $73 million.

TAMIU provost and vice president for Academic Affairs Dr. Tom Mitchell said that Madrigal’s lifetime impact on education here is beyond measure.

“In the remarkable arc of his 45-years of educating and leading, his impact is beyond measure.  His students have gone from classrooms to research laboratories and boardrooms, leading change and vastly improving their quality of life and that of the communities they now serve, many in our Laredo-Webb County area.

“Dr. Madrigal wisely saw the need to advance under-represented minorities, especially women, into science and engineering careers, encouraging the paths and careers of thousands of students.  His innovation has set the stage for the University’s mushrooming growth in science and engineering.  His visionary programs helped to make the University accessible to students from low-income, migrant and seasonal farm worker programs, removing the barriers preventing their pursuit of higher education.  His passion, drawn from his own life experience, encouraged students to find their way, without limits, regardless of perceived barriers.  This is the epitome of what educators strive for: to help students realize their true potential, and then reach further still.  He is an inspiration to us all and will be the North Star that others will follow to achieve and exceed,” Dr. Mitchell said.

Dr. Madrigal earned his B.S. and M.S. at the then-Texas A&I University-Kingsville and his Ed.D. from Texas Tech University.

TAMIU’s Spring 2018 Semester begins Tuesday, Jan. 16.

For additional information, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at 956.326.2180, email prmis@tamiu.edu or visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, Suite 268.

University information is also available online at tamiu.edu and on TAMIU social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.