The Fourth Decade

E6 | Sunday, December 15, 2019 | lmtonline.com | Laredo Morning Times 50 Anniversary we recruited and how we made our- selves accessible to the public in- creased our enrollment,” Ramirez said. “The majority of the student population at the time was all non- traditional, and most of our classes were held in the evenings. We ex- panded our programs tremendously and were still a young campus com- pared to the others.” Ramirez added that TAMIU con- tinued to see growth, unlike many other universities. “Most institutions across the country are seeing flat enrollment, or if there’s any growth, it’s by 0.1 or 0.2%,” she said. “Because of our mission, the intent of TAMIU al- ways has been to serve an area that has been traditionally underserved from a higher education standpoint to help prepare students for lead roles and help students grow from the standpoint of not just a lo- cal level but state and inter- n a t i o n a l level.” S t a t e Sen. Judith Za f f i r i n i , a helpful catalyst in TA M I U ’ s c h a n g e s ever since it opened, a n n o u n c e d she secured $14 million, an 18.4% in- crease, for TA- MIU’s funding from the Texas Legislature in 2007. Yet then-Tex. Gov. Rick Perry also vetoed $5 mil- lion for Student Success Programs. That same year, the now U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar an- nounced awarding a $3.5 million Title V federal grant to Laredo Community College and TAMIU to improve academic recruitment and retention of Hispanic students and low-income individuals. Student scholarships for TA- MIU soared, including $150,000 raised through the Second Ford AutMus Fest at TAMIU, where art- ists performing included a Flock of Seagulls, Losa Palinos and Girl in a Coma. A few years later, TAMIU’s high enrollment of 5,980 drained the scholarship pool. In response, it held its first Scholarship Phona- thon which generated $310,000 for student scholarships. Cuellar stepped in again to help in 2008 with $500,00 earmarked by the federal government to go toward TAMIU’s Energy-Efficient Green Campus Research Initiative. He also helped secure a $299,997 U.S. Department of Education grant to increase recruiting under- represented minorities, especially minority women, for science and engineering careers. It was doled out in $99,000 increments each year for three years. In 2008, he also announced $1.2 million to expand the proposed Southern Border Operations Train- ing Center in Laredo at TAMIU’s Western Hemispheric Trade Cen- ter, further solidifying TAMIU’s presence in international business studies given its advantageous location on the U.S.-Mexico border. The next year, Cuellar announced a U.S. Department of Health and Human Service grant of $152,031 for the nursing program. It helped 30 economically-disadvantaged stu- dents from under-represented mi- nority groups. Likewise, TAMIU received help for its first-generation students, es- pecially for the many of those that come from the Laredo area and be- yond. It received a $500,000 grant by the Walmart Foundation to in- crease the retention rate of first-gen- eration, first-year Hispanic students through the Leadership and Involve- ment for Diversity, Engagement and Retention program. At the very beginning of 2010, TAMIU was given a $58,511 grant from the Na- t i o n a l Science F o u n - d a t i o n to train first-gen- e r a t i o n H i s p a n i c students in educ a t i on and scientif- ic research. Cuellar also a n n o u n c e d $ 4 2 4 , 9 1 3 to go to- ward a five- year award of $2,124,565 for a TAMIU Col- lege Assistance Migrant Pro- Congressman Henry Cuellar announced TAMIU received a $424,913 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for TAMIU’s College Assistance Migrant Program. The renamed A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business received a $10 million gift from the A. R. “Tony” and Maria J. Sanchez Family Foundation and a $10 million matching challenge grant in Dec. 2007.