TAMIU Annual Report 2020

NEWS Hispanic, Low-Income students studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at TAMIU have a strong champion in Con- gressmanHenryCuéllar (’82). In June, Cong. Cuéllar an- nounced $1,649,197 in federal funds toTAMIU tohelpdevelop and expandScience, Technol- ogy, Engineering, and Math- ematics learningopportunities forHispanic and Low-Income students in the region. Funding was awarded through theNational Science Foundation’s (NSF) Hispanic- Serving Institutions (HSI) grant program, established by Cong. Cuéllar in 2018. Cong. Cuéllar said the program, dubbed “Building Capacity: An Undergraduate STEM-Enrichment Program inTX,” helps create a new generation of creators, innovators and pioneers. “Students in South Texas must be career-ready to meet the de- mands of our country’s STEM industries,” Cuéllar said, “This federal investment will be used to prepare students to graduate and work in critical STEM sectors such as energy, health care and medicine, cyber and information technologies, andnational security... I want to thank TAMIUPresident PabloArenaz and the rest of his staff for their dedication to expanding educational opportunities for our students.” TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz called the program visionary and said it will drive brighter futures for TAMIU students. “We are deeply appreciative of the leadership and partnership provided by Congressman Cuéllar in helping secure this generous NSF grant. We know that our students have tremendous capacity to succeed inSTEMfields, and this visionary grantwill provide themwith ample opportunities to realize their full degree potential and advance their careers. In turn, their success will drive a brighter future for our community, state and country,” Dr. Arenaz said. TAMIU AWARDED $1.6 MILLION IN NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION HSI FUNDING FOR STEM INITIATIVES TAMIU ACCOLADES: • U.S. News andWorldReport’s 2020Edition of its popular Best Colleges guide ranks TAMIU as the second highest-ranked Texas public university in its Best Regional Universities West category and the highest-ranked regional campus of the Texas A&MUniversity Sys- tem. It also rankedTAMIUamong TopPerformers onSocialMobility among Regional Universities West. go.tamiu.edu/ar20-usnews • ResearcherswithGeorgetownUniversity’s Center onEducation and the Workforce (CEW) McCourt School of Public Policy have ranked TAMIU’s Return on Investment (ROI) among the highest in the na- tion -- with graduates projected to earn $1,006,000 more 40 years after graduation. go.tamiu.edu/ar20-roi • TAMIU has been ranked second in the nation for having the lowest student debt, (on average $3,477 in loans), andfirst lowest in Texas. The rankings are in a LendEDUstudy, the annual Student LoanDebt by School by State Report , which surveyed 475 colleges and universities. go.tamiu.edu/ar20-lendedu • TAMIU ranks 5th in the nation among the 100Most Affordable Public Schools with the Highest Return on Investment (ROI), according to ranking authority Great Value Colleges. go.tamiu.edu/ar20-gvc • TAMIU ranks in theTopTen among 2020’s TopPublicUniversities in Texas, according to online source, Niche.com. The ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic, admissions, financial, and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education of over 500 public colleges and state universities. go.tamiu.edu/ar20-niche • TAMIUearned a top tier ranking for its COVID-19Pandemic response. The 2020Educate toCareer College ranking reviewed 1200 colleges, placing TAMIU in Tier I for a response that benefits and protects students, especially in terms of available online learning resources. go.tamiu.edu/ar20-etc 23