Saturday, August 29, 2020
  Around Campus

By Melissa Vasquez

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas System Chancellor James B. Milliken praised UTRGV's efforts in keeping the campus community safe and healthy when he visited the campus on Thursday, Aug. 27.

Milliken was in the Rio Grande Valley as part of his System-wide tour to see and learn in person how the academic institutions are preparing for the fall semester.

"I've been very impressed by the planning here, very impressed with the capacity of testing and contact tracing, and the plans to keep people safe," Milliken said.

He also mentioned how grateful he was to see UTRGV students wearing masks and following social distance guidelines to ensure a safe start to the semester.

"Everybody was in a mask and everybody was physically distanced," he said. "Everybody was taking responsibility for each other, and that is so important right now."

"I am very pleased with what I see here, and I am very proud of our students."

During his visit, Milliken toured the COVID-19 response facilities including the testing site and labs. He also spoke with several UTRGV students, asking for their opinions about how the university responded and the precautions taken for the fall semester.

UTRGV began the fall 2020 semester on Aug. 24 offering several different options and modalities for fall courses, which were developed by deans and faculty, with guidance from experts on health, medicine and safety, following the guidelines established by the UTRGV Return to Campus Task Force.

To learn more about UTRGV's Commitment to Safety and Success, please visit utrgv.edu/commitment.



ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.