By Oliveira                                           H.R. No. 1300
         77R17786 GMW-D                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, In 2001, Texas Southmost College is celebrating its
 1-2     75th anniversary, while its partner school, The University of Texas
 1-3     at Brownsville, marks its 10-year anniversary as a member of The
 1-4     University of Texas System; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Texas Southmost College is a community college
 1-6     established in Brownsvile in 1926; UT Brownsville opened its doors
 1-7     as an upper-level extension center of Pan American University in
 1-8     Edinburg in 1973; after sharing campus facilities for a number of
 1-9     years, the two institutions entered into a partnership in 1992; and
1-10           WHEREAS, This unique partnership offers students in the lower
1-11     Rio Grande Valley an opportunity to pursue programs and degrees
1-12     offered at a four-year institution while retaining the
1-13     vocational/technical, developmental education, and continuing
1-14     education courses traditionally offered by a community college; and
1-15           WHEREAS, Serving approximately 10,000 students, UT
1-16     Brownsville and Texas Southmost College together offer a wide range
1-17     of courses from associate and baccalaureate degrees to graduate
1-18     classes and continuing education; since the partnership began,
1-19     enrollment has increased by 56 percent, the instructional capacity
1-20     and budget have tripled, and the campus, located on the grounds of
1-21     historic Fort Brown, has grown from 47 acres to more than 280
1-22     acres, making it the largest college campus in South Texas; and
1-23           WHEREAS, Texas Southmost College and UT Brownsville are
1-24     innovative institutions providing their students with an
 2-1     accessible, affordable, and high-quality postsecondary education;
 2-2     combining the strengths of a community college and an upper-level
 2-3     university, the partnership between these two noteworthy schools
 2-4     has been invaluable to the education of countless students, and it
 2-5     is a privilege to honor these fine institutions of higher learning
 2-6     at this time; now, therefore, be it
 2-7           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
 2-8     Legislature hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of Texas
 2-9     Southmost College and the 10th anniversary of The University of
2-10     Texas at Brownsville as a member of The University of Texas System.