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.