A Texas Merger: The Creation of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Case Study

In December of 2012 administrators for the University of Texas (UT) System announced a proposed merger of University of Texas-Brownsville and the University of Texas-Pan American "with an eye toward securing increased state funds and potentially building a medical school." The status of University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and University of Texas Pan American (UTPA) within the UT system, along with the relationship between UT Brownsville and the local Brownsville community college, Texas Southmost College (TSC), played a large role in the proposed merger, and the history of these relationships is key in understanding the motivation for and impact of the merger. The merger creating the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is part of the many-decades-long history of committing to improving educational opportunities for Mexican-Americans in the state of Texas. This report reviews the history and motivation for the merger and explores available information on the merger's impact on students and other constituencies. The merger accomplished many of its stated goals, but there were also costs from the dissolution of the 20-year relationship between UTB and TSC. How the merger came about and its impact on students suggests several lessons for other systems considering mergers as a means of improving educational outcomes. [For the summary report, "Public College and University Consolidations and the Implications for Equity: Lessons from Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin. Research Report," see ED625748.]