The Fifth Decade

E2 | Sunday, January 19, 2020 | lmtonline.com | Laredo Morning Times 50 Anniversary Editor’s note: This is Part 5 of 12 in Laredo Morn- ing Times’ special look at Texas A&M Internation- al as it celebrates its upcoming 50th anniversary in 2020. LMT will be counting down to that momen- tous occasion with a monthly look at the univer- sity’s past, present and future. By Jason Mack Laredo Morning Times A fter beginning the mil- lennium with a decade of radical growth and progress, Texas A&M International Univer- sity continued to expand with new buildings, pro- grams, resources and leadership over the past 10 years. The university first entered the digital age in 2006 with the launching of its website, and its digital presence flourished this decade. Mul- tiple upgrades and redesigns of the main web- site, the creation of an athletics website and the campus-wide expansion of the wireless network highlighted a wide-array of innovations and im- provements. The fifth decade of the university’s exis- tence saw the departure of its fifth president as Dr. Ray Keck III shifted within the Texas A&M University System, accepting the same position with Texas A&M University-Commerce. Keck’s vacancy was quickly filled by Dr. Pablo Arenaz, who still holds the position today. Continuing to grow the university physically, digitally, in staffing and in educational offerings – aided by a wide array of funding and donations – helped TAMIU reach record enrollments. While it has been a decade of addition, TA- MIU also suffered notable losses. The most was also the most recent with the Nov. 2019 passing of Sue Killam. A challenging start to the decade In the same year it twice cel- ebrated its highest enrollment to date, TAMIU faced signifi- cant obstacles in sustaining its growth amid substantial bud- get cuts. State budget cuts an- nounced in 2011 hit Texas higher education institutions hard. TAMIU faced an 18% reduction in its biennial oper- ating budget, which equated to around $9.2 million total and $4.6 million per year. Keck was outspoken and blunt in addressing the budget reduction in June 2011. He pointed to the university’s relative youth and its mushroom- ing enrollment as causes for concern compared to more established institutions facing the same reductions. “We are bloodied but unbowed,” Keck said at the time. “Like all of Texas’ public universi- ties, we are deeply concerned with the reduc- tions in state funding and the potential for lasting damage that we believe they may represent. All universities are thriving engines of community change and betterment: driving growth, business investments and quality of life enhancements. That engine has been effectively slowed by this legislative session. “It’s important to realize that this young uni- versity, more than older institutions, is dependent on so-called special item funding, a misnomer for funding that actually represents base funding a n d supports the bulk of faculty salaries and degree program delivery. Despite valiant efforts by our legisla- tive team of Sen. (Judith) Zaffirini, Rep. (Ryan) Guillen and Rep. (Richard) Peña Raymond, these cuts have been sustained.” The two areas hit hardest by the cuts were fi- TAMIU’s 50th anniversary The Fifth Decade Dr. Pablo arenaz Dr. RAy keck