The Fifth Decade

Laredo Morning Times | lmtonline.com | Sunday, January 19, 2020 | E3 50 Anniversary nancial aid provided by the state and operations costs. TAMIU worked to avoid staff reduction, but salaries were frozen, employees’ share of insurance costs rose and expenditures such as employee travel and profes- sional education, growth and development programs were cut or significantly reduced. The university also declined to fill 11 positions, which included several planned to manage dramatic enrollment growth. Despite these limitations, enrollment continued to thrive. Prior to the announce- ment of the cuts, TAMIU posted its highest spring enrollment to date increas- ing by 7.49% with 6,544 students. With financial aid from the state impacted, the university helped students identify alternatives such as scholarships and loans. TA- MIU grew again in the fall surpassing 7,000 students for the first time. It grew by 2.71% over the previous fall with an enrollment of 7,039 students. “We lived through it and came out of it a much stron- ger institution,” Arenaz said. “Even with the budget cuts, we were able to do some things I’m very proud of. We enhanced our first- and sec- ond-year programs. We have some of the highest retention rates of any four-year insti- tution in Texas. We’re very proud of that. We’ve tried really hard.” TAMIU gains its sixth president Keck served as TAMIU’s fifth president for nearly 15 years as he was officially ap- pointed on Sept. 1, 2001 and left in May 2016 before be- ing named the Interim Presi- dent at Texas A&M Univer- sity-Commerce. He held that position until Aug. 31, 2018 when he stepped down with plans to take a year off be- fore returning to teaching. Upon Keck’s departure, Arenaz immediately suc- ceeded him as TAMIU’s in- terim president after serving since 2008 as the provost and vice president for aca- demic affairs. The interim half of the title was removed in November 2016 as the Texas A&M University Sys- tem Board of Regents ap- pointed Arenaz as TAMIU’s sixth president. “The transition has been relatively easy,” Arenaz said. “We have moved a lit- tle bit from where we were into some new directions, and it should make us even stronger.” The shift in presidents was highlighted by a stark contrast in backgrounds. Keck earned his doctorate in romance languages and literature from Princeton University. Arenaz earned his doctorate in genetics and cell biology from Washing- ton State University and his master’s in biology from the University of Nevada at Reno. “We each have our own sets of goals. My goals are certain- ly different than Ray’s were,” Arenaz said. “I talk about it in terms of ships and rudders. You want to move that rudder ever so slightly be- cause you want to move it in the direction you want to go. It has been a great transition. Ray left a wonderful administrative team. We work well together and have a com- mon vision. That helps us to move the university forward. Part of it is we want to add new programs, not only in the sciences but all areas. I want us to stay a comprehen- sive university.” With his background in the sciences, Arenaz has been instrumental in secur- ing funding for the univer- sity. He has authored or co-authored more than 25 publications and more than 115 abstracts with much of his research focused on cell cycle regulation of DNA re- pair gene expression. Arenaz has assisted in securing re- search grants exceeding $35 million from organizations such as Carnegie Corpora- tion of America, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. “The broader picture has been improving what we do on this campus. The carryover has improved the scholarship in science and engineering and has had an impact across campus,” Are- naz said. “We have people that we’ve brought in who are becoming well known because of their scholarship both nationally and interna- tionally. “We’ve tried to build that culture of becoming a research teaching institute, kind of a mid-level institute where we value and expect high-quality teaching, but we also value good scholar- ship. We have brought in a lot of outstanding faculty in the last 10 years who em- brace both of those. We have people publishing books and great articles whether it’s in sociology, history, biology or education. They are get- ting recognition nationally for their research.” Expanding fields of study TAMIU introduces Kevin Zamora as its 8,000th student enrolled in fall 2019.