Legacy Institutions

History of UTPA

UTRGV has a history that is nearly 100 years old!

Edinburg College (1927–1933) was founded as part of the Edinburg School District. Later it was formally accredited as Edinburg Junior College (1933–1952) before being established as Pan American College (1952–1971) when it became a four-year state senior college.

Pan American University (1971–1989) achieved full university status and was approved to offer graduate programs. The PAU-Brownsville campus (est. 1973) later became UTB.)

In 1989, University of Texas–Pan American was established as a member of the University of Texas System. In 2013, the UT Board of Regents approved the merger of UTPA , UTB, and a medical school into one regional institution called the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

History of UTB

The history of UTB is tied inextricably to Texas Southmost College (TSC) and Pan-American University (PAU).

In 1973 Texas Southmost College partnered with Pan-American University to establish a four-year university in Brownsville. It was known as Pan American University at Brownsville (1973–1989) until 1989 when Pan American University joined the University of Texas System in 1989. The campus was then renamed University of Texas Pan-American at Brownsville (UTPA-B).

In 1991, Brownsville sought recognition directly under the UT System, thus becoming the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) when it was signed into legislation by Texas Gov. Ann Richards.

A partnership was established between UTB and TSC in 1992 to allow students to seamlessly transition to the four year university without reapplying. This partnership was ended by the University of Texas System Board of Regents in 2011.

Between 2012 and 2013, the University of Texas Board of Regents approved the merger of UTPA , UTB, and a medical school into one regional institution called the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.