UTRGV will ask the Texas Legislature to approve the issuance of $70 million in tuition revenue bonds (TRBs) to construct a Health Affairs building on the Edinburg campus.
On Sept. 6, the University of Texas System board of regents approved UTRGV’s request to seek the Legislature’s approval for the project when the lawmakers convene on Jan. 8.
Tuition revenue bonds are used to “acquire, purchase, construct, improve, renovate, enlarge, or equip property, buildings, structures, facilities, roads or related infrastructure on or for the campus,” according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website.
A response to the request is expected, possibly by April 2019, from the 86th Regular Legislative Session.
Sofia Hernandez, chief of staff for the UTRGV Office of Health Affairs and School of Medicine, said health profession degrees are in demand.
“It’s reflective on what is happening in the community, in the region,” Hernandez said. “The health care industry is a rapidly growing sector. There is a lot of demand for nurses, physician assistants, social workers, rehab specialists, occupational and physical therapists and speech pathologists.
“I think it’s appropriate that as we grow enrollment and we grow our graduate and professional degrees, that we have additional space to accommodate faculty and students.”
Hernandez said the building, if funded, will most likely be located north of the existing Health Affairs Buildings on the Edinburg campus.
Veronica Gonzales, vice president for Governmental and Community Relations, said the building would also serve to accommodate proposed UTRGV programs, such as a doctorate in pharmacy and a doctorate in physical therapy.
Tuition revenue bond debt is serviced by “the revenue of the project for which it was issued and pledge a revenue stream provided by income from tuition charges levied against students or institutions specified in the bond covenants,” according to the Coordinating Board website.
UTRGV will also ask Texas Legislature to approve funding for the School of Medicine.
During the last legislative session, The School of Medicine received $42 million and hopes to receive the same amount this year, plus an additional $10 million in exceptional item funding, Gonzales said.
“We need an additional $10 [million] ’cause those were monies that we had had in the past,” she said. “It was cut when they had a tough session. We’re hoping to get it restored.”
A request will also be made for $4.4 million in new money for women’s cancer initiatives–a cervical cancer research and a clinic, Gonzales said.
Of the $4.4 million, $2.4 million would be for cervical cancer research and other related cancers that affect Hispanic women and $2 million to operate and expand services at an existing clinic.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has agreed to transfer its Cervical Dysplasia and Cancer Stop Clinic in McAllen to UTRGV’s School of Medicine, Gonzales said.
“It’s something that we think is very relevant to the Valley and, of course, we are all united in trying to fight cancer, so this would be well-spent money to tackle cancer in women,” she said.
