Provost candidate responds to concerns of ‘disparity’ between campuses

UTRGV professors voiced their concerns about campus accessibility and focus on the College of Engineering and Computer Science after a candidate for provost and vice president for Academic Affairs spoke in an open forum last Tuesday.

Jenna Carpenter currently serves as dean and professor in the College of Engineering at Campbell University in North Carolina. 

Carpenter previously held the responsibilities of hiring staff and faculty, overseeing undergraduate and graduate programs, curricular offerings, developments and student workers as department head for the College of Engineering from 1998-2008.

The UTRGV provost and vice president for Academic Affairs’ duties include direct oversight for the 11 academic and health colleges and library in addition to Strategic Enrollment, Student Affairs, Student Success, Secondary Educational Partnerships and more, according to the UTRGV website.

Engineering and Computer Science Professor Mahmoud K. Quweider asked Carpenter how she would incorporate Brownsville in her plans. 

Quweider said the Brownsville campus rarely has the right representation and the campuses are unequal in opportunity. 

“When you go to Edinburg tomorrow, ask how many chairs are from Edinburg versus how many are from Brownsville,” Quweider said. “How many deans are from Edinburg and how many are from Brownsville? And you will see the disparity. And you will see the inertia against making a change. These are the real issues that we have here.”

Carpenter said there is value in both doing things virtually and in person, but there has to be a balance depending on the situations.

“You can’t forget about campus ‘A’ or program ‘B,’” she said. “You also have to think about what kind of combination of what do you do in person and what do you do remotely. Because if you never meet in person, so much of the value is side conversations that happen before the meeting and you just can’t do that during Zoom.”

Gina Palacios, associate director for the School of Art and Design, spoke about the disparity between the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses, and the equity in the facilities and access to equipment. 

“The students have the biggest issues because they have to travel back and forth … on the bus,” Palacios said. “[It’s] a lot to ask for on both sides.”

Carpenter was later asked what her experience was with a fine arts department and how she would include it in the spotlight along with the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“It’s a matter of juggling and bouncing [colleges],” she said. “When you’re an administrative role and got multiple programs, you’re trying to fit the needs and the issues.” 

Margaret Rubí, a School of Nursing clinical professor, asked the provost candidate what her strategy will be to get the Brownsville campus more space.

“We are growing by the day, but we are growing out of space,” Rubí said. “When I started in September of 2019, I had 12 students. This semester, I have 40.” 

Carpenter replied that she would go through the state and try to get more money, get funded by partnering with additional groups and find available facilities for the university to use.

“When I left Louisiana Tech [University] … we were absolutely bursting at the seams,” she said. “We were a 40-year-old building. They finally got the building built. I have been gone eight years.”

Luis H. Zayas, also a candidate for provost, will address the campus community in an open forum from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. today in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus and at the same time Tuesday in the PlainsCapital Bank El Gran Salón on the Brownsville campus. 

Zayas is a professor of social work and a professor of psychiatry at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. From 2012 to 2022, he served as dean of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at UT Austin.