President’s Message
by Dr. Robert R. Furgason

Welcome to the first Islander University newsletter with separate editions for each college's alumni and a general edition for our community friends.

Although this briefer version of the full University magazine came about because of the state economic crisis and resulting University budget cuts, we are excited for the opportunity to put into action our plan to help each College communicate with its own alumni. Our alumni base is now more than 20,000, with hundreds being added each semester.

Turning difficult circumstances into something positive is a philosophy we are applying in other areas as well. In spite of the seven percent budget cut this spring, and the even higher cuts proposed by the Texas legislature for 2004, A&M-Corpus Christi has much to celebrate. Remarkable progress is being made on the site of the new world-class Performing Arts Center, provided for by past donor and legislative funding. A $1 million gift from The Lichtenstein Foundation will further expand this new cultural center. Scholarship money for students has come in from the Texas Jazz Festival, the Selena Foundation, Marvin Collins’ generous $1 million estate planning gift, and the Bill Cosby benefit.

Recently, The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked A&M-Corpus Christi among the top ten universities nationally in the area of non-alumni giving – fairly amazing for a relatively new university. We look forward to achieving a similar status with our own alumni and have gratefully watched alumni gifts grow each year. Today more than ever we look to our alumni and the community to keep the current State budget crisis from threatening South Texas’ most precious resource – our students.