President's Message
Legislative interaction, strategic planning top agenda

Greetings! Kathy and I are so excited to have the opportunity to begin working with you in making Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi the flagship of higher education in South Texas. I have been on the job now for four exciting months and have come to realize the great accomplishments of the past. I look forward to developing an even greater potential for this University in the future.

I am sure you are aware that the Texas Legislature has been in session, so I have been chalking up the miles between Corpus Christi and Austin. This session is vastly different from previous sessions because of major funding issues, among them public school finance. No issue has a greater impact on higher education.
The rising costs of Medicaid and the State’s responsibility to it, coupled with the funding of public K-12 education, leaves fewer available revenues for higher education. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has experienced rapid growth, but the state’s portion of funding that growth remains challenged.

The future size and quality of this University will depend on your resolve in seeing it excel through these challenging times. You have proven your faithfulness in the past and I know you will continue your support and encouragement in the future. Together, we will continue to see great ventures of success evolve from A&M-Corpus Christi.

A&M-Corpus Christi’s projected enrollment in 2015 is 12,000 students. To achieve that goal and to enhance excellence, I have established a campus and community- wide strategic planning process, Momentum 2015, which will serve as the road map for the University. As we continue our momentum into the future with this all-important process, I will keep you informed and aware of our progress.

On behalf of myself and Kathy, thank you so much for your gracious welcome to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and South Texas. I look forward to serving you and the University in the coming months and years.