Dear University Community,
- Thanks to all for guiding, helping, and sharing in last week’s Spirit Week. Congratulations to our 2024 Royals: Raiana Brown and Rafael Contreras. Hats off to all the candidates and the Division of Student Engagement for a fantastic Spirit Week. Enjoy a look at Spirit Week in photos here.
- Kudos to our Men’s Basketball team for their win against Oklahoma Christian, 64-60, and to our Women’s Basketball team who won their game against Arkansas-Fort Smith 63-56.
- As part of our enduring commitment to health, TAMIU is providing students a new way to prioritize mental health...in the palm of their hand. It’s called Telus and it’s available for download today. As part of our roll-out, today, from 12 to 2 p.m. on the Student Center Patio, you can Download and Get A Donut...and a chance for a T-shirt. Don’t miss out!
- We are joining other members of The Texas A&M University System in partnership with the Jed Foundation (JED), a national leader in establishing best practices and policies on student mental health, suicide prevention, and substance misuse. Select TAMIU students and full-time faculty and staff have received an email for participation in a Healthy Minds Study with the University of Michigan. Please participate ... you could also win some great prizes.
- Tomorrow, the TAMIU Philosophy Society will host a presentation as part of our Rhizome@TAMIU initiative. It’s at 5 p.m. in Academic Innovation Center (AIC) 128. Featuring TAMU artist and visiting professor Crystal Wagner, it will focus on the concepts of nature, wilderness, and art in the 21st Century... and some of the philosophical inspirations behind the Rhizome art installation here. It’s free and open to all.
- Also on the Rhizome front...are you a poet and you know it? Enter the Rhizome Poetry Contest. The winner will recite their original work at the Rhizome performance on April 12 and be featured on the Rhizome music album played within the art installation. Details, including an expanded Rhizome calendar, are here. Submissions close March 12, 2024.
- The next in our series of free FAFSA Drives, “FAFSA For U,” to help students navigate the new application, is Wednesday, Feb. 21. Subsequent sessions continue through February and March. Details found here.
- On the horizon, TAMIU Dance faculty member Tim Rubel will offer up a one-man dance-theatre comedy show, “Thirst,” a story of single-ness on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Theatre. Find out more.
Make it a great week and Go Dustdevils!
- Pablo Arenaz, Ph.D., President
A&M System Regents Approve $258M for New Construction at Laredo, Corpus Christi, Galveston, San Antonio Campuses
The Texas A&M University System has approved building a health sciences building in Laredo, a new engineering building in Galveston, a public health and education building in San Antonio, and an arts and media building in Corpus Christi. Approved campus projects at TAMIU include a $71 million Health Sciences Education & Research Center and Western Hemispheric Trade Center Expansion. Construction on both is set to begin in March and should be completed by December 2025.
Download for Donuts Encourages App Downloads
We're giving away donuts! Stop by our launch party at the Student Center patio, download the TELUS app and pick up your free donut. 🍩
Learn more about the TELUS App at https://go.tamiu.edu/telus
TAMIU'S Dr. Lee Co-Presents Research at a UN Event
TAMIU College of Arts and Sciences faculty member Dr. Seungmug (Zech) Lee, an associate professor of Criminal Justice, will be featured as a co-presenter at the UN event, "The Intersection Between Crime and Poverty," on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at the UN General Assembly Building in New York City.
TAMIU Continues Free 'FAFSA for U' Sessions on New Application
We're hosting a series of free FAFSA Drives to help students navigate the U.S. Education Department’s new Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Our next drive is happening Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center Testing Center Lab 201.
Rhizome @ TAMIU
“Rhizome” is a multidisciplinary contemporary art project organized by Artist and Visiting Assistant Professor Crystal Wagner that will be created at TAMIU this Spring 2024. It involves the collaboration between faculty and students in the music, art, dance, theater, and humanities and the community at large.
Several opportunities will be offered for public participation, including Open Build Days, and printmaking workshops. Open Build Days are scheduled to occur every Friday through March 15, 2024, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Participants will meet at the TAMIU Center for the Fine and Performing Arts (CFPA) main lobby.
Concepts of nature, wilderness, and art in the 21st century, with an emphasis on the recently launched Rhizome installation, will be the topic of conversation during "Art and Ecophilosophy: An Interdisciplinary Discussion," happening Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. in the Academic Innovation Center, room 128. The discussion is led by Dr. Jude Galbraith, instructional assistant professor of Philosophy, and visiting assistant professor of Art Crystal Wagner. Free of charge and open to the community, the event is organized by the TAMIU Philosophy Society.
Coming Up: Printmaking workshops are scheduled on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25, from 1 - 5 p.m. in the CFPA Printmaking Studio, room 220 A
TAMIU Faculty Member Publishes Research on Beards
A recent study by a TAMIU faculty member focuses on the hairy truth behind beards. Dr. Ray Garza, assistant professor of Psychology at TAMIU’s College of Arts and Sciences, co-authored research, “Perceptions of Beardedness for Attractiveness, Masculinity, Fighting Ability, and Partner Quality: A Cross-Cultural Examination Among Hispanic and Iranian Women” focused on how beards are perceived.
TAMIU Staggs Academy Offers Two Open House Info Sessions for Parents, Students Feb. 21, March 21
Two information sessions are scheduled for parents and students exploring the possibility of their student attending the Julieta and Frank Staggs Academy of International and STEM Studies on the TAMIU campus in Fall 2024 to earn concurrent high school and college credits.
The remaining Open House dates are scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 21 and Sunday, March 21 at 6 p.m. at TAMIU's Western Hemispheric Trade Center, room 111. The sessions are free and open to the public. Additional information is online at https://www.tamiu.edu/coas/theacademy or by phone at 956.326.2860. Information is available in English or Spanish.
TAMIU Athletics Update
TAMIU is a member of the Lone Star Conference and competes in 11 sports: volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, softball, baseball, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's golf.
- Dustdevils Win Game 4, Split Series with ENMU
- Dustdevils Drop Game 2 7-0
- Dustdevils Hang On To Knock Off Eagles
- Late Surge Propels Dustdevils Past Lions
Upcoming Events
- All tuition and fees MUST be paid in full to avoid being dropped from the course(s) for non-payment. - Monday, Feb. 12
- Go Beyond FYE: Professional Etiquette - Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m.
- Music on the Menu Las Castanuelas - Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 12:10 p.m.
- Spring 2024 Graduation Application and Payment Deadline - Thursday, Feb. 29
- Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium Schedule
- TAMIU Small Business Development Center Schedule
TAMIU News Hub
At Texas A&M International University our faculty, students, and staff know how to Go Beyond. Every day, they lead change, solve problems and advance thinking. Through instruction, faculty and student research and public service, TAMIU improves the quality of life for citizens of Laredo, the border region, the State of Texas, and national and international communities. We proudly share their stories through our weekly news distributions, online News Hub, digital and traditional publications, and our Trailblazer Weekly Bulletin. Share Our Beyond.
View our complete News Hub at https://go.tamiu.edu/newshub.