Contact: Monty Jones, (512) 499-4363

Date: August 12, 2002

UT System News Release

AUSTIN - The University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System have teamed up with community colleges in Tarrant County and Laredo to help increase the number of students who transfer from a community college to a university and to collaborate in other ways.

The institutions are jointly paying for a new liaison office based in Austin to coordinate the initiative. The goals include increasing communication between the universities and community colleges, smoothing the way for students to make the transition from a community college to a university, and developing recruitment and marketing strategies to encourage more students to continue their education at a university.

The initiative is an offshoot of the universities' programs to help strengthen all levels of education from pre-kindergarten through the baccalaureate level, and it will complement the state's "Closing the Gaps" campaign to increase university enrollment, said Edwin R. Sharpe, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the U.T. System.

"We have been considering for some time the need for this kind of direct liaison between the universities and community colleges, and we think there is great potential through this new arrangement for enhancing educational opportunity for students across Texas," Sharpe said.

"Our state's economic success increasingly depends on building partnerships that will make higher education more accessible," said Leo Sayavedra, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the A&M System. "By working together, the A&M System and the U.T. System can reach out to many more of our young people than would be possible if we worked independently."

Leonardo de la Garza, chancellor of the Tarrant County College District, said: "The work of this liaison office should build upon the already strong foundation of partnerships between TCC and our area universities. We welcome this opportunity to explore an avenue that could lead to better futures, not only for our students, but ultimately for many thousands of community college students whose transfer to receiving universities could be facilitated throughout Texas."

Richard R. Armenta, a former official at Austin Community College and Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, began work in July as the liaison officer for the new effort. He is based at the U.T. System's administrative offices in Austin, but his office is jointly funded by the U.T. System, the Texas A&M System, Tarrant County College, and Laredo Community College. The Texas Association of Community Colleges helped organize the initiative.

Armenta said the initiative "offers an opportunity to do some real good in helping students make the transition to a university and thereby accomplish their goals."

"Often students coming from a community college are very well-prepared academically, but the process of going forward at a university can be daunting," he said. "The creation of this initiative demonstrates that the universities and the community colleges recognize that we need to make changes so the process will work better for the benefit of students."

The initiative will focus on strengthening collaborations between Tarrant County College and U.T. Arlington and U.T. Dallas, as well as between Laredo Community College and Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Armenta said.

"These are just two starting points," he said. "We hope to develop models that can be useful to universities and community colleges all across the state."

Armenta has more than 25 years experience as a community college administrator. He was vice president for instruction and student affairs at Del Mar College from 1997 to early this year. He also served as interim president of the college in 2001. He was an administrator at Austin Community College from 1985 to 1997, serving first as a campus dean and then as associate vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. He was dean of community education at Central Arizona College from 1974 to 1985.

Additional contact information for the news media:

• Richard R. Armenta, university/community college liaison, (512) 499-4245.
• Edwin R. Sharpe, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, U.T. System, (512) 499-4233.
• Leo Sayavedra, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, Texas A&M University System, (979) 458-6070.
• Leonardo de la Garza, chancellor, Tarrant County College District, (817) 515-5201.
• Ramon Dovalina, president, Laredo Community College, (956) 722-0521.
• Rey García, executive director, Texas Association of Community Colleges, (512) 476-2572.