$30 Million for SRSU Campus in Eagle Pass, RGC May Branch Off

By Brooke Manuel, Skyline Editor

EAGLE PASS - $30 million has been dedicated to building a Sul Ross State University campus in Eagle Pass in hopes of Rio Grande College, which currently consists of the Del Rio and Uvalde campuses, and the Southwest Texas Junior College teaching site in Eagle Pass, breaking off from Sul Ross and becoming its own four-year university.

The Texas State University System and SRSU announced a $33.1 million investment in Sul Ross’ educational facilities in the Middle Rio Grande Region, most of which, about $30 million, will be used to build a brand new SRSU campus in Eagle Pass. The remainder of the money, about $3 million, will be used to improve SRSU facilities in Del Rio and Uvalde.

Construction on the new Eagle Pass campus is set to start in 2023.

The SRSU campuses in Del Rio and Uvalde along with the SRSU teaching site on the Southwest Texas Junior College campus in Eagle Pass are off-site campuses.

If enrollment at the new Eagle Pass campus reaches 1,500 students, the campus will be upgraded from an off-site campus to a branch campus, giving it more autonomy, and if enrollment reaches 2,500 students, the campus will become its own university, said Bernie Cantens, SRSU executive vice president and provost.

"The system wanted to see this campus head on a path to becoming an independent four-year university 10 years from now,” Cantens told the Skyline.

TSUS and SRSU plan to create more educational opportunities for students in the Middle Rio Grande Region with the new campus by adding additional academic program offerings and enhancing online offerings.