Everything Ala Qubbaj said at the UTRGV CECS 2024 Convocation

Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

EDINBURG, TEXAS - The College of Engineering & Computer Science is the fastest growing and most productive college at UT-Rio Grande Valley, says its dean.

Dr. Ala Qubbaj gave an update on college activities at CECS’s 2024 Convocation. He said one in seven students at UTRGV are part of CECS and, pro rata, its faculty bring in the most grants and research dollars.

“I'm happy to report that we have the largest freshman class ever, 1,128 students. It sounds exciting, but we are having challenges finding classes and space for them,” Qubbaj said.

“But that’s a good problem to have because I talk with other deans, and they tell me they are having problems fighting students. I don't have that problem.”

Qubbaj said CECS has grown 75 percent in the last five years.

“We have over 5,000 students in this college. Can you believe it? Five thousand prospective engineers,” Qubbaj said, proudly.

That number is even more impressive when one considers that engineering classes at UTRGV only started back in the 1990s (at its predecessor, UT-Pan American), Qubbaj said. Before that state leaders would not give accreditation to UTPA for an undergraduate engineering program because, Qubbaj said, they did not think its students were smart enough to enter that profession.

“If we didn’t have a College of Engineering here, how many of those 5,000 students (would make it)? Maybe ten percent of them, maybe 15 percent? So, this is tremendous,” Qubbaj said.

UTRGV has grown to 34,000 students so CECS represents 15 percent, Qubbaj said.

“So, if you walk across our campus, one in each seven students is an engineer. You cannot find that in any other university.”

Another thing Qubbaj is excited about is the fact that 20 percent of the students within CECS are females.

"Actually, last semester, I had the president of the Society of Women Engineers (visit). When I told her we have 1,000 female engineering students, she was astonished. And, by the way, 20 percent are Latina. You know what's the representation of Latinas is in engineering? One percent. We have 20 percent. So, this is amazing.”
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