MCALLEN, Texas – South Texas College is at the epicenter of today’s changing economy, with companies coming back from China and relocating to Mexico due to supply chain disruptions.
This is the view of Ricardo J. Solis. The STC President spoke about the “very unique circumstances” that are happening and how his college can capitalize on this “romance of opportunity.”
Solis spoke at STC’s Fall 2022 College-Wide Professional & Organizational Development Day. The event was held at the McAllen Convention Center with hundreds of STC faculty, staff and workers.
After Julian Alvarez, the workers’ representative at the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), praised STC and said it was getting positive national attention, Solis suggested the local media wasn’t picking up on the great things happening at his college.
“Of course, South Texas College really has a lot to offer. A lot of things he[Alvarez]mentioned today that a lot of us don’t know about,” Solis said.
“Sometimes the media doesn’t pick it up on the spot. However, it is evident across the state that South Texas College is now the epicenter of this entire economy.”
Solis stated, “We are now in this new era, embracing the romance of opportunity. An opportunity we saw many, many years ago, which happened several centuries ago when the first settlers came here. They actually didn’t come through New York or the East Coast. They came in from South Texas, the first settlers in 1600.”
Just as South Texas played a key role in founding America, it now plays a key role in the new economy, Solis argued.
“We’re now seeing this whole renaissance taking place with the economy; very unique circumstances that are taking place. Just think about it. Of course we are now seeing these changes in the economy, in China, in Mexico. We’re in the middle of this whole triangle of possibilities,” Solis said.
“That’s why it’s so exciting. That’s why there’s so much right now, so much vision, so much interest, say, in the Valley, because we have the demographics. We have the people and most importantly we have what we have here today. We’ve got you, South Texas College. And I’m so excited to be a part of it.”
At the same time as the STC technical and organizational day, TWC held an apprentice conference in the ballroom next door. STC received multiple awards for its training programs at the TWC event. President Solis attended the TWC event.
“We talked about apprenticeships in specific industries, construction and healthcare. (But), please keep in mind that our core value is still and always will be teaching with academics. We will continue to do so,” said Solis.
“What we’re doing today is taking an opportunity where there’s a huge demand, a huge gap with the greatest resignation, with the lowest unemployment, with the great demand of the industry, as we’ve seen, especially in supply chain management, all the troubles that have taken place.”
Solis said there are no better institutions than community colleges to help Texas meet the new challenges in the industry. And he said STC is in growth mode.
“That’s why I go here on the record. Our critical point will always be imparting and providing knowledge,” said Solis. “We will continue to work diligently and offer more, not just certificates as we do now, but (there are) more degrees. And of course we will start developing even master degrees. We will continue to grow. I promise we will do that today.”
Solis added that the days of STC looking at its main McAllen campus are over.
“There is no main campus. We are a system, a system delivery of education. We are South Texas College, the best system company not only for the industry, but especially for the students and the citizens of the Rio Grande Valley.”
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