The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a new University with a long History. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was first created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 in a historic move that brings together the resources and assets of UT Brownsville and UT Pan American and, for the first time, makes it possible for residents of the Rio Grande Valley to benefit from the Permanent University Fund-a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System. Our new university will also be home to a School of Medicine and will transform Texas and the national by becoming a leader in student success, teaching, research, and health care. UTRGV will enroll its first class in the fall 2015, and the School of Medicine will open in 2016. The shared history of The University of Texas Pan American and The University of Brownsville goes back to 1927, when Edinburg College was founded. In 1973, Pan American opened a second campus in Brownsville, which later became an independent institution of The University of Texas System in 1991. Over the years, the mission and the identities of these great institutions have continually evolved to serve the communities of the Rio Grande Valley.