EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The University of Texas at El Paso raised $38.9 million during FY2022 to support scholarships and fellowships, facilities and faculty, UTEP President Heather Wilson announced Wednesday.

The announcement was made in her annual Fall Convocation address to the faculty and staff.

This is the second consecutive record-setting year for the University’s fundraising efforts. This year’s total represents a nearly 50% increase from last year’s contribution total of $26.9 million.

“This historic level of support will allow us to improve on the things that make UTEP exceptional,”

said UTEP President Heather Wilson

During her speech, Wilson also highlighted several major successes for the University during the past year, including record research activity, the largest freshman class in school history, the largest graduating class in school history, and renewed student engagement.

Research Records

When it comes to research, UTEP advances knowledge and its application, Wilson told her audience, pointing to new peak figures for the second consecutive year. In Fiscal Year 2022, UTEP received 254 new awards that will support $117 million in externally funded research projects.

Largest Freshmen Class

More first-time college students started classes this semester than ever before at UTEP. The previous first-time-in-college record was set in Fall 2019, when 3,400 freshmen enrolled.

This semester’s surge came just a few months after the University saw its largest graduating cohort — 3,126 spring and summer 2022 graduation candidates — in its history in May, and more than 5,200 degrees awarded in the 2021-2022 academic year.

America’s Leading Hispanic-Serving University

In her speech, the UTEP President also highlighted two major projects that aim to leverage the University’s expertise to bring efforts to serve Hispanic students to national scale.

With support from the UT System Board of Regents, friends of the University and Dr. Natalicio’s estate, this year UTEP endowed and launched the Diana Natalicio Institute for Hispanic Student Success and hired Dr. Anne-Marie Nunez and Jacob Fraire – national thought leaders in the sphere of Hispanic education – to lead the institute.

Also this year, UTEP led the launch of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, which Dr. Wilson chairs. The 21 member universities are the only institutions that the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education has recognized as top research institutions and the Department of Education has also recognized as Hispanic-serving.

Credit: UTEP

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