That is why Mr. Vela has taken a leadership role on this campus, because he will develop a strategic plan that will determine what we will look like in ten years.
McALLEN — Texas A&M University announced Monday that longtime Valley Baptist Health System CEO Manny Vela is taking a leadership position at the university’s Higher Education Center as it continues to grow its footprint locally.
Vela said at a press conference that he’ll leave Valley Baptist at the end of the month and start in his new role as chief operating officer at the center on May 15. He’ll report directly to the university’s president, Katherine Banks, and work out of McAllen.
Assistant Provost Adolfo Santos will remain in his current role.
“I was raised with the premise that education remains the greatest equalizer that we have in this country,” Vela said Monday. “With that in mind, I couldn’t be more honored or excited to be joining the world class community, faculty and staff at the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center here in McAllen.
“My message to them is that I’m so incredibly impressed with the remarkable things they’ve been able to accomplish in really a very short period of time, and I very much look forward to meeting and supporting them as we continue to grow and succeed.”
A release from the university says Vela will focus on complementing existing leadership at the center regarding goals to double enrollment by 2025, to improve quality of life on the border through the Colonias Program and by fostering collaboration between South Texas and the university.
“We will serve more folks in our region than ever before. Dr. Banks, I compliment your vision for Texas A&M staff and employees,” Vela said.
Both South Texas and the university certainly made a turnout for Monday’s announcement. In attendance were both Banks and Chancellor John Sharp, who joked A&M officials make so many trips to the Valley that they’re considering buying a house here.
Representatives from a variety of local education entities were in attendance as well, along with state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, a longtime promoter of education initiatives in the area.
News of Vela’s selection comes on the heels of the announcement of a couple of significant initiatives for A&M locally, including a partnership with DHR Health and a new facility slated to begin construction in 2024.
That new construction — a roughly $50 million, 60,000-square-foot project — will house a nursing program with a vet clinic in it, Banks said.
Banks said Vela will play a large part in determining future expansion.
“That is why Mr. Vela has taken a leadership role on this campus, because he will develop a strategic plan that will determine what we will look like in ten years,” she said. “We have to determine how many students do we think we can manage, how many buildings we need, what the staffing will look like.”
Marco Cruz, a public health major at the center who will graduate in a few months, said he chose to attend the McAllen center over Texas A&M in College Station because it’s so new. It was, he said, an opportunity to leave a footprint on a nascent, growing institution.
“It’s exciting to leave and see the expansion. It’s continuing to grow,” he said. “The new opportunities they announced today, it reminds me of why I came to McAllen. Opportunities like I’ve had for the past four years, and students in coming years are going to have.”
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