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McALLEN — Sandra Hansmann is fully embracing the Aggie culture and ready to use her almost two decades of experience to grow the center as she starts her new role as assistant provost at Texas A&M University’s Higher Education Center in McAllen.
Giving a howdy during a meet-and-greet to HECM staff, students and former students at the campus on Thursday, Hansmann said it felt incredible.
“The excitement that they have for the higher ed center here and for what’s going on out here, it’s just been so energizing,” She said. “I was terrified this morning. I was very nervous. And everyone here has just put me completely at ease. They’ve just been so welcoming and so incredibly enthusiastic about this incredibly special place.”
With everyone wearing Aggie gear and shouting howdy and gig ’em back to her, Hansmann said there is so much Texas A&M pride in the Valley.
“What I felt today … is just how happy and excited they are to bring you into the family,” she said. “Everybody has just been so willing to teach me things and show me the ropes. Like, the fight song and the Aggie (War) Hymn … they immediately make you part of the family. I think that’s really a special part of the Aggie community here in the Valley.”
In her new position, Hansmann will support HECM programs through academic coordination, campus resources, student activities, and also promote community relations.
A native of San Antonio, Hansmann came to the Valley in 2005 to be an assistant professor at legacy institution University of Texas Pan American.
“When we got here, it just felt like home so quickly,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong … San Antonio’s always going to be my hometown but the Valley very quickly became home to me because of just how welcoming the community was and still is.”
During her time at UTPA and UTRGV, Hansmann’s work experience ranges from a professor teaching courses such as assessment and testing and the psychological aspects of disability, to the director of the Office of International Programs.
She said her time as the director of the Office of International Programs during the creation of UTRGV is relevant to her new position at the HECM.
“It’s relevant here because of just this idea of being in a state of growth and being in a state of development,” Hansmann said. “I was in charge of all visiting faculty … international students. So, I think there are a fair number of similarities because of those connections out to the community and out to the industry. That background prepared me to be here.”
Holding other leadership roles in several departments and divisions over the last two decades, her most recent position was the associate dean of the Graduate College.
“The work in that role was primarily with students who are having academic difficulties for one reason or another,” she said. “I helped them sort that out, helping them figure out what’s next and to figure out how to recover from those challenges … It was also a lot about policies and procedures.”
Hansmann said she believes all her background experience will be helpful at HECM since the students and the center are eager to grow.
“This is a moment brimming with opportunity,” she said. “Not just for me, in fact, that’s probably the least of it. It’s just a moment brimming full of opportunity for the Valley.
“We are so much larger here in the Rio Grande Valley than people realize … to have to have a university of A&M’s caliber here is so important for the growth of the valley, for the growth of the young people in the Valley, but also for the industries and businesses.”
