BROWNSVILLE — Former University of Texas at Brownsville President Juliet V. Garcia is returning to campus as a full-time professor to teach a communication course starting this spring semester.
When Garcia left what was known as UTB, she went to work with University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven as an adviser for community, national and international engagement for three years.
Starting this spring semester Garcia will teach a communication course called Topics: The Rhetoric of the Border Wall, also known as COMM 3315-10.
“This year happens to be the 10th anniversary of the Secure Fence Act when it was enacted and next spring in 2018 is the 10th anniversary of when we were sued by the Department of Homeland Security because I wouldn’t sign a Right of Entry to let them come to our campus,” Garcia said.
According to a Brownsville Herald article in February 2008, after receiving an ultimatum from DHS in December 2007 Garcia and members of the Texas Southmost College Board of Trustees refused to give consent to surveyors, citing both a risk to property investment and the likelihood that a fence “would jeopardize our campus security.”
Garcia said because she wouldn’t sign, UTB was in federal court for a year. The course the former president will be teaching is a case study of that event from a communications point of view.
During the course Garcia will have guest speakers such as the attorneys who helped build the case, the person who was in charge of constructing the border fence and negotiators who helped mediate a solution.
COMM 3315-10 will be taught every Friday morning for three hours.
Before becoming the first Hispanic female university president, she started teaching at UTB-Texas Southmost College. She also taught at the University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin.
Garcia said coming back to campus years later she still sees plenty of familiar faces.
“ All of a sudden someone would see me and it was like ‘Oh my God, she’s risen from the dead,” Garcia said jokingly. “I have many people in the IT area, the custodial staff when they see me, they’ll come up and give me a big abrazo (hug), and faculty of course.”
Garcia said people can audit the class and it’s free for people over age 65.
University of Texas at Brownsville Dr. Juliet V. Garcia opened the Distinguished Alumnus Award ceremony on Saturday evening.
