The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is a member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas after the consolidation of the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College and the University of Texas–Pan American. The transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine. In 2019 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley enrolled in the fall 29,619 students, making the public university the ninth-largest university in the state of Texas and the fourth largest (student enrollment) academic institution in The University of Texas system. UTRGV is also one of the largest universities in the U.S. to have a majority Hispanic student population; 89.2% of its students are Hispanic, virtually all of them Mexican Americans. It is classified among “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity”.