A&M System Wins Millions to Advance Post-COVID Careers

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Higher Ed Board awards stimulus funds to help with education and training

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas —The Texas A&M University System will expand education and retraining opportunities in 2022 with the help of grants awarded this week by the Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The competitive grants are from two programs financed by federal COVID stimulus. They were tailored by Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature to help Texans who need access to higher-paying jobs in a post-pandemic environment.

The Texas A&M System won $5.3 million in grants directly. It also is part of joint programs with other institutions that won an additional $2.4 million in grants.

“We are grateful for the additional support from Governor Abbott, the Texas Legislature and the Higher Ed Board,” Chancellor John Sharp said. “From COVID’s earliest days, they all have recognized that the pandemic would create new challenges and opportunities for the future economy and workforce of Texas.”

One of the two programs, the Texas Reskilling Support Fund Grant, provides emergency financial support to students whose education has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as displaced workers seeking training to return to the workforce and students who dropped out of college prior to the pandemic and look to return. Awardees from the System are:

  • Tarleton State University: $1,500,000
  • Texas A&M International University: $750,000
  • Texas A&M University-Kingsville: $300,000
  • Texas A&M University-San Antonio: $300,000

Texas A&M University-Commerce is among schools participating in a joint grant with Collin College and other North Texas institutions: $1,875,000.

The other program, the Accelerating Credentials of Purpose and Value Grant, helps institutions create or expand short-term, industry-recognized post-secondary credentials that give trainees the skills for high-demand careers, including front-line heath workers and data analysts. Awardees from the System are:

  • Prairie View A&M University: $241,270
  • Tarleton State University: $497,460
  • Texas A&M International University: $49,730
  • Texas A&M University: $301,450
  • Texas A&M University-Central Texas: $201,000
  • Texas A&M University-Kingsville: $427,170
  • Texas A&M University-Commerce: $134,600
  • Texas A&M University-San Antonio: $162,080
  • The Texas A&M University System: $413,070

Texas A&M International University is participating in a joint grant with The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston’s School of Biomedical Informatics: $245,700.

Texas A&M University-Central Texas is working jointly with Temple College: $333,570.

About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $9.6 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, and the RELLIS Campus, the Texas A&M System educates more than 153,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceed $1 billion and help drive the state’s economy.

Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu