RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and St. Mary’s University are launching the Rio Grande Valley Legal Education Hub at UTRGV’s Edinburg campus, a collaboration that will transform legal education across South Texas.
Unveiled at an MOU signing ceremony today, the Hub brings St. Mary’s School of Law’s Online Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) programs into a local learning environment with dedicated classrooms, study space, technology and on-site support, so aspiring lawyers can learn, collaborate and thrive without leaving the Rio Grande Valley.
UTRGV President Guy Bailey called the effort “a new and tangible commitment” to expanding opportunity, highlighting it as a crucial step toward increasing local access to legal education and building a stronger regional legal workforce.
“Through the Legal Education Hub, we are opening doors for UTRGV students and residents who have faced barriers to pursuing careers in law,” Bailey said. “The Hub will retain regional talent, strengthen community legal resources and create clear pathways from classroom to courtroom.”
This initiative lowers barriers to the legal profession for Rio Grande Valley residents and UTRGV alumni by pairing online instruction with hands-on resources and face-to-face connections. By keeping talent rooted in the region, the Hub creates direct pathways for students to serve their neighborhoods and helps build the local legal workforce where it is most needed.
“This partnership with UTRGV reflects St. Mary’s University’s deep commitment to educational access and service rooted in our Catholic and Marianist mission, and deep connections to the Rio Grande Valley going back generations,” said St. Mary’s University President Winston Erevelles, Ph.D. “By strengthening pathways to professional education in South Texas, we are expanding opportunity, responding to regional workforce needs and reinforcing our responsibility to serve the common good. Collaborations like this allow us to walk alongside communities as they prepare the next generation of leaders.”
St. Mary’s will reserve up to five seats annually in its Online J.D. Program for Hub Students, subject to program capacity. All applicants must meet St. Mary’s Law’s admission standards and program requirements; reserved seats do not guarantee admission, and final decisions rest solely with St. Mary’s.
To qualify as a Hub Student, individuals must be:
• Accepted and enrolled in St. Mary’s Law’s Online J.D. or M.L.S. program.
• Provide proof of residence in Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy or Starr County.
• Complete UTRGV’s Hub Student registration process and agree to both institutions’ policies and codes of conduct.
Applicants will be reviewed competitively; if qualified applicants exceed available seats, priority will be given to those who hold degrees from UTRGV, the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) or the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB).
“The Rio Grande Valley faces a critical shortage of legal professionals, and too many talented students leave the region to pursue legal education, often never returning home to practice. As the southernmost law school in Texas, St. Mary’s Law is deeply committed to changing that reality,” said St. Mary’s University School of Law Dean Patricia Roberts, J.D. “This partnership with UTRGV creates a legal education hub that will encourage Rio Grande Valley students to earn a law degree online while remaining connected to their families, their communities and their futures in South Texas. Through this partnership with UTRGV, we are increasing access to legal education and legal services for the people and communities of the Valley. We are grateful for UTRGV’s partnership in making this vision a reality.”
UTRGV will provide dedicated classroom, study and administrative spaces, library access, IT and network support, campus IDs, parking permits, recreational facility access and certain student services. St. Mary’s will provide legal research resources, academic oversight and degree authority, and may offer on-site academic supports, such as advising, bar preparation and legal writing assistance.
More than a facility, the Hub is a strategic investment in access, opportunity and justice for South Texas. For UTRGV students and alumni, the Hub opens a new chapter in making high-quality legal education accessible and regionally relevant.
One person excited to see this collaboration come to fruition is District 39 State Representative Armando “Mando” Martinez, a UTPA and UTRGV alumnus who graduated from the first cohort of St. Mary’s Online J.D. Program in December 2025.
“What a monumental and historic day for the Rio Grande Valley and for all our students,” Martinez said. “I get emotional because of the impact it will have for so many.”
Martinez said he worked closely with Presidents Bailey and Erevelles to help bring the Law Hub to the Valley.
Bailey offered a special thanks to Martinez, crediting him as the catalyst behind the initiative.
“If it weren’t for him, we would not have this program,” Bailey said. “He was the driving force behind this, and we all owe him a big thanks.”
The Hub is expected to be fully functional in Fall 2026.
