UTRGV named to national workplace Honor Roll for the first time

One of 42 colleges nationwide, as enrollment hits a seventh straight record

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has earned a place on the Great Colleges to Work For Honor Roll for the first time, one of only 42 institutions nationwide to make the list.

The recognition, announced Sept. 18, is UTRGV’s third consecutive year in the program and a sharp jump in standing. The university placed in six of the program’s 10 categories this year, up from two in 2025, competing among institutions with more than 10,000 students.

The categories included job satisfaction, professional development, mission and pride, supervisor effectiveness, confidence in senior leadership, and inclusion and community.

“This recognition belongs to our faculty and staff, whose talent, dedication and commitment to service make UTRGV a great place to work,” President Guy Bailey said.

UTRGV is one of five Texas institutions on this year’s Honor Roll, alongside Lamar University, which swept all 10 categories, Navarro College with nine, Angelo State University with six and Baylor University with five. Three other Texas schools earned recognition without making the Honor Roll: St. Mary’s University, Lubbock Christian University and the Lone Star College System. Texas Tech, recognized for the sixth straight year, placed in two categories.

The rankings rest almost entirely on employee opinion. ModernThink surveyed more than 4,000 full-time UTRGV employees and got responses from more than 2,000, a 49% response rate. Nationwide, 171 colleges earned recognition, and the Honor Roll is limited to the highest-scoring 10 four-year and four two-year institutions in each classification.

The workplace marks come as UTRGV keeps growing. The university opened the fall semester with a record 36,466 students, its seventh straight first-day enrollment record, including a freshman class of 7,373, up 2% from last year. Some 7,885 employees, counting part-time and student workers, support that enrollment.