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MaMcALLEN — As Sandra Hansman begins her new role as associate dean for the Texas A&M University McAllen Center for Higher Education, she is ready to fully embrace the Aggies culture and leverage her nearly two decades of experience to help grow the center.
Hansman said he felt great Thursday as he interacted with HECM staff, students and former students on campus.
“It’s so invigorating to see everyone’s enthusiasm for this higher education center and what’s going on here,” she said. “I was scared this morning. I was so nervous. But everyone here has made me feel totally at ease. You’ve all been so welcoming and incredibly enthusiastic about this incredibly special place.”
With everyone wearing Aggies uniforms and yelling “Howdy” and “Gig ’em” back at her, Hansman said there was a lot of Texas A&M pride in the valley.
“What I felt today… was how happy and excited they are to have me in their family,” she said. “They’re teaching me things and showing me how to do things, like the fight song and the Aggie (war) hymn… they’ve immediately treated me as a part of the family. I think that’s a really special part of the Aggie community here in the Valley.”
In his new role, Hansman will support the HECM program through academic coordination, campus resources and student activities, as well as fostering community relations.
A San Antonio native, Hansman came to the Valley in 2005 as an assistant professor at the prestigious Texas-Pan American University.
“When I got here, it immediately felt like home,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, San Antonio will always be my home, but the Valley has been so welcoming and the community has been so welcoming that it quickly became home to me.”
During his time at UTPA and UTRGV, Hansman held a wide range of positions, from professor teaching courses on assessment, testing and the psychological aspects of disabilities to director of the Office of International Programs.
She said her experience as director of UTRGV’s Office of International Programs during its founding years is relevant to her new position at HECM.
“The idea that we’re in a phase of growth and development is relevant here,” Hansman said. “I was in charge of all the visiting professors and the international students, so I think there are a lot of similarities because of the connections to the community and the industry. That background prepared me for being here.”
She has held leadership roles in several schools and departments over the past 20 years, most recently as associate dean of the Graduate School.
“My work in that role was primarily with students who were having academic difficulties for whatever reason,” she said. “I helped them resolve those issues and figure out what to do next and how to recover from those difficulties. It was also a lot of policy and procedure work.”
Hansman said she believes all of her previous experience will be useful at HECM, as the students and center are eager to grow.
“This is a moment of opportunity,” she said. “In fact, this is not just for me, and maybe that’s not the only thing that matters. This is a moment of opportunity for Silicon Valley.”
“The Rio Grande Valley is a much bigger region than you might think, and having a great university like A&M University here is incredibly important to the growth of the valley, the growth of the valley’s youth, and also to industry and business.”
