This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
Miguel Loya Makes Record $30 Million Donation to UTEP for Engineering Scholarships
University of Texas at El Paso alumnus Miguel A. “Mike” Loya made a $30 million commitment to his alma mater Thursday – the largest donation to the institution in its 112-year history. The money will fund the Miguel A. Loya Scholarship program for engineering students.
Applications for the program, one of the nation’s most comprehensive engineering scholarships, will open in fall 2026. The package will include tuition, fees, room, board, transportation and monthly stipends. The first 10 scholarship recipients will start in fall 2027. Within four years, UTEP expects to have 40-50 Loya scholars on campus.
The university did not respond to a question about the estimated annual value of a Loya scholarship, but a U.S. News and World Report article stated that in-state tuition and fees in 2025-26 was $8,508. Additionally, Loya scholars who excel will receive a “bonus” of up to $30,000 upon graduation.
The announcement was made before about 250 people in UTEP’s Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall. Among those present were administrators from the University of Texas System, El Paso business leaders and UTEP faculty, students and staff.
After the event, Loya said that the university will award the scholarships based on a student’s abilities and the promise they show as future engineers.
“How do we create something that encourages people to do their best in engineering,” Loya said was the question that guided his planned program.
University President Heather Wilson said that Loya approached the institution last fall with the desire to make an additional contribution to his alma mater. She said UTEP structured the “transformational” scholarship program.
Loya earned his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from UTEP in 1977 and his MBA from Harvard University two years later. He went on to a successful career in the global energy business.
He donated $10 million to UTEP in 2011 to support research, graduate studies and engineering and business programs. In spring 2012, UTEP named its Academic Services Building after him.
During the ceremony, Wilson announced that the College of Engineering would now be named after Loya.
The previous top donation to the university came from the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation, which pledged $25 million to the College of Business Administration on Dec. 1, 2022. UTEP renamed the college after Woody Hunt.
EPCC President Serrata Receives 3% Raise After Annual Review
The El Paso Community College Board of Trustees last week voted 5-0 to approve a 3% raise for EPCC President William Serrata – an amount equal to more than $13,800. The vote came after his annual performance evaluation during a special board meeting Jan. 31 at the college district’s Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount Blvd.
William Serrata, president of El Paso Community College, in his office on Jan. 7, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
The pay raise, which will bring his annual salary to $474,273, matches the same percentage raise for college faculty and staff, which the board approved in its 2025-26 fiscal year budget last August.
The vote was taken after the board was in executive session for four hours. Trustees Belen Robles and John E. Uxer Jr. were not present.
Before the vote, board vice Chair Bonnie Soria Najera thanked Serrata for his leadership.
“The momentum is encouraging, and the focus on students and community remains clear,” Najera said. “I appreciate the collaboration, professionalism and commitment that we are seeing under his leadership.”
Last year the board approved a 4%, or $17,700, raise, an $18,000 addition to Serrata’s retirement account and a retention bonus. In 2024, Serrata received a $25,000 raise, three additional vacation days, $5,000 for his retirement fund and a $5,000 retention bonus.
After the meeting, board Chair Brian Haggerty said Serrata deserved a positive review because of his many successes from the approval of new academic programs such as the EPCC/UTEP Engineering Academy to oversight of the state’s community college funding formula.
EPCC board secretary Carmen Olivas Graham said that she based her vote on Serrata’s fiscally conservative decisions and his strategic approach to personnel growth. She said that approach has kept tuition affordable – $1,632 per semester – for EPCC students, which means better retention and graduation rates.
“He demonstrated that with the statistics that he provided of how many students are not only enrolling, but are being very successful when they transition from the high schools to EPCC, and from EPCC to (the University of Texas at El Paso),” Graham said.
EPCC hired Serrata in August 2012. His contract, which runs through 2034, stipulates that he must be reviewed annually.
Crews with the city’s Streets and Maintenance Department resurface streets, 2018. (Courtesy city of El Paso)
City Approves Street Resurfacing Contracts for Next Two Years
The El Paso City Council on Tuesday approved two multimillion dollar contracts to resurface about 78 miles of city streets, including Sean Haggerty Drive, Rich Beem Boulevard, Cotton Street and Executive Center Boulevard.
The city awarded Allied Paving Company of El Paso Inc. a contract of about $20 million for residential street resurfacing and awarded International Eagle Enterprises Inc. a contract of about $35 million to resurface high-volume arterial streets and the collector streets that connect them to residential streets.
The streets that will be resurfaced over the next two years were chosen, in part, based on the condition of the pavement. The chosen streets were rated as having “poor” or “marginal” pavement conditions. The list does not include streets in poorer condition that would require removal of the asphalt for a complete reconstruction.
The funding will come from pay-go funds and the voter-approved 2022 Community Progress Bond, which included about $237 million for the repaving and reconstruction of roads and streets and some safety improvements such as lighting.
The Streets and Maintenance Department is also wrapping up the 2024-25 street resurfacing project list, which included about $38.7 million in resurfacing improvements to about 31 miles of residential streets and heavily-traveled roadways, such as Lee Treviño Drive, Sunland Park Drive and El Paso Drive.
El Paso County Hiring Lifeguards, Aquatics Staff
El Paso County is looking to hire lifeguards and recreation specialists for the upcoming aquatic season, which runs from late spring through the summer.
Candidates who have worked as lifeguards for the county in the past, or those who are strong swimmers new to lifeguarding are welcome to apply with or without current certifications. Individuals are required to be certified as lifeguards as well as hold certifications in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator and first aid.
The county will provide a pathway to obtain certification for those who do not yet have the required certifications. New lifeguard candidates who successfully pass the required swim skills pre-test and demonstrate a commitment to working for the El Paso County Aquatics Department will be provided the American Red Cross Lifeguarding certification course at no cost. The course is completed through the Red Cross blended learning process.
Applications are being accepted through the El Paso County employment website. Positions will remain open until filled to staff its three outdoor pools in Fabens, Ascarate Park and Canutillo.
The county’s Parks and Recreation Department will host an aquatics staff hiring fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Ascarate Aquatic Center, 6900 Delta Drive.
The pay for new lifeguards is $16.08 per hour, $17.10 per hour for lead lifeguards and
$17.32 per hour for aquatics recreation specialists.
Information: 915-273-3501 or I.Morales@epcounty.com.
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