Rep. Rangel named distinguished alumnus for 2001

State Rep. Irma Rangel has been a champion of Texas A&M-Kingsville and higher education in Texas for many years. The Kingsville democrat and 1952 graduate of the university has been selected as the Distinguished Alumnus for 2001.

Most recently, she authored the house bill, signed by Gov. Rick Perry, that creates and provides funding for a new School of Pharmacy at the university. This is the first professional school in South Texas. Rangel called the creation of the pharmacy school an historic occasion and said it was a good step for education in Texas.

Rangel was the first Mexican American woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives, the first Mexican American woman elected as chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the first Mexican American appointed to serve as chair of the House Committee on Higher Education.

"When I was at A&I, you could count the Hispanic students on two hands," she said. "Now, I look at the campus and I see great expansion in the enrollment of Hispanics and I am pleased. As a Mexican American, I feel very good about the efforts we have been making."
Despite the changes at the Kingsville campus and across the state, Rangel said there still is much more progress to be made, not just for Hispanic students, but for all Texans.
She has served her South Texas district and her hometown of Kingsville since her election in 1976 and is serving her 14th term in the Legislature. She is a former school teacher and principal who taught in the South Texas area as well as in California and Venezuela. She entered St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio after teaching for 14 years.
After law school, Rangel went on to become one of the first Hispanic female law clerks for Federal District Judge Adrian Spears. After her clerkship, she became one of the first Hispanic women assistant district attorneys in Texas.

She then returned to her hometown of Kingsville where she opened her own law practice and was the only Hispanic woman attorney in the city. In 1993, she closed her successful law practice in order to serve her district as a legislator full-time.

Rangel has served as chair of the House Committee on Higher Education since her appointment in 1995 and is a member of the Pensions and Investments Committee. She was appointed to these committees by the Speaker of the House, James E. "Pete" Laney.
Her legislative record reflects her sincere commitment to her constituents and all Texans. During her tenure in the state legislature, she has continuously fought for more resources to benefit her legislative district and is proud of her efforts that have specifically resulted in better highways and roads in many communities throughout her district.
During her first legislative session in 1977, Rangel passed House Bill 1755 which provided employment and educational programs for mothers with dependent children. In 1981, she passed House Bill 1629, the Good Faith Donor Act, which was designed to exempt retailers and manufacturers from liability when food was donated to the needy.

Rangel has continuously devoted tireless hours to improve both public and higher educational systems. In 1993, she was instrumental in passing legislation that netted border colleges and universities well over $450 million. In 1997, she passed landmark legislation that opened the door of opportunity for all students who want to go to college--House Bill 588, which mandates that the state's colleges and universities automatically admit those students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class. During the same session, she passed a bill that gives tuition and fee exemptions to teacher aides who are seeking their teaching certificate.

In the 1999 session, Representative Rangel joint-authored and passed a bill that created the TEXAS Grant Program, which was allocated $100 million for the next two years to provide financial support for approximately 11,000 low-income students from across the state to go to college.

In 1977 and 1979, Rangel was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the Judicial Nominating Panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals-5th Circuit. She received the Garcia Public Service Award from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) in 1993 for her strong commitment and activism in public service. In 1994, she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame.

Rangel received the G.J. Sutton Award from the 75th Legislative Black Caucus in 1997 for her efforts to promote equal opportunity and treatment in education for minorities. This is the highest award given by the lawmaker's group. She was the first female and the first Mexican American legislator to receive this award.

She was named Woman of the Year from GEMS Television in 1997 for her contributions to education. Rangel received the Legislator of the Year Award in 1997 from the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas. She was given the Outstanding Support for Hispanic Issues in Higher Education Award in 1998 by the Hispanic Caucus of the American Association for Higher Education and the Woman of the Year Award in 1998 by the Texas Young Democrats.

Her other achievements include Las Estrellas Award for outstanding achievement in the area of education in 1998 by the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas, Corpus Christi Chapter; the Latina Lawyer of the Year Award in 1998 by the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal from the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities in October of 1998 for her exemplary service to Texas higher education. She was the first Mexican American to receive the Lamar award.

In 1998, Rangel became only the third Texan to received the prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award given by the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession.

She was recognized by the National Federation of Hispanic Owned Newspapers in 1998 for her impact in the Hispanic community and she was inducted into the "National Alianza De Amigas Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 1999 she also received the Texas Women of the Century Award from the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas.

In 2000, Rangel received the Woman of the Year Award from the Texas Women's Political Caucus; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Houston Hispanic Bar Association; the Women in Government Award from the Good Housekeeping Magazine; Las Primeras Award from the National Latina organization MANA and the Urban Hero Award from the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

Her most recent awards include the Y Women in Careers Award in Government and Public Service by the YWCA in January and the first ever Irma Rangel Public Service Award from the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce in June.

Rangel will be recognized during homecoming activities in October.