EDINBURG — Dr. Robert S. Nelsen, associate vice president for Academic Affairs at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, will become the University of Texas Pan American’s next president.
According to a UTPA press release, Nelsen earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago with fields of specialization in modern literature, modern philosophy and modern political theory.
During a visit to UTPA last September 23, Nelsen talked about why he was interested in becoming UTPA’s president because. It is the second largest Hispanic institution, he said.
“I want to celebrate what this University is already doing. It is the second leading Hispanic institution, it’s graduating the second greatest number of Hispanic students … you have number one programs across the board. You have wonderful things here, you’ve got a Rapid Response Manufacturing Center, for example, that can be one of the premier in the nation,” he said.
Nelsen also worked for 18 years at The University of Texas at Dallas. He started the creative writing program and nurtured the development of arts and humanities curriculum and activities. Nelsen is an author with numerous publications of fiction including a novel.
“There is no university without humanities, is there? I am an English professor and a creative writer,” he said.
