Catalyzing Educational Investment: NAFTA and Higher Education in South Texas

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Division J Section 6: Roundtable 3

Abstract

The South Texas/Border Initiative has been understood as an important moment for acknowledging and address higher education funding disparities that discriminated against Latinx students in that state. In line with this year’s conference theme, we offer an alternate interpretation: that legislators began to address the needs of the underserved border between Texas and Mexico on the eve of the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This proposal draws on archival documents to trace the development of STBI in the shadow of NAFTA. We argue that as a result of NAFTA, the region held new economic importance which catalyzed investment in infrastructure that included higher education institutions.

Authors

• Erin Doran, University of Texas - El Paso

• Vincent D. Carales, University of Houston