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.
UTEP Earns Carnegie Honor for Efforts to Help Underrepresented Students
The 2025 Carnegie Classifications named the University of Texas at El Paso an Opportunity College & University, which means it is a catalyst for student success and economic mobility.
The designation makes UTEP one of 21 institutions across the nation that earned R1 and Opportunity status. R1 means that a college or university on an annual basis spent a minimum of $50 million and awarded at least 70 research doctoral degrees.
This is the first year that the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education identified recipients of the Opportunity category.
The criteria includes the institution’s number of Pell Grant recipients, the number of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups that attend the institution, and earnings of Title V undergraduates eight years after they started at the institution compared with peers who live in the same locations.
Title V refers to Hispanic Serving Institutions, which receive federal funds to expand educational opportunities and, hopefully, improve outcomes for Hispanic and low-income students.
A UTEP news release stated that more than half of university undergraduates had their tuition covered by grants and scholarships during the 2024-25 academic year. It added that a 2024 ranking in Forbes showed that the median salary of a UTEP graduate with 10 or more years of experience earned $106,500.
UTEP President Heather Wilson thanked the Carnegie Foundation for adding the Opportunity category because it is focused on results.
“We are proud to be a role model for other universities across the country,” Wilson said in the release.
UTEP earned its first R1 status in 2018. The rating was reaffirmed four years later. The foundation also awarded UTEP with its Community Engagement Classification in 2020. That recognition is the highest honor for collaborations with the community to address local issues. UTEP’s release stated that the institution is one of 11 U.S. universities to hold three Carnegie classifications.
Juárez Measles Cases Surpass El Paso
While the measles outbreak has slowed down in Texas and in El Paso, measles continues to snowball in the neighboring Mexican state of Chihuahua, with more than 2,400 infections and eight deaths recorded, according to the Chihuahua Ministry of Health. Measles spread to Chihuahua in the spring after an infected youth from the undervaccinated Mennonite community in Texas visited the state, Norte Digital reported.
Ciudad Juárez’s 65 cases has also surpassed the number of measles cases in El Paso, which stands at 62. El Paso is not considered a county with active transmission, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
El Paso has one of the highest vaccination rates among school-aged children compared with other large counties in Texas. Unlike other outbreak areas, where children are disproportionately affected by measles, most of El Paso’s measles infections have occured in adults who are not fully vaccinated.
El Paso health authorities are urging the public to get up-to-date on their measles immunization – especially if they have no vaccination record and cannot remember their status. Meanwhile, public health teams in Chihuahua are working to contain the outbreak on the other side of the border by holding public vaccination events throughout the state and going door to door with coolers of vaccines in Cuauhtémoc, home to the largest Mennonite community in Mexico.
City Aims to Update and Use Maps, Public Input Sought
The city wants public feedback for how it updates its Future Land Use Map, a policy guide that determines how land is used across the community, from open spaces and residential neighborhoods to commercial areas.
The map is part of Envision El Paso, the city’s comprehensive plan adopted in 2012 that provides a framework for future development and public and private investments.
The land use map is not a city zoning map, but if a developer or property owner requests a zoning change or a special permit, the City Planning Commission and City Council can use the maps to determine if the request coincides with land-use goals.
The city will host public open house workshops for community feedback. City staff will be available to answer questions.
The open houses are scheduled from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the following dates and locations:
- July 1: The Beast Recreation Center, 13501 Jason Crandall Drive
- July 2: Marty Robbins Recreation Center, 11620 Vista del Sol Drive
- July 9: Pavo Real Recreation Center, 9301 Alameda Ave.
- July 10: Galatzan Recreation Center, 650 Wallenberg Drive
- July 16: Memorial Senior Center, 1800 Byron St.
- July 17: Valle Bajo Recreation Center, 7380 Alameda Ave.
For more about the workshops or the comprehensive plan, visit www.Elev8ep.com.
The post UTEP receives national honor, measles outbreak worsens in Juárez appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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