A&M-Victoria graduates more than 500 students

Top: Christian Hardigree, Texas A&M University-Victoria president, delivers her speech during the College of Natural & Applied Science Commencement ceremony on Dec. 19 at the Victoria Fine Arts Center. The commencement ceremonies held over the past weekend were A&M-Victoria's first commencement under The Texas A&M University System. The university celebrated the graduating body of more than 500 students. The students who graduated from A&M-Victoria this fall represented students from 34 states and who hailed from 47 countries.

Bottom: A group of students pose for a photo with jaX the Jaguar before the start of a Commencement ceremony for the College of Business on Dec. 20 at the Victoria Fine Arts Center. 

Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.