If there is going to be a merger of the Texas A&M System campuses in Corpus Christi and Kingsville, it’s coming from the communities.
That was among the comments Chancellor John Sharp made Monday in Robstown…between the two campuses, where the first two hours of a town hall was televised by the system on Facebook.
Sharp still supports the merger, saying “you can smoke the rest of South Texas if you do this right”…”if we can just get past the emotional things.”
Sharp also called state representative J. Lozano of Kingsville a liar.
And Sharp received support of a former state lawmaker, Hugo Berlanga of Corpus, who served with Sharp in the legislature.
Sharp said there was no truth to rumors of one campus taking over the other or that it was a done deal when the proposal went to the board of regents.
From the Associated Press:
ROBSTOWN, Texas (AP) _ Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp says plans to merge two campuses have been “poisoned” beyond repair.
Sharp spoke Monday during a public meeting that at times turned acrimonious as he detailed failed efforts to merge A&M Corpus Christi and A&M Kingsville. The schools are about 35 miles apart.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports (http://bit.ly/2gdFDzB ) that Sharp pushed back against his critics, saying he’s a public servant but not a “public doormat.”
He has argued that a merger is a way to create an emerging research institution in South Texas.
But warring factions have formed, concerned by what a merger means for their respective communities.
Sharp at one point Monday called state Rep. J.M. Lozano of Kingsville a liar. Lozano says Sharp became “unhinged” speaking to the crowd.
