Ward: RGV ambassadors can explain that the national media's coverage of the region is wrong

EDINBURG, Texas - Jeff Ward, dean of the college of fine arts at UT-Rio Grande Valley, moderated a panel discussion at the 6th Annual International Conference on Border Studies. The conference was co-hosted by UTRGV and the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. The theme of the conference was “Transborderism: Reimagining Social Space.”As well as asking questions of the panelists, Ward offered his own perspective. Ward said that before moving to the Valley just over a year ago, he knew very little about the region.Just about the only thing he had heard of was migrant children being separated from their parents. He said his heart went out to them. Ward grew up on the east coast and before taking up his position at UTRGV, Ward was director of Kansas State University’s school of music, theater, and dance. He said the UTRGV’s women’s Vaquero soccer team played a game at Kansas and as a soccer fan he went along to watch. He remembers thinking, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, that’s a long name for a university.Now, he is in the Valley Ward feels like he is on a mission. “I feel like my mission is to be the ambassador to all of the people…  my friends and family who don't live in the Valley to say, you don't understand what an amazing place this is.”Ward said it is important that UTRGV students have a “huge sense of pride” in who they are and what they are doing.“Many of our students here at UTRGV have grown up in the Valley. They’ve never been anywhere outside of the Valley,” Ward explained. “They need to realize what an amazing place they live in. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. We all know that phrase.”Ward said he speaks to people that visit the Valley for film festivals. He said they tell him: “I had no idea what a cool place this is.” He said they tell him they are going to go back to LA and tell everyone how cool the Valley is.He said one of the goals of the college of fine arts is to bring people to the Valley to enhance and grow the arts economy. But, a secondary goal, Ward said, is to turn those visitors into ambassadors for the Valley. “That they go back to wherever home is and say, whatever you hear on NPR, CNN, Fox News, name your news outlet, whatever flavor you have, they don’t have it right. Let me tell you what the Valley’s really about.”Ward added: “Ultimately, that is such an important message that many times we can only convey that through the arts.”Here is an audio recording of some of Ward's remarks at the 6th Annual International Conference on Border Studies. Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.