Texas A&M to grant free tuition, room and board to its Ukrainian students

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Ukrainian students across the Texas A&M University System’s 11 campuses and research centers will receive free tuition starting next semester, Chancellor John Sharp said Tuesday.

The university system will cover all tuition and fees, as well as certain living expenses, for the students. At least 14 students from Ukraine have been identified as eligible for the financial support so far, Associate Vice Chancellor Tim Eaton said. The number is likely to increase as more students are identified, he said.

The move is part of the university’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, Texas A&M announced it would be cutting research ties with Russian entities and might do the same with study abroad and faculty exchange programs in Russia.

“Our students from Ukraine are in a unique, sad and difficult position as their homeland is under attack, their family members are either fleeing to safety or fighting to save their country’s sovereignty,” Sharp said in a Tuesday memo to the university system’s presidents. “In many cases, our students from Ukraine will no longer have homes to return to, and their parents remain unable to work ... or worse.”

The funds for the new initiative will come from the university system’s Regents’ Grant program, which was designed to help students who have been through a disaster, Eaton said. It was created in 2018 for victims of Hurricane Harvey with plans to give away up to $30 million over 10 years.

“I am certain you will agree that the devastation our students and their family face qualifies them for this assistance,” Sharp said.

Sharp’s memo also said the university system will open its facilities to accommodate displaced Ukrainian professors and students so they can continue their work and research in Texas.

“The Texas A&M University System will not sit by and offer any support to Russia, as Putin continues his illegal and immoral attack on Ukraine and its people,” Sharp said.

We can’t wait to welcome you in person and online to the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, our multiday celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the day’s news — all taking place just steps away from the Texas Capitol from Sept. 22-24. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.