US Census Bureau Director Visits Campus

U.S. Census Director Robert Santos standing at the podium during his presentation at Texas A&M University — U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos during his presentation at Texas A&M University on Feb. 6, 2024.
Mathew Baughman/Texas A&M University College of Arts and Sciences

Texas A&M University welcomed U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos to campus this month for a daylong series of sessions with students, faculty and staff as part of his multi-day tour of Texas.

Santos has served as director of the bureau — a key federal agency collecting up-to-date information on people and the economy — since January 2022. He was hosted on campus by the Texas Research Data Center (TXRDC), one of only 33 Federal Statistical RDCs in the nation.

(l-r) Texas A&M Professor of Geography E. Brendan Roark, associate vice president for research, centers and institutes; U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos; Texas A&M Professor of Sociology Mary Campbell, director of the Texas Research Data Center; and Mark Zoran, dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Mathew Baughman/Texas A&M University College of Arts and Sciences

“We were so grateful to have the director of the Census Bureau visit Texas A&M,” said TXRDC Director Dr. Mary Campbell, professor and associate head of the Department of Sociology. “Since 2011, Texas A&M has had a formal agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau. … That means our faculty, staff and students with approved research projects can access highly restricted federal statistical data right here on campus.”

Santos met with small groups over the course of the day. “We discussed many ways that strengthening the ties between the Census Bureau and Texas A&M can benefit us both,” Campbell said, “strengthening our research capacity here on campus, giving our students access to exciting new training opportunities, and connecting our students with exciting career opportunities in the Census Bureau.”

Campbell said A&M also partners with other universities, making it a regional hub for high-impact research “that isn’t possible without access to this data.” It’s called the TXRDC Consortium, and the members are Baylor, Rice, University of Houston, UT-Austin and UT-San Antonio.

Santos noted that, in addition to its use by researchers, Census Bureau data on demographics, the economy and more is provided to everyone at census.gov.

He said data from the American Community Survey (ACS) offers insights into how the country is growing and changing. ACS is an ongoing survey that provides information annually and helps inform how federal funds are distributed each year.

“Our American Community Survey is a treasure trove,” Santos said. “It offers socioeconomic, demographic and housing data on a variety of issues that are everywhere nowadays. And our realization is that life is all interconnected. We need to know about employment, alongside poverty, education, disabilities, housing, etc. And the ACS offers that experience.”

Learn more about the TXRDC within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Down South To The RGV

Santos, center, flashes a Gig 'em with McAllen center staff and area officials in front of the bus they took to the colonia — Santos, center, flashes a Gig ’em with McAllen center staff and area officials.
Yahaira Hernandez/Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen

After leaving College Station, Santos made his way to South Texas where he met with administrators from the A&M’s Higher Education Center at McAllen, which recently announced the expansion of its campus.

During his visit, Texas A&M Colonias Program staff took him on a tour of one of the Pueblo de Palmas colonias in Hidalgo County.

Read more about Santos’ visit to the Rio Grande Valley from the McAllen center.