Shown, from left, at plaque ceremony are Dr. Steven Tallant, president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville; Debra Henderson, niece of Irma Lerma Rangel; and Dr. Jose Ugarte, member of Sembradores de Amistad. The Kingsville chapter of Sembradores de Amistad in conjunction with Texas A&M University-Kingsville hosted a plaque dedication today Wednesday, Nov. 4, near the Irma Lerma Rangel statue at the Texas Health Science Center College of Pharmacy that bears her name.

The Sembradores de Amistad raised the nearly $70,000 for the larger than life statue of Rangel and the plaque that now goes with it. The recently installed plaque names those whose contributions helped pay for the bronze statue. To raise money, the group sold miniature versions of the statue.

After raising the money, the group commissioned sculptor Roberto Garcia Jr. who came to Kingsville to oversee the installation of the statue he created.

Rangel was a long-time state legislator who championed education. She wrote the bill that created the College of Pharmacy and along with former State Senator Carlos Truan carried it through the legislature.

Although she passed away after her third bout with cancer, right before ground was broken on the building, Rangel’s legacy remains.

Dr. Jose Ugarte, local physician and one of the Sembradores members who championed the pharmacy college and its namesake, said, “Naming a building for a person is not for worshipping the person, but for worshipping the ideals of the person.”

Now in its fourth year, the College of Pharmacy will graduate its first class in the spring. The graduation ceremony has been scheduled for Saturday, May 15, which would have been Rangel’s birthday.