Brig. Texas A&M. Gen. Joe Ramirez announces his retirement in 2025

Hi!

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the school year as we enter the final month of a very successful Fall 2024 semester. As always, I am impressed by the great work you do every day supporting our students and our university, and I am proud to work with each of you every day.

It is with mixed feelings that I am sending you this email today to announce that my wife and I have made the decision to retire on January 1, 2025.

I am extremely excited to start a new chapter in my life – one where I can devote more time to my amazing wife, Terry, our nine children and eight grandchildren. Due to the nature of the work I performed over the years, my family had to endure many sacrifices. While I love what I do, I also realize that I must devote time and energy to spend time with those I love most, my family. And that’s what I plan on doing after I retire – including spending some time with Terry somewhere in the Caribbean, dipping my toes in the warm water, sipping a drink with an umbrella, and smoking a good cigar!

However, I also know that I will miss being on campus every day and working with the dedicated professionals in Student Affairs and on campus. I fell in love with Texas A&M the very first day I walked into the Quad as a naive fish in the Corps and Aggie Band in 1975, and that feeling never waned. After 31 years of serving our great nation in the U.S. Army, I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to serve the best university in the world as the 45th Commandant of the Corps of Cadets for 11 years and as Vice President of Student Affairs for almost four years. These last 14 years have been truly rewarding for my wife and I, and we leave only fond memories of great people and great times at my alma mater.

I will miss interacting with our incredible students who assure me every day that the future of this great nation will be in the capable hands of the gifted and talented young leaders who represent our proud university with dignity and honor every day. Texas A&M is a special place because of the students who continue to honor the past through the traditions we hold so dear while finding innovative ways to make this world a better place. The Texas Aggies will shape the future of our world and I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with these incredible young men for the past 14 years.

I will also miss all of you, my colleagues, collaborators and friends from the Department of Student Affairs. Texas A&M boasts the nation’s best student body for experience, thanks to the tireless effort and compassion you all put into your work every day. Student Affairs at Texas A&M is a unique and extraordinary place to work. I feel honored and privileged to have worked alongside you for the past 3.5 years. You truly are the best of the best.

Thank you again for all you do for the students of Texas A&M University. Every day you make a difference in the lives of those you work with, and you do it all with a positive attitude while upholding the core values ​​of this great institution.

I will continue to engage with you and the students of Texas A&M every day until my retirement, and I look forward to our last few months of interactions together.

Thank you all for what you have done for me, professionally, and for Terry and me personally. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to work with all of you and experience so many good moments with you. We will never forget you and all you do every day for Texas A&M University.

God bless you all, God bless Student Affairs, and God bless Texas A&M.

Play them!

With deep respect and appreciation,

Joe