Texas A&M’s Vice President for Student Affairs Joe Ramirez Jr. announced he is retiring effective Jan. 1, 2025 in a Wednesday email. 

“I am extremely excited to start a new chapter in my life — one in which I can dedicate more time to my amazing wife Terry, our nine children and eight grandchildren,” Ramirez wrote in the email. 

The retired brigadier general spent over a decade as the Corps of Cadets commandant before moving to his current role as vice president for student affairs in 2021, where he helps oversee one of the largest student bodies in the country. 

“I fell in love with Texas A&M the first day I stepped on the Quad as a naive fish in the Corps and Aggie Band in 1975, and those feelings have never subsided,” Ramirez wrote. 

Ramirez wrote that he made the decision “with mixed emotions.”

“I will continue to work alongside you and the students of Texas A&M every day until my retirement date, and I look forward to the last couple of months of interactions we will share together,” Ramirez wrote. “Thank you all for what you have done for me, professionally, and for [my wife] Terry and me personally. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with all of you and to have shared so many good times with you. We will never forget you and all that you do every day for Texas A&M University. ”

President Mark A. Welsh III released a statement soon after the email announcement.

“I want to congratulate General Ramirez ’79 on his retirement, effective Jan. 1, 2025,” Welsh said. “Having a devoted public servant, brilliant leader and former student at the helm of the Division of Student Affairs has brought intentionality, collaboration and a sense of pride for Texas A&M. I’m grateful for his service to this institution for the last 14 years, including 11 as commandant of the Corps of Cadets, and although he will be greatly missed throughout our campus, I know his family will be pleased to have more time with him.”