UTSA Presidents
Ricardo Romo
1999-present
Ricardo Romo continues to lead UTSA as its fifth president. During Romo's first six years, student enrollment increased 48% to more than 28,379 students in fall 2006. He oversaw a building program that included an $84 million biotechnology, sciences and engineering building, a $54 million academic and administrative building, a $20 million recreation and wellness facility, and a 1,000-bed Olympic village-style student-housing complex.
Romo, a San Antonio native, earned his undergraduate degree in history at UT Austin while on a track scholarship. He earned a masters in history from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in history from UCLA. Before joining UTSA as president, Romo taught at California State University at Northridge and UC San Diego. He returned to Texas in 1980 to UT Austin as a professor of history and later vice provost for undergraduate education before leaving to direct the Texas office of the Tomas Rivera Center, housed at Trinity University.
Samuel A. Kirkpatrick
1990-1999
During Sam Kirkpatrick's tenure as the fourth president of UTSA, demand for higher education in San Antonio and the surrounding South Texas area increased. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recognized UTSA as the state's fastest-growing public university. Additionally, UTSA became one of the most comprehensive Hispanic serving institutions in the nation contributing significantly to the proportion of Hispanics with university degrees. Starting in 1993, the University began a series of major building projects, including the UTSA downtown campus, and the 1604 campus Business Building, Biosciences Building and expansion of the University Center. Under Kirkpatrick's guidance, the UTSA added 26-degree programs, over 200 tenured and tenure track faculty and offered its first two doctoral degrees.
Kirkpatrick earned an undergraduate degree in education from Shippensburg University and a masters and Ph.D. in political science from Pennsylvania State University
He served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University just prior to joining UTSA.
James W. Wagener
1978-1990
When James Wagener became UTSA's third president, the University was exploding with enrollment. In fall 1979, just three months after the 1604 campus opened, the student body nearly reached 10,000. In the beginning of Dr. Wagener's tenure, the University formed its first sorority and fraternity, created the Alumni Association, and University athletics joined the NCAA Division 1. In 1986, the Institute of Texan Cultures became part of the University, the University Center opened, the first residential facility, Chisholm Hall opened, and the UTSA Small Business Development Center, now known as the Institute for Economic Development, was created.
Wagener earned an undergraduate degree in English from Southern Methodist University and a masters in English and a Ph.D. in history and philosophy of education from UT Austin. He joined UTSA after serving as acting dean at the UTHSC and assistant to the chancellor for academic affairs and assistant vice chancellor for academic programs for the UT System.
Peter T. Flawn
1973-1978
UTSA's second president, Peter Flawn took a hands-on approach to managing the new university as soon as he came on board and was a familiar figure on the construction site of the new campus. Dr. Flawn was president when the first UTSA classes were held at the Koger Executive Center during the summer of 1973. Flawn oversaw many milestones during his five-year tenure including receiving the first shipment of 120,000 books for the UTSA library, presiding over the first commencement ceremony in 1974 when degrees were awarded to 82 students, and being instrumental in the University receiving full accreditation for graduate programs by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Flawn earned an undergraduate degree from Oberline College and a masters and Ph.D. in geology from Yale University. Flawn joined UTSA after serving 24 years at UT Austin first as a research scientist and geologist in the university's bureau of economic geology, and then as director of the division of Natural Resources and the Environment and university vice president and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Arleigh B. Templeton
1970-1973
As the first president of UTSA, Dr. Templeton began his tenure in July 1970 when the university was little more than an idea. By the time he left in late 1972, construction had begun on the first seven buildings. The UTSA campus was, at that time, the largest new university under construction in the United States. While President, Dr. Templeton secured continuing operating revenues, hired the first faculty and staff and won approval for 38 initial degree programs.
Templeton earned his undergraduate degree from Sam Houston State and a masters and Ph.D. in education from the University of Houston. Templeton dedicated his career to Texas education, first as a high school Principal and later as Superintendent of Schools for several school systems before serving as President of Sam Houston State University immediately preceding his tenure at UTSA.
Last modified Jan. 5, 2007
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