WELCOME TO A NEW SEMESTER!

Welcome to the 2009-2010 academic year. With your help, I know we will enjoy another great year at the Downtown Campus. In fact, we are already off to a good start. While final figures are not in yet, it appears that our enrollments at the Downtown Campus will be above what they were at this time last year. Leading the increase in enrollments is the College of Education and Human Development followed by the College of Liberal and Fine Arts and the College of Public Policy.

As usual, this summer at the Downtown Campus was very active for faculty and staff. In addition to course offerings for UTSA students, several programs brought a large number of elementary, middle and high school students to the Campus. These programs are excellent examples of UTSA’s community outreach efforts.  PREP (Prefreshmen Engineering Program) brought several hundred middle school students here to reinforce their interest and to strengthen their skills in math and science.

The Early College Program introduced high school students to college classes. La Plaza de Lectura reinforced and enriched the reading abilities and interests of elementary students. In addition, other programs focused on the adult learner. The Center for Policy Studies provided training to individuals interested in developing and enhancing their management skills in nonprofit organizations. The Mexico Center, the Law Institute and several other offices and programs offered lectures and forums that attracted UTSA faculty and students as well as attendees from the general San Antonio community.

There are several things to look forward to in the next few weeks. An extension of UTSA's University Center Campus Technology Store will open at the Downtown Campus. While this will be a relatively small operation, students, faculty, and staff will be able to purchase software, hardware and high demand accessories. The Wellness and Recreation Program at the Downtown Campus will begin the fall semester with a new full-time staff person and more comprehensive offerings. And the City of San Antonio will make additional pedestrian safety improvements to the Frio Street mid-block cross-walk.

On Thursday, September 10th, the annual Downtown Campus Faculty/Staff Update will take place. Aside from my usual presentation highlighting Downtown Campus activities, Dr. John Frederick will again be a featured speaker. He will address "This Year at UTSA, Is There Life After the Legislature". In addition, Julius Gribou will be presenting the Downtown Campus Master Plan. Please try to attend as this will be a quick way to learn about what is happening at the Downtown Campus.

In this issue of our Downtown Campus E-Newsletter, Joe Rubio is featured in the "Downtown Campus Spirit” section. Joe has been a longtime UTSA employee and has spent much of his UTSA career at the Downtown Campus. He was here when the Campus was built and has many interesting stories to tell about those days. Thank you Joe, for the many things you and your crew do to make our campus look nice and our events successful.

Finally, I encourage you to note the article in this newsletter regarding VIA bus routes 93 & 94. For students, faculty, and staff traveling between the Main and the Downtown campuses, this transportation is an excellent service contracted by UTSA. You can ride these two routes simply by presenting your UTSA identification card. I encourage you to try the ride. It might make your commute easier between the two campuses.

I wish you a very successful fall semester.

Submitted by
Jesse T. Zapata, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for the Downtown Campus