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Sombrilla

The University of Texas at San Antonio Online Magazine

Are You Ready?

With the first football game less than a year away, this is the season of dreams for the Roadrunners.

Uncharted Territory

Almost half of UTSA students are the first in their families to attend college. Their challenges go far beyond the classroom.

The Energy Man

Officials believe hiring Les Shephard could be the most important move for UTSA.

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The Paseo A Stroll Around Campus

A Slow Recovery
A Slow Recovery

The recession is over, but alumni face an uphill challenge in the job market

Establishing a Legacy

Mary E. McKinney, a quiet, unassuming teacher, left an estimated $22 million bequest to UTSA, the largest in school history.

The Reality of Hope

The works of Gabriel Marcel had such a profound effect on philosophy professor Jill Graper Hernandez that she's now writing a book on the French existentialist's ideas of ethics and hope.

Roadrunner Sports

Sports briefs, plus a profile of senior volleyball player Kendra Rowland, who has a passion for dance and wears bracelets with a message.

In Brief

The UTSA Orchestra performed with '70s rock band Kansas, the HSS gets a new name, UTSA ranks among the best for embracing veterans as students, plus more campus news.

By the Numbers

Learn about the Class of 2014, find out research spending totals for UTSA in FY 2010 and how many new faculty were hired, plus other interesting stats.

Overheard

What are you talking about, UTSA?


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Community Uniting Our Alumni

Paul Kattapong
Forever Young

Paul Kattapong, M.A. '79, knows the secrets to a long life: First, have oily skin.

Jesse Treviño
Homegrown Artist

Jesse Treviño, M.F.A. '78, was thinking like an artist, even as he lay dying in a rice paddy in Vietnam.

Charlie Paulette
Spirit Filled

Charlie Paulette '92, M.B.A. '01, has had a remarkably successful career as a businessman and marketing strategist.

Class Notes

Class Notes is a compilation of alumni submissions and reports from newspapers and other media outlets.

It All Adds Up

A strong Alumni Association equals more scholarships.

Festive First

More than 1,000 attend first football tailgating event.

A Success

Gala raises a record $100,000 for scholarships.

Editor's Note

Change is scary, isn't it?

It's also invigorating and thrilling. And maybe, just maybe, it forces you to think beyond the obvious, to stretch and grow.

Sombrilla Winter 2010

Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed.

—Irene Peter, author

Sombrilla has changed. We are bolder, with large colorful fonts and vivid photography. But though it may look different, the heart of Sombrilla remains untouched.

For 26 years, Sombrilla has told the UTSA story through strong writing and creative illustrations and photography. We've covered new university presidents, the thought-provoking research conducted by our faculty and the accomplishments of our students and graduates. We've followed our alumni long after they crossed the stage. And we've documented the university's metamorphosis from a mostly commuter campus with little student life to a thriving and bustling one with (yes, finally!) a football team.

Those things won't change.

The decision to give Sombrilla a facelift didn't occur overnight. For more than a year, we wrestled with what we would alter and how. Our main goal: to make the magazine reflective of today's UTSA. The last time Sombrilla was redesigned was in 2002. UTSA certainly isn't the same university that it was then.

How would you describe today's UTSA? We think it's vibrant, multicultural, youthful, academic and fun. That's what Sombrilla should be. And that's what it is now.

Probably the first thing you'll notice is our new cover. The big, white letters of the 2002 Sombrilla have been replaced by a hand-drawn, triple-line font, reminiscent of the logo from the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. That logo, based on traditional forms, was created to honor the Mexican culture. We use it now as a way to showcase the diversity inherent on our campuses. The lines are also a tribute to our namesake, the Sombrilla, UTSA's identifying landmark and architectural centerpiece.

Inside, you'll see shorter news items scattered throughout the front of the magazine, now called The Paseo. We felt that paseo, which is "stroll" in Spanish, was the perfect word to describe the journey we take you on as we highlight UTSA's pathway to knowledge and to Tier One.

In the back of the magazine you'll notice a more robust alumni section called Community. This section helps you reconnect with your classmates as well as with the university. And we now feature Alumni Association news so that you always have a way to come back home.

It's true that Sombrilla looks entirely different. But it remains your magazine, your way to dialogue with the university. That's something that simply won't change.

We hope you enjoy your new Sombrilla.

Saludos,

—Lety Laurel

Then and Now John Peace Library

Then & Now

The John
Peace Library


Remember card catalogs? This area of the John Peace Library, which used to be known as the JPL Commons, featured rows upon rows of the reference system when this photo was taken in April 1979 (inset). Today called Laptop Lounge, the area was updated in 2009 as part of the first phase of a $7 million renovation of the JPL. Learn more about supporting the Library at utsa.edu/giving.

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