Come be part of the 'Magic' and join us at the Student Affairs Awards and Recognition Ceremony

May 18, 2012
3 - 5 pm
in the UC Ballroom

We will be awarding recipients in the following areas:

Outstanding New Professional Staff Member Award
Outstanding Student Employee Award
Outstanding Student Affairs Team Award
Outstanding Student Affairs Supervisory Award
Outstanding Support Staff Award
Transformational Student Affairs Leadership Award

Light refreshments will be served

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When: May 31
Where: University Bowl
Check-In: 5:15-6:00 pm
Bowling: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Who: VPSA Staff & Families

For more information, please contact Renee Hopkins (x7398 or renee.hopkins@utsa.edu). Deadline to turn in registration forms has been extended to May 22 at 5 pm. Staff members are free. However, there is a fee for guests who are bowling.


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May 14, 2012) -- John Kaulfus, UTSA associate dean of students, will assume the office of president-elect of the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA) in October during the association's annual conference. This year the TACUSPA conference will be in San Antonio.

Kaulfus, who recently celebrated his 10th year at UTSA, will serve as president-elect in 2012-2013, becoming president of the association for the 2013-2014 year. Currently, he is the TACUSPA vice president of membership and marketing and previously served as treasurer and awards and recognition chair.

"TACUSPA's mission is to provide professional development for student affairs professionals at all levels and to ensure that the needs of our students in Texas are given the highest priority," said Kaulfus. "Being part of the leadership of TACUSPA will allow our voice to be heard with legislators and other key decision makers...

For the full article visit: URL

During National Police Week, the UTSA Child Development Center children and teaching staff are sending cards and “High Fives” to the UTSA Police Department in recognition of their role in keeping us safe.


Children in the center wrote messages to individual police officers and created a handprint banner and collage art to show their support for our officers. Some of the “future officers” told their teachers they wanted to be police officers when they grow up. We are thankful for such wonderful role models for the children in the learning community here at UTSA!

We are pleased to welcome Michelle Vryn to the Student Affairs division as our new Development Assistant. Michelle just received her Master of Arts in Anthropology degree from UTSA and has her Bachelor’s from UTSA also. She has worked the last six years working part time in UTSA Facilities as a Customer Service Representative. Michelle brings not only a special affinity for UTSA, but also great experience with grant writing and a desire to be a part of the growth here at UTSA. Michelle will assume many of the responsibilities that Brittany Pratt performed for the division.

The main objective of UTSA’s first Capital Campaign is to raise funds to position UTSA to achieve its ultimate goal of becoming the next top-tier research university in Texas. We are meeting with departments to promote and encourage Student Affairs staff to contribute to the Capital Campaign each year for the next three years.

Our campaign motto, We are UTSA, is so much more than a catchy phrase. It is an inclusive message that every member of our community can make a difference—students, faculty and staff. If you are giving regularly to UTSA, we encourage you to stretch your contribution and give a bit more. If you have not participated before, we encourage you to give at this time. It is critical to show our support of this next step in our transformation to a top-tier university.

We are UTSA, and We are Student Affairs! Our goal is to lead the university in the percentage of staff who participate in the campaign. You may know students who are benefitting from donations that have been made to the university. Some of these students might have received scholarships, others might have attended a conference, or conducted some cutting edge research, or participated in an internship in their future career area. These opportunities were made possible by the generosity of donors, like you, who believe in what we do at UTSA. Let’s be the first to reach 100% participation by June 1st.

Please take a moment to listen to these student testimonials and consider making a donation to the Capital Campaign today, and commit to making that donation for the next three years. We are on our way to becoming a top-tier university because of you.

– Carolina Canizales
– Travis Merriweather
– Justina Williams

Your Capital Campaign team,

Marlon Anderson
John Kaulfus
Pat Graham
Barry McKinney
Carol Gonzalez

17th Annual La Despedida (The Farewell) Graduation Ceremony held at the Downtown Campus on Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 8pm – 10:30pm.

A total of nineteen (19) graduates and eighteen (18) faculty participated in the ceremony and approximately 240 guests attended.

The graduates represented the following colleges: COEHD, COLFA, COA, COPP, COB and the Honors College.

Fifteen (15) of the graduates earned their Bachelor’s Degree, three (3) earned their Master’s Degree and one (1) earned a Doctorate Degree.

(May 15, 2012) -- The Texas Alpha Pi Chapter of Alpha Chi at UTSA exemplified the Roadrunner Creed at the Alpha Chi Super Regional Convention in Baltimore, Md., in March. One of the main attributes of Alpha Chi National Honor Society is presenting scholarly programs at regional and national conventions. Students Martha Wright and Paul Edwards III were UTSA's shining stars at this year's regional convention. Of more than 200 individuals competing in various academic arenas, only 29 received prizes.

Martha Wright, chapter secretary and environmental science major, won honors for her contemporary bioethical Issues presentation, "Carbon: Past, Present, and Future." The presentation demonstrated Wright's passion for the subject matter and making the world a better place. Wright was elected chapter vice president for the coming academic year and looks forward to promoting scholastic excellence.

Paul Edwards III, chapter treasurer and biology major, was elected regional student representative to the Alpha Chi National Council Region 1, which encompasses 28 universities throughout most of Texas and portions of Oklahoma and New Mexico. Edwards has demonstrated commitment to UTSA students...

For the full article visit: URL

By Nicole Chavez
Development Assistant, College of Architecture

(May 14, 2012) -- Students who won the UTSA Campus Greening Idea Contest were honored at a ceremony last month with certificates and cash prizes for the seven winning teams.

The first-place project proposal, "Smart Campus," was submitted by team members Clare Cloudt (Architecture), Michelle E. Garza (Environmental Science), Norma Gomez (Mechanical Engineering) and Daniel Fisher (Environmental Science). The team proposed that UTSA create a network of "smart" buildings in which sensors placed in breaker boxes would detect the amount of energy being consumed by different zones of the building. To encourage positive energy behavior, data points would be transmitted and analyzed, then shown on a screen show building occupants their zone's energy consumption in real time.

Thanks to generous support from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Institute for Capacity Building, each winning entry received a cash award with $1,500 to the first-place team...

For the full article visit: URL

The Student Affairs Development Office is pleased to announce our annual call for grant proposals/applications to the Student Affairs Transformation Fund. The deadline for completed proposals/applications is Friday, May 25, 2012. Dr. Gage E. Paine and an appointed Student Affairs committee will review all grant proposals and make award decisions by June 18, 2012.

The Transformation Fund grant awarding criteria is to provide support on a one-time basis to innovative programs and services that fill real and immediate needs and align with the VPSA strategic plan. In order to be considered for a grant, applications must indicate how specific projects for which funding is being requested meet this primary criteria. Complete guidelines for the application process are below. Your submitted proposal can address, but is not limited to, the following initiatives:

• Leadership development trainings for both students and/or staff
• Diverse and dynamic speakers to inspire our creative spirit in Student Affairs
• Professional development for your department or for the division
• National competition and conference fees to enrich staff or student experience
• Projects that support Student Affairs committee activities and/or Student Affairs strategic initiatives All funding proposals submitted to the Student Affairs Transformation Fund must adhere to the following guidelines:
• Proposals must originate from staff members within the Division of Student Affairs with proper approval from the AVP (Assistant or Associate Vice President). The grantee will provide a written report detailing outcomes and financial accounting of grant funds to the Student Affairs development office by April 19, 2013. If the grantee fails to spend all awarded funds and/or fails to provide the final project report, they may be ineligible to request funding for the next year.
• Each proposal shall be submitted electronically using the Transformation Fund Grant Application to Marlon.anderson@utsa.edu

Additional information regarding the grant/proposal process:
• Applications for funds may not exceed $2,500.
• There is no automatic renewal of funding.
• Proposals not initially awarded funding will be retained by the Development Office for the remainder of the fiscal year for consideration should additional funding become available.
• Final grant recipients will be notified of grant status via e-mail by June 22, 2012. Successful grant recipients will have funds transferred into their designated account.
• Announced grant recipients will be mentioned in the VPSA newsletter.

If you have any questions, please contact Marlon Anderson at (210) 458-5125.