A Message from UTSA President Ricardo Romo, September 2015

UTSA President Ricardo Romo

Sept. 17, 2015

Dear Friends,

This month, UTSA received some wonderful news. Our cybersecurity researchers have just been awarded an $11 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop standards that guide how the private sector and government share cybersecurity information.

This new project has enormous implications. UTSA will be the lead organization in the nation to create standards for Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs). We’ll be working closely with the Logistics Management Institute and the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center on this White House initiative to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure. It puts UTSA on the map as a major player in the cybersecurity arena.

In 2002, UTSA led San Antonio in a mock cyber terrorism exercise – the first of its kind in the U.S. Since then, we’ve been growing our academic and research programs in cloud, cyber, computing and analytics. Through our Colleges of Business, Sciences and Engineering, we now have a dozen degree programs that train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

UTSA is also home to three cybersecurity research centers and institutes. Led by the country’s top cybersecurity scholars, our researchers are conducting studies that are improving the way that governments, businesses and individuals manage, store and access data. In one center, for example, our researchers are exploring ways to balance security and privacy. In another, we are training governments to prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks. In all of these efforts, UTSA students are working side-by-side with our faculty, gaining unparalleled experience and professional skills.

Each semester, I have the opportunity to sit down with our newest faculty members, and I ask them why they came to UTSA. Time and time again, they tell me that UTSA has so much momentum going for it. They recognize that we’re a young university on the rise. They’re excited that there’s room for them to grow professionally, to contribute to our Tier One vision and to build a lasting legacy. Like you, they recognize that UTSA provides opportunities for excellence.

UTSA is gaining national recognition. We’re making significant contributions that will have a lasting impact on society. And most importantly, we’re educating and developing the global leaders of tomorrow.

Go 'Runners!

Ricardo Romo
President, The University of Texas at San Antonio

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