Friday, December 8, 2023

Celebrating the 50th: UTSA's architects explain how they envision the university's future

Celebrating the 50th: UTSA's architects explain how they envision the university's future

The UTSA Main Campus in the 1980s.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in UTSA newsletter The Discourse in Jan. 1974.

(March 22, 2019) -- O’neil Ford sat behind a table in the overfilled front room of the restored Victoria home on King William Street that is the office of Ford, Powell, and Carson. He spoke distinctly—and rapidly—with flamboyant gestures and a great deal of concentration. He paused occasionally to take a puff on his cigar.

He was a different sort of man. He worked strange hours. He wore offbeat clothes. He devoured books on architectural history. If one had not already guessed that he was an artist, his temperament provided the final clue. To Ford, architecture is an art—“the art of building spaces which are to be used—and doing it tastefully, decently, and with a strong idea.”

Ford talked enthusiastically with architect Milton Babbitt about the UTSA campus—how its focus on a plaza is much like that of many old European cities, about the simple buildings made from native materials and about students studying under the oak trees.

>> Read the rest of this story and relive other memories from UTSA’s history as we celebrate UTSA’s 50th Anniversary.


Celebrate UTSA’s 50th Anniversary and share social media posts about the 50th using the hashtag #UTSA50.

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UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.


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UTSA’s Mission

The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

UTSA’s Vision

To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA’s Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.

UTSA’S Destinations

UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

Our Commitment to Inclusivity

The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.