(Aug. 20, 2019) -- In an email sent today to UTSA faculty and staff, President Taylor Eighmy provided updates on the presidential, strategic, tactical and academic initiatives underway to support the university’s strategic vision.
Classroom to Career
The Classroom to Career Task Force completed an initial inventory of categories of available curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular experiential learning opportunities. This included defining experiential programs and offerings, outcomes, impact on student learning and potential minimum requirements. This material will now be used to establish a common language for UTSA experiential learning opportunities, which will help students identify and articulate marketable skills.
Research Excellence
Research Finance and Operations has hired a Director for Research Infrastructure Support to work with UTSA’s research cores and other research infrastructure to optimize operations and financial stability and increase the university’s research capabilities. The Targeted Scholarly Awards Incentive Program will continue into FY20, with particular focus on those programs that are NRUF and/or CMUP-eligible. Research Support will be hosting the first of several networking luncheons for transdisciplinary teaming on Sept. 20, bringing together experts in immersive technologies (AR/VR/MR) and neurological studies.
Strategic Communications
A brand position and tagline have been selected by UTSA leadership, following a series of meetings with the President’s Cabinet, the University Leadership Council, University Communications and Marketing (UCM) and its agency, Dougherty Insightings. To prepare for the first phase of the brand launch, scheduled for Fall 2019, UCM is preparing design elements, strategic messaging, brand-related photography and videography, and a brand book to introduce the new brand to internal and external stakeholders.
Preventing Sexual Assault and Misconduct
Events, videos and social media campaigns are planned for the first six weeks of the fall semester. Content will focus on consent, healthy relationships, bystander intervention, expectations and available in-person and online trainings. Informed by the Culture of Respect assessment, strategies and action plans are being designed for the initiative’s next phase of implementation.
Inclusive Excellence
The Office of Inclusive Excellence is collaborating with the College of Business Center for Professional Excellence to offer a scholarship to one UTSA staff member (full time or part time) to attend a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certificate program. The 12-month program begins September 12 and consists of a 3.5-hour class every month. The scholarship recipient will be chosen by a random drawing. Interested staff should complete the online application form by Friday, August 30.
SACSCOC 2020 – Racing to Reaccreditation
In July, UTSA’s Compliance Certification Report was sent to university leadership for a final review. Over the last month, feedback from the final review was gathered and incorporated into the report, including updates on UTSA’s organizational changes. The report will now be finalized and prepared for submission to the SACSCOC Off-Site Peer Review Team for their evaluation later this fall. UTSA is ahead of schedule to submit the report thanks to a team effort to complete this lap of the Race to Reaccreditation!
National Security Collaboration Center and School of Data Science
Through a series of recent media interviews, Guy Walsh, newly appointed Executive Director of the NSCC, is widely promoting the center to grow targeted partnerships. Leidos, the most recent addition to the NSCC ecosystem, will bring innovative solutions to information technology for government and industry. Last week it was announced that Jianwei Niu will serve as interim Academic Director of the School of Data Science (SDS). In addition, UTSA is meeting with interested local developers later this month to solicit input prior to developing an RFQ for the new building that will house the SDS and NSCC.
Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence
UTSA passed another big milestone on August 15 as the Board of Regents approved the authorization for UTSA to enter into ground leases with the Roadrunner Foundation. This comes after the City of San Antonio’s recent approval of a bond funding agreement for the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence and Park West Team Building projects. Fundraising continues to gain momentum as additional lead gifts were secured during July. Construction documents are 95% completed, with the construction bid process targeted for mid-September.
Guadalupe Hall
The plans for Guadalupe Hall are nearly complete, including reviewing and approving the construction manager’s pricing. Construction is set to begin in September, after student housing move-in.
Cattleman’s Square Residential Tower
The City of San Antonio is working to improve sidewalks and signaling on the Buena Vista Road side of Cattleman’s surface parking lot. Upgrades include widening sidewalks and installing new pedestrian lighting/signaling as well as constructing a new “hawk signal” crosswalk similar to the improved crosswalk on Frio Street.
Student Success Center
UTSA is beginning construction on the Centralized Advising Modular complex, a temporary advising center on the Main Campus. This complex, which will consolidate the university’s undergraduate advising services and select support programs, is an intermediary step toward developing a dedicated building for UTSA’s Student Success Center. Construction on the permanent center begins this fall and is set to open in February 2020. It will serve as a hub for essential resources to improve students’ academic experience, while also improving retention, persistence and graduate rates at UTSA.
Human Health
Following a survey of faculty and staff in seven departments, a college name has been selected: the College for Health, Community and Policy. Paperwork to form the new college was submitted to UT System on August 12 for formal approval. In addition to the eight departments that will comprise the college, the Nutrition and Dietetics Program currently in Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition will be housed at the college level to increase its visibility. Also, as part of the transition, the Department of Criminal Justice has decided to adopt a name that better captures its research breadth: the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. A transition planning team is performing outreach to discuss and recommend any adjustments needed for pre-tenure faculty that will be moving into the new college.
Four proposals for the Clustered and Connected Hiring Program (CCP) were competitively selected this cycle and will result in a total of 20 new faculty scholars to be recruited over two years in the following areas: Social and Environmental Challenges in Latin America, Quantum Information Science, Human Performance, and Virtual and Augmented Reality. Strategic hiring opportunities also remain available through the Advancing Academic Excellence through Accelerating Faculty Diversity Hiring Program, the Dual Career Academic Partners Hiring Program, and the Advancing Academic Excellence through Accelerated Hiring of Nationally Recognized Faculty Program.
Expanding Business Education and Career Engagement
Project teams composed of faculty, staff and students will launch this fall to consider the academic and infrastructure needs downtown regarding business education and career engaged learning. Pamela Smith, Associate Dean in the College of Business, will lead the Expanding Business Education to the Downtown Campus Project Team, and Heather Shipley, Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and Dean of University College, will lead the Expanding Career Engagement to the Downtown Campus Project Team. Relatedly, a programming committee will be formed this fall to begin the design process for a new downtown facility, informed by recommendations from the project teams.
San Antonio Workforce Initiative
The San Antonio Workforce Initiative development is underway during August with task force members from UTSA colleges, members of various UTSA departments, community members and local San Antonio business partners participating. The task force will be finalized by the end of the month. Meetings will begin September 2019 with a focus on building out innovative online instruction, as well as traditional face-to-face and hybrid formats. These efforts will lead to credit and non-credit offerings in the form of customized programs for corporate partners and stackable certificates to allow students to build a sequence of credentials to demonstrate qualifications. The task force continues to meet throughout Fall 2019 to develop a plan, with increased programming available in Spring and Summer 2020.
Learn more about the UTSA strategic vision.
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.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.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
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.
