 |
 |
|
|
“UTSA
in the News” is a synopsis of items that have appeared in periodicals
mentioning UTSA, its faculty, staff, students and programs. September 2002 On Sept. 3-5 the Institute of Texan
Cultures will hold course registration for its Academy of Learning in
Retirement (ALIR) fall registration. ALIR, functioning cooperatively
with and under the aegis of the ITC, offers a variety of learning opportunities
to men and women of retirement age. Over 40 courses are offered each
semester from computer classes to art courses. The Institute of Texan Cultures honors
those who lost their lives on Sept. 11 with a "Day of Remembrance
and Recommittment from 12-12:30 p.m. on the exhibit floor. During the
public ceremony, visitors to ITC will be invited to restate their oaths
as U.S. citizens. Officials with San Antonio College
and the University of Texas at San Antonio are set to announce today
more than $700,000 in grants and an enhanced agreement between both
schools, designed to lure more students into engineering education.
The National Science Foundation grants will be used to develop curriculum
and to provide scholarships for minority and disadvantaged students
pursuing engineering education at SAC. To make it easier for engineering
students to obtain their bachelor's degrees, SAC teamed up with UTSA
to expand an existing articulation agreement between the schools to
make a seamless transition from the community college to the university. Wendy Barker, UTSA English instructor,
will receive the Award of Literary Excellence from Gemini Ink when the
local literary organization holds its annual Inkstravaganza fund-raiser
at Paesano's on the River Walk. The award honors San Antonio writers
for work on the page and in the community. Barker came to San Antonio
two decades ago to help build UTSA's creative writing program. In the
process though, she has nurtured a number of local writers by creating,
as she put it, "classes that never want to stop meeting."
In fact, members of several Barker-led workshops still meet regularly. I will always remember the morning
of Sept. 11, 2001. I walked around campus and talked with students as
we watched in horror the day's events on television monitors. Moments
turned into hours and the unthinkable became reality. Obviously, some
things have changed in our country since that day. I occasionally am
frustrated that I have been asked to remove my shoes for inspection
before boarding an airplane. But some things have stayed the same. I
am thankful that I live in a country where the freedom to travel coexists
with our other freedoms, all of which I hold in higher esteem since
that tragic day. I also believe UTSA is a better university since last
September. Immediately after the news broke, students initiated a blood
drive that was just the beginning of a series of volunteer efforts.
Composed of many ethnic and religious backgrounds, the university community
is a microcosm of the world in which we live. And I am thankful each
day that we find strength, not weakness in diversity. In an effort to reduce traffic congestion
on campus, the University of Texas at San Antonio has leased additional
parking spaces at Fiesta Texas and assigned 10 police officers to direct
traffic. A shuttle service will provide transportation to and from the
parking areas at Fiesta Texas, which is located just north of the UTSA
campus at 6900 NW Loop 1604. Two major building construction projects
are underway that require occassional adjustments to traffic flow. But
despite student parking being eliminated in some areas due to construction,
UTSA officials say they will have 250 more permit spaces available at
the 1604 campus and 50 additional spaces available at the downtown campus. EG&G Management Services of San Antonio and
the University of Texas at San Antonio are awarding $80,000 worth of
scholarships to 73 high school seniors and their families. The scholarships
were presented by EG&G President Rudy Diluzio and UTSA President
Ricardo Romo. UTSA-eligible students from the Edgewood, Harlandale,
South San Antonio, Southside and Southwest Independent school districts
and St. Francis Academy-students living around KellyUSA-can apply. With the state's fastest growing enrollment,
highest student-to-faculty ratio and a huge space deficit, the University
of Texas at San Antonio has a compelling argument for cash relief. UTSA
President Ricardo Romo addressed his remarks to the Legislative Budget
Board, which is charged with estimating probable education costs for
the upcoming biennium. Although Romo offered no dollar amount for the
university's needs, he noted the need for more buildings, additional
faculty and higher compensation to retain faculty, a figure that easily
would translate into the hundreds of millions of dollars. On a sparse stage many miles from home,
speaking in a language that was not their first, students from as far
away as Africa and the Middle East pledged a message of solidarity with
their American peers. UTSA international students sometimes struggled
to pronounce the words to express themselves--but their message was
strong and heartfelt. The students honored America's spirit and resolve
during a program which included the "Star Spangled Banner"
and speeches from Sept. 11 in which students recalled their own brushes
with terrrorism. To recruit the most talented students,
particulary minorities, the University of Texas at San Antonio has expanded
its Honors Program and established an Honors College to enhance educational
opportunities for its top undergraduates. Open to all majors, the College
emphasizes breadth of academic experience across all disciplines, and
its curriculum will supplement but not replace, work in the students
major field. The University of Texas at San Antonio
gained 2,171 students this fall--a nearly 11 percent increase from the
previous fall. The preliminary enrollment of 22,054, taken on the 12th
class day will be reported to state higher education officials early
next month. The figure is likely to make UTSA, the state's fastest growing
public university. The White House will be recruiting
everyone from home computer users to presidents of large corporations
to participate in the battle to keep the Internet safe from hackers
and terrorists. A draft of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace
was unveiled last week and is being taken to several cities throughout
the nation for feedback. San Antonio was the first stop on the tour
and several hundred people gathered at the University of Texas at San
Antonio, home of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security
for a town hall meeting. San Antonio leaders are in negotiations
to line up committments from three to four national pharmaceutical companies
as part of local efforts to land a proposed $1.5 billion national vaccine
center. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says one of the challenges is
to provide the skilled workforce needed to man the facility. He adds
that the University of Texas at San Antonio's new biomedical training
facility at Brooks Air Force Base will help fulfill that requirement.
UTSA and Brooks are teaming up to create the UTSA Center for Excellence
in Bioprocessing and Biotechnology. UTSA officials have already leased
8,000 square feet in Brooks Building 175 W to house the educational
program. Slated to open by Fall 2003, the center will train undergraduate
and graduate students both at UTSA and the military to conduct vaccine-related
research. The center will train molecular biologists, fermentation technicians
and genetic engineers. Comments or
questions to Kris Rodriguez
(krodriguez@utsa.edu)
|
