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“UTSA
in the News” is a synopsis of items that have appeared in periodicals
mentioning UTSA, its faculty, staff, students and programs. April 2003 As Kenny Parnell strolls into the Institute
of Texan Cultures with a box full of Hemisfair heirlooms, history walks
in with him. Back at the 1968 world's fair, Parnell was a 31-year-old
stagehand and projectionist at the Texas Pavilion. When he wasn't running
film reels on the pavilion's domed ceiling, the San Antonio native was
looking up monorail cars and skyrides crisscrossing blue skies over
92 acres of cross-cultural wonderland. Hemisfair '68 would be the first
international explosion in the Southwestern United States, not to mention
San Antonio's fist foray as a major tourist destination. Naturally,
Parnell wanted some keepsakes to remember it by. Parnell's keepsakes
are just one of the many exhibits and photos on display marking the
35th anniversary of Hemisfair at the Institute of Texan Cultures. A new institute is expected to expand
the mission of two former research centers and explore the impact of
culture on community development, health care, the environment and literacy.
The University of Texas at San Antonio celebrated the creation of the
Culture and Policy Institute on March 27 at the UTSA Downtown Campus.
The new institute combines the Hispanic Research Center and the Metropolitan
Research and Policy Institute. "The merging of the research center
and the policy institute reflects the restructuring of UTSA as it moves
toward its goal of becoming a university at the forefront of higher
education that attracts more graduate students and has a faculty that
conducts cutting edge research," said Raymond Garza, professor
of pschology and executive director of the new institute. The University of Texas at San Antonio
Center for Water Research (CWR) is helping to dig three wells that will
provide clean water for 200 residents in the El Paraiso district in
Honduras. The center has been involved with the project for the last
three years and has provided assistance and equipment to locate well
drilling sites and to test water soil."We worked for almost three
years to find the equipment, train volunteers and get the financial
support to construct three water wells," says Louis Manz, a research
associate with CWR. "We expect to complete about
17 more wells in different villages. Seeing the people draw fresh water
from a well we built was one of the most exciting things I have ever
done in my life." The arguments were passionate but the
tone was civil as UTSA students exchanged views on the war in Iraq.
About 120 students attended a "Student Speak-Out on the War"
sponsored by the Progressive Student Organization at the University
of Texas at San Antonio. Some spoke of the war as an effort to remove
an evil dictator from power in a volatile, critical part of the world.
Others said it is starting a new phase of imperialism for the United
States. One point of argument was whether a link between Iraq and the
al-Quaida network responsible for the terrorist acts on Sept. 11, 2001
has been proven. University of Texas at San Antonio
Assistant Professor Stephen Brown was one of four team members who recently
braved arctic weather conditions to climb to the top of Pico de Orizaba,
an 18,500 foot mountain in Southern Mexico. Brown’s team reached
the mountain’s summit to test Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment
to determine the exact size of a glacier that sits atop the mountain.
Other members of the team included Mike Lewis and David Cain of San
Antonio and Chris Roach of Austin. The University of Texas at San Antonio
College of Sciences has received a donation of optical equipment that
it says will increase learning opportunities for physics students. The
gift, worth $150,000, was given by Landon Allen, a local optical equipment
service owner. The gift in the form of optical equipment will assist
in the development of the UTSA laser laboratory, which will enrich learning
opportunities for physics students. Included in the donation are three
lasers, a granite table and hundreds of optical devices and components. Sonia Martinez has been named vice
president for university advancement at The University of Texas at San
Antonio. Martinez has served as executive director of development at
UTSA since March of last year. As vice president for university advancement,
she will be responsible for all development efforts, university communications
and alumni relations for the university. Martinez holds a bachelor's
degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin
and a master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Before coming to UTSA, she served as director of corporate relations
for the College of Engineering at UT Austin. Aimee Shelton
has a simple attendance policy for the public-relations courses she
teaches at UTSA. You're allowed three absences for the semester, miss
more than that, you either need to have a good excuse or you had better
start making plans to retake the class. So when San Antonio Spur starting
forward Bruce Bowen decided to take her class, he made sure he had a
note from his coach along with a travel schedule listing all the road
games. Bowen decided to return to school to complete the three classes
he needs to receive his public relations degree he started 10 years
ago at Fresno State. In addition to his final schedule, Bowen is trying
to help the San Antonio Spurs make it to the NBA Championships this
year. A Senate bill that would have allowed
public universities to boost tuition up to three times the current amount
was radically altered Tuesday to allow colleges to increase their rates
by only up to 22 percent over the next two years. Under the new proposal,
public colleges and universities would be permitted to increase tuition
from the maximum $44 to $46 per semester hour in the fall and up to
$52 beginning next spring. A third increase to a maximum $54 per hour
would be allowed in spring 2005. Ricardo Romo, president of the University
of Texas at San Antonio, who spoke in favor of the bill said the measure
would allow UTSA--one of the state's most space-deficient colleges--to
discount tuition for courses during off-peak hours to more efficiently
use classroom space. Local high-tech-booster group the SATAI
Network is in negotiations with at least five of the city's large research
institutes to create a citywide Homeland Security of Excellence initiative.
Randy Goldsmith, President and CEO of SATAI, says officials with Brooks
CityBase, The University of Texas at San Antonio, The University of
Texas Health Science Center, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical
Research and Southwest Research Institute have all been involved in
talks to participate in the unprecedented alliance of minds. Comments
or questions to Kris Rodriguez
(krodriguez@utsa.edu)
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