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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. February 2003 The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board has approved a joint graduate degree program in biomedical engineering--the
first such program of its kind in the state for the University of Texas
at San Antonio and the UT Health Science Center. The program, which
will draw on resources from both institutions, including faculty and
labs, will offer doctorate and master's level degrees. Applicants with
bachelor's or master's degrees in the sciences or engineering will be
considered for the program. The first class of no more than eight students
will begin this fall. Faculty salaries at The University
of Texas at San Antonio have risen 8.75 percent between fiscal year
2001 and fiscal year 2002. That is the biggest increase in the school's
33-year history and has put the institution into a more competitive
situation with similar sized institutions, according to a study by the
College and University Professional Association for Human Resources,
which looked at the salaries of 60,983 faculty at 352 public institutions
in the United States. The average salary for a full professor rose from
$72,701 to $79,785, while salaries for associate professors jumped from
$56,991 to $62,753. Average salaries for assistant professors increased
from $46, 289 to $50, 270. According to the study, the average increase
for faculty salaries in the United States last year
was 3.6 percent. UTSA's salary increase was the second highest in the
state next to West Texas A & M University in Canyon. UTSA students might not realize it
, but the fee increase they are voting on this week could drastically
change the landscape of the school as well as the city. Although the
online voting has nothing to do with football, if passed the referendum
could be the first step toward football at UTSA. Students are voting
on four fee increases that would total an additional $93 each semester
(based on 12 semester hours) beginning this fall. Among those fees are
a student service/athletic fee that would increase the athletic department's
budget by $800,000 and student services by $1 million. Currently, the
athletic department receives 34 percent of the student services fee,
approximately $2 million. The proposal would separate the student service
and athletic fee. If you think you're one of the best
runners in the city in your respective age group, you have the chance
to prove it by competing in the Diploma Dash 5k at UTSA on Feb. 22.
The popular race, which also serves as the City Championship, is expected
to draw more than 700 runners, joggers and walkers. A corporate division
is also available for teams of five runners."We're looking to raise
between $5,000-$10,000 for student scholarships," said race director
Dennis Blick of San Antonio. Three researchers from the University
of Texas at San Antonio will be joining NASA's investigation into the
Columbia disaster by helping to track the debris that fell as the craft
streaked across Texas. The researchers, Stephen Brown, an assistant
professor of earth and environmental science; Stuart Foote, Geographic
Information System and Global Positioning System (GPS) manager; and
Shannon Crum, an assistant professor of political science and geography,
will be using the latest technology to map locations where debris has
fallen. When the time
comes, local business opportunities posed by Toyota Motor Manufacturing,
Texas Inc. will be abundant. The University of Texas at San Antonio's
Institute for Economic Development already is anointed as information
clearing house for these opportunities to benefit both Toyota and South
Texas businesses. The institute is compiling an inventory of subcontractors
and suppliers that can be available for both the construction of the
$800 million manufacturing plant and to supply the 2,000-employee plant
once it starts operations in 2006. The long-anticipated good news from
Japan finally is official: Toyota is coming to town. A host of political
luminaries including Governor Rick Perry welcomed Toyota in an hourlong,
invitation-only program punctuated by often-raucous
applause and several standing ovations from the 1,000 strong audience
at the Institute of Texan Cultures. Last week, the company picked San
Antonio for an $800 million plant that will produce 150,000 full-size
Tundra trucks per year, beginning in 2006. The facility at the outset
will employ 2,000 workers and is expected to generate 5,300 spin-off
jobs. It wasn't a deal maker for Toyota officials,
but it was a question: does UTSA have a decent engineering program?
And thankfully, says UT System Board of Regent Cyndi Taylor Krier can
say "yes" after the university hired Zorica Pantic-Tanner
nearly two years ago. As engineering dean, Pantic-Tanner has expanded
the program from a faculty of 12 instructors to 36. The program increased
by 25 percent to 1,200 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students.
And Pantic-Tanner says she plans to double the staff in five years. There was silence, except for the crackling
of a fire tearing through the brush and occasional shouted instructions.
Rising clouds of smoke blocked the sun as the fire burned on, leaving
a path of charred grass in its wake. When it was over, there were few
patches of green grass left untouched by the flames. In fields to the
east of the University of Texas at San Antonio, students from an undergraduate
ecology class tossed a combination of diesel fuel and gasoline onto
the dry brush, lit a match and watched as the area burned. The purpose:
to examine the effects of fire on certain species of woody plants. Fox Tech High School graduate Rigoberto
Garcia, from Monterrey, Mexico didn't let culture shock get in the way
of his scholastic success. The serious-minded 21-year-old University
of Texas at San Antonio computer science student known simply to his
friends as "Rigo" is the first recipient of the Ricardo Romo
Alumni Scholarship, which honors the UTSA president and his wife, Harriett.
Aimed at Fox Tech graduates, the $4000 scholarship requires a 3.0 cumulative
grade-point average and full-time status. Established three years ago,
the scholarship is vital to Fox Tech, where more than 90 percent of
students are Hispanic and come from economically disadvantaged households. In 1966 Ricardo Romo ran his biggest
race as a track star at the University of Texas at Austin, becoming
the first Texan ever to run the mile in less than four minutes. Today,
as president of UTSA, Romo is running a race that may demand more than
sheer determination and physical effort: to make his school a top contender
in research. Being a premier research institution affords a university
great spoils: Besides prestige, it gives schools a leg up on attracting
top-flight faculty and students. And while many higher-educaton officials
place little faith in the college rankings reported annually by U.S.
News and World Report, virtually all institutions gleefully tout their
inclusion on the list on web sites and in recruitment literature.
Comments or
questions to Kris Rodriguez
(krodriguez@utsa.edu)
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