Welcoming a New Academic Year at UT San Antonio

Colleagues,

With immense excitement and gratitude, it is a pleasure to welcome you to a new academic year at UT San Antonio! I’d like to thank you for your patience and flexibility last week as we delayed our start of the fall semester on the Academic Campus to work through restoring systems, email and other essential services to our university community after attempted unauthorized activity was caught by our University Technology Solutions team and expert partners. I am incredibly grateful to all who worked tirelessly to get our university community back to normal operations.

While the beginning of each semester always brings great enthusiasm and energy, this fall is especially momentous because on Sept. 1, we will be celebrating one full year since we launched as a newly merged UT San Antonio - the third-largest public research university with the most comprehensive academic health science center in the state of Texas.

Through this pivotal year, we have achieved remarkable milestones together that reflect both the strength of our new institution and the ambition of the people who are shaping its future. UT San Antonio now ranks among the top 13% of universities worldwide for research excellence and most recently, Forbes recognized our university among America’s Best Employers for Company Culture. These are just two examples among many distinctions and achievements we have earned in our first year together, each reinforcing the extraordinary momentum of UT San Antonio and the promise of what lies ahead. Together, we are building a university with the scale, talent and ambition to make an even greater impact across San Antonio and Texas, nationally and worldwide.

Beyond the excitement surrounding our university’s achievements and trajectory is something even more important: the crucial role each of you plays in our continued success. As we begin the 2026 fall semester, I hope you will take advantage of the many resources available to support your professional growth, well-being and connection to our university community. Across our academic and health campuses, you will find programs, opportunities and organizations designed to help you thrive both professionally and personally. I encourage you to explore all that is available to you as we begin the year ahead.

Thank you for sharing your talents with our university. I am grateful for your continued engagement and support as we make strides on our ambitious journey to becoming a Top 20 public research university. Each milestone we reach together remains grounded in our commitment to student success, to advancing both opportunity and excellence, and to fulfilling our broader mission through the knowledge we create, the lives we improve, and the communities we serve. Together, we are building a university whose impact will be felt across San Antonio and Texas, and far beyond.

With appreciation,

Taylor Eighmy, PhD

President, UT San Antonio