Create a College for Health, Community and Policy

To convene the academic community to consider how to improve the alignment of UTSA’s human health related programs, a Human Health Planning Advisory Task Force was launched on November 14, 2018, and included broad representation from across campus, as well as leadership from key external partners. The 31-member group was charged with surveying the landscape of UTSA student interests, regional workforce needs and partnering opportunities, plus multidisciplinary research opportunities related to human health; and to recommend a college organizational structure that aligns health-related programs to enhance student success, career readiness, and partnering opportunities, transdisciplinary research, and funding competitiveness. 

The Human Health Planning Advisory Task Force submitted its final report to UTSA Provost Kimberly Espy on March 27, 2019. The Task Force’s recommendations were operationalized and UTSA’s College for Health, Community and Policy was formed in 2020 to develop solutions to effect change for complex social issues to improve the well-being of communities and world. Today, HCAP contains nine academic disciplines and four centers and institutes to promote mutually informing, transdisciplinary partnerships and collaborations.

Under the leadership of inaugural Dean Lynne Cossman, HCAP now offers eight undergraduate and ten graduate degree and certificate programs. The formation of HCAP has already yielded numerous benefits, including a fully-integrated vision, new transdisciplinary research partnerships, the development of new processes to improve financial processing and fellows orientation, launched the magazine Engage, created faculty mentoring programs, and streamlined graduate student funding processes. In future years, HCAP is poised to accelerate local and regional collaborations and to equip future graduates with the professional skills to thrive in the growing healthcare industry.

Destination One: Model for Student Success

Destination Two: Great Public Research University