UTSA President Ricardo Romo receives prestigious UC Berkeley leadership award
(March 15, 2013) -- Ricardo Romo, president of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), received the prestigious 2013 Clark Kerr Award for Distinguished Leadership in Higher Education from the University of California, Berkeley, on March 14 at the Berkeley campus.
The award was created in 1968 as a tribute to the leadership and legacy of UC President Emeritus Clark Kerr. It recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary and distinguished contributions to the advancement of higher education.
In a statement from the UC Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, Romo was praised for his record of extraordinary achievement in institutional leadership that reflects Kerr's vision for the role of the university in American democracy. Romo was commended for extraordinary success in promoting higher education as a model for recently founded American universities, especially those serving minority communities.
In 13 years as president of UTSA, Romo has led in transforming the institution from the status of a local and mainly undergraduate-serving institution to that of a highly competitive general campus with an array of respected professional and doctoral programs. UTSA is well on its way to achieving Tier One status with a new focus on research and academic excellence, as it attracts new talent and partners with local, regional, national and international organizations.
With more than 30,000 students, including nearly 1,800 international students from more than 85 countries, UTSA now has 24 doctoral programs and supports educational programs and joint research activities in Texas and many countries around the world. Under Romo's leadership, the university has partnered with public-sector and private-sector programs and organizations, building strong support for studies in the liberal and fine arts and science and technology.
In prominent recognition of its rising reputation and achievements under Romo's leadership, UTSA was one of seven North American universities founded within the last 50 years that were named in the 2012 Times Higher Education "World's 400 Best."
A pioneering scholar in the development of the research field of U.S. urban-immigration and ethnic history, Romo is author of "East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio," now in its ninth printing (one in Spanish), and of respected scholarly articles on the civil rights movement in the Southwest and the West. He has served on numerous national and regional educational commissions, most recently on President Obama's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
With a strong commitment to community service, Romo has served on a range of regional, national and international boards. He is vice chair of the Southwest Research Institute board and is a member of the boards of the American Council on Education, Philosophical Society of Texas, Humanities Texas, Austin Museum of Art and COMEXUS (the U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange).
In 2007, King Juan Carlos of Spain awarded Romo the Isabel la Catolica Award, the highest honor given to non-Spanish subjects, in recognition of his contributions to advancement of Hispanic culture in the United States. In 2011, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) named him winner of its Chief Executive Leadership Award, recognizing the rapid transformation of UTSA from a regional campus into an emerging Tier One research university.
Previous winners of the Clark Kerr Award include Nobel Prize laureate Yuan Tseh Lee, researcher in manipulation of chemical reactions using crossed molecular beams; nuclear physicist Herbert Frank York, Berkeley professor and chancellor, member of the Manhattan Project and board member of the nonpartisan arms control organization Council for a Livable World; Lee Carroll Bollinger, educator and legal scholar of the First Amendment and freedom of speech, who was at the center of two notable U.S. Supreme Court cases on the use of affirmative action in admissions processes; and Earl Warren, 14th U.S. chief justice, known for landmark decisions ending school segregation and transforming many areas of American law regarding the rights of the accused, ending school-sponsored prayer and requiring one-man-one-vote rules of apportionment.
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About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution of access and excellence, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in more than 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and the Honors College, University College and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond.
Events
The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event is to achnowlege the graduating seniors and induct the new cohart of scholars to our program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140,) Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome