(Nov. 9, 2017) -- When The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Downtown Campus on November 13, President Taylor Eighmy will challenge the community to reimagine the future of the campus. At a series of panels and keynote addresses at the anniversary event, Eighmy and political, community and business leaders, will explore UTSA’s role as San Antonio’s model urban-serving university and as a contributor to San Antonio’s cultural and economic ecosystem.
In October, Eighmy unveiled five themes to position UTSA to tackle society’s grand challenges. Among them, he envisions that UTSA will become an exemplary urban-serving university of the future.
“The convergence of the 20th anniversary of our Downtown Campus this fall, the city’s Tricentennial next year and the university’s Semicentennial in 2019 have provided us with an excellent opportunity to launch conversations about urban campuses of the future and the role of urban-serving universities,” said Eighmy. “As we plan for the future, active engagement with San Antonio’s research and high-tech industries, K-12 school systems, health care providers, cultural establishments and governmental entities will solidify UTSA’s role as a driver of San Antonio’s rich and diverse cultural and economic ecosystems.”
The conversations taking place at the Downtown Campus 20th anniversary celebration are the first step in launching innovative Downtown Campus programs exploring various facets of urban development and city-university partnerships. Keynote addresses and panel presentations will explore urban educational partnerships, urban science and urbanomics, urban innovation and creative economy, and urban arts and technology.
The presentations will include Eighmy, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, State Senator José Menéndez, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Manager Sheryl Sculley. They will be held in the Buena Vista Street Building Theater (BVB 1.326).
Additionally, UTSA will unveil the Gregory Luna Student Success Center at its anniversary celebration. Senator Gregory Luna served San Antonio’s District 26 in the Texas Senate from 1992 until a few months before his death in 1999. A champion of education, Luna focused his legislative efforts primarily on education finance with a particular interest in Hispanic serving institutions. During the 1993 legislative session, Luna was instrumental in passing legislation that ultimately created the long-sought UTSA Downtown Campus. He considered the campus the culmination of his vision for UTSA.
Twenty years ago this fall, UTSA opened the doors of its Downtown Campus, signifying its commitment to the community with a campus inside Loop 410, in the heart of San Antonio. Since that time. UTSA has grown its programs, bringing access to high quality college education and career advancement opportunities to diverse populations in the downtown area.
Today, the UTSA Downtown Campus offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the College of Architecture, Construction and Planning, the College of Public Policy and the College of Education and Human Development. Approximately one-third of UTSA’s graduate students take classes at the Downtown Campus.
The urban campus is also home to many of the university’s community outreach programs and extended education offerings and serves as a convenient location for hosting communitywide events.
Learn more about the UTSA Downtown Campus 20th anniversary celebration.
Read about UTSA President Taylor Eighmy’s vision for UTSA.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Program
3 p.m.: UTSA’s Role in San Antonio: Past and Present
Taylor Eighmy, UTSA President
Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio Mayor
Nelson Wolff, Bexar County Judge
Panel: Evolution of the Downtown Campus
Albert Kauffman, professor of law, St. Mary’s University School of Law
Leticia Van de Putte, former State Senator
Jude Valdez, UTSA Vice President for Community Services
Jesse Zapata, UTSA Senior Vice Provost for Academic & Faculty Support
Rogelio Saenz, dean of the UTSA College of Public Policy (moderator)
Tribute to the late State Senator Gregory Luna
José Menéndez, State Senator
5 p.m.: Keynote Address: The Role of Universities and Cities: Shaping the Future
Julián Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former mayor of San Antonio
Panel: Reimagining the Downtown Campus, Possibilities and Opportunities
Taylor Eighmy, UTSA President
Sheryl Sculley, San Antonio City Manager
Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, president/CEO, San Antonio Economic Development Foundation
Lorenzo Gomez, chairman and former CEO, Geekdom
Margo DelliCarpini, Dean of the UTSA College of Education and Human Development
Closing Remarks
Maria Berriozábal, former City Councilwoman and community activist
John Murphy, dean of the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning
6:30 p.m.: Party on the Plaza
Food, cake, music, giveaways and fun for the family.
8 p.m.: Fireworks
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Join 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 will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
