(Jan. 19, 2018) -- On Monday, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will open a new Dreamers Center to provide support to the university’s DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients and other undocumented students. The center represents a physical expansion of the Dreamers Resource Center website that launched last September, soon after the Trump administration announced its decision to end DACA.
“Given recent indications that DACA may not be resuscitated by Congress, it’s imperative we escalate the support we offer our Dreamers,” said President Taylor Eighmy. “We must do everything we can to ensure they have the right resources and information in the months to come.”
Originally scheduled to open in early February, Eighmy made the decision to accelerate the center’s launch in order to fast-track service delivery. The status of DACA students remains uncertain as negotiations regarding the program’s future continue in Congress.
The university is currently searching for a permanent, full-time Dreamers Center Program Manager to coordinate services, programming and community partnerships. Until that position is filled, Courtney Balderas-Jacob, UTSA assistant director for international student services, will serve as the center’s interim program manager.
“Courtney has been involved from the very beginning in our work to establish the Dreamers Center,” said Elvira Jacquez, assistant vice president for strategic initiatives. “She is a great resource for students seeking referrals and legal assistance, and I know she will do a wonderful job with getting the center up and running. Providing our students with timely, accurate information is the most important thing we can do in our current climate.”
The Dreamers Center will assist undocumented UTSA students with services ranging from legal to financial to emotional. One of the center’s first projects will be to establish a formal agreement with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), a local nonprofit that collaborated with UTSA last fall to offer DACA-renewal workshops.
In addition to legal referrals, the center will provide students with referrals and information regarding counseling services, peer mentoring and funding opportunities, as well as educational programming for students, faculty and staff.
The center’s program manager will also work with designated UTSA faculty and staff in departments and offices throughout campus, cultivating a campus-wide referral network for Dreamers.
UTSA’s Dreamers Center will be located in the UTSA Student Union within the Student Center for Community Engagement and Inclusion (UC 2.01.04). Inquiries and appointment requests can be made by calling (210) 458-7777 or emailing dreamers@utsa.edu.
The Dreamers Center will hold an open house for the UTSA community on Monday, January 22 from 10-11 a.m.
Learn more about the UTSA Dreamers Center.
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Come meet student organizations and learn about different volunteering opportunities at the Spring 2025 Get Involved Fair.
HSU Ballroom (HSU 1.104-1.106,) Main CampusGet Involved Fair is an opportunity for currently active student organizations to connect with the UTSA community. These organizations are able to communicate who they are and what they do to individuals seeking opportunities to get more involved with the university and their peers.
Assembly Room (1.338), Buena Vista Street Building, Downtown CampusThe Whataburger Resource Room at the Roadrunner Pantry has joined efforts with the campus community to put together the Move In Market! Come shop for some great items for your dorm room or apartment to get you started and set up for success.
H-E-B Student Union Ballroom (HSU 1.104-1.106,) Main CampusA Linguistics Time Capsule that was buried in 2000 will be opened and shared. It contains the predictions of UTSA linguistics students as to how the language would change by January, 2025. Students and faculty who contributed will be invited to the opening to participate in sharing their predictions and discussing how accurate some predictions were.
Denman Room (SU 2.01.28,) Main CampusHave you ever received an email invitation to publish in a journal you have never heard of with promises of lightning-fast peer-review and publication times? If so, you’ve probably heard of predatory publishing. During this workshop, participants will discuss this pervasive problem in academic publishing and how to spot the red flags through real-life examples.
Virtual (Zoom)Upon completion of this workshop, attendees will be able to: explain the history of Creative Commons, summarize the role of copyright law in the creation of Creative Commons, differentiate between different CC icons, identify the different layers and elements of CC licenses and tools, and list factors to consider when choosing a license for your project.
Virtual (Zoom)Join us for Coffee with Vets, a casual social event where veterans can come together, connect, and share camaraderie over a cup of coffee. This is a perfect opportunity to unwind, meet fellow veterans, and build community in a welcoming and relaxed environment.
Veteran Lounge (JPL 4.03.04,) John Peace Library, Main CampusThe 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.
