Carmen Tafolla reads Estrellas of Possibility during the Inauguration.
(March 21, 2018) -- UTSA President Taylor Eighmy received a very special gift this week. To commemorate his inauguration as the university’s sixth president, Carmen Tafolla, the 2015-2016 Texas Poet Laureate and a professor in the UTSA Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies, presented him with “Estrellas of Possibility”, the Inaugural Poem. Tafolla’s poem celebrates Eighmy’s vision to make UTSA a flourishing community that drives prosperity.
“I was intrigued and enthused that we had a new President who, although academically trained in the sciences, showed great appreciation of the humanities, and stated as a high priority the involvement of our beautiful, multicultural, but often-neglected community,” Tafolla said. “When I heard the stories about he and his wife courting each other via the poetry of Pablo Neruda, the idea was born for ‘Estrellas of Possibility.’”
Tafolla adds President Eighmy’s interest in reaching both the English-speaking and the Spanish-speaking communities freed her to write the inaugural poem in her native code-switching Tex-Mex, to solidify his connection with both language communities.
With UTSA advancing as San Antonio’s university of the future, Tafolla also wrote about the connection between the city and the stars.
“The images of exploding stars, filled with energy and possibility drove me, and the distinct image of a billion drops of water bonded together and unstoppable touched both on his love of rivers, and of our city’s millennia-old heart, the San Antonio River,” said Tafolla.
Learn more about UTSA’s vision for the future.
Learn more about UTSA professor and poet Carmen Tafolla.
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UTSA invites you to participate in our community altar by RSVP to this event. You can also use this link to learn more about Día de Los Muertos:https://anendlessconnection.weebly.com/the-project.html.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusUTSA students, faculty, and staff are invited to the Health Fair on Wednesday. Health and wellbeing information booths and health screenings will be available.
HEB Student Union Paseo, Main CampusThe South Texas Blood and Tissue Center will on campus Wednesday, October 27th from 10am - 3pm in the H-E-B Student Union Ballroom 1 for an additional day this month. Participants will receive a $10 gift card by email from hundreds of retailers and restaurants through your donor portal.
HEB Student Union Ballroom I, 1.104, Main CampusThe second of two recitals featuring the tuba and euphonium students of Gary Poffenbarger and John Caputo. More details to come. The Fall 2021 concert schedule is subject to change. Please continue to monitor our website and social media for updates. This concert will be live-streamed via the UTSA Music Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/UTSAMusic
UTSA Recital Hall, Main CampusOctober 28th celebrates National Immigrants Day. On this day, we gather to explore the diverse heritage of our nation’s social fabric. We dedicate this day to understanding how our nation was founded and built by immigrants. Our goal is for the UTSA family to recognize and celebrate how all immigrants, regardless of their citizenship status, contribute to our community through their resiliency and ingenuity.
Multicultural Student Lounge, HSU 2.207, Main CampusThe COLFA Advanced Career Pathways Workshops are focused on connecting your education with your career aspirations and exploring your pathways to reach your goal.
Mesquite Room, Student Union, 2.01.24, Main CampusThe Westside Community Center will be creating an altar or "ofrenda" as many do within San Antonio and the Westside for "Dia de los Muertos." If you would like to participate, we invite you to send in a photo of a loved one that will be placed in this space. You are welcome to join us on October 28th at 3:00 pm to set up the space and come see us at the Westside Community Center.
UTSA Westside Community Center, 1310 Guadalupe St., San Antonio, TX 78207The 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 ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
