(Aug. 24, 2018) – UTSA Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy and Interim Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School Can Saygin recently announced several organizational changes.
“Because graduate programming plays such a critical role in UTSA’s strategic vision, it was important to ensure the structure and functions of the Graduate School align closely with those institutional goals,” said Espy. “Most important, this direction was needed both to support our goal of increasing graduate enrollment and to better enable our students to thrive academically and professionally.”
As part of the restructuring, the Graduate School is being reorganized into three operational units: Graduate Strategic Enrollment, Professional Development, and Academic Services. Notably, Graduate Strategic Enrollment combines the graduate recruitment and admissions functions into one area. Kristine Benne, who previously served as assistant dean and director of graduate recruitment and student engagement, will oversee that area as assistant dean and director of graduate strategic enrollment.
“These changes are intended to streamline administrative processes within the school and also to prepare for the university’s adoption of a new budget model, which will better support management of graduate programs and facilitate accountability at the academic college level,” said Saygin. “Additionally, an external review helped to validate this direction to re-envision the Graduate School as a service organization.”
A number of personnel changes have been made as part of the Graduate School restructuring. UTSA faculty members Gerald Juhnke, Mariela Rodriguez and Janakiram Seshu, who each hold part-time positions as associate deans in the Graduate School, will resume their faculty roles full-time effective December 31, 2018. These associate dean positions within the Graduate School are being eliminated from the school’s administrative structure.
“We are enormously grateful to Drs. Juhnke, Rodriguez and Seshu for their administrative service but even more so for their steadfast dedication to UTSA’s graduate students,” said Espy. “Their talents as instructors, scholars and mentors are most critically needed in their home departments where they can work more directly with those students and have the greatest impact for the university.”
Additionally, several graduate school staff members will join other units within Academic Affairs in order to strengthen these areas that are vital to the success of several institutional initiatives:
The UTSA Graduate School offers more than 120 doctoral and master’s degree programs and certificates. Most recently, UTSA began a new Ph.D. program in civil engineering this fall. More than 4,200 graduate students are enrolled across seven colleges and the Graduate School.
Explore the UTSA Graduate School.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
This spring UTSA is hosting a 30-second film festival on TikTok! Your mission? Create a 30-second video that highlights how you relax with Adobe Creative Cloud. This is your chance to take a break from the world around you make something fun. The top three videos will receive prizes that will help you on your creative journey and the top ten winners will receive free Adobe swag!
Virtual EventA lecture series brought to you by Loma de Vida Spa & Wellness and UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy. Dr. Sara Oswalt is the chair of & professor in the Department of Public Health at UTSA. She is also a certified sexuality educator through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, & Therapists.
Virtual EventAs part of the annual Campus Race to Zero Waste, the Office of Facilities will provide sensitive document shredding services for our UTSA community. You can bring work-related or personal documents. All we ask is for you to shred away to help recycle!
Parking Lot UTSA Student Union and Ximenes Avenue GaradeIn many courses, faculty broach relevant but difficult topics surrounding race, ethnicity, civil rights, and much more with sensitivity and caring—-but this may be especially difficult in an online classroom. In this session, Dr. Shelley Howell will discuss how faculty can create an inclusive classroom environment digitally to allow for conducive conversations for all parties.
Virtual EventGreat discussions continue this spring with Mary McNaughton-Cassill, Professor of Psychology and Donna Edmondson, University Ombuds. They are providing five 30-minute interactive webinars. Topics include bridge building, stigmas, team building, staying engaged at work and our shared experiences.
Virtual EventThe Black Student Union of UTSA presents a panel discussion on Black women in history and the impact of prominent Black women in the Roadrunner Community.
Virtual EventJoin this workshop to explore how this instructor designed and delivered an exemplary course with an innovative design and a student-centered approach. This workshop is focused on the use of virtual labs and interactive content using interactive tools such as PlayPosit and Softchalk for an enhanced learning experience in large classes (more than 400 students).
Virtual EventThe 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.
