University provides September updates on strategic initiatives

(Sept. 13, 2018) -- In an email sent today to UTSA faculty and staff, President Taylor Eighmy provided updates on the presidential, strategic and tactical initiatives underway to support the university’s strategic vision.

Research Excellence

The first meeting of the Transdisciplinary Research Council (TRC) was held earlier this month, bringing together executive leadership from all academic colleges, the Provost's Office and the Office of the Vice President for Research, Economic Development and Knowledge Enterprise (VPREDKE). The TRC has a charge to increase cross-college, transdisciplinary research collaborations and to lead strategic efforts in pursuit of the National Research University Fund (NRUF) and Carnegie R1 status.

Campus Master Plan

In continuation of the discovery phase of the Campus Master Plan initiative, consultants from Page and the Campus Master Plan Task Force led a series of meetings and work sessions with members of the UTSA community Sept. 4-7. This week, a survey went out to UTSA faculty, students and staff to seek broader input. Community outreach sessions with neighborhood associations and other interested stakeholders are being organized in collaboration with City Council members.

Student Success

As reported in President Eighmy's email to the campus community yesterday, UTSA's new Integrated Student Success Plan is now complete and the first phase of this initiative has come to a close. The initiative will now move into operational mode as strategies within the plan are implemented over the next two years.

Finance and Budget Modeling

On August 31, President Eighmy and Vice President for Business Affairs Kathy Funk-Baxter, announced the debut of UTSA’s new budgeting model, called Incentivized Resource Management (IRM). A new website devoted to IRM which explains—with the aid of videos featuring task force members—the model’s basic premises and potential impact. A budget for UTSA using the new model will be created by the end of October.

Downtown Campus

UTSA received exciting news last week with the UT System Board of Regents committing $70 million for construction of two new facilities at the Downtown Campus to support the National Security Collaboration Center and a proposed School of Data Science. Meanwhile, the Downtown Campus Task Force continues its work to enhance the campus experience and scale up services and activities for an increasing student population. 

SACSCOC 2020 – Racing to Reaccreditation

One year from now, UTSA’s Compliance Certification document will be submitted to be reviewed by a SACSCOC Off-Site Review Committee. The team is on schedule to meet this deadline with rough drafts of all narratives by Oct. 15. Drafts are already being submitted and reviewed as they are received. The review process includes evaluating the evidence to ensure that the university has built the case for compliance in each narrative and have documented that compliance. 

Athletics Facility

Late last month, architectural consultants Populous and Marmon Mok met with a variety of stakeholders to begin creating the vision, program and goals for the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence. On Sept. 4, the architectural team met with representatives from Page, the Campus Master Plan consultants, to coordinate efforts regarding selecting the site for the center. The architect team plans to return to campus for additional data gathering and to meet with the task force, staff, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, athletic senior leadership and members of the Roadrunner Athletics Foundation.

National Security Collaboration Center 

UTSA received a $33 million commitment from UT System Board of Regents for construction of the National Security Collaboration Center in downtown San Antonio. As a means to engage government and industry partners in the development process of the NSCC, a focus group of 30 stakeholder was held earlier this month to provide input regarding research information technology, security, contracting and marketing. Mitre Corporation, a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), has joined the NSCC ecosystem, alongside a total of 20 additional partners.

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