(May 21, 2019) -- UTSA Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley recently announced several changes in Academic Success, which includes offices that support undergraduate studies, career-engaged learning and faculty success.
Mario Vela ’04, ’08 has been hired as executive director of the UTSA Career Center. He started May 1. A native of south Texas, Vela joins UTSA from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he has spent the past seven years as assistant director of business development and then director of employer relations for the Kellogg School of Management. In these roles he built and maintained strong partnerships with employers to promote recruitment of the university’s MBA students, directed 150 recruiting events and more than 4,000 job interviews, coached students, and developed strategic recruiting partnerships domestically and internationally. In 2016 Vela was recognized by Negocios Now in its annual list of Latinos 40 Under 40, which recognizes the leadership of Latinos in the Chicago area. He received his master’s in sociology and his bachelor’s in sociology and philosophy from UTSA.
Vela fills a vacancy left when previous director Audrey Magnuson retired in 2018. Yvonne Gonzalez, who stepped in to serve as interim director, will resume her role as associate director of the Career Center.
Last fall, the Career Center and the Office of Undergraduate Research moved into Academic Affairs and under Shipley’s leadership in order to strategically align UTSA’s academic enterprise with experiential learning activities and career readiness. Upon further realignment, now the Career Center, Center for Civic Engagement, Pre-Professional Office, Office of Undergraduate Research, and the Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) have moved under a newly created Career-Engaged Learning area within the division of Academic Success. In addition, the McNair Scholars and Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs have been moved into the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Darrell Balderrama is now the director of undergraduate research programs due to his experience overseeing the university’s McNair Scholars and LSAMP undergraduate research and retention programs for the last decade. In this new role, he will be responsible for overseeing, promoting and enhancing all undergraduate research programs and initiatives at UTSA.
Within the Faculty Success/Affairs area, Judith Verdon has been hired as director of faculty professional development. In this new role, Verdon will provide leadership, training and development expertise to support the success of the university’s faculty and academic leaders. For the past 16 years, Verdon has worked in the UTSA Training and Development office, utilizing her facilitation, organizational and analytical skills to effectively train and develop the university’s staff and faculty, including administrative leaders.
Additionally, Kirstin Wilsey, who most recently served as assistant dean for fiscal administration in the UTSA College of Engineering, has been hired as assistant vice provost of academic administration. In this position, Wilsey will oversee the faculty recruitment and hiring process in addition to providing leadership and daily management of the human resources, fiscal and business operations for all of Academic Affairs.
Lastly, Si Millican, who has served as associate vice provost for core curriculum since September 2018, has been appointed associate vice provost for undergraduate studies. In this new role, Millican will oversee the core curriculum and Texas Success Initiative office, and be responsible for administering articulation agreements between UTSA and partnering institutions, and for reviewing undergraduate student petitions, appeals, grievances, and reinstatements. He maintains his concurrent faculty position as professor of music.
Celebrate UTSA’s 50th Anniversary and share social media posts about the 50th using the hashtag #UTSA50.
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.
Learn to use the simple but powerful features of EndNote®, a citation management tool. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography.
Virtual EventLearn 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 EventThe UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures welcomes historian Rebecca Sharpless, author of “Grain and Fire: History of Baking in the American South,” to discuss how food customs shape cultures.
Room 1.01.01 on the 1st Floor at ITC, UTSA Institute Of Texan CulturesOur GSAW Research Symposium begins with lunch and a Poster Presentation Competition. Faculty, staff, and graduate students are welcome to attend and review the exceptional research from UTSA's best and brightest.
Student Union Ballrooms 1 & 2, Main CampusHear from UTSA doctoral candidate in environmental science, Andre Felton, as he discusses best practices to discuss scholarly research in non-academic settings. Our 2023 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) winners will also share their winning presentations.
Student Union Ballrooms 1 & 2, Main CampusJoin this fun event if you want resume and interview resources, a job or internship, a snow cone from Kona Ice and to socialize.
Sombrilla PlazaIn partnership with San Antonio Metro Health, join us for a special lecture series during Public Health week! An esteemed panel will discuss the job market’s impact on public health departments in Texas municipalities.
Retama Auditorium (SU 2.02.02,) 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.