Henry Cuellar with Lupe Valdez, USDA area director; Albert Carrisalez, UTSA assistant vice president for government relations and policy; Al Salgado, assistant vice president for small business and community engagement; and Margo DelliCarpini, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
NOVEMBER 18, 2020 — UTSA brings new support to rural Texas communities and Texans needing child care services. This support will be for Texas small business consulting, training and growth, jobs creation, rural economic development and child care services for low-income UTSA students.
U.S. congressman Henry Cuellar was recently on UTSA’s campus to help announce $398,096 in federal funds that are newly available for Texans. The money is provided through UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Education. Cuellar supported delivery of these grants to Texans.
UTSA has long supported Texas small businesses, helping them get started, grow and prosper. In 2020 UTSA has been actively involved in providing relief funding, training and support to small businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus. Tonya Britton of the Giddings Economic Development Corporation in Giddings explained how they have been helped by UTSA.
“We’ve learned so much working with UTSA and Retail Strategies and the timing could not have been better. The program helped instill confidence that we have the support and skills necessary to tackle this COVID-19 challenge,” Britton said. “As a small rural community, we have a small budget so programs like this ensure that we are able to represent our community professionally and that we have a fighting change at competing on the national playing field.”
This new $84,000 in federal funds received through the USDA’s Rural Business Development Grant program will further aid Texas small businesses in rural areas of Texas. The purpose of the grant funding is to help six rural communities in Texas grow their local economies by bringing new retail businesses to their communities. The Texas cities are Borger, Giddings, Lamesa, Tahoka, Perryton and Sweetwater.
UTSA will use this funding to provide these communities with education and assistance focused on retail trends in a COVID-19 world, real estate development, downtown strategies, retail incentives and redevelopment through an online portal managed by UTSA partner Retail Strategies LLC. Additionally, community leaders participating in the program will receive individual community analysis to support proven strategies and tools to attract retail businesses into their community.
UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development and the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center will be working together to provide this technical assistance. “Retail recruitment means economic development for rural communities,” said Matthew Jackson, director of Texas Rural Retail Academy. “UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development has been helping rural communities in Texas for years, and we are proud to receive this grant to continue this work. This program will empower these rural Texas communities to assess and recruit retail businesses to their communities through hands-on training, research and technical assistance from UTSA.”
The second grant of $314,096 to cover a five-year period will support the Aim High Child Care Scholarship at UTSA, a need-based scholarship program that will provide campus-based child care services to over 80 children of low-income undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the project is to reduce the out-of-pocket expense student parents pay for child care, help student parents focus on studies and empower them as their child’s first teacher through parent engagement.
“We must address the current needs of working families by supporting them with services such as child care and workforce development,” said Cuellar. “I would like to thank UTSA President Taylor Eighmy and the rest of his faculty and staff for their commitment in providing students with the necessary aid and support needed to successfully reach the goal of graduating with a college degree.”
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The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn 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 EventCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
AlamodomeThe 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.
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