NOVEMBER 30, 2020 — Editor’s note: The following message was sent via email today from Dean Lynne Cossman of the College for Health, Community and Policy to the college’s faculty and staff:
It is with a heavy heart that I let you know HCaP has lost a member of our community to COVID.
Gidget Vasquez spent the last eight years managing the office in the Department of Demography. Gidget was an incredibly devoted and dedicated member of the department.
In chatting with members of the department this morning, it became clear Gidget was so much more than an administrative assistant. She was the glue for the department—she celebrated its members’ successes and milestones with them. Faculty birthdays were celebrated with cake. Holidays were honored with door decorations. She coordinated a department Thanksgiving lunch every year.
Graduate student defenses were as nerve-racking for her as they were for the students.
She did these things because she cared deeply for the demography faculty and students as a part of her family.
In this season of Thanksgiving, we are cognizant of all the things for which we are grateful. Clearly faculty, staff and students of the Department of Demography are immensely grateful for Gidget’s many contributions.
COVID has made these incredibly difficult times and her death has brought this home to us. This is the first time for many of us the pandemic has been so personal.
COVID and its effects on our society and our communities emphasizes the critical importance of our HCaP mission: focusing on the health and well-being of all. Please lean on each other as we mourn Gidget’s death, celebrate her life, and withstand this pandemic.
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UTSA students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to raise their voices and participate in the upcoming joint primary runoff election. Any registered Bexar County voter may vote at the H-E-B Student Union Bexar Room (HSU 1.102).
Bexar Room (HSU 1.102), H-E-B Student Union, Main CampusAdult Mental Health First Aid consists of 6 hours of instructor-led training, in which teaches adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms that suggest a potential mental health challenge, how to listen nonjudgmentally and give reassurance to the individual, student/colleague, who may be experiencing a mental health challenge, and how to refer a person to appropriate professional support and services at UTSA
John Peace Library (4.04.12C), Main CampusRefusing to Forget is a collaborative effort to examine and expose the devastating impact of state-sanctioned racial violence throughout the early 20th century in the Texas Borderlands. This will be a two-day workshop.
Gregory Luna Room, Buena Vista Building, Downtown CampusJoin fellow UTSA accounting alumni for this fun-filled event that includes breakfast, a round of golf, an awards luncheon and great prizes. All proceeds from the tournament benefit student scholarships.
Canyon Springs Golf Club, 24405 Wilderness Oak, San Antonio, TX 78260UTSA students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to raise their voices and participate in the upcoming joint primary runoff election. Election day is Tuesday, May 24. Any registered Bexar County voter may vote at the H-E-B Student Union Bexar Room (HSU 1.102).
Bexar Room (HSU 1.102), H-E-B Student Union, Main CampusThe Faculty Coffee Chat is designed to provide faculty members the space to discuss current issues they are facing in an inclusive and supportive environment.
Virtual EventThese sessions are focused on incoming Freshman who are attending the UTSA Summer Orientation and are intending to major in areas within the College of Liberal and Fine Arts! We'll have important information and giveaways for you - come meet us.
Willow room (SU 2.02.1), 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.
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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.
