The Semmes Foundation has given UTSA a $1 million gift to establish the Semmes Foundation Graduate Student Fund in the College of Sciences’ Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology. Pat and Tom Semmes, pictured here, made the donation to respond to needs for exemplary graduate students to support UTSA's world-class faculty.
OCTOBER 5, 2021 — The University of Texas at San Antonio has received a $1 million gift from the Semmes Foundation to establish the Semmes Foundation Graduate Student Fund in the College of Sciences’ Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology (NDRB). UTSA will use the gift to grow and sustain the department's doctoral programs and position the university to better compete for external funding through agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
The fund will create new opportunities for advancing research and raise more funding for student stipends. The grant will also help UTSA recruit and retain exceptional graduate students within the field of neuroscience and cell and molecular biology.
“We are deeply grateful to the Semmes Foundation and to Pat and Tom Semmes for their generous support of our doctoral programs,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “This investment will continue to cultivate exceptional doctoral students who will bring unparalleled research contributions to the field of neuroscience and cell and molecular biology, bolstering UTSA’s reputation as one of our nation’s great public research universities.”
Jenny Hsieh, chair of the Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, and the Semmes Foundation Distinguished Chair in Cell Biology, added, “I am extremely thankful to the Semmes Foundation for establishing this fund to grow and retain our pipeline of doctoral students. This fund will give us the needed flexibility to expand our programs in creative and impactful directions.”
Doctoral students are important to securing funds to advance research at UTSA. Over the past five years, research from graduate students in cell and molecular biology, neuroscience and brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and epilepsy was responsible for securing over $50 million in grants.
“This transformational investment from the Semmes Foundation will help our college continue to attract high-caliber graduate students capable of pioneering new research discoveries,” said David Silva, dean of the UTSA College of Sciences. “This investment has long-term implications that will bring us closer to achieving UTSA’s vision of being a top-tier research institution.”
The Semmes Foundation is a family foundation established by D.R. Semmes of San Antonio in 1952. The foundation was formed for charitable, scientific and educational purposes and awards grants primarily in the San Antonio area. Pat Semmes expressed the Foundation’s desire to support doctoral students, understanding the time is now to grow UTSA doctoral programs with excellent students.
"The Semmes Foundation is pleased to respond to the immediate and long-term needs for exemplary graduate students to support UTSA world-class faculty," said Pat Semmes, director of the Semmes Foundation. “The potential for various matching funding is the icing on the cake.”
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.
Día 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, Main CampusCovidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
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.
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, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
