Thursday, January 4, 2024

The Hector and Gloria López Foundation awards $2.4M grant benefitting Latino, first-generation students at UTSA

The Hector and Gloria López Foundation awards $2.4M grant benefitting Latino, first-generation students at UTSA

MARCH 20, 2023 — The Hector and Gloria López Foundation (HGLF) announced a $2.4 million grant to provide full tuition assistance for 15 Latino first-generation college students at UTSA, creating pathways to educational attainment and a pipeline to a successful career. The grant underscores UTSA’s critical role as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the San Antonio community and South Texas that is educating and building a skilled workforce.

Beginning in the fall of 2023 and for the next five years, López Scholars will receive support for tuition and fees, as well as other resources including mentorship, tutoring, housing, study abroad programs, paid internships, leadership development and more.

This investment is informed by The Texas 60x30 Higher Education Plan, which calls for 60% of working-age Texans to receive a degree, certificate or other postsecondary credential of value by 2030. To reach this goal, at least 285,000 Latino students must complete a degree or certificate each year.


“This grant will directly impact our students who are gaining the skills needed to build a talent pipeline that will grow the workforce for our city, region and state.” — UTSA President Taylor Eighmy



In 2021, only 131,915 Latinos completed a degree or certificate and fewer than half of degrees awarded were bachelor’s degree. To help close this gap, the Hector and Gloria López Foundation partners with colleges that are student-ready and dedicated to supporting Latino students in their dream to obtain a four-year degree.

“It’s important that young Latinos see a clear path to success, and UTSA is a key contributor to making Latino dreams a reality,” said Sergio Rodríguez, Foundation CEO and nephew of Hector and Gloria López. “The University of Texas at San Antonio is an ideal recipient of the López Foundation grant for its infrastructure to serve first-generation and low-income students, its programs to increase Latino representation, and because it resides in a city with a majority Latino population.”

When UTSA was established in 1969, San Antonio’s Mexican-American community activists, business leaders and political champions sought to address the high demand for local, high-quality educational opportunities through a community-centered university. Throughout its history, UTSA has kept its promise to provide avenues for educational advancement, professional growth and prosperity for Latinos. This grant recognizes UTSA’s role as a next generation Hispanic-thriving, research institution where students from all backgrounds can excel.

“I am immensely grateful for the generosity of the Hector and Gloria López Foundation and their support of our vision to become a national model for student success, empowering all students—regardless of their background— to succeed,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “This grant will directly impact our students who are gaining the skills needed to build a talent pipeline that will grow the workforce for our city, region and state.”

UTSA Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy added, “We are so grateful for the support from the Hector and Gloria López Foundation and are proud to share their commitment to enabling access for Latino students to an R1 quality educational experience to advance their career goals. Together we can build a stronger workforce and community by ensuring that talented Latino scholars have the opportunity to gain marketable skills through learning-by-doing experiences that prepare them to deftly navigate and lead in the workplace.”

UTSA received Excelencia in Education’s Seal of Excelencia in 2020, and President Eighmy serves on the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities. Through this new partnership, the López Scholars grant will bolster UTSA’s mission to elevate educational attainment for Latino students in the San Antonio area.

“Students from all backgrounds belong in academia and high-paying career fields,” Eighmy said. “UTSA’s membership in the Alliance affirms our commitment to creating even more opportunities for students from historically underserved communities.” 

UTSA Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement Karl Miller-Lugo added, “This grant serves as an affirmation of our critical role in advancing Latino success across the state of Texas and beyond. More importantly, the Hector and Gloria López Foundation will change the lives of 15 deserving Latino students at UTSA by alleviating the financial barriers commonly faced by college students across the country. Full-ride scholarships like this open many doors of opportunity by allowing our talented students to focus on their studies and research. UTSA is grateful to the Foundation for believing in our students and our university’s commitment to Latino student success.”

Hector and Gloria López left their estate to the Foundation — now Austin-based — in 2021. Their legacy is eminent in the Foundation’s commitment to helping remove traditional barriers to resources and supporting the academic success of first-generation Latino college students in need of financial assistance across Texas.

Scholarship candidates do not have to submit an application or meet a minimum GPA or SAT/ACT score. To become a López Scholar, applicants must be Latino, demonstrate a financial need, be the first in their family to attend college and have lived in or graduated from a high school in one of the five focus areas: El Paso, Austin, San Antonio, and communities in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.

“The fact that they are admitted is enough for us,” Rodríguez said. “We don’t need to put up another barrier in order to provide support.”

Jennilee Garza



UTSA Today is produced by University Strategic Communications,
the official news source
of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu.


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.


Events


Spotlight

Spotlight

dtc-utsa-sign_680.png
University of Texas at San Antonio receives ‘transformational’ $40M gift

UTSA’s Mission

The 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.

UTSA’s Vision

To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA’s Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.

UTSA’S Destinations

UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

Our Commitment to Inclusivity

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.