The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. Established in 1969,[10] UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by enrollment in the state of Texas enrolling over 34,000 students across its five campuses spanning more than 758 acres.[11][12] It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".[13] The UTSA Institute for Economic Development generates $2.6 billion in direct economic impact.[14]
Student-athletes compete as The UTSA Roadrunners and are a member of The American Athletic Conference (AAC). The football team, which was founded in 2009,[15] previously competed in Conference USA, the WAC and as an FCS independent.[16][17]
The University of Texas at San Antonio was officially founded on June 5, 1969, by the 61st Texas Legislature as H.B. 42 and signed into law by Governor Preston Smith.[18][19][20] Frank Lombardino, a conservative Democrat who represented northwest Bexar County in the state legislature, was known as the "father of UTSA" due to his impassioned advocacy for the institution.[21] When Governor Smith signed the bill officially establishing the university, he did so on the back of Lombardino in a ceremony in front of the Alamo.[22] At the university's inaugural commencement, the first diploma was also signed on Lombardino's back.[23]
In 1970, the University of Texas Board of Regents appointed the university's first president, Arleigh B. Templeton, who served from 1970 to 1972, and received a land donation of 600 acres (2.4 km2) in far northwest San Antonio for the site of UTSA.[24] The architecture firm of Ford, Powell and Carson Inc. was assigned to develop a master plan for the university.[25] O'Neil Ford, the designer of both the Tower of the Americas and the Trinity University tower, designed the campus to be reminiscent of an Italian village.[26]
The 671 graduate students composing the first class at the university were admitted in September 1973.[28] Upperclassmen and lowerclassmen were admitted in 1975 and 1976, respectively.[18] Students temporarily attended class at the Koger Center, which also housed administrative offices until 1975, when construction on the Main Campus was completed.[28][24] Enrollment during this time numbered 4,433 students.[29] UTSA began with five colleges: Business, Fine and Applied Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Multidisciplinary Studies and Science and Mathematics.[25]
By 1975, the university's future colors were being openly discussed among student leaders and the administration. UTSA's third color of blue was selected, beating out other proposed colors such as "fiesta red" and "cactus green".[30] The John Peace Library opened the next year, serving as the new administrative headquarters for the university.[28]
The discussion of a university mascot soon followed the selection of school colors. In the fall of 1977, an election was held to determine the school's mascot, with "the armadillos" and "the stars" taking the top two spots. However, the referendum was declared void by the student government and a new election was held with nine candidates and a write-in option. The top two choices from the second election, the roadrunner and the armadillo, campaigned in a competitive run-off. On December 9, 1977, the roadrunner was announced as UTSA's first and only mascot.[31][32]
James W. Wagener, a graduate of Southern Methodist University and former acting dean of the University of Texas Health Science Center, was selected to be UTSA's third president in 1978.[28][18] The Alumni Association was formed that same year, providing a new avenue of support for the university.[18] The first Fiesta UTSA was also held in April 1978, with multiple bands playing throughout the day and culminating in a school dance.[33] At the end of the 1970s, enrollment numbered 9,400 undergraduate and graduate students.[29]
The Paisano, was established in 1981 as the first independent student publication in the state.[29][33] During the fall of that year, the university began playing collegiate athletics.[34] It was immediately elected to Division I status in the NCAA.[35] The Student Representative Assembly headed the burial of a time capsule in 1983, the university's 10th anniversary, instructing it to be opened on June 5, 2023.[36]
In 1986, UTSA acquired the Institute of Texan Cultures, a center for multicultural education in the state, as a campus.[28] During this year, both the University Center and Chisholm Hall, the university's first on-campus housing complex, opened.[37]
In 1994 the U.S. Department of Education designated UTSA as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).[38][39]
On the first day of fall classes in 1996, a campus shooter stormed into the John Peace Library.[40] The perpetrator, Gregory Tidwell, murdered head of cataloging Stephen L. Sorensen before fatally shooting himself in the chest.
The University Center expanded in the late 1990s, breaking ground in 1995 on the 97,500-square foot, $13.2 million building, dubbed "UC Phase II", which included the new Retama Auditorium and UTSA Bookstore.[29][41] The Downtown Campus opened the doors to its permanent location on Interstate Highway 10 and Cesar Chavez Blvd. (then Durango Blvd.) in 1997.[28]
Ricardo Romo, a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and UCLA, became UTSA's fifth president in May 1999. He began with the ambitious agenda of aggressively expanding UTSA, both physically and academically, laying out the university's "Roadmap to Excellence".[42] During his tenure, UTSA would grow 68% in student enrollment while adding new programs and facilities.[43]
In the mid-2000s decade, UTSA embarked on a long-term campaign to dramatically increase its national prestige and selectivity. A "Master Plan" was created in 2007 as a guide for this campaign and to direct the future physical growth of the institution. The "UTSA 2016" strategic plan, formulated at the same time, is guided by the Master Plan and forms the basis for the development of the university into a "premier research institution" by 2016.[44][45] John T. Montford—a San Antonio businessman, former chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, and a member of the Texas State Senate from 1983 to 1996—eventually established the UTSA presidents Dinner and, in 2007, the event raised US$4.6 million.[46]
From 2006 to 2009, UTSA completed over $250 million in construction projects. The $84 million five-story Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering (BSE) Building opened its doors in 2006.[47] The university underwent extensive remodeling in 2009, renovating older buildings such as the John Peace Library (JPL), the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS, now known as the McKinney Humanities or MH) and the Multidisciplinary Studies (MS) buildings. A new ceramics studio broke ground in 2009 and two adjacent science buildings underwent $24 million in renovations. The $83 million Applied Engineering and Technology building (AET) also opened its doors in 2009. A year later the AET Library opened as the nation's first completely bookless library on a college or university campus.[48][49]
Proposition 4 was passed by Texas voters in November 2009. This piece of legislation named 7 emerging research universities in Texas, UTSA being one, that could compete for additional state funds in an effort to increase the number of Tier One institutions in Texas. Factors such as research expenditures, graduate degrees awarded and scholarly productivity all play a part in which schools receive the most funding.[50]
The first-time undergraduate acceptance rate, a common measurement for institutional selectivity, was 60% for the Fall of 2013.[51] U.S. News & World Report ranks UTSA's admissions process as "selective".[52] In 2010, the university hit a population benchmark of 30,000 students, signifying a growth rate of more than 39% over the past decade.[53][54] UTSA was one of the fastest growing universities in Texas during this decade[55] reaching nearly 31,000 students by 2012.[52][56]
However, in 2011, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity ranked UTSA's freshman as the second most "unhappy" in the country, based solely on low retention rates.[57] The Associate Vice President refuted this claim[58] and members of Student Government Association sponsored a resolution rebuking the claims, pointing out the Coordinated Admissions Program skews freshmen retention rates.[59]
The North Paseo Building, a $15 million office building, began housing ROTC operations when it opened in October 2011. The Bauerle Road Garage, a 5-level parking facility with office space, opened in 2012. Dining services also expanded in 2008, continuing through 2011.[60]
That same year, the university also fielded its long-anticipated football team as an NCAA FCS independent, with Larry Coker as the inaugural head coach.[61][62] The following year, 2012, UTSA, the city's sole NCAA Division I university at the time, became a member of the Western Athletic Conference; one year later, it moved to Conference USA.[63][64] An athletic complex was constructed slightly west of the main campus and features pedestrian-friendly mixed-use areas. The complex, dubbed "Park West", adds another 125 acres to the university's property.[65]
In 2014 the "New" North Paseo building (NPB) was completed and now houses Computer Science and Cyber Security labs and classrooms. The NPB is also home to the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS), Center for Education and Research in Information and Infrastructure Security (CERIIS), and the Institute for Cyber Security.[66]
Ricardo Romo, who had served as president since 1999, resigned on March 3, 2017, after having been placed on administrative leave. Pedro Reyes served as interim president from February through August 2017.[67] On September 1, 2017, Thomas Taylor Eighmy, the vice chancellor for research and engagement at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, began serving as UTSA's sixth president.[68]
On June 9, 2017, UTSA introduced the largest construction project in its history with the announcement of a $95 million science and engineering building which opened in fall 2020.[69][70] On September 6, 2018, UTSA announced it had received a $15 million gift from San Antonio business leader Graham Weston and $70 million commitment from The University of Texas System Board of Regents for construction of two new facilities at its Downtown Campus for a National Security Collaboration Center and a proposed School of Data Science which opened January 9, 2023 and became the first and only Data Science school in the state of Texas.[71][72][73][74]
In November 2018, a video emerged of an incident involving a student being escorted out of a lecture hall by campus police after refusing to comply with the professor's request that she not place her feet on the seat in front of her.[75] An investigation found no evidence of racial bias in the incident, but the professor was suspended again in 2019 following another classroom management issue. A petition signed by over 900 students called for her reinstatement, stating she had been "ousted unfairly",[76]but ultimately she was not asked to return to UTSA.[77]
In 2021, the College of Engineering and College of Architecture, Construction and Planning were merged to form the new College of Engineering and IntegratedDesign (CEID), officially launched on September 1, 2021.[78][79] UTSA also acquired the Southwest School of Art which became part of a new school within UTSA's College of Liberal and Fine Arts.[80]
Toward the end of 2021, UTSA attained Carnegie Tier One research status.[81] The university also announced a partnership with UTHSCSA to create a new School of Public Health. The first MPH students were admitted in 2024 and Vasan Ramachandran was hired as dean of the new school.[82][83]
In September 2023, UTSA introduced a dual degree combining medicine and artificial intelligence. Medical students spend four years at the UT Health SA Long School of Medicine and one year at UTSA. Upon completion graduates earn a doctor of medicine (M.D.) and a masters of science degree in artificial intelligence.[84] In January 2024, UTSA announced the creation of a new college centered on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and computer and data science.[85]
In August 2024, the University of Texas Board of Regents announced that UTSA and