Giving Thought
UTSA’s Advancement Is Undeniable
I have been at UTSA since 2008. In those seven short years, I have been witness to several of the most historic events in the life of this university.
First was the launch of UTSA football in 2011. What a great day that was to see more than 56,000 Roadrunner supporters in the Alamodome! The university will never be the same.
The second was the launch of the very first capital campaign in 2012. The campaign quickly exceeded its initial goal and has now raised $162 million. It will conclude later this year.
And the third was the February 2015 announcement of the new Open Cloud Institute. With the opening of this institute, UTSA solidifies its position as the university for cloud computing research and education. While UTSA faculty and students impact research and innovation in a variety of fields every day, never before has UTSA been on the academic forefront of an entire industry. As I sat at the ceremony announcing the launch of the institute, you could feel the electricity, knowing what a difference this new endeavor will make.
What is most exciting to me, of course, is that, unequivocally, it was gifts to the university that made it all possible. The Open Cloud Institute launched with initial gifts and in-kind investments of $9 million. The 80/20 Foundation committed $4.8 million of that total to support four endowed professorships, two faculty research positions, and 10 graduate student endowments.
Additionally, UTSA has received in-kind donations from industry leaders, such as Rackspace, AMD, Intel, Mellanox Technologies and Seagate Technology. The investments affirm that UTSA is the nation's academic leader in open cloud computing education and research.
Thanks to the support of our partners, UTSA students and researchers now have unparalleled opportunities to collaborate on projects that will lead to new innovations in this dynamic field. We are the leaders in educating the cloud computing professionals of tomorrow.
Some could argue that a research institute is not as exciting as football. But I believe the impact is certainly equal because it also ensures that the university will never be the same.
Thanks to all the donors who are helping us make history every day.
Until next time,
Marjie French
Vice President for External Relations