Sweet New Suites

Business students and employers now have first-class interview and professional development space in the Business Building on the Main Campus.

The 1,200-square-foot Ernst & Young Leadership Suites feature six multipurpose breakout rooms and a kitchenette. The space was made possible through more than $500,000 that was raised for this purpose, as well as for student professional development programs and scholarship assistance.

Each suite offers wireless Internet access, and one room includes a digital interactive whiteboard to allow for video conferencing and collaboration.

“We are so pleased to sponsor these Leadership Suites as part of our ongoing support of UTSA,” said Lisa Friel, Ernst & Young’s San Antonio managing partner. “This dedicated space will promote collaboration among students and business leaders and gives each group an opportunity to learn from the other.”

Working For Healthier Communities

As many as 45 percent of children in Hispanic communities are overweight or obese. To try to combat this startling statistic, Dr. Meizi He, associate professor of health and kinesiology, is utilizing that community’s deep religious faith to try to promote lifestyle changes.

Through a faith-based intervention program called Building a Healthy Temple, He targets Latinos with a curriculum focused on healthy eating, active living and healthy body weight. Already the program has been tested in two churches on San Antonio’s West Side, but because of a $250,000 gift from Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio, He is extending the program to 18 more churches, reaching 3,600 adults and children.

“I cannot tell you how grateful I am to Baptist Health Foundation for providing us with the support to expand Building a Healthy Temple into the areas that need it most,” said He. “With the right tools, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of Latinos.”

New Board Members Announced

Eleven members were appointed to UTSA’s Development Board, which encourages the community to support the university.

There were nine San Antonio appointments, including Kevin Belgrade, The Terra Vista Group; Darryl Byrd, SA2020; Scott Carpenter, Toyota Manufacturing Texas; Trish DeBerry, The DeBerry Group; Don Frost, Frost Bank; Brenda Vickrey Johnson, Vickrey & Associates; Cindy Jorgensen, M.B.A. ’00, SWBC; Greg Papay, Lake Flato Architects; and Gurvinder P. Singh, founder of Karta Technologies, Inc.

Also appointed were Pat Clynes, B.B.A. ’89, BP Energy, from Houston; and Janice Meyr, B.B.A. ’79, B&R Supply & Equipment Company, from Corpus Christi.

UTSA’s Development Board is composed of some 50 community and business leaders who serve as champions for the university and help raise resources to support the school’s mission. As an advisory group to the president and the external relations division, the board has been instrumental in UTSA’s first capital campaign, We Are UTSA—A Top-Tier Campaign.

A $75K Boost

Wells Fargo has committed $75,000 for an endowed honors scholarship. The gift continues Wells Fargo’s support of UTSA scholarships as part of the university’s drive to fund access to excellence through We Are UTSA—A Top-Tier Campaign.

“We are grateful to Wells Fargo for this generous commitment to endow a scholarship that will benefit high-achieving students in our Honors College,” said Marjie French, UTSA vice president for external relations. “This gift says a great deal about Wells Fargo’s continued commitment to ensure that our community thrives through education.”

The recipient of the scholarship will be a student enrolled in the Honors College who maintains at least a 3.25 G.P.A.

Honorable Mention

Bill Greehey, whose Greehey Family Foundation has given more than $2 million in support to UTSA over the years, was recently awarded the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his philanthropic and professional contributions.

This comes after Greehey, chairman of pipeline company NuStar Energy LP, was named one of the best performing CEOs in the world during his tenure at Valero Energy Corp. by Harvard Business Review earlier this year. Greehey ranked 12th among the nation’s top CEOs and 31st among CEOs worldwide.