$5 Million Stronger
UTSA received nearly $5.1 million in gift commitments in fall 2013 to support priority programs in the next phase of its capital campaign. The funds and commitments, which now total more than $138 million, will support the university’s advancement to Tier One status.
We Are UTSA—A Top-Tier Campaign publically launched in 2012, and within a year met its initial financial objective of $120 million—more than two years early. Soon after, President Ricardo Romo announced a new phase of the campaign with a goal of $175 million by end of August 2015. Gifts received during this phase focus on four key areas: recruitment of top undergraduate students, support for graduate students, faculty research support and the construction of athletics facilities.
“The support we receive from the community creates opportunities for UTSA students to work side-by-side with world-class faculty and researchers starting early in their college careers,” said Romo. “This collaboration is leading to the discovery of new knowledge and elevating UTSA to top-tier status. At the same time, it is advancing San Antonio’s economic, business and scientific standing in the world.”
The most recent commitments include a $1 million challenge gift from business leader Carlos Alvarez, which supports postgraduate studies and research through new endowed fellowship opportunities, primarily for Ph.D. candidates. Meeting the challenge are Dr. Lisa G. Nungesser, who committed $100,000 to support a graduate student fellowship in urban and regional planning, and the 80/20 Foundation, which has committed $900,000 to support nine post-graduate fellowships and research assistantships in open-cloud computing in the business, computer science and engineering disciplines. The foundation has pledged an additional $100,000 to create another graduate fellowship separate from the Alvarez match.
Other gifts include a $1 million pledge from San Antonio real estate developer Dan Parman to create the Dan Parman Endowed Chair in Applied Mathematics, a $996,000 commitment from the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation to support stem cell research, and $1 million from the Valero Foundation for the new athletics facilities at Park West, UTSA’s sports complex.
A Rowdy Addition
UTSA students, parents, alumni and friends of the university helped raise $25,000 to bring a 1,000-pound iron roadrunner statue to campus.
The statue, dubbed Iron Rowdy, was created by R.G. Box, a blacksmith artist from Lubbock. At 6 feet tall and stretching 11 feet from beak to tail feather, it took about 1,000 hours to create, feather by feather.
The idea to have a Rowdy statue on campus began with UTSA students in 2010.
“We had this idea a few years ago,” said Zack Dunn, president of the UTSA Student Government Association. “When you look at the Main Campus right now, there’s very little representation of our mascot on campus. To students, having Rowdy as a part of our campus is a way to distinguish ourselves from other institutions, show our school spirit and build tradition.”
A Royal UTSA Hand
This year’s homecoming court raised a record-breaking $12,900 that will go toward UTSA scholarships.
Students Zack Dunn, a finance major, and Rebecca Smith, a kinesiology major, were named Mr. and Ms. UTSA. They were recognized for academic achievement, campus involvement and community service.
Candidates competed in several categories including an application process, written essay, formal interview, fundraising and a student vote.
Raising Voices
Manny Longoria ’97, a founding member of the Volunteer Organization Involving Community Education and Service (VOICES), has established the Longoria Endowment for Service Learning and Leadership Initiatives.
The $55,000 endowment will be funded through a combination of personal and corporate matching gifts. The endowment will support volunteer, service-learning and leadership initiatives at UTSA.
“I have seen the lifelong impact that servicelearning, volunteerism and leadership training have had on countless students at UTSA, including myself,” said Longoria, who is a life member of the UTSA Alumni Association. “I am proud to be able to help UTSA continue to foster these traits in its students, and I hope that I inspire more alumni to give back to the university.”
Longoria, who currently owns a Nationwide Insurance Agency, and his wife, April, formally presented their gift to Nico Cousby, UTSA VOICES president, at the organization’s 20th anniversary banquet.
“We at VOICES thank Mr. Longoria for his contributions to the efforts of student-led service to our community,” said Cousby. “My fellow students and I will be able to participate in a variety of service opportunities, while keeping our experiential opportunity trips at a low cost.”
To honor Longoria, VOICES has renamed its annual Volunteer of the Year Award to the Manny Longoria Volunteer Award. The award is presented each spring to the VOICES member with the most volunteer hours in the previous year.
Engineered tO Support
A $250,000 gift from the Catherine and Francis Burzik Foundation will establish the Burzik Professorship in Engineering Design.
The position will support the research and teaching of engineering design to nurture student-developed technology ventures and train the next generation of engineering business leaders.
“Finding innovative solutions to life’s opportunities and challenges is at the heart of engineering and business,” Burzik said. “UTSA is a hotbed for innovation and we want to help create the environment in which young talent can explore and test their ideas.”
Burzik, an industry-recognized senior executive in the health care field, recently served as president and CEO of Kinetic Concepts Inc. She now advises several venture capital-backed biotech companies in San Antonio and San Francisco and has joined forces with a local venture capital group to form Targeted Technology Fund II, which plans to raise $50 million for biomedical and biotechnology start-ups, mostly in the San Antonio area.
Go with the Flow
Iconic Sombrilla Fountain Gets a Green Facelift
The Sombrilla Plaza fountain at the UTSA Main Campus was turned on Friday, Jan. 10 after extensive renovations.
The 35-year-old fountain is now fully sustainable and uses only reclaimed water from the air conditioning systems in neighboring buildings. An idea proposed by students, the revitalized fountain now uses “gray” water, which ensures it can remain operational year round with no strain on the water supply.
In November, the UTSA Development Office conducted the “Fill the Fountain” campaign to support the fountain renovations. The UTSA Alumni Association and UTSA Green Fund contributed $150,000 to the project. Alumni Nancy Ozuna ’93 and Andrew Ozuna ’91 pledged a $10,000 matching gift to spur donations. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and other university supporters then raised matching donations of $10,000 to complete the fundraising.
The Sombrilla fountain is a campus tradition and signature venue, where many photos are taken. According to legend, students who put their hands on the fountain will pass their final exams with flying colors
A formal dedication of the refurbished fountain was held on March 4.