In his first-ever state of the university address, University of Texas at San Antonio President Ricardo Romo told the audience of about 600 faculty, staff and students that becoming a national research university is in their grasp — if they reach for it together.
“This city understands its future is strongly linked to our future,” Romo said. “It's now up to us to rise up to that challenge and compete for resources.”
This legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed a bill that lays out a path to so-called Tier One research status for seven emerging research institutions, including UTSA. The bill doles out money based on certain benchmarks, some of which could be years away for a young university such as UTSA.
Romo has set a goal of boosting research spending to $100 million by 2016, and says he is confident the university can reach it. But UTSA will need help from alumni and community donors to give to the university's upcoming capital campaign.
“We are hard at work increasing all revenue resources,” Romo said.
UTSA may be young, but it is moving fast, he said.
Last year, the university spent $54 million on research, up from less than $5 million when Romo took the helm 10 years ago. Enrollment has grown 60 percent to 29,000, square footage has more than doubled and the number of doctoral programs has increased from three to 21.
At what was once a commuter campus, there are now 3,700 students living in residence halls, a host of on-campus amenities and a football team in the works.
“Today, there are students studying, socializing, working out and playing sports at all hours of the day,” Romo said. “This is the university we are becoming.”
Campus life aside, students' success is the university's bread and butter, Romo said.
When Segway inventor Dean Kamen came to UTSA, Romo pulled him aside after a news conference to meet David Gonzales, a former UTSA student who invented an energy-efficient car wheel. After a short exchange with Gonzales, Kamen whipped out a card and asked the young inventor to join him on his private jet back to New Hampshire.
“That's a connection right there,” said Romo, whose eyes light up when he tells the story.
David Gabler, a spokesman for the university, said Romo is considering making a state of the university address every year.
Jasmine Rogers, a 20-year-old sophomore from Houston, said she enjoyed the speech — especially the bits about football, which she is very excited about. But it also gave her a new perspective on the university as a whole.
“I am paying money to be here, I want to know what's happening,” Rogers said.
Anne Englert, a doctoral student and staff member in alumni programs, said she “loves the way UTSA is heading.”
“It's extremely important to listen to your leader so can buy into it and get excited,” Englert said. “(Romo) is such a charismatic leader, he really gets us pumped.”
