Overheard
"Education is not just an expense line on a budget, but an investment in the future strength and vibrancy of our state. Without increasing educational attainment rates in long-underserved areas like San Antonio, the border region and the valley, Texas and our country cannot remain strong."
President Ricardo Romo at his Oct. 6 State of the University address
"If you spend time at the university, you can see [UTSA is] a reflection of tomorrow's America. The students are diverse, cosmopolitan, engaged and committed."
Les Shephard, director of the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute,
at the July 8 open house for UTSA's Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute
"I don't care what your background is—urban, rural. I don't care what your ethnicity is. We have one planet we all share. Think of it as a neighborhood. And we've got to take care of it top to bottom—water, air, transportation, everything. The good news is it's easy."
Doug Fine, author of the Freshman Common Reading, Farewell, My Subaru, talking about the importance of sustainability in his Aug. 23 Fall Convocation keynote address
"Absolutely [reaching Tier One is] competitive. … Every one of these seven schools is in a good position to be Tier One institutions. Every one thinks they're almost there. We certainly feel like we're getting close."
Ricardo Romo, UTSA president, on KSTX, Texas Public Radio, July 26
"What's to eat? Beans, hardtack, jerky and maybe salted beef. The Army eats well."
Henry Crawford, portraying a circa 1870s Buffalo Soldier at an Institute of Texan Cultures exhibit, July 24
"I just want to thank Jerry Jones and the entire Dallas Cowboys organization for giving me the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream."
Teddy Williams, UTSA's first professional football player
"Either we have standards and give people their money's worth, or we pass everyone and make it a diploma mill. Do you think that will help San Antonio?"
Mansour El-Kikhia, then-president of UTSA's faculty senate, on plans for more selective admissions policies, as quoted in the April 1 San Antonio Express-News
"How about growing some more parking spaces?"
Eric Galvan on UTSA's Facebook page, reacting to a San Antonio Express-News story on enrollment growth
"You can't be a premier institution without quality students."
Ricardo Romo, UTSA president, on KSTX, Texas Public Radio, July 26
"The purpose of the Bible is not to teach us how the heavens were made but how to go to heaven."
Francisco Ayala, evolutionary biologist, University of California-Irvine, and winner of the Templeton Prize, in an April 28 lecture
"San Antonio is and will continue to be a leader in cyber security. We will educate the cyber security specialists of the future, we will train the military protectors of our cyber infrastructure and hire the skilled workers this industry needs."
Former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, at the July 9 dedication of a new facility for UTSA's Institute for Cyber Security-Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security
"The effort that we're trying to undertake with this [Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute] is really to look at the whole problem holistically rather than looking for a magic bullet that will solve all our energy problems."
John Frederick, provost and vice president for academic affairs, on KSTX, Texas Public Radio, July 26
"That's just going to further drive them away from my office hour, or forever approaching a teacher, so I try not to [wake up sleeping students]."
Andria Crosson, UTSA history professor, as quoted in The Paisano