(Jan. 10, 2019) -- Texas lawmakers got back to work this week for the 86th legislative session, spending the next several months addressing the state’s needs and funding priorities.
In a message sent to the campus community just before the holidays, President Taylor Eighmy acknowledged the significant impact the legislature can have on current and future programs offered at the UTSA.
“We have a vested interest in the Legislature’s priorities and the political tides that impact higher education,” said Eighmy. “I will spend a lot of time up in Austin this winter and spring, advocating as much as I can for UTSA’s priorities.”
Eighmy pointed to UTSA’s Legislative Appropriations Request, which outlines the funding requests the university has put forward to lawmakers. Higher education institutions are expected to present their priorities to the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees in mid- February.
UTSA’s representatives in the Texas Senate and House are an experienced group with a deep ties to education. They include:
State Senator José Menéndez - Representing both the Main Campus and Downtown Campus, Menéndez was elected to the Texas Senate in 2015. He currently serves as the Senate Committee on Higher Education, Criminal Justice, Intergovernmental Relations and Nominations.
State Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer - Representing the Main Campus, Martinez-Fischer is an alumnus of UTSA and the first member of his family to graduate from college. He was first elected to the Texas House in 2000 and re-elected in 2018
State Rep. Diego Bernal - Representing the UTSA Downtown Campus, Bernal was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in February 2015. He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Public Education and is also a member of the House Committee on Urban Affairs and the House Committee on House Administration.
Plans for a UTSA Day at the Texas State Capitol are in the works, which will provide an opportunity to highlight the university’s programs and priorities with legislators. In addition, the UTSA will join forces with the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce for VIVA Day at the Capitol on March 5. Both events will involve delegations of students, alumni, faculty, staff and community supporters traveling to Austin to advocate for the university.
For more information, visit the Texas Legislature website.
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This academically rigorous mathematics-based summer enrichment program prepares middle and high school students for advanced studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Participants learn about problem-solving systems, develop greater awareness of STEM careers and strengthen their research skills.
UTSA Main CampusArchaeology 101 will introduce campers to archaeology and build on learned skills through experimental activities (like cave painting, weaving, and garbology).
Center for Archaeological Research, UTSA Main CampusThe camp exposes rising high school juniors, rising seniors and incoming college freshman to the many facets of the criminal justice system. Students will have opportunities to learn the functions of police in society and apply scientific theories to criminal investigations by examining a mock crime scene.
UTSA Main CampusThe Academy for Teacher Excellence Research Center invites you to join us for the Summer Bridging Institute. This institute will focus on being lifelong growers and continually seeking to increase our skills as educators.
UTSA Downtown CampusArchaeology 201 will briefly go over the foundations of archaeology and related skills, followed by a different topic over the course of this week (like skeletal analysis, global cultures, and more).
Center for Archaeological Research, UTSA Main CampusCraft a comic to create your own narrative and find your voice through storytelling. Participants will learn to create characters that are self-reflective and through a community lens.
REGSS Community Room (DB 3.202,) UTSA Downtown CampusCome enjoy a discussion on art as a self expression in the age of moving technology and telling your story with a community.
REGSS Community Room (DB 3.202,) UTSA Downtown CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.