CONTENTS
Dear Friends, executive editor Jude Valdez, Ph.D. Vice President for Community Services
managing editor Ashley Festa University Marketing
in partnership with The Office of the Vice President for University Advancement and University Marketing contributing writers James Benavides Claire Jenkins Robert Benchley Olivia Lopez Sherrie Voss Matthews Amy Dalrymple Ashley Festa Rhonda Moses Christi Fish Cindy Tumiel
Communit y Services Departments Institute for Economic Development Robert McKinley, associate vice president
Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP) Rudy Reyna, Ph.D., executive director
Office of Community Outreach Belinda Saldaña, director
Office of Extended Education Frank Salazar, director
Institute of Texan Cultures Angelica Docog, executive director
Office of P-20 Initiatives Rachel Ruiz, Ph.D., assistant vice president
UTSA Mexico Center Harriett Romo, Ph.D., director
Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute Harriett Romo, Ph.D., director
Submit news, story ideas and comments to: Community Connect magazine Office of the Vice President for Community Services The University of Texas at San Antonio 501 W. César E. Chávez Blvd. San Antonio, TX 78207 210-458-2401
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Community Connect, the magazine dedicated to telling the story of UTSA’s involvement with our community. Higher education in the United States has traditionally included a threefold mission: teaching, research and public service. At UTSA, public service is a robust and dynamic component of our work, engaging virtually all sectors of the community in economic development, lifelong learning, cultural enrichment and Ricardo Romo, Ph.D. Jude Valdez, Ph.D. community-university partnerships. For our economy, UTSA’s extension services, which reach more than 37,000 businesses every year, are critical to stimulate growth and job creation for our graduates, elevating both labor supply and demand. Top-tier programs providing technical assistance, strategic planning, training and applied economics research generated a quarter of UTSA’s $1.2 billion economic impact on the state. For our children, UTSA works with schools to promote a college-going culture and raise college awareness. UTSA also conducts bridge programs for thousands of area students to ease the transition from high school to college. For our society, the university offers learning and cultural enrichment through the fine and performing arts and our museum, the Institute of Texan Cultures. UTSA also provides forums for public discussion of critical community issues. Pressing social, civic and educational issues are addressed through this type of engagement. For our future, faculty research and outreach scholarship provide insight and possibilities for transforming our community. This first issue of Community Connect highlights a slice of UTSA’s community engagement activities. We hope you enjoy reading it, and we welcome your comments and suggestions for future issues.
For more information on outreach activities at UTSA, visit
utsa.edu/community Community Connect is published annually by the Community Services division at The University of Texas at San Antonio. The magazine is dedicated to the mission of Community Services: extending UTSA beyond its campuses and into San Antonio and South Texas through public service, outreach and community education.
Fall 2012 CONNECT ONLINE Find the online edition of Community Connect at utsa.edu/communityconnect.
PICTURES & ChartS
Jude Valdez, Ph.D. Vice President for Community Services
Travel back in time to the Wild West
24
Summer Session
9
IED’s Snapshots of Excellence 2011 report
33
Outreach Activity at UTSA, Athletics engagement
Departments 10
2 6 Business Therapy 10 Real Life Lessons 16 Getting Prepped 18 A Change in Environment 20 Building the Future 26 Crossing Borders
A Maverick’s Texas
Students from Pasadena photograph their culture
Shawn Fluitt finds success at the SBDC
Architecture students get hands-on experience with energy-efficient designs
PREP graduates find their passion in STEM fields
Budding engineers conduct research for NASA
8th graders construct cars while Parent Academy gets community talking
Ricardo Romo, Ph.D. President, The University of Texas at San Antonio
4
Institute of Texan Cultures
4 5
41st annual Texas Folklife Festival
Institute for Economic Development
8 8
SBDC model expands globally UTSA and Honduran university will collaborate on new SBDCs
Service Learning at UTSA
11 14 14 15
New park benefits community and students Students make community improvements UTSA receives national honor for service Student earns award for volunteerism
P-20 Initiatives
23
High school students learn research techniques in TRIO
Mexico Center
29
Student’s research project focuses on healthcare of undocumented immigrants
30
Mexico partnerships benefit universities on both sides of border
31
Scholar network develops immigration book
DREAMers participate in research aimed at changing public perspective
On the cover Dancers from Sarita’s Dance Studio performed at the 41 st annual Texas Folklife Festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures in June. Photo by Mark McClendon
ITC welcomes new executive director
City of San Antonio
32
College of Public Policy joins SA2020
©2012 The University of Texas at San Antonio
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