UTSA Giving Magazine—2013

Giving THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FALL 2013

A Great Harvest RETAILER’S CHALLENGE PROPELS UTSA BEYOND ITS INITIAL CAMPAIGN GOAL

BUSHELS OF GIFTS, BARRELS OF THANKS An H-E-B matching gift challenge inspired 10 donors to step up to support endowed faculty positions. The total value: $10 million, becoming the largest private matching gift in the university’s history.

Giving F E AT U R E D I N T H I S I S S U E :

UTSA Giving Fall 2013 Website: utsa.edu/giving UTSA Giving is published

biannually by The University of Texas at San Antonio for donors and friends. The publication communicates the impact of philanthropy on the university.

PRESIDENT:

Ricardo Romo VICE PRESIDENT FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS:

Marjie French ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING:

Joe Izbrand

EDITOR: Lety Laurel DESIGNER:

Tom Palmer ASSOCIATE EDITOR:

Guillermo Garcia

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A GREAT HARVEST

Endowments make university history

The Fruits of Labor

With its initial fundraising goal met two years ahead of schedule, UTSA continues to build momentum in its first capital campaign

The Unconventional Yvonne Katz Alumna motors to yet another university first

David’s Big Bus

With a bus and a crazy hat, philanthropist David Spencer is out to prove that college should be fun

CONTRIBUTORS:

Wendy Frost, Heather Locke Green, Tim Luukkonen, Langmore Photography PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Patrick Ray Dunn, Mark McClendon If you prefer to receive UTSA Giving online only, please send a message to giving@utsa.edu.

2 FROM THE PRESIDENT RICARDO ROMO THANKS ALL UNIVERSITY SUPPORTERS 3 NEWS BRIEFS UTSA IN THE NEWS 18 GIVING SCENE SNAPSHOTS OF JUST SOME OF THOSE WHO ARE HELPING PROPEL UTSA TO TOP TIER 20 GIVING THOUGHTS MARJIE FRENCH, VICE PRESIDENT FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS, KNOWS SUCCESS DOESN’T HAPPEN ALONE CONTACT US:

Office of the Vice President for External Relations

One UTSA Circle • San Antonio, TX 78249 • (210) 458-4131 • giving@utsa.edu

DEVELOPMENT BOARD

DEAR FRIENDS: A milestone reached! With your help, our inaugural capital campaign, We Are UTSA, has raised more than $120 million, meeting our initial financial goal two years ahead of schedule. The campaign continues through August 2015 and we are eager to further our work by setting new goals in key areas.

The truth is, when we started this campaign, there were people who wondered if we could succeed. But I knew the hearts and will of our community—we want the very best opportunities available right here in San Antonio. UTSA is on its way to Tier One recognition.

As a donor, your gifts are helping us get there. With your support, we are an unstoppable, winning team.

As a close friend and supporter, we’d like you to know about our accelerated plans. We have set a new goal of raising an additional $55 million, for a total of $175 million. We are focusing even more on the areas that directly strengthen our case for Tier One such as securing more scholarships for graduate students and top scholars, increasing funding to attract and retain the best faculty and building athletics facilities on par with those of our new Conference USA peers. All of these opportunities will give our students a world-class experience that will propel them to future success.

There is no doubt that we have been successful in this campaign to date because of the generous outpouring of support for UTSA. When you give to UTSA, it causes a ripple effect across the region and the state. You are helping students fulfill their potential; you are ensuring a strong workforce and industry growth; you are attracting experts to teach and research in your backyard; and you are bringing premier cultural and athletic events to our community.

When you give to the university, you are really investing in the success of San Antonio and Texas.

READE D. AHRENS JOHN D. ALEXANDER JR. STEPHEN W. ARNOLD J. DAN BATES KEVIN L. BELGRADE EDWARD GLENN BIGGS JAMES H. BODENSTEDT ’96 J. DARRYL BYRD SCOTT CARPENTER ROBERT M. CAVENDER HENRY G. CISNEROS LORETTA J. CLARKE ’87, ’90 PATRICK J. CLYNES ’89 SAMUEL G. DAWSON TRISH DeBERRY JOHN W. FEIK ALFREDO L. FLORES JR. DON FROST TOM C. FROST JR. GLORIA GALT CATHY OBRIOTTI GREEN HERIBERTO GUERRA JR. BETTY MURRAY HALFF ’76 ROGER R. HEMMINGHAUS BRENDA VICKREY JOHNSON CINDY L. JORGENSEN ’00 CLAYTON E. KILLINGER ’83 STEVEN Q. LEE EDITH S. MCALLISTER JOHN F. MCFALL ’92 JANICE L. MEYR ’79 BALOUS T. MILLER WILLIAM E. MORROW ’86 HENRY R. MUÑOZ III GREG PAPAY HOWARD W. PEAK IV ’75 BOONE POWELL JAMES R. REED HARRIETT ROMO GURVINDER P. SINGH DAVID A. SPENCER JOHN T. STEEN JR. (VICE CHAIR) SAM BELL STEVES II JULIAN H. TREVINO J. RANDOLPH VOGEL ’79 ED L. WHITE JR. KENNETH L. WILSON (CHAIR) NELSON W. WOLFF JEANIE RABKE WYATT ’86

CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE JAMES H. BODENSTEDT ’96 (CAMPAIGN CHAIR)

We still have work to do and goals to meet to ensure UTSA gets to Tier One status and beyond. I know we’ll get there thanks to your continuing support.

Sincerely,

Ricardo Romo President, The University of Texas at San Antonio

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JOHN D. ALEXANDER JR. EDWARD GLENN BIGGS ERNEST W. BROMLEY ’78, ’80 HENRY G. CISNEROS TOM C. FROST JR. CATHY OBRIOTTI GREEN CLAYTON E. KILLINGER ’83 STEVEN Q. LEE JOHN T. STEEN JR. KENNETH L. WILSON JEANIE RABKE WYATT ’86

NEWS BRIEFS SWEET NEW SUITES

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Daniel Hollas, senior associate dean of the College of Business

NEW BOARD MEMBERS ANNOUNCED

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leven members were appointed to UTSA’s Development Board, which encourages the community to support the university.

There were nine San Antonio appointments, including Kevin Belgrade, The Terra Vista Group; Darryl Byrd, SA2020; Scott Carpenter, Toyota Manufacturing Texas; Trish DeBerry, The DeBerry Group; Don Frost, Frost Bank; Brenda Vickrey Johnson, Vickrey & Associates; Cindy Jorgensen, M.B.A. ’00, SWBC; Greg Papay, Lake Flato Architects; and Gurvinder P. Singh, founder of Karta Technologies, Inc.

usiness students and employers now have firstclass interview and professional development space in the Business Building on the Main Campus.

The 1,200-square-foot Ernst & Young Leadership Suites feature six multipurpose breakout rooms and a kitchenette. The space was made possible through more than $500,000 that was raised for this purpose, as well as for student professional development programs and scholarship assistance.

Each suite offers wireless Internet access, and one room includes a digital interactive whiteboard to allow for video conferencing and collaboration.

“We are so pleased to sponsor these Leadership Suites as part of our ongoing support of UTSA,” said Lisa Friel, Ernst & Young’s San Antonio managing partner. “This dedicated space will promote collaboration among students and business leaders and gives each group an opportunity to learn from the other.”

Also appointed were Pat Clynes, B.B.A. ’89, BP Energy, from Houston; and Janice Meyr, B.B.A. ’79, B&R Supply & Equipment Company, from Corpus Christi.

UTSA’s Development Board is composed of some 50 community and business leaders who serve as champions for the university and help raise resources to support the school’s mission.

As an advisory group to the president and the external relations division, the board has been instrumental in UTSA’s first capital campaign, We Are UTSA—A Top-Tier Campaign.

A $75K BOOST

HONORABLE MENTION

ells Fargo has committed $75,000 for an endowed honors scholarship. The gift continues Wells Fargo’s support of UTSA scholarships as part of the university’s drive to fund access to excellence through We Are UTSA—A Top-Tier Campaign.

“We are grateful to Wells Fargo for this generous commitment to endow a scholarship that will benefit high-achieving students in our Honors College,” said Marjie French, UTSA vice president for external relations. “This gift says a great deal about Wells Fargo’s continued commitment to ensure that our community thrives through education.”

The recipient of the scholarship will be a student enrolled in the Honors College who maintains at least a 3.25 G.P.A.

Bill Greehey, whose Greehey Family Foundation has given more than $2 million in support to UTSA over the years, was recently awarded the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his philanthropic and professional contributions.

This comes after Greehey, chairman of pipeline company NuStar Energy LP, was named one of the best performing CEOs in the world during his tenure at Valero Energy Corp. by Harvard Business Review earlier this year. Greehey ranked 12th among the nation’s top CEOs and 31st among CEOs worldwide.

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WORKING FOR HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES

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s many as 45 percent of children in Hispanic communities are overweight or obese.

To try to combat this startling statistic, Dr. Meizi He, associate professor of health and kinesiology, is utilizing that community’s deep religious faith to try to promote lifestyle changes.

Through a faith-based intervention program called Building a Healthy Temple, He targets Latinos with a curriculum focused on healthy eating, active living and healthy body weight. Already the program has been tested in two churches on San Antonio’s West Side, but because of a $250,000 gift from Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio, He is extending the program to 18 more churches, reaching 3,600 adults and children.

“I cannot tell you how grateful I am to Baptist Health Foundation for providing us with the support to expand Building a Healthy Temple into the areas that need it most,” said He. “With the right tools, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of Latinos.”

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The Fruits of Labor UTSA CONTINUES TO BUILD MOMENTUM IN ITS FIRST CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

BY HEATHER LOCKE GREEN

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efore UTSA launched its first capital campaign, consultants cautioned that trying to raise $120 million in a down economy at a university where a majority of the alumni are under age 40 would be tough.

They were wrong.

In May, President Ricardo Romo announced the university had met its initial goal—more than two years ahead of schedule.

“I knew the hearts of our community were with UTSA,” Romo said. “We want exceptional opportunities right here and we are willing to invest in making that possible.”

The campaign is credited with the creation of 135 new scholarships, as well as 26 new faculty endowments. A $5 million gift from H-E-B to match commitments for faculty endowments was key in putting the campaign total over the top.

Now the university has a new goal. By August 2015, when the campaign ends, officials hope to raise an additional $55 million.

“I am confident that we will meet our new $175 million milestone because San Antonio has already been very generous to us,” said Romo. “The new goal is a commitment to taking the next tangible steps in our journey to Tier One.” By the time the university announced its first capital campaign in April 2012, it had quietly raised $94.3 million.

“We already had such strong momentum going into the launch,” said Marjie French, vice president for external relations. “We knew we were going to meet our goal.”

First came a $2.5 million gift from Valero Energy Foundation for graduate student research support. That was matched by the Texas Research Incentive Program, resulting in one of the university’s largest corporate gifts.

“That essentially launched our campaign,” French said. “It gave us the boost we needed to get off to a strong start.”

A surprise gift from the estate of a retired schoolteacher, Mary E. McKinney, gave the biggest push, an estimated $27 million for student scholarships.

The money has provided 77 scholarships.

So when H-E-B announced its $5 million match this year, it helped push UTSA over the top and introduced an opportunity to keep the momentum going.

“Already, the impact that this capital campaign has made has been astounding,” French said.

“We are changing people’s lives by providing an opportunity for students to participate in cutting-

edge research with state-of-the-art equipment.

They are receiving educational opportunities led by some of the world’s top faculty. This is what a top-tier university experience is all about.”

The additional funds generated over the next two years will be used to continue attracting and retaining faculty; offer more undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships; establish and support more centers, institutes and programs; and enhance student life.

Athletic facility funding is also a key priority in anticipation of the fall opening of the Park West Athletics Complex and the football practice fields.

The goal extension will provide an opportunity for more donors to step up to support the university, said Jim Bodenstedt ’96, campaign chair. An important component to that is alumni giving.

“There is a role for everyone in this campaign,” Bodenstedt said. “Alumni giving growth is vital to ongoing success and the reputation of the university. Every gift makes a difference.”

When the campaign concludes in August 2015, the university will be a different place than it was in April 2012, when the campaign officially began, French said.

Signs of the metamorphosis are evident.

There is a new dean in the College of Business, Gerry Sanders, who moved to UTSA from Rice University, in part because of the new $1 million Bodenstedt Chair for the Dean of Business.

A $1 million gift from the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund helped create the Center for Innovation in Drug Discovery, a joint effort with the University of Texas Health Science Center that will spearhead the creation of new drugs to treat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as many others.

And because of a $750,000 gift from the Greehey Family Foundation, 38 of the football team’s players—many of them first-generation college students—were awarded scholarships.

Soon there will be more faculty members who are leaders in their fields, more equipment and facilities supporting cutting-edge research and more students who will have the support to access the best the university has to offer.

“We are committed to giving our students exceptional opportunities to become exceptional leaders,” said Romo. “At our core is a deep desire to bring opportunities here, investing in our people and the future of our city. We are grateful to our donors—they are changing lives and building a solid foundation for future success.”

REAPING THE REWARDS 135 new scholarships 78% increase in endowed faculty positions $129 M raised as of July 2013 19,500+ campaign donors

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Winell Herron, M.B.A. ’00 and group vice president of public affairs, diversity and environmental affairs for the regional retailer H-E-B, was instrumental in sealing the largest private matching gift in UTSA’s history.

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Great Harvest

BY LETY LAUREL

RETAILER’S COMMITMENT CATAPULTS UTSA OVER ITS INITIAL CAMPAIGN GOAL

It’s a familiar story. When Winell Herron visited UTSA 13 years after she graduated with her M.B.A., she was taken aback—albeit in a pleasant way—by the new construction, the flood of students and the energy that football has brought.

It hardly looked like the same campus.

But here’s the unique twist: Herron played a key role in what the future will hold for her alma mater. And the proof is literally written on the walls of the university’s recently dedicated H-E-B University Center.

As group vice president of public affairs, diversity and environmental affairs for retailer H-E-B, Herron also oversees philanthropic giving to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. So it wasn’t unusual when H-E-B chairman and CEO Charles Butt handed her a gift proposal. But this one was different.

“This is the largest gift that H-E-B has ever given to the university,” she said. “Many of the students who attend UTSA are the first in their families to attend college. For us, that is incredibly compelling.”

In February, a $5 million gift to UTSA—the largest private matching gift in the university’s history, was announced. The H-E-B Faculty Research Excellence Fund was significant in another way. It quickly catapulted UTSA beyond its goal of raising $120 million by 2015 in its first capital campaign.

Within five months, 10 private donors had stepped up to match H-E-B’s gift of $ 5 million with an additional $5 million to support faculty research endowments.

University officials said the response to the fundraising challenge was strong and quick. That is a testimony to UTSA’s role in the community, Herron added.

“Talk about bold vision, commitment, passion and determination to deliver for the students of Texas,” she said. “It’s very inspiring to witness, especially as an alumna.”

In April, UTSA unveiled the H-E-B University Center, renamed in recognition its support over the years.

Among the endowed positions created by the fund is a $2 million distinguished university chair for research in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, made possible through a $1 million gift from Rita

and John Feik, and a $2 million distinguished chair for the dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, supported by Mary Pat Stumberg.

The money will be used to continue to attract and recruit leading scholars and researchers by providing financial support for their research, teaching and other educational activities, said President Ricardo Romo.

“This is a watershed moment for UTSA,” Romo said. “The generosity of H-E-B was the spark that ignited giving by others who saw matching gifts as a way to make their commitments even more impactful. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed so meaningfully to the advancement of education.

“This gift will have a transformational impact on UTSA and San Antonio by helping to bring world-class faculty to our community to conduct research, create new businesses that grow our economy and inspire a new generation of leaders,” he added.

Already, top faculty members have been recruited from institutions such as MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan and Rice University. UTSA has 59 endowed faculty positions committed, representing about 9 percent of the total tenured and tenure-track faculty positions across the university. UTSA’s goal is to increase this number to 10 percent by 2016. Longer term, the university expects to have 20 percent of positions endowed.

“We’re proud to have the H-E-B name associated with this special university,” Herron said. “Education is a catalyst for change that has a long lasting, positive effect on generations to come. H-E-B is deeply invested in the future of the Texas economy, which we feel is anchored by how well we educate our students.”

That belief in and support of UTSA has been evident for many years. Since 1986, H-E-B has provided more than $3 million in additional gifts toward graduate school fellowships, scholarships and programming support that have benefitted every college and numerous student and alumni activities.

“A large percentage of students that attend UTSA stay in San Antonio or Texas,” Herron said. “We’re a Texas company. UTSA is in our backyard. As the quality of students grows and as the number of academic programs increase, businesses like H-E-B benefit from these types of investments.

“It’s a win for the students, a win for businesses, a win for the university and a win for the communities in our state.”

Carved apple designs provided by Louis Keefe, ARAMARK resident district manager and Phil Salinas, executive chef G I V I N G 2 013

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The harvest happened quickly.

Within five months, 10 donors stepped up to match H-E-B’s multimillion dollar challenge to grow faculty research.

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tumberg Distinguished University Chair for the Dean of Liberal and Fine Arts

Recently, longtime San Antonio resident Mary Pat Stumberg was considering how best to honor the philanthropic efforts of her husband of 57 years, Louis Herbert Stumberg.

Over the years, the couple created or funded a half-dozen endowment funds and scholarships. Stumberg wanted to memorialize the lifetime’s worth of civic contributions by her businessman husband, who died in 2011, and who decades earlier pioneered the manufacture of frozen Mexican food when he and his brother founded Patio Foods.

After several discussions with College of Liberal and Fine Arts Dean Daniel Gelo and other university leaders, plans crystalized for the Stumberg Distinguished University Chair. Funds from the endowment will be used by Gelo to boost research, teaching and scholarship advancement within the college.

“Dan Gelo has been a great dean, so if this can help him leave a good mark on the university and provide for quality leadership into the future, while at the same time honoring my husband, then I welcome the opportunity,” Stumberg said.

Stumberg, an emeritus member of the Institute of Texan Cultures Development MARY PAT STUMBERG

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Board and past member of the COLFA Advisory Council, has noted that giving to a relatively young institution like UTSA can often make a visible impact in helping shape the university’s future direction.

She and her family have had a long history with the university, a point Provost John Frederick alluded to when the university proposed the endowment.

“Mary Pat, you are a longtime supporter of the university and, along with Louis, your generosity has significantly advanced the arts and music at UTSA, as well as across our community. Your family’s leadership has been instrumental in growing UTSA into the emerging research university it is today,” Frederick said.

In 2008, the couple, co-directors of the Louis and Mary Pat Stumberg Foundation, created the Marjorie Powell Zachry Memorial Endowment Scholarships for Strings, named for Mrs. Stumberg’s mother.

In keeping with her wish that scholarships be available in interdisciplinary studies, the music department also created a fund specifically for engineering and science majors taking music courses.

The endowment will give Gelo the option of using the funds to strengthen and advance COLFA’s teaching, research and outreach programs, including supporting student programs, start-up research funding for new faculty, rewards for faculty and staff excellence, and support for centers within the college.

Noting that past gifts from the family have been responsible for keeping the music department’s pianos tuned and repaired, Gelo said, “This endowment will further the spirit that Mary Pat brings with her of helping students in innovative ways.”

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ita and John Feik Distinguished University Chair in Medicinal Chemistry

John W. Feik has been in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 30 years. It is where he found his passion, and also his fortune.

Now he and his wife, Rita, want to create an opportunity for others to find the same success in medicinal chemistry. The couple has committed $1 million to create the $2 million Rita and John Feik Distinguished University Chair in Medicinal Chemistry.

“We’ve watched UTSA grow over the years,” Feik said. “The opportunity to help bring the university to Tier One is something we’d like to support. Education is a sweet spot for us.

“We have both lived in San Antonio for the longest part of our lives, and we have a great affinity for San Antonio and its growth. It’s been good to us, so we want to help the city in return. Supporting education here is one way to do that.”

The money will be used to advance research in the medicinal chemistry field and will strengthen the Department of Chemistry’s ability to recruit and retain world-class faculty in drug discovery.

“The Feik gift is really a pivotal one for our region and for the state of Texas,” said College of Sciences Dean George Perry. “John Feik has been a foundational person for the pharmaceutical industry regionally and internationally.”

The gift is a public show of confidence and support for the Department of Chemistry, Perry said, and the faculty member who will eventually hold the endowed chair will be the linchpin of the medicinal chemistry program.

“It really cements the whole investment we’ve made over the past several years in medicinal chemistry,” Perry added.

Feik graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1969 with degrees in finance and chemistry. He joined Fort Worth-based Alcon Laboratories in 1970 and held several executive positions until 1990, when he acquired Alcon’s San Antonio plant operations. He and a partner established DFB Pharmaceuticals Inc., which became the parent

company of DPT Laboratories Ltd., Phyton Biotech LLC, Coria Laboratories and Healthpoint Biotechnologies Ltd. Feik served as group president and chief operating officer of DFB subsidiaries from 1990 to December 2012.

Feik has served for nine years on UTSA’s Development Board. In addition to the endowed chair, he has given nearly $180,000 to UTSA through DPT and DFB Pharmaceuticals. In 2010, he was inducted into the San Antonio Business Hall of Fame for exhibiting work ethics, values and a sense of community.

“Sciences are the bedrock of future wellbeing and change in our society,” Feik said. “I think you need to have an overall education on top of that, but science allows you to be able to truly identify new ways and new things. This medicinal chemistry chair gets right to the heart of it.”

JOHN W. AND RITA FEIK

JOHN W. AN

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dward E. Whitacre, Jr. Chair in Mechanics

A $1 million endowed chair in mechanics in the College of Engineering will not only bring increased credibility to the department, but it will also serve as a magnet to attract top-level Ph.D. candidates in a rapid growth area of the college’s curriculum, current and former engineering department leaders said.

The gift will support mechanics professors in performing research and teaching activities, said Mehdi Shadaram, interim dean of the College of Engineering.

“The endowed professor can use the income to recruit top Ph.D. candidates or to purchase research equipment for his or her laboratory,” Shadaram said.

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The endowment marks the first time that a specifically designated area of engineering—in this instance, mechanics—will be the beneficiary of a directed chair, noted interim vice president for research Mauli Agrawal.

“Mechanics is an area we are growing very quickly,” said Agrawal. “It is a complex and varied topic area that ranges from infrastructure sustainability, like keeping an aging fleet of aircraft flying longer, to increasing the effective life of buildings and bridges.”

Shadaram said the endowed funds will boost the college’s overall effort in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math, often called STEM fields, and will create career opportunities for more of America’s future scientists and engineers.

odenstedt Chair for the Dean of Business

Jim Bodenstedt ’96 was just a teen when he discovered his love of business.

Today, as president and CEO of MUY!, he has decided to give back to the school that honed his skills and helped make him successful. So with a gift of $500,000, he created the $1 million Bodenstedt Chair for the Dean of Business.

“I wanted to give back to the business school where I graduated, and I wanted to help Dean Gerry Sanders to grow programs and allow him to use those monies to better develop the College of Business,” he said.

Bodenstedt founded MUY! in 2003 with 18 existing Taco Bell and KFC restaurants in West Texas and Corpus Christi.

The firm now operates 270

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Pizza Huts, Taco Bells and Wendy’s throughout Texas and the northeastern United States.

Bodenstedt has consistently supported the university. In 2010, he donated $1 million to fund football scholarships, the first private donation of that size to the athletics department.

He later became UTSA’s capital campaign chairman, helping lead the task of raising $175 million by 2015.

“As many have done, I think it’s important for businesses to continue to support UTSA,” Bodenstedt said. “In my case, it was important for me to give back to the College of Business, where my accounting degree was earned.”

San Antonio has historically been recognized for its skilled labor force, he said, and UTSA’s role in developing that workforce is an important one.

“The city needs some greater balance,” Bodenstedt added. “Higher education helps attract the businesses that look for the skilled workforce. This will lead to greater success for the city. And UTSA will be the biggest part of that attraction in the future.”

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loud Technology Professorships

Rackspace Chairman Graham Weston is a firm believer that academia is a bridge to a robust workforce and injects the economy with the necessary human capital to develop and prosper. That’s why his strategic philanthropic effort, the 80/20 Foundation, has committed $500,000 to create four endowed professorships in a field focusing on the latest innovations in Web and Internet hosting known as cloud technology.

With the match, the donation will create four $250,000 professorships at several of the university’s colleges.

Weston is convinced that firms have trouble recruiting science and technology talent to San Antonio, so he wants to invest locally to grow the talent that will attract top industries to the city, said Lorenzo Gomez III, the foundation’s executive director.

“In our perfect world, UTSA would be producing entire crops of cloud-computing-skilled people. By doing that, you would force companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google to open up offices here,” he said. “We have this opportunity to leverage [those elements of] academia and the private sector...and marry them to fulfill a high-need pipeline in our workforce.”

Gomez said the intent is to attract top faculty to UTSA to make San Antonio an epicenter of cloud computing knowledge and training.

The 80/20 Foundation supports organizations that impact the region by providing more options for urban living and entertainment, turning the city into a hub for business and social entrepreneurs, and promoting education for high-tech jobs of the 21st century.

That’s where UTSA comes in, Gomez said.

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“We’re in an arms race for brains,” he said. “The knowledge economy is very hard. If you are a knowledge worker, you can pick where you want to work, and if you have certain skills, like cloud computing, not only can you pick where you want to work, but you will also be recruited by everyone.

The world is your oyster.”

The new professorships will advance cloud computing research and education.

At the provost’s discretion, they can be assigned to any college or department and are expected to immediately benefit the College of Engineering and the College of Sciences.

“We need to start teaching these skills for the next wave of knowledge workers the Internet needs,” Gomez said. “In our world, cloud computing has already changed the world.”

GRAHAM WESTON

emmes Foundation Endowed Chair in Neurobiology

A $1 million endowment for a chair in neurobiology in the College of Sciences could help broaden understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, one of the leading afflictions and causes of death among senior citizens.

Thanks to a $500,000 donation from the San Antoniobased Semmes Foundation, UTSA’s George Perry, a renowned Alzheimer’s authority, will have an unprecedented opportunity for worldwide collaboration and expanded research into the debilitating affliction, as well as other neurological diseases.

Perry, dean of the College of Sciences, will hold the Patricia and Tom Semmes Endowed Chair in Neurobiology, which will be aligned with

the Neurosciences Institute, headed by Charles Wilson, a leading expert in Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

The chair will coordinate research into more than 50 nervous system diseases.

“Leverage means a lot for a foundation, so this is just an ideal situation for us,” said Tom Semmes, chairman of the family foundation, referring to collaboration with H-E-B. Alzheimer’s afflicts one in every six Americans in their 60s and one of every two in their 80s, and is the nation’s fifthleading cause of death. It produces profound changes in the brain and is characterized by the loss of cognitive function.

The disease causes an increased number of molecules, known as free radicals, to cripple and kill brain cells, which triggers dementia. Perry’s research will focus on the brain cells’ response to the free radicals and the damage they cause.

It is believed that understanding this process may lead to ways to interrupt the disease’s ravaging effects as well as to effective intervention in younger patients.

TOM AND PATRICIA SEMMES

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ertha Perez Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Biliteracy Research

A former faculty member, known for her lifelong personal and professional commitment to improving literacy rates, is now doing what she can to continue her life’s mission.

She recently gave $250,000 to the university to create a $500,000 professorship in support of biliteracy research.

The donor established the professorship to help the university recruit and retain an expert to advance biliteracy research and teaching.

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“Her generosity in supporting the endowed professorship in biliteracy ensures the college’s ability to attract and support outstanding scholars who will continue to focus attention on this most crucial area of study,” said Betty Merchant, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

The gift reflects the donor’s passion for Latino children and families, and the belief that there needs to be a more expansive and inclusive view of literacy, Merchant said.

acobson Distinguished Professorship of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Norman Jacobson is no novice when it comes to entrepreneurship or philanthropy.

That’s why the former internist pledged $250,000 to establish the Jacobson Distinguished Professorship in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

“It was important to donate to UTSA’s College of Engineering because I wanted to return to the community that has been so kind to me, and I particularly wanted to highlight the important, innovative and productive performance of the college,” he said.

Jacobson was the founder and CEO of Hospital Inpatient Management Services, an enterprise that started the hospitalist industry in the U.S. and changed the delivery of primary care.

He is also the former chairman and CEO of Advanced Tobacco Products and is a real estate partnership manager and investor.

Through the years, Jacobson has supported UTSA with gifts totaling more than $350,000, allocated to

the Roadrunner Foundation, UTSA Athletics and the College of Engineering.

The Jacobson Distinguished Professorship of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is expected to change the face of entrepreneurship in the region, Jacobson said. The endowment will bring an expert who will guide young entrepreneurs, and will provide financial support to encourage students’ success in their technology-related entrepreneurial endeavors, making San Antonio a hub for new business activity.

Jacobson sees his donation as vital in helping UTSA reach Tier One status because contributions like his can help attract top-notch faculty and students, he said.

“It’s a tedious and incremental process to achieve credibility and acclaim, but the effort is worthwhile and the rewards, at all levels, are good for the university and the city,” he said.

The work being done in the College of Engineering inspired him to make his most recent pledge, he added.

“Its dynamic growth and commitment to teaching and practical application of learning and invention impresses me the most about the college,” Jacobson said. “My interaction with the students has awed and inspired me, and raised my enthusiasm for supporting the College of Engineering.”

DR. NORMAN JACOBSON

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elvin Lachman Distinguished Professorship in Entrepreneurship

The memory of a postwar pots-and-pans salesman known for his entrepreneurial skills and innate salesmanship will live on with the Melvin Lachman Distinguished Professor in Entrepreneurship in the College of Business.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, $500,000 MELVIN LACHMAN will be set aside for the professorship, which will be held by William Flannery, chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Technology Management.

The business college plans to use the professorship to help spread the seed of entrepreneurship by providing tomorrow’s business leaders with the education, experience and exposure needed to succeed. Currently, more than 100 UTSA

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students own their own businesses.

A San Antonio native, Lachman was a graduate of Jefferson High School and the University of Texas at Austin.

The position will honor a “man who was a real character,” said his widow, Judy Lachman. “He never knew a stranger.”

Lachman served in the Army during World War II. After finishing his tour of duty, he returned to his hometown, and with a $3,000 investment launched his pots-and-pans sales operation.

He would later co-found Lachman-Rose, which became the largest wholesale toy distributorship in the Southwest.

After selling that business in 1971, Lachman became vice president of the Quincy Lee Company, a real estate development firm that pioneered the construction of quality affordable housing in San Antonio.

“The magic to Melvin was that he was totally unorthodox,” said Quincy Lee’s son, Steven, who recalled that when he was first introduced to Lachman, “Melvin was wearing red, yellow and green checkered slacks and an Oak Hills golf cap. Melvin was a natural-born salesperson.”

eldon W. Hammond, Jr. Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Hydrogeology

Linda Hammond, the wife of a longtime geology professor, former director of the UTSA Center for Water Research and former naval officer, has honored her husband with a $500,000 distinguished professorship in geosciences.

A local watercolor artist, Hammond said she couldn’t think of a better way to honor Weldon W. Hammond Jr. after his retirement in 2012 following 34 years with the Department of Geology. Weldon Hammond, a consulting geologist since 1970, currently serves as associate professor emeritus in geological sciences.

The water center he led is a research component of the College of Sciences and the College of Engineering.

Linda Hammond said the professorship will focus on issues dealing with groundwater exploration and management, including recharge enhancement studies, solid waste site location studies, flooding, and mineral exploration and development, which are her husband’s forte.

“This is an excellent way of ‘paying it forward’ and just a way to give back to the university in the area of hydrogeology,” she said. “In San Antonio and the re-

LINDA AND WELDON HAMMOND

gion, water needs are extremely important, and we certainly need good science behind what we do.”

In addition to his academic career, Weldon Hammond also served as a captain in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Blue Ridge in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

He secured bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in geology from the University of Texas at Austin.

The

Unconventional L YVONNE KATZ L

BY GUILLERMO GARCIA

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ALL SCHOOLS HAVE DEFINING MOMENTS IN THEIR HISTORY AND THIS IS A DEFINING MOMENT FOR UTSA.

Y

”

vonne Katz has such a long-standing relationship with UTSA that she jokes: “When I bleed, my blood runs orange.”

That is despite earning a doctorate from a Texas university associated with the decidedly non-orange colors of maroon and white.

The longtime educator has committed $1 million to UTSA’s Alumni Association, which she helped found in 1977. That is just one in a list of firsts in her nearly four-decade-long association with UTSA: She served as the first president of the alumni association and was in the university’s first graduating class in 1974 when she earned an M.A. in educational administration.

“My parents taught me to give back to my community because someone gave for me to pursue my dreams,” she said, adding that she hopes her donation will serve as a challenge to other professionals.

“I am not wealthy, but if I can donate $1 million to the university, I know that others in my situation can as well,” said Katz, who worked as a teacher and administrator in public education for 39 years, including stints as superintendent of San Antonio’s Harlandale ISD, Spring Branch ISD in Houston and an Oregon school district. She also served as the Texas Education Agency’s associate commissioner and director of accreditation.

Her unique donation is what is known as a private gift annuity, which often involves donating non-cash assets such as stocks. After her death, the university will become the sole and irrevocable beneficiary of her annuities.

The gift provides ongoing support for Alumni Association operations and will help sustain the association in perpetuity, said Laura Murray, interim associate vice president for alumni programs.

“As the association grows and reaches new levels of engagement with alumni at a global level, operational support is critical to its ability to excel,” she said. “Dr. Katz’s vision and leadership has provided [that] vital support. ” Murray said the gift’s flexibility will allow the Alumni Association a nimbler response to strategic growth opportunities.

The gift allows a person to convert his or her assets to generate a life income, while also helping to map out a financial plan to meet the donor’s specific donation goal. In Katz’s case, it was her desire to support UTSA. The dynamic redhead, who enjoys powering down San

ó YVONNE KATZ, longtime supporter of UTSA

(LEFT) The UTSA Office of Alumni Programs was renamed the Katz Alumni Center at a March 18 ceremony.

(BOTTOM) Motorcycle enthusiast and former school district superintendent Yvonne Katz ’74 has supported UTSA for nearly four decades. Last fall, she made a $1 million commitment to support alumni programs and students pursuing careers in education.

Antonio streets on her Harley-Davidson motorcycle, fondly notes how far the UTSA campus has evolved since she and 70 fellow students made up the first graduating class in 1974.

In those days, the university offered only post-graduate course work in a strip mall office building—a humble beginning.

She helped launch the Office of Alumni Programs years after she graduated. Katz laughingly recalls attending organizational meetings at a downtown San Antonio restaurant “that just happened to serve outstanding nachos and margaritas. ” After receiving her master’s at UTSA, Katz earned a doctorate in education from Texas A&M University, which later recognized her as an outstanding educator.

But over the years, her commitment to UTSA has not faded.

For the last three decades, Katz has helped support a variety of campus programs, including the Dr. Yvonne Katz Endowed Alumni Program Fund; the UTSA Alumni Association Scholarship; the UTSA Excellence Fund; the President’s Associates; Fiesta Under the Stars; the Department of Educational Leadership; the Kirkpatrick Endowed Presidential Scholarship; and women’s golf.

Even in retirement, the grandmother of four has her plate full, enjoying golf, bridge, scuba diving and making jewelry.

And her civic responsibilities remain a priority. She is chair of the San Antonio Women’s Chamber of Commerce, is on the Board of Trustees of Alamo Colleges, and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer.

She repeatedly has been recognized for her work. In 1984, she was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame, and served as its president in 2010. In 1991, the Texas Association of School Boards selected her as one of the state’s top five superintendents.

And earlier this year, UTSA renamed the Office of Alumni Programs to the Katz Alumni Center in her honor.

“For nearly 40 years, Dr. Katz has set an inspiring example of how alumni can continue to make a difference in the lives of the UTSA students who are following in their footsteps,” said President Ricardo Romo.

Philanthropist David Spencer believes the college experience should be memorable. His big orange party bus is the home base for what has become known U Tas S AUTSA’s . E D U / Gcraziest I V I N G tailgate party.

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DAVID’S

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BIG BUS

avid Spencer’s college experience didn’t all revolve around algorithms and equations. What stands out most is the fun he had.

“I have a lot of nostalgia for my college years and none of that nostalgia is related to the academics,” he said.

“College ought to be fun. It’s serious, but it’s fun.”

Spencer is doing what he can to prove his point. Over the years, he and his wife, Jennifer, have given more than $1.3 million to UTSA Athletics, the College of Business and the College of Engineering.

But many students and boosters know him best for his big orange and blue party bus, his gaudy orange Rowdy cowboy hat and his powerful T-shirt cannon.

Even before the sun has fully risen on the mornings of home football games, Spencer is already at the Alamodome parking lot in the bus, the headquarters for what has become known as UTSA’s craziest tailgate party.

What began as a “small” gathering for 200 engineering students, community members and friends, known as “The Brute Squad,” has grown to a 1,500-plus-participant San Antonio fiesta that also is a fundraiser for UTSA engineering and spirit organizations. Last season, the Brute Squad raised $18,000.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s also a lot of fun,” Spencer said.

When attendance began to lag at Roadrunner football games this past season, the Spencers issued a challenge.

If 10,000 or more students showed up for the last two games of the season, the couple would give one lucky student, chosen by raffle, $5,000. Another $5,000 would go to the university’s general scholarship fund.

The students showed up in hordes. “The student section was packed, Rowdy was into it, it was just lights-out fun,” Spencer recalled.

And that is what he wants students to remember about college. Now that UTSA is part of Conference USA, the football program represents a step up in the student experience, he said.

“And you can only build a superior academic experience if you envelop it in a superior student experience,” he added.

With his school spirit and involvement, you’d think he was a UTSA alumnus. You’d be wrong.

While Jennifer Spencer is a 1993 graduate of UTSA with a B.S. in mathematics, David Spencer received his B.S. in electrical and computer engineering in 1988 from the

BY LETY LAUREL

University of Texas at Austin.

“I did graduate from a different University of Texas institution, but I got here as quickly as I could,” Spencer said.

“UTSA has a profound impact and will continue to have a profound impact on the future of San Antonio.”

After graduating from UT Austin, he began his career at Kelly AFB. He then attended the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College in 1995. A year later, he co-founded OnBoard Software Inc., a U.S. Department of Defense contractor. What began as a two-employee operation evolved into a company with more than 90 employees and $17 million in annual revenue. He sold the company in 2005.

He has served as president and CEO of Mandelbrot Ventures, a boutique fund that invested in pre-seed and seed-stage Texas technology firms. In 2008, he formed Texas Intrepid Ventures, a boutique fund aligned with local military medicine and commercial trauma sectors.

Throughout much of his professional career, the Spencers have been involved with UTSA. In 2007, they gave $1 million to create the David and Jennifer Spencer Distinguished Chair in Engineering. David Spencer has also been involved in a number of UTSA organizations, including the Institute for Cyber Security, advisory councils for the colleges of engineering, sciences and business, and the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security.

“Although he’s not in academics, he really understands the essence of the academic and student experience,” said Mauli Agrawal, interim vice president for research.

“There’s a buzz among engineering students. I would say he’s singlehandedly had a huge effect on the pride our students have had in engineering.”

Spencer said he wants a strong San Antonio that will benefit all students as well as his four sons.

“What I hope for is a San Antonio rife with opportunity,” he said. “Every great city has great universities and those universities are an integral part of the fabric of the community. So now we need to do all the things that help us embrace everything that is UTSA. “It’s a roundabout way of doing stuff for my kiddos. I’m going to continue to do anything that makes San Antonio a more vibrant, fascinating place. And supporting UTSA is a big part of that.”

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Giving Scene The UTSA

The 13th annual Great Conversation!, held Feb. 26 at the Institute of Texan Cultures, raised $162,050. The fundraising event brings together community leaders, scholars and UTSA supporters for dinner conversations on an array of topics. Money raised benefits the Honors College.

(TOP PHOTO) Former U.S. Rep. Charles Gonzalez (right) spoke on progress and gridlock in Congress. Also pictured are Stu Schlossberg (left) and Thomas Smith.

(INSET) Table presenters included Kristina Durante, assistant professor of marketing, who spoke about politics, religion and ovulation; and Gabriel Acevedo, associate professor of sociology, who spoke about common ground among Muslims, Christians and Jews.

(BELOW) German Gonzalez (left), master distiller at T1 Tequila, led the table discussion Let’s Talk about Tequila at the event. Also pictured are Patricia Robinson and Craig Robinson.

(LEFT) Iñigo Arzac ’05 (left), business development manager for GlobalSCAPE; Harriett Romo, professor in the Department of Sociology; and Bob Watson M.B.A. ’74, CEO and president of Abraxas Petroleum Corp., led table discussions.

(ABOVE) President Ricardo Romo; Winell Herron, M.B.A. ’00, group vice president of public affairs, diversity and environmental affairs at H-E-B; and Zack Dunn, Student Government Association president, gather in front of the newly renamed H-E-B University Center at the April 9 dedication ceremony.

(INSET) President Ricardo Romo announces to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce on May 6 that UTSA’s initial fundraising goal was met two years early. By the time the capital campaign ends in August 2015, officials hope to raise $175 million.

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The 14th annual UTSA Alumni Gala was held July 27 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

(LEFT): Mikaela Dillon (left), DeAnna Bodenstedt and Paulette Hatfield stand with Jim Bodenstedt ’96, president and CEO of MUY!, who was recognized as the Alumnus of the Year.

(BOTTOM RIGHT) Sam Dawson, CEO of Pape-Dawson Engineers, and his wife, Laura. Sam Dawson received the Distinguished Service Award at the Alumni Gala.

(BOTTOM LEFT) Albert Estrada ’83, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Titiana Gaston place bids at the silent auction.

(CENTER) This UTSA spirit wreath, which featured ribbon and a UTSA license plate in the center, was sold for $120 at the silent auction.

(LEFT) Runner Ron Titus prepares to run with his dog.

(CENTER) Runners, walkers, families and even four-legged companions gather at the starting line to participate in the event.

(FAR LEFT) Members of the UTSA University Band entertain participants of the 29th annual Diploma Dash.

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Giving Thought: SUCCESS DOES NOT HAPPEN ALONE

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t the public ceremony in April to announce the naming of the H-E-B University Center on the Main Campus, Student Government Association Presi-

dent Zack Dunn shared an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

It was a great sentiment to describe the growth of the university and our capital campaign. Some would say that our success so far has come quickly. We are grateful to the thousands of donors who have heard our call and are investing in the success of our university. We know that we did not achieve so much, so quickly, alone. In order to

sustain the momentum for the long term, we need to continue the next phase together.

Every gift to UTSA really does make a difference. Every dollar invested can mean another scholarship is funded or another leadership program is launched. Every dollar sends a message about the value of our institution. Did you know that university rankings use alumni giving data in determining their scores? Every dollar is another exceptional opportunity for a student or for new knowledge to be uncovered.

Every supporter makes a difference. Yvonne Katz knew that when she joined with other alumni to form the UTSA Alumni Association. H-E-B knew that when it made a challenge gift to encourage others to give.

David Spencer knew that when he launched his first tailgate party to support the new football team and engineering. Hopefully, you know, too, just how much your support is impacting UTSA. All our gifts—together—are changing the face of this university and our community. Thank you for believing in We Are UTSA.

Until next time,

Vice President for External Relations

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Leading By Example

Marian Martinello

Ph.D. Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching

Marian Martinello has helped countless UTSA students become great school teachers, and her dedication does not stop in the classroom.

She is ensuring that her work and her belief in the value of education continues for generations through her planned gift to UTSA. Like Martinello, many UTSA alumni and friends are planning their legacies today.

You can create a lasting legacy through a bequest to UTSA. For more information, please contact us at (210) 458-4154 or visit our web site at giftplan.utsa.edu.

G I V I N G 2 013 21 giving.utsa.edu

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