Baird's legacy and commitment to education lives on

Donor Profile Baird's legacy and commitment to education lives on

In the years after World War II, a young woman named Norma enrolled in college. She was only able to do so because of the benefits she received from her father, who was killed in action during the conflict. There, she met a young man named Raymond Baird, who would go on to graduate school and earn assistantships funded by federal dollars.

While they didn’t know it at the time, the pair would eventually realize the impact of these benefits and in turn make a generous commitment to a university to ensure future students could study without financial burden. In 2014 and 2015, Raymond and Norma Baird established two endowed funds for UTSA: The

Raymond and Norma Baird Endowed Fund

for Excellence in Psychology, and the Norma

and Raymond Baird Excellence in Education

Endowed Faculty Award. The distinction between the two named endowments is of key importance – one leads with Raymond’s name, and the other with Norma’s. “Without her full, hearty involvement in all of this, it just wouldn’t have ever happened,” Raymond said. The Excellence in Psychology award supports programs and activities in the Department of Psychology, particularly pertaining to research. The Excellence in Education award co-benefits the Department of Mathematics as well as the Department of Psychology. The funds for this award are used to support and recognize efforts that enhance the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching. As a longtime professor at UTSA, Baird understands the challenges both faculty and students face – particularly in terms of funding research projects. He and his family also have a long history of receiving financial support through various means. “Norma was able to go to college because of her father,” Baird said. “By the time I went to graduate school, I worked at the VA hospital as a research assistant and saw a lot of federal dollars go into my graduate education. I appreciate how important that was.” Baird’s daughter received a full scholarship for her education, enabling her to attend school without stress and strain. Her daughter – Baird’s granddaughter – is currently attending college with help from her father’s veteran benefits. Baird and his late wife saw how many deserving people were receiving financial help for their education, and wanted to broaden the pool and provide a way for even more students to receive an outstanding education. As a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology, Baird clearly believes in the importance of the subject. His commitment to the endowed scholarship underlines that belief. “There are a lot of techniques that have been developed out of the research lab that enable us to do some very good healing,” Baird said. “It was not that long ago when we were lobotomizing people. We have come a long, long way, through research.” That belief in research – research of healthy brains before the research of disordered brains – led to the creation of a research methods lab at UTSA. “We don’t know who is going to come up with the next breakthrough,” Baird said. Through these two endowed scholarships, the Bairds’ legacy lives on and countless students and faculty members have benefited from their generosity. Endowments like this ensure that funds go directly to our students and faculty for research and programming. –Amanda Cerreto

Beneficiaries

2015

Meghan Crabtree

Research Scientist, Colorado State

2017

Jessica Perrotte

Asst. Professor, Texas State

2019

Tiffany Berzins

Asst. Professor, Columbus State

As UTSA entered academic year 2021-22, Dean Lynne Cossman put forth a Signature Project on community engagement. Faculty partnered with city officials for research projects, grants and collaborative work. Senior leadership members built relationships with difference-makers in the city, planning for future collaborations. But students – the backbone of HCAP – have also found themselves integrated into San Antonio communities. What started out as classroom assignments often blossomed into lasting relationships that will endure long after students receive their diplomas.

Each of HCAP’s nine disciplines uses community research to enhance student learning and to affect positive change for our neighbors. This year, several programs and students have gone a step further to engage in their communities.

GIVING VOICE TO THE VOICELESS

Candace Christensen, assistant professor of social work, teaches a community practice course each year. The course allows students to choose a photovoice project, or to hold an event involving a selected community. Tony (Luis) Salinas and Giselle Reinhardt Gillis partnered together to create a photovoice project with the congregation of Sisters of the Divine Providence in San Antonio. While the purpose of the project was to assess the needs and strengths of this community, Reinhardt Gillis and Salinas took it a step further and partnered with Sister Rose Kruppa on every step of the project. The congregation of Sisters of the Divine Providence is a community of religious women that serve the Catholic Church. Sisters in this community take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. A needs assessment for a community like this is unique, because not only is it by nature a community without a public voice, but the population is dwindling every year. Salinas and Reinhardt Gillis conducted a needs assessment with Sister Rose and quickly discovered that the community was shrinking at an alarming rate, aging quicker than it is replenishing. These issues were exacerbated by COVID-19, forcing disconnect and isolation in an already shrinking community. Where the students truly worked with the community, however, was in the photovoice project. “It became evident during the process that we were not just interviewing Sister Rose,” Salinas said. “We were including her in a way that gave her community as much of a voice as we could.” A photovoice project consists of taking photos that represent community problems and strengths, analyzing the themes of the collection and finally presenting the project to the broader community to engage in dialogue. “Sister Rose was so excited about sharing her history and her words through photos,” Reinhardt Gillis said. “It created this positive connection between our social work program and this community. It was really powerful.” The effect of the project can be felt outside the social work community as well. Salinas stresses that for this particular community, which is dying

out, sharing its history is incredibly important. “UTSA students live, work and learn in the areas where people like this were classically oppressed,” he said. “Even if you’re not a social worker, you are a component of San Antonio’s fabric. The [Sisters of the Divine Providence] have had a huge influence in the fabric of our community.” Moving forward, both Salinas and Reinhardt Gillis hope to not only continue to give voice to Sister Rose’s community, but to continue community connections. They both stress that for them, just as for Sister Rose, this was not a one-time discussion for the sake of a school project. They would love to maintain the contact and truly keep the history of the Sisters of the Divine Providence alive.

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER

Last summer, the Department of Public Administration worked with UP Partnership to pilot a mentoring program for young men of color transitioning from high school to UTSA or one of the Alamo Colleges. Nine UTSA students served as mentors and all students involved received $1,000 scholarships from UP Partnership. The program, called My Brother’s Keeper (MBSKA), aims to remove systemic barriers to safety, education and career success, ensuring that boys and young men of color have a path to postsecondary success. “Students from UTSA have exemplified youth leadership in the highest order,” said Lowell Butler, community manager at UP Partnership. “Whether through co-leading sessions at the MBKSA Youth Summit, serving as college mentors to high school seniors or as interns here at UP Partnership, students of UTSA have been indispensable leaders and pillars of our near peer strategy.” Students involved in the program continually express that they receive more than anticipated from mentoring students – even when obstacles such as unresponsive mentees and remote learning temporarily get in the way. Mentors begin to see their own experiences as a strength that they can share to inspire others to persist and overcome challenges. UTSA student Omar Nesbit recalled the initial difficulty in finding mentees that would commit, but once he did, the process was enlightening. “In our initial meeting, I set an agenda and we talked in-depth about our background, experiences, aspirations, and more,” he said. “At the conclusion of the program, I was fulfilled…. by providing insight to someone unfamiliar with the mechanics of higher education.” My Brother’s Keeper is a small part of the many collaborations UTSA has with UP Partnership. “Together [with UTSA], we've created meaningful experiences for students from our partner schools through our near peer strategy or developed strategies for countywide restorative practices,” Butler said. “We also have

other collaborators from UTSA involved in our Diplomás Network and joint collaboratives such as the Equitable Enrollment Collaborative (EEC).”

Senior mentor Mark Perez reflected on the connections he was able to build with his mentees – particularly the importance of mental health. “Self-awareness was key, and I wanted to create a space for them to be able to say ‘Man you know what, I'm stressed,’” Perez said. “I believe I was successful in doing so. Talking about stressors leads to creating a plan for them.” Moving forward, UTSA, the Department of Public Administration and UP Partnership plan to continue the partnerships they’ve developed. In this mutually-beneficial arrangement, both UTSA students and the underserved community receive insight, breakthroughs and often lifechanging experiences. “Relationship building with My Brother’s Keeper helped me learn that I can foster healthy, academic, and nurturing relationships with my classmates and colleagues,” said Perez. “I feel as though it prepared me to be a real-world leader.

It is pretty neat to be able to know for a fact that problems will arise in life. If we anticipate them and tackle them head on, it makes you feel like a better prepared leader.”

photo courtesy of Sister Rose Kruppa

"Together [with UTSA], we've created meaningful experiences for students from our partner schools."

PROPPING UP SMALL COMMUNITIES WITH PARTNERSHIP

In another social work program project, two students conducted a needs assessment with a local community. Students Hilda Santiago and Sarah Viles decided to work with a Christian Church community in San Antonio. Over the course