Students divided about UTSA future after president Ricardo Romo put on leave

Romo placed on administrative leave for 'allegations related to his conduct'

SAN ANTONIO – The University of Texas at San Antonio's longtime president is on administrative leave, rumbling the foundation of the institution and leaving students divided about their university's future.

Ricardo Romo was placed on administrative leave Tuesday for allegations of misconduct. The move comes just six months before he's supposed to retire. For 18 years, he's been UTSA's lead Roadrunner.

"Probably the most respected person on campus," UTSA senior Samson Mathew said.

Romo's reputation is the reason many students were stunned to hear he was put on administrative leave. Administrators would only say his administrative leave is effective immediately, and they're reviewing allegations about his conduct. They would not elaborate. They also did not confirm when more details would be released about what misconduct is being reviewed.

"It takes me back, because this school is highly respected," student Jacinda Jackson said.

Many say UTSA's community respect is in great part because of Romo, whose goal was to make UTSA a tier-one and division-one school.

Since Romo got to the school, he's increased the faculty from 400 members to 1,400 members. More than half of UTSA's alumni have received their degrees since he began as president in 1999.

"He's always at all the events. You see him just mingling with everyone," Mathew said.

Romo already planned to retire in August, and students like Mathew don't want to see him leave earlier. Others, however, seem fine with the president making an early exit.

"There are some issues I've had with the university itself that he's failed to address, so I can't say I'm that surprised," student Maureen Kaki said.

Kaki is looking forward to changes in leadership.

"I think we need to work on definitely budget improvements for our professors, That's one of my main concerns for the campus," Kaki said.

As Romo's potential misconduct is reviewed, the search for his replacement continues. The school hopes to fill that coveted position by Sept. 1.

While Romo is on administrative leave, Dr. Pedro Reyes will step in as university president. Reyes is the special assistant to the chancellor and professor of education policy at UT Austin and was the former executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at The University of Texas System.


About the Author:

Courtney Friedman anchors KSAT’s weekend evening shows and reports during the week. Her ongoing Loving in Fear series confronts Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She joined KSAT in 2014 and is proud to call the SA and South Texas community home. She came to San Antonio from KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler, where she also anchored & reported.