UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM

The American Dream is getting more attainable for thousands of Texas families. On Monday, the University of Texas at San Antonio announced it’s expanding a program that makes college tuition-free for thousands of students.

More than 1,700 students have benefitted from UTSA's Bold Promise program, and a $3 million endowment will go to help hundreds more.

The chancellor instructed universities and agencies in the system to dissolve all agreements, especially those related to academics, research and intellectual property.

The endowment will increase the number of students who qualify for free tuition and fees at UT-Arlington, UT-Dallas, UT-El Paso, UT-Permian Basin, UT-Rio Grande Valley, UT-San Antonio and UT-Tyler.

Patrick’s declarations come days after the UT-Austin Faculty Council approved a measure reaffirming instructors’ right to teach about racial justice and critical race theory in the classroom.

The board must wait a state-mandated 21 days before the finalist is officially named the 10th president of UT-Arlington. If approved, Evans-Cowley will be the first female president at the university.

University of Texas System Chancellor James Milliken wrote to the presidents of system universities, including University of Texas at San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy, with new guidelines related to coronavirus Tuesday. Milliken announced spring graduation ceremonies will be postponed following the CDCs recommendation that all events with 50 people or more be canceled or postponed. Milliken asked university presidents to encourage students traveling on spring break to return home and complete their coursework remotely. No one recognizes better than [the university presidents] the disappointment these actions will bring and the hard work that will be required to implement them, Milliken wrote. The plan was for online instruction to continue through at least April 13, with campus to remain open following the spring break extension.

SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: This story is published through a partnership between the San Antonio Business Journal and KSAT. The University of Texas System’s board of regents approved multiple real estate transactions in support of UTSA’s planned downtown campus expansion. Among the deals approved is the University of Texas at San Antonio’s purchase of roughly 2 acres owned by Bexar County east of the campus between Dolorosa and West Nueva streets. UTSA plans to build a new college of business building on the site — adjacent to its new School of Data Science and the planned National Security Collaboration Center. Read the full story on the San Antonio Business Journal.

The University of Texas System board of regents gave UTSA the go-ahead Thursday to purchase and lease downtown land to expand the College of Business and parking options. The land purchased by UTSA is the current site of the soon to be demolished Central Texas Detention Facility. Bexar County commissioners approved the $5.7 million land sale in January. The agreement between UTSA and Bexar County stipulates the County is responsible for demolishing the jail and preparing the property for construction. This is going to impact the trajectory of our university, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said in January.

Called UTSA Bold Promise, the program will launch in fall 2020 and cover all tuition and fees for eight semesters within four years. This equates to about $10,000 annually per student, UTSA officials said. UTSA Bold Promise is a last-dollar scholarship, covering the remaining costs after students apply for federal or state financial aid. Bonnie Arbittier / Rivard Report permalink Bonnie Arbittier / Rivard Report permalinkAbout three-quarters of the freshman class will be eligible for the Bold Promise program, estimated Lynn Barnes, UTSAs senior vice provost for strategic enrollment. UT-Austin announced its own free tuition program for low-income students in July.