With the prominence of social mobility growing in the world of higher education, do you believe it to be a strong indicator of student success?

Eighmy: I do, especially for public research universities. If a university − like UTSA − is heavily investing in real-world learning opportunities, building an ecosystem of innovation, collaboration and making local and national impact on its workforce and economy, its student success outcomes will be evident by its graduates landing in-demand careers at high-profile companies to achieve a higher quality of life for themselves and their families.

Your university has seen record growth in enrollment, research, academics and development – the most recent being UTSA’s integration with The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center. How is this growth affecting student success and upward mobility?

Eighmy: I say this every time, but I deeply believe that great cities need great research universities, and vice versa. As Heather mentioned, we are heavily investing in career-engaged learning and industry-aligned programs to fuel student success, and our enrollment growth just shows the proven value of our methods. We are leaning into programs, research and development that feed our greatest economic and workforce needs, and through our collaborations with the city, county and area industry, we are building a university of the future to keep growing the talent pipeline for South Texas – while also helping students set a course to break barriers and achieve personal and professional success for a life of prosperity − driving upward mobility for the next generation. Our merger with UT Health San Antonio will only amplify this focus and impact as we envision meeting the healthcare needs of our community.

Do you anticipate UTSA and UT Health San Antonio’s forthcoming merger to increase the university’s capacity to drive social mobility? If so, how?

Eighmy: The integration of these two powerhouse institutions will significantly advance the trajectory of our students and their future careers with a 10x multiplying factor, as both their degree value and career opportunities will exponentially increase. We are building a path to a world-class university that will be competitive with the very best public research universities in the country, providing students with comprehensive programs that will equip them for both personal and professional success. To get there, we’re aiming to double our research and discovery enterprise over the next ten years, grow our enrollment to 50,000 students, feed the state’s workforce pipeline by 25,000, and increase our annual research expenditures to $1 billion. These are visionary goals that we intend to exceed to give our students the tools they need to go out in the world to tackle society’s grandest challenges and create better lives for themselves and their families.

Shipley: UTSA’s integration with UT Health San Antonio is a huge step forward in advancing how we scale opportunities for our students and their families. For instance, it will provide students with greater access to cutting-edge programs like the MD/MS in Artificial Intelligence − the first of its kind in the U.S. − that prepare them to lead at the intersection of technology and medicine. And, through our existing academic collaborations like the School of Public Health, we’re addressing critical health challenges in our region that will help make lives better. This merger will position our new, combined institution as a leader in shaping the future workforce and improving health outcomes throughout San Antonio and across the State of Texas.