Texas A&M University-San Antonio officials detailed on Wednesday the university’s plans for a new leadership institute supported by and named for Henry Cisneros, the former U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary and San Antonio mayor.
The Henry G. Cisneros Institute for Emerging Leaders is still in the early stages of development on the university’s South Side campus but has begun to offer courses in leadership, TAMU-SA President Cynthia Teniente-Matson told the Rivard Report.
Cisneros pledged $1 million to the center, establishing an endowment to support the institute’s activities, said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp.
Over the next 18 months, before the institute is operating at full capacity, the university will conduct a national search for a director who will guide the center’s curriculum. The director is slated to start in Fall 2019.
The university’s president hopes all students at the university will take part in some of the institute’s offerings, which will include coursework, internships, and international trips.
“The goals of the Institute are to develop academic programming that fosters leadership skills across disciplines, to create a rigorous research agenda and fund teaching and graduate assistantships, and to develop opportunities for outreach and community engagement,” a university document stated.
Some of the programming will include outreach to local school districts in which community leaders mentor A&M students and college students mentor high school students, according to a university document. The university will plan an annual leadership conference to be organized by A&M students and open to the local community.
The institute also plans to host faculty, research fellows, and leadership scholars from other institutions and to publish a book series on current issues in leadership.
Cisneros graduated from Texas A&M’s flagship campus in College Station with an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. He fondly reflected on his time there at a luncheon Wednesday where he was given the Dream Maker Award for his contributions to education and spoke optimistically about the impact Texas A&M-San Antonio will continue to have on the city’s South Side.
“Texas A&M-San Antonio has a special role in the pantheon of both A&M institutions and San Antonio institutions,” Cisneros said. “It is located in a region where we need a lot of work in preparation of students, so to have an A&M campus with access to the resources and values of the A&M system right in this region, it is hugely important to those students [and] those schools.”
Sharp spoke about the Cisneros institute’s potential impact on San Antonio, saying that it will reflect Cisneros’ legacy of service to the city and country.
“Henry Cisneros is a great friend,” Sharp said. “Back in 1968, the year that Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were murdered, cities burned all across the country. Henry, then an undergraduate at Texas A&M, began to realize his life was going to take the role of public service. Particularly, he noticed the national need to rebuild the degradation of the country’s urban areas.”
The addition of the institute fits in with Sharp’s long-term goal to grow Texas A&M-San Antonio into being the second-largest arm of the Texas A&M system, after College Station.
I’ve always liked this guy…:-)
This is a great, great initiative and I thank both Teas A&M leadership and Secretary Cisneros (our Henry) for partnering in this visionary goal! What a great asset for our young San Antonians who will be investing themselves in San Antonio’s great future!
Wonder when Sharp thinks TAMU-SA will become the second largest A&M institution?
I want to congratulate Mr. Cisneros and TAMU-SA for the vision and leadership on this noble and timely effort. It does not surprise that Mr. Cisneros would support something like this; it is consistent with his passion and professional trajectory, of which we are so proud of.
I see an opportunity to reach some of the goals in this effort through the 4-H and Youth Development program offered through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Recently, TAMU-SA has allocated building and garden space for programs to be offered at the campus for surrounding school districts.
I would be pleased to assist in any way possible.
What a great opportunity for TAMUSA and the students in high school and college that will provide a platform for success in recognizing the need to better prepare students with leadership skills! The partnership between TAMUSA and Texas A&M AGRILIFE Extension in Bexar County is a wonderful opportunity for the 4-H students to not only be exposed to a Hispanic Serving Institution, but also have access to the minority college students that can become the mentors to provide the needed support in helping the at-Risk minorities not only complete high school, but also pursue higher education! This is a testament to the commitment from TAMUSA for realizing the need to provide a Leadership program that will prepare students to be the leaders of our next generation ! Si Se Puede! I’m ready to do my part in helping in this endeavor for youth development and at the college level with my knowledge on organizational leadership. Henry Cisneros is a visionary and his support is timely!