An architectural rendering of the Paseo Verde on Main Campus.
APRIL 14, 2020 — UTSA’s new Campus Master Plan is receiving praise and recognition by the Society for College and University Planning. The new plan recently earned a merit award for Excellence in Planning for an Existing Campus by SCUP’s Excellence Awards Program.
“It is such an honor to receive this award at this time in our history when we look to reminders of our bright future,” President Taylor Eighmy said. “Our UTSA Master Plan is a strategic blueprint for the bold future of our university and our community. I want to thank Provost Kimberly Andrews Espy for leading this project, and the many students, faculty, staff and community stakeholders who participated in the plan’s development.”
Eighmy launched the Campus Master Plan initiative in June 2018 to create a framework for the development of the university’s campuses over the next decade.
“It is such an honor to receive this award at this time in our history when we look to reminders of our bright future.”
The plan calls for nearly 5.3 million gross square feet of new space to support the university’s vision of becoming a model for student success, a great research enterprise and an exemplar for strategic growth and innovative excellence. The university expects to make investments toward the Main and Downtown campuses to support an anticipated enrollment boost to 45,000 students, development of new degree programs and additional student success resources.
The Society for College and University Planning’s Excellence Awards honors institutions for strategic, integrated planning that results in exemplary buildings and grounds, institutional success and careers that inspire in eight categories.
The merit award for Excellence in Planning for an Existing Campus recognizes a comprehensive campuswide plan for the development of existing spaces due to institutional or community changes. The changes can range from a shift in surrounding land use, enrollment, mission, academic or student life programs, property ownership, partnerships and system mandates on an existing campus.
“This recognition is due in large part to the thousands of UTSA and community stakeholders who provided input on the plan’s guiding principles and design iterations over our yearlong planning process,” said Espy, who served as chair for the Campus Master Plan task force. “The resulting master plan reflects that highly collaborative and inclusive engagement process and, as it is implemented over time, will continue to enrich the culture of the campuses and surrounding communities while also enhancing our natural resources and integrating best practices of sustainability.”