Editor’s note: This message was emailed from Veronica Salazar, senior executive vice president, Enterprise Development and Transformation, to all faculty and staff on Oct. 2.
In July, I shared important updates about the Integration Management Office’s (IMO) efforts to support functional integration — a process to assess the current operations and business functions across our university in order to design a transformative future state. In that message, I highlighted that each functional area of the newly merged university would share information regarding what their operations looked like for September.
I am glad to report that in the weeks leading up to Sept. 1, each new member of the President’s Cabinet sent an email update directly to their teams, sharing more details about what is and isn’t changing at this time, as well as an update on the functional integration process for their area.
Summaries of these updates are below.
Academic Affairs: Heather Shipley, PhD
Health Affairs: Francisco Cigarroa, MD, and Jacqueline Mok, PhD
- All academic colleges, including the new College of AI, Cyber and Computing, will continue to report under Dr. Shipley’s leadership.
- Dr. Shipley, Provost and Senior Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, will work closely with Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, Senior Executive Vice President for Health Affairs & Health System, who oversees the schools at the Health Science Center campus. Both leaders will continue reporting to Dr. Eighmy.
- Dr. Mok will continue to lead the Office of Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs (AFSA) at the Health Science Center as Vice President for AFSA under the direction of Dr. Cigarroa, while also maintaining a shared reporting relationship with Dr. Shipley.
- To maintain our strong focus on the student experience, current reporting lines and points of contact for academic and student support services will remain in place at each legacy institution as planning progresses.
Advancement and Alumni Engagement: Karl Miller-Lugo, MBA
- Both institutions’ advancement leadership teams will report directly to Karl Miller-Lugo, Senior Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement.
- Sonia Vasquez, Assistant Vice President, Development and Foundations, will serve as Institutional Advancement’s principal liaison for UT Health, assisting with day-to-day management. Her leadership, experience and strong relationships make her an invaluable partner in ensuring continuity and alignment during this transition.
Athletics: Lisa Campos, EdD
- UTSA Athletics will remain under Dr. Campos’ leadership as Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Athletics Director.
- The Athletics organization framework will remain in its current state as of September 2025.
- Athletics branding, including the UTSA name and all logos/marks, remains the same as of September 2025. We will begin expanded use of “San Antonio” within our branding and on select team uniforms in recognition of our integrated institution and the bond with our great city.
UTSA Business Affairs: Veronica Salazar, MBA
UT Health Operations: Andrea Marks, MBA, CPA
- Our financial, human resources and operational teams are hard at work providing data and resources to support the functional integration process for many areas across the university.
- Looking forward, Andrea Marks, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will assume leadership over business and administrative operations for our merged university, with our expected leadership transition happening during the spring 2026.
- Effective Oct. 1, Michael Schnabel became Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for our merged university. He will collaborate closely with UTSA legacy IT leaders to ensure continuity and support for IT infrastructure and key applications.
- Also effective Oct. 1, Amy Tawney, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, assumed leadership of Human Resources for the integrated university. Katy Madden will continue to lead the People Excellence team for the academic campus. A Workforce Strategies Task Force will formally launch to advance strategies that strengthen and support our workforce across our missions.
- The above leadership transitions align with the larger functional integration efforts for operations and our continued focus on areas with the greatest impact for our workforce.
Governmental Relations: Carlos Martinez, MS, JD
- Effective Aug. 1, Carlos Martinez began serving as the Senior Vice President for Governmental Relations for UT San Antonio.
- His team will continue to serve the university through maintaining community and governmental relations, including oversight of the Westside Community Center.
- Gilbert Loredo, Vice President for Governmental Relations, continues to support UT Health San Antonio and reports to Carlos Martinez.
Auditing and Consulting Services: John Lazarine
- The Office of Auditing and Consulting Services team will be led by John Lazarine, Associate Vice President and Chief Audit Executive, for the integrated institution.
- Paul Tyler will report to John Lazarine and will serve as Executive Audit Director.
- Effective Sept. 1, the Office of Internal Audit and Consulting will be working from an integrated risk assessment and audit plan for the entire university.
Legal: Hailey Mullican, JD
- Effective June 1, Hailey Mullican assumed leadership of the legal teams for UT San Antonio in the role of Vice President for Legal Affairs and Chief Legal Officer.
- The legal teams from both the legacy UTSA and the Health Science Center campuses are working together under Hailey’s leadership to provide service to the entire university.
Marketing, Communications & Media: Heather Adkins, MS
- For UT Health San Antonio, there will be no changes in reporting structure at this time. The department will continue to operate within the existing organizational framework.
- For legacy UTSA, effective Sept. 1, Joan Duncan, Sr. Administrative Manager, Anne Peters, Associate Vice President for University Marketing & Special Projects, and Joe Izbrand, Associate Vice President of Strategic Communications and External Relations, began reporting directly to Heather Adkins, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, with no changes to the organizational or reporting structure within their respective areas.
- Legacy UTSA’s distributed operating model — comprised of eight marketing, communications, web and digital, social media and video “collaboratives and collectives” working across departments — remains in place and maintains its current meeting schedule.
Office of the President: Kathryn Keeton, PhD
- Dr. Keeton moved into her role as the Vice President for Presidential Initiatives and Chief of Staff on Aug. 1, reporting to Dr. Eighmy.
- A new Office of the Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) for Health Affairs and the Health System is being created, which will serve as a critical partner to the Office of the President. We are currently hiring a Vice President and Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor role reporting to Dr. Cigarroa.
- Members of the collective teams for the Office of the President at both the Main Campus and the Health Science Center campus will move into one of these two offices based on their roles and responsibilities. Both teams will remain closely connected and collaborate regularly.
Research: Jennifer Potter, PhD
- Under the leadership of Dr. Potter, Senior Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, the newly combined office is creating essential building blocks that support discovery, innovation and the translation of research into real-world impact.
- The work of the research team is not just operational — it is foundational to our shared aspiration of becoming a major global research university.
- In the months ahead, the research team can expect regular updates, team-building and cross-campus activities, opportunities for input and collaboration, and shared training and professional development.
In addition to these updates, some areas in the university have fully launched the Functional Integration Team — or FIT — process, while other areas will launch their FIT later this fall. We continue to add updates to the functional integration section of the UT San Antonio Together website so you can learn more about this important process.
The IMO communications team has prepared a helpful article highlighting what is and isn’t changing from a campus perspective. Now that we’ve integrated as one institution, many employees have asked questions about logos, branding, benefits, payroll, email access and more. I encourage all of our faculty and staff to review this resource to help provide clarity on what’s changing and what’s staying the same.
As our integration work continues, I want to remind you of the ways to stay informed about the progress of our merger. Weekly newsletters are shared with faculty and staff, and our teams are working closely to ensure that key integration updates are included in each edition.
I will continue to send updates on behalf of the IMO, as part of my commitment to keeping our incredible faculty and staff updated and informed throughout the integration process. You are encouraged to visit the integration website to learn more and email us with any questions. I have also launched a special Integration Insights section on the IMO website where I will share updates.
Thank you for your ongoing dedication and collaboration as we continue our integration journey!
