Charting an ambitious path — together
During a university-wide town hall March 19, President Taylor Eighmy, PhD, joined by senior institutional leaders, officially launched the university’s Strategic Planning Initiative — a comprehensive effort to develop a 10-year strategic plan to become a top 20 public research university and health system and to position the institution as a future-ready, world-class university for San Antonio, Texas, the nation and the world.
During the 90-minute event, Eighmy shared an initial look at the vision, priorities and strategic destinations that will guide the university over the next decade, while emphasizing opportunities for the campus community to play an active role in shaping its future.
The strategic planning process will be guided by four destinations, or areas of excellence, and infused with two of the university’s foundational tenets: people and operational excellence, Eighmy said. The proposed destinations and their respective owners include:
- Transformational student access, learning and success: destination owner Heather Shipley, PhD, provost and senior executive vice president for academic affairs
- World-class health system: destination owner Francisco Cigarroa, MD, senior executive vice president for health affairs and health system
- World-class research university: destination owner Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH, senior executive vice president for research and innovation
- Innovative place to learn, work, discover and practice: destination owner Andrea Marks, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer
The strategic plan will be divided into two five-year plans, with the first five-year framework set to be completed by October and presented to the UT System Board of Regents in November.
In the coming days, a Strategic Planning Steering Committee will begin shaping the process that will guide this work, with meaningful opportunities for all employees to contribute their ideas, insights and expertise as we define the university’s future together.
“I hope each and every one of you finds a place to participate in this process, to bring a great idea forward, to see your part of the process and to own your part of the process, so that each of our 17,500 employees knows exactly their role in driving our destinations toward becoming a top 20 public research university — an exemplar and a shining star for San Antonio, for Texas, and for the UT System,” Eighmy said.
Well-positioned for the future
As the third-largest public research university in Texas and already meeting many of the benchmarks associated with Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions, UT San Antonio is well-positioned for the future. That strong foundation was a central theme of the town hall, as leaders highlighted the many accomplishments achieved since the integration, underscoring how those gains have set the stage for even more ambitious goals in the years ahead.
Those achievements are already evident, Shipley said, noting that the university has reached record enrollment, welcomed its largest freshman class in fall 2025, improved first-year retention and maintained 90% licensure pass rates in health professional schools.
The clinical enterprise has also seen significant growth over the past five years, Cigarroa said, including 76% growth in total revenue, 68% growth in clinical revenue, a 50% expansion of the ambulatory clinic footprint and $1 billion in capital investments.
Cigarroa shared his excitement about a future centered on delivering innovative, patient-centered care grounded in a people-first approach.
“We can build a lot of buildings,” Cigarroa said. “We can build a lot of bricks and mortar. We can have a lot of equipment, but if we don’t have the great faculty, staff and students that we have, it’s nearly impossible to accomplish what we want to accomplish. In that light, we want to attract, incentivize and retain high-performing, resilient and empowered people across our entire mission — those who care for patients, drive discovery, educate the next generation and support this work every day.”
Reflecting on the university’s opportunities and potential, Eighmy highlighted its enviable position as a newly integrated institution uniquely poised to shape itself as future-ready by drawing on insights from his participation in the annual Higher Education Summit with leaders from across the country.
When participants were asked to identify the institution best positioned to get ahead of the curve and prepare for the future, “Everybody there was pointing at us because of the opportunity that we have,” Eighmy said. “So what do we do with this? We are going to build a future-ready, world-class university.”
