By Jacob Beltran
Alamo Colleges Chancellor Bruce Leslie will discuss the continuing development of an academic partnership between Texas A&M-San Antonio and the Alamo Colleges as the keynote speaker during the 2013 faculty and staff convocation.
The convocation, an annual state of the university address, will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 22 in the Performing Arts Center at Palo Alto College, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. A welcome will be given by Provost Brent Snow. President Maria Hernandez Ferrier will present the university’s vision from its start up status to its future plans both academically and co-curricular.
Ferrier said in an interview that approximately 85 percent of students at A&M-San Antonio transfer from the Alamo Colleges, and compared the relationship to the Transfer Enrollment at A&M (TEAM) program between Blinn College and A&M-College Station. Both are transfer agreements between community college systems and nearby universities.
Ferrier said that students attending Blinn College, a 2-year college, already know they they’re going to attend Texas A&M-College Station. “They’ve already identified themselves as Aggies,” Ferrier said. “We want that to happen here.”
Along with academic and co-curricular developments, Ferrier said she also plans to present an update of building schematics, including an updated timeline for the opening of the Central Academic Building, currently under construction.
Ferrier is expected to include how decisions made in the 83rd Texas legislative session will impact university growth and development. Tuition revenue bonds, which would have provided support for campus construction projects, were not approved during the 2013 legislative session.
Parking is free in any student lot during the event, according to Palo Alto UPD.
Check back for full coverage of the faculty and staff convocation later this week.
