After Texas became a republic, Juan Seguín and José Antonio Navarro offered 17,000 acres to endow a public university — in San Antonio.
But it would not be until 1876 that Texas A&M became the state's first public college, seven years before the University of Texas opened its doors.
Over the next century, other state colleges opened, in many of the same rural towns people were leaving as they migrated to urban centers.
And until 1969, the Legislature rejected bills for a state university in our city, which opponents argued wasn't needed because community colleges and our four private universities were adequately serving our needs.
So when the University of Texas at San Antonio was finally approved, it was more a triumph of political will than of academic and economic vision.
It was located far from the city it was to serve, and initial construction was limited to “the basics” — an administrative building, a library and some classrooms.
Since universities were then hotbeds of activism, those edifices looked more like military buildings than halls of learning.
And as buildings were added to accommodate UTSA's fast-growing enrollment, so were the asphalt oceans needed for all the commuters' cars.
This week, UTSA President Ricardo Romo unveiled a master plan for the university's 725-acre main campus and its downtown campus, which will also be expanded.
For the first time in four decades, Romo says, there is a clear vision for enhancing UTSA's rapidly expanding academic offerings with amenities that will encourage students to stay on campus longer.
“Students learn from books, but they also learn from each other,” Romo says. “So the question for us was how do we make this a more ‘student-centric' campus, because that is why we exist — for the students. How do we make it a place that offers them edification but also has the amenities so they stay on campus longer, because the longer they stay the more they will learn.
“Instead of being home watching TV after class, we want them on campus attending programs or playing and working out at the gym while talking about math problems.”
Campus housing, more dining facilities and a recreation center have grown wildly popular with students, Romo says. And in the future, more green space, more things for students to do and more places where they can interact will heighten and enrich their experience.
And yes, the San Antonio campus that 40 years ago some said wasn't needed has already conferred 75,000 degrees and will add 5,000 more next year.
But we must now all join in a sustained community effort to ensure that resources will be available to make UTSA not only a more inviting place, but also Texas' next Tier 1 university.
There is, after all, no better way to attract high-wage jobs than by offering a rich concentration of laboratories and research activities — and a highly trained work force.
But that won't happen unless we make it happen.
cguerra@express-news.net