Spring Break
San Antonio awaits A&M campus
By: John Farmer
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: News
The Texas A&M University System plans on opening the doors to a new campus in south San Antonio for the fall semester of 2009, said John D. White, chairman of the A&M Board of Regents.
The 400-acre campus is expected to open with 1,500 students enrolled, and will be designed to eventually reach 25,000 enrolled students, but an exact location hasn't been chosen as of yet, White said.
San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the country, is the host to only one public university - the University of Texas at San Antonio. White said the city needs another major university to meet the needs of a growing population.
"It's time to add a second public university to support the city and state's needs for higher education and a highly qualified workforce," said White.
Palo Alto College has been host to a number of students who are taking courses through A&M and receiving credit at A&M Kingsville, and these students could possibly move to the new San Antonio campus, said Tina Evans, spokeswoman for the A&M system.
Evans said there are nearly 300 students in the program, but they hope the number will expand to 1,500 students before the new campus is opened.
Enlisting 1,500 students is key because that is the number required for the University to receive $40 million in tuition revenue bonds, Evans said.
The system is trying to locate property for the University, and they are looking in the south side of San Antonio, which is typically slower developing economically than other parts of the city.
J.J. Saulino, spokesman for San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger, said the arrival of a university would help to solve the economic issues in south San Antonio. "This university is a big part in efforts to balance growth and development," he said.
The addition of an A&M-San Antonio campus is part of a greater plan developed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that aims to enroll 630,000 students in college by 2015.
A part of that number would include giving more minorities the opportunity to receive a college education, especially the burgeoning Hispanic population in San Antonio, board members said in a news release.
The 400-acre campus is expected to open with 1,500 students enrolled, and will be designed to eventually reach 25,000 enrolled students, but an exact location hasn't been chosen as of yet, White said.
San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the country, is the host to only one public university - the University of Texas at San Antonio. White said the city needs another major university to meet the needs of a growing population.
"It's time to add a second public university to support the city and state's needs for higher education and a highly qualified workforce," said White.
Palo Alto College has been host to a number of students who are taking courses through A&M and receiving credit at A&M Kingsville, and these students could possibly move to the new San Antonio campus, said Tina Evans, spokeswoman for the A&M system.
Evans said there are nearly 300 students in the program, but they hope the number will expand to 1,500 students before the new campus is opened.
Enlisting 1,500 students is key because that is the number required for the University to receive $40 million in tuition revenue bonds, Evans said.
The system is trying to locate property for the University, and they are looking in the south side of San Antonio, which is typically slower developing economically than other parts of the city.
J.J. Saulino, spokesman for San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger, said the arrival of a university would help to solve the economic issues in south San Antonio. "This university is a big part in efforts to balance growth and development," he said.
The addition of an A&M-San Antonio campus is part of a greater plan developed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that aims to enroll 630,000 students in college by 2015.
A part of that number would include giving more minorities the opportunity to receive a college education, especially the burgeoning Hispanic population in San Antonio, board members said in a news release.
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