SPRING 2010 - The University of Texas-Pan American

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RESEARCHNelsen (far left) is shown at age 12 with this father andtwo brothers. Mike is a police officer. His brother Randy(far right) owned a construction company and wasunfortunately killed in a backhoe accident. Nelsen’sfather delivered milk in the morning, worked sheet metalin the afternoon and labored on his smaller Utah ranchat night before moving his family to a 1,000-acre ranchin Montana.The 11-year-old Nelsen is atop Penny, one of the twocutting horses the family had on their ranch. Penny, bornon the famed King Ranch in Texas, was the horse usedto ride long distances to round up stray cows. In the rearis his family’s Montana house, where he grew up. It sitson property that was once a Pony Express post.A well-worn saddle in the executive office of Dr. Robert S. Nelsen exemplifies the new UTPA president’sunassuming nature as well as his upbringing on a remote ranch in Montana. The saddle, which once belongedto Calamity Jane, was given to Nelsen when he was a boy by an old family friend.While in Chicago, Nelsen and another parent ran a LittleLeague program that included more than 500 children.Nelsen is shown following a game, hugging the catcher,he and Jody’s only child Seth, who tragically died in2005 at age 25.Dr. Francisco Cigarroa (left), chancellor of The Universityof Texas System, visits with new UTPA President Robert S.Nelsen and his wife, Jody, after introducing them to theUniversity community in November. Nelsen was chosenby the UT System Board of Regents as UTPA’s eighthpresident at a board meeting on Nov. 11, 2009.Los Arcos 14>>Continued from page 13transparency and shared governance.“I think my experience as a faculty leaderwill make a difference here. I understand wherethe faculty is coming from. I understand theimportance of what the faculty is doing. Iunderstand the importance of teaching. When Iwrote the strategic plan at UT Dallas, I wrote itwith the contributions of more than 200 facultyand staff members. My goal is to build consensuson campus and a joint sense of purpose,” he said.Nelsen, who has kept up a busy schedule ofmeeting as many government, business, and civicleaders across the Valley as possible in his threemonths on the job, says he is impressed withthe regional mentality here and the “can do”attitude. He hopes to remain accessible to notonly community leaders but also to faculty andstudents. He has established 3-5 p.m. office hourson Fridays for students, so he can learn of theirconcerns and ideas personally.He is especially interested in securing morebuildings for the growing population ofstudents, particularly in science and engineering,and investigating the problem of sophomoreretention.“We are losing a huge chunk – 43 percent ofthe students between their sophomore and junioryears,” he said.If you ask about his vision for UTPA, Nelsenwill clearly tell you – to build upon the university’sstrengths to help the Valley.“I want the university to be a powerhousein these fields – advanced manufacturing/engineering, health care and research in healthcare disparities, education with a specialemphasis on bilingual education, and business,focusing particularly on border issues andentrepreneurship. All of them wrap around theValley – this is what the Valley needs,” he said.However, the new UTPA president believesthe process will require collaborations,cooperation, partnerships and what he calls atransdisciplinary approach.“Take health care for example. We can work onobesity and diabetes but not just confine it in theCollege of Health Sciences and Human Services.We are finding out that Type II diabetes isgenerated by behavior. So we have to involve thesociologist, the political scientist who can writelaws, the psychologist who can intervene, and themarketing people who will talk about sugar. Thewhole university has to rally around health care,”he explained. “We can’t build silos. We have togo beyond the normal disciplines so we can dothings new in the Valley that have never beendone before.”Up to the challenge as he gets used to his newsaddle as UTPA’s chief “cowhand,” Nelsen saidhe feels the “fit” his colleagues talked about andknows now what he’d like his legacy to be.“I want people to say that I was a great partner,”he said.
ON CAMPUSThe University of Texas-Pan American’sCollege of Science and Engineering(COSE) has made dreams cometrue for many students who have studiedhere since it opened its doors nearly15 years ago. People like Rick Ybarra,now an aerospace engineer for NASA;Victor Reyes, a mechanical engineer forBoeing; Marlen Ramirez, a manufacturingengineer with Northrop Grumman; and David Sanchez, an electricalengineer for Lockheed Martin, are prime examples.While the COSE has proven to be successful, it has also acknowledgedthe need for more graduates nationwide in the fields of science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM). In order to meet those needs,UTPA has taken the step to offer more opportunities to students by splittingthe college into a College of Engineering and Computer Science anda College of Science and Mathematics.According to Dr. Paul Sale, UTPA’s provost and vice president for academicaffairs, this change will allow the university to better serve the RioGrande Valley, the region and the state.“What we’re trying to do is position ourselves to build an infrastructurefor the Valley. We serve many local businesses, and we also serve thestate quite well by producing, engineers, scientists and doctors. But, bysplitting the two colleges, UTPA will be better positioned than if we hadchosen to keep it as a single college,” Sale said.Each college will stand alone and continue to operate in its existingfacilities. But because of a boom in student population, a proposed newbuilding, currently in the development stages, would provide much neededadditional space for both colleges.“The enrollment continues to climb. In fact it’s climbing so fast I wondersometimes if we can keep up with it especially with all the budget constraintsthat we’re currently under,” Sale said. “But I’m sure that workingwith the UT System and with our regional partners we are going to beable to keep up with our increased enrollment.”Sale also pointed out that with more business expected to move into thearea, the two colleges will be ready to help meet the demand for a qualifiedworkforce.“I understand there are more manufacturing companies comingto both sides of the border, and we are uniquely positionedto assist them as they prepare anddevelop their professional workforce,”he said.University administrators also believedividing the college will give studentstheir own identity and allow them to bemore focused on their studies. They’ll alsohave the opportunity to get to know theirclassmates better and have their own deanto come to in time of need.“It’s a matter of dividing departments, budgets and programs. The entirefaculty in the College of Science and Engineering seemed to be behindthis, so there was not a lot of debate. I think everybody sees the benefitboth to the college and our students, but also to the community and tothe state,” Sale said.Students also support the separation of the college. UTPA’s StudentGovernment Association President Ragu Puttagunta is a biology andchemistry major. He will fall under the College of Science and Mathematicsand receive his degree from there.“In terms of resources, in terms of time and especially in terms ofequipment, the split will definitely be a benefit. For the deans and the administration,I think it will allow them to provide a better focus to the individualpriorities of each department in both colleges,” Puttagunta said.“The real advantage will be for students because it will give them more ofan opportunity to share their concerns with their own dean who sharestheir own career focus.”Electrical engineering graduate student Faraon Torres-Lazos also looksforward to the change. “As long as the two colleges keep collaboratingand there’s essence of teamwork between students, research and professorsto make this university better, I completely applaud the effort,”Torres-Lazos said.“Our college presently produces about half of the research fundingthat comes to UTPA and research opportunities are increasing with moreemphasis on research that produces economic development and entrepreneurship,”said Dr. Edwin Lemaster, who currently holds the COSE deanposition but will be retiring in August. “I believe that our developmentin the sciences and in engineering can be stimulated by splitting the organizationand giving greater emphasis to both.”The split is expected take effect in fall 2010.Los Arcos 15
Page 1 and 2: RESEARCHThe University of Texas-Pan
Page 3 and 4: COMMUNITYRESEARCHMasters of the Nig
Page 5 and 6: ReadingUTPA invites you to joinRevo
Page 7 and 8: ich TraditionRESEARCHBallet Folkló
Page 9 and 10: RESEARCHas Harvard, Notre Dame and
Page 11 and 12: FibeRio TechnologyCorporation becom
Page 13: RESEARCHUTPA PresidentRobert S. Nel
Page 17 and 18: RESEARCHPa n o r a m a,UTPA’s stu
Page 19 and 20: ATHLETICSUTPA to host inaugural GWC
Page 21 and 22: javier palomarezJavier Palomarez, p
Page 23: ALUMNIAlicia Torres’83 AlumnaA su

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