University of Texas at San Antonio
PAE-2: Strategic Plan

The UTSA 2016 Strategic Plan identifies five areas of collaborative excellence for the university which are meant to guide UTSA's efforts and the strategic initiatives identified in the plan. Two of these areas of collaborative excellence are “Energy and Environment”, and “Sustainability”. The Energy and Environment area in particular addresses the environmental dimension of sustainability through focusing on the challenges of ensuring the future availability of energy resources and a clean environment on a global basis while nurturing productivity require technologies, policies, and education. These areas of collaborative excellence are also recognized in one of the plan's Strategic Initiatives as areas of research collaboration. The identified goals of this initiative include supporting these collaborative areas, encouraging multidisciplinary work, and developing high quality educational programs consistent with them.

The USA 2016 Strategic Plan embraces the university's role as a Hispanic and Minority-Serving Institution, and the vision for UTSA in 2016 described in the plan describes the institution as continuing to be a national leader in graduating Hispanics in degree programs such as biology, business, engineering, social sciences, education, and architecture. The university's mission statement also describes UTSA as a catalyst for socioeconomic development for Texas, the nation, and the world; and its core values, as identified in the plan, include inclusiveness through fostering diversity and providing access to educational and socioeconomic opportunities for all. Diversity is also one of the three foundational themes underpinning the strategic initiatives of the plan. Additionally, the social dimension of sustainability is also addressed in two of the plan's five areas of collaborative excellence. These include: 1) Human and Social Development: which focuses on holistic exploration of human and social development through education, economic and policy development, technology, the arts and humanities, and the sciences; and 2) Sustainability, which focuses on facing the demands of our rapidly changing world while preserving our heritage for future generations. Finally, two of the five strategic initiatives identified in the plan directly address the social dimension of sustainability. These include: 1) Strategic Initiative III: Promoting Access and Affordability, which aims to develop an educated citizenry that will benefit from the opportunities and contribute to the goals of the changing global environment, and 2) Strategic Initiative IV: Serving the Public through Community Engagement: which values a culture of openness and access, creating value and improved quality of life, active communication and collaboration with community stakeholders, and positive constituent services at all levels.

The UTSA 2016 addresses the economic dimension of sustainability in several locations. First, the university's vision for 2016 call for preparing graduates to contribute to the country’s economic competitiveness through cross-institutional and public private collaborations as well as global partnerships with other institutions. The university's mission statement also describes UTSA as a catalyst for socioeconomic development—for Texas, the nation, and the world. The “Human and Social Development" area of collaborative excellence, one of five identified in the plan, focuses on human development through education, economic and policy development. Additionally, the plan's Strategic Initiative IV: Serving the Public through Community Engagement calls for stimulating social and economic development through activities such as outreach, service, and collaborative research and commercialization programs that respond to community needs and align with the UTSA mission.