Have other integrations or major expansions occurred within the UT System recently?
The UT System has a proven track record of successful institutional realignments and expansions, including the creation of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and its medical school, the merger of UT Tyler with UT Health Science Center Tyler, the acquisition of Stephen F. Austin State University as a UT institution, the creation of a UT MD Anderson hospital, a new UT Austin hospital on the UT Austin campus, and the planned expansion of UT Arlington into west Fort Worth.
Where has this worked in other places, and how did it raise the level of impact?
There are many successful examples across the U.S. of universities where academic and health components have long existed as one institution or were integrated, resulting in strengthening the overall position as a global leading research university and medical center. Some of the top national universities with this structure include The University of Michigan, The University of California Los Angeles and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Wasn’t a merger idea studied before? Why is now the right time?
The idea of merging UTSA and UT Health San Antonio was studied in 2002 and 2010. Today, the advancements of both institutions over the years have been positive and steep, and the value proposition has never been greater. Both institutions have experienced positive growth trajectories while the educational and health care landscapes have evolved. The current strategic environment — marked by increasing national competitiveness in research and a growing demand and advantage for integrated academic and health systems—presented a new, exciting case for integration. This new opportunity aligns with the need to ensure a world-class university that will compete with top national peers.
What are the key benefits of the unified UT San Antonio?
Merging the complementary institutions leads to:
- Expanding academic program offerings to attract more students and building a clear pathway from undergraduate to graduate programs for students, especially in the health sciences. It will also create more joint degree programs between academic and health professions, enhancing the potential for more joint STEM programs, and growing health-business programs beyond current MBA and executive leadership programs.
- Accelerating the research enterprise particularly around the intersection of the health sciences with the fields of engineering, applied sciences and data sciences, building new collaborations with industry and government partners, including the military, and increasing the competitive edge to attract more grants and contracts to San Antonio.
- Amplifying the clinical enterprise to catalyze new collaborations between the unified institution, the new UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital, and the broader county health system. UT Health San Antonio is also vital to the operation and success of the South Texas Medical Center, which serves 38 Texas counties.
- Bolstering the development of a skilled professional workforce in high-demand health and industry areas critical to the region and Texas and positioning the combined entities’ new integration to bolster the number of essential healthcare, business and technology professionals drawn to a city with a comprehensive academic and health center.
- Fostering more seamless collaboration among faculty in teaching, research, healthcare and service to facilitate maximum success in the classroom, lab and across the continuum of patient care.
- Multiplying technological advancements and commercialization in areas such as biomedical devices, healthy aging, precision therapeutics, brain health and more. Such therapeutic advances will also provide major economic development for San Antonio by driving education, employment and biopharmaceutical infrastructure.
- Producing greater data-driven healthcare to improve individualized diagnosis and treatment and enhanced application of precision medicine.
- Combining and accelerating fundraising appeal and success to present collaborative opportunities for donors, foundations and agencies.
- Positioning the university well for future growth to build upon success within the San Antonio and Texas R&D landscapes, including the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H Texas) hub and many San Antonio nonprofit research partners including Texas Biomedical Research Institute (TBRI) and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).
- Achieving recognition as a premier global university alongside new peers nationally and globally, including the best comprehensive research universities that are composed of health sciences, engineering, data science and a full range of other disciplines. From the visual and performing arts to athletics, education, business, urban planning, behavioral sciences, medicine, and much more, this new comprehensive university plants a flag in San Antonio and Texas that will be recognized around the world.
What is the financial impact?
It is too early to know specific details about the positive financial and specific measurable impact; however, the integration of UTSA and UT Health San Antonio is designed to grow the overall institution. The goals of the merger include attracting significant research funding and philanthropic support, bolstering federal grants and industry partnerships, expanding program offerings and services, improving efficient operations to support large-scale medical and scientific initiatives, and reinforcing its status as a top-tier academic and health institution.
How does this affect the local and regional workforce?
The merged university includes over 42,000 students, a workforce of 17,000 employees, including almost 4,000 faculty and 1,400 health care providers, $486M in research expenditures, a combined budget of $2.4B, an endowment of $1.3B, and more than $7B in direct economic impact. Job growth is expected to increase to meet the growing demands of this institution particularly in research, academia and clinical care.
What is the value proposition for San Antonio?
Integrating UT Health San Antonio and UTSA into a single premier university adds immeasurable value to San Antonio. By marshaling the full force of their complementary strengths as one, the unified institution expands academic programs and joint degree programs to attract more students, expand healthcare services and accelerate groundbreaking research — particularly at the intersection of the health sciences with the fields of engineering, applied sciences, and data science. It helps address the region’s burgeoning health needs, drives economic growth, advances innovation, draws new partnerships and turbocharges the university’s ability to compete with top national institutions and achieve its fullest potential as a premier global university.
What is the purpose behind this merger between these two well-established institutions?
UT Health San Antonio and UTSA have had strong trajectories, each with unique yet complementary strengths. Their educational and research programs did not compete; instead, collaborations and unified initiatives were steadily growing. Together, their combined size and scale brought significant advantages, expanded capabilities, and accelerated progress toward elevating San Antonio’s standing as a global leader in academia, health and research. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring those two powerful institutions together ultimately positioned UT San Antonio to stand among the nation’s top public universities.
