Following The University of Texas at San Antonio and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio\u2019s merger in September 2025 and the launch of the university\u2019s new unified Strategic Planning Initiative in early spring, UT San Antonio\u2019s leadership team sought to define a clear, collaborative decision-making framework that supports the university\u2019s academic, research, and health missions and aligns priorities across the enterprise.\u200b<\/p>\n
As Texas\u2019 third-largest public research university, UT San Antonio remains grounded in its mission and committed to providing both opportunity and excellence. This updated, unified framework will allow the university to stay agile and nimble while also keeping decision-making transparent and collaborative across the entire enterprise on our ambitious journey to becoming a top 20 public research university by 2036.<\/p>\n
The areas evaluated included the following:<\/p>\n
Existing governing bodies and their structures\u200bDecision authority and escalation pathways\u200bNaming conventions and institutional consistency\u200bCross-functional coordination and communication\u200bAlignment between academic and health enterprise governance\u200b<\/p>\n
Through this collaborative effort, leadership made the following recommendations to unite UTSA and UT Health San Antonio\u2019s existing decision-making frameworks to create a new unified model:<\/p>\n
President\u2019s Cabinet:Acts as the primary advisory body\u00a0to the President for institutional strategy and operations\u200bEnsures alignment across academic, research, clinical, and community engagement missionUniversity Leadership Council:Renamed to Academic Executive CouncilCross-campus consultative body\u00a0promoting governance and transparency\u200bReviews major policies, initiatives, and campus prioritiesExecutive Committee:Renamed to Health Affairs Executive CouncilPrimary governance body for health missions\u200bOversees academic and clinical programs, partnerships, compliance and resource prioritizationAcademic Council & Dean\u2019s Council:Renamed Dean\u2019s Council to Health Affairs Dean\u2019s CouncilAcademic policy and program planning forums\u200bCoordinate degree program proposals, policy reviews and academic quality assurance<\/p>\n
At the institutional level, the President\u2019s Cabinet remains as an advisory entity, with final university decisions belonging to the president of UT San Antonio.<\/p>\n
At the campus level, leadership broke down decision-making into four categories: Academic & Research Matters, Clinical Matters, Budget, and Policy. Within each of these categories is a series of advisory groups and final decision-making groups that comprise of a mix of faculty, staff and leadership from both the academic and health campuses and clinical enterprise.<\/p>\n
The new executive decision-making framework aims to provide:<\/p>\n
Transparency: clear scopes, roles, & information-sharing\u200bParticipation: faculty, staff, & student voices representedAlignment: all governance activities tied to institutional mission & strategic priorities<\/p>\n