On Thursday, Jan. 30, the John Peace Library opened its doors to faculty members for the grand opening of the Faculty Center.

UTSA President Dr. Ricardo Romo described the space as “state-of-the-art” during the grand opening.

UTSA’s new Faculty Center consists of small meeting rooms, which seat six, nine, or 12 people; conference rooms, which seat 20 people; and a digital studio, which seats 18 people.

The facility can be used for faculty meetings or casual and formal events. The UTSA Libraries, UTSA Research and the Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Support partnered with the faculty to establish the center.

Dr. Krisellen Mahoney, Dean of Libraries, explained there were two reasons for creating the center for UTSA faculty. “UTSA is changing so fast. We are doing two things: Graduation Rate Improvement Plan (GRIP) and moving to be a Tier One university,” Mahoney said.

UTSA has many faculty opportunities, but, according to Mahoney, “they’re scattered and hard to find.”

The Faculty Center will benefit the faculty because it provides a venue where they can collaborate. The site will host a variety of workshops for faculty members, including sessions on incorporating technology.

According to Mahoney, funding for the development of the center came from Library Resources fees from years past and Permanent University Funds provided by the UT System. UTSA is one of few universities to create a center in which faculty can interact with each other and develop different strategies.

“I think it is great,” Dr. Jesse Zapata, Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Support, said. “The faculty are normally not together.” Dr. Bernard Arulanandam, Assistant Vice President for Research Support, said, “UTSA always wanted a place to engage in meaningful conversations with faculty and to learn from each other.”