The Board of Regents for the University of Texas System voted on Thursday to merge the University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio by 2025.
UTSA President Taylor Eighmy will lead the newly combined university.
“It is time to marshal the talent, size and scale of UTSA and UTHSA to multiply their roles as global leaders in education, health care, and innovation,” Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife said in a news release announcing the merger. “By bringing together all of their complementary and unique strengths, we will give Texans access to the best education, discoveries and health care imaginable, while accelerating the university’s trajectory as a top U.S. and global university.”
System officials said in the announcement that combining the medical school with San Antonio’s largest four-year university will create a research “powerhouse” that is “greater than the sum of its parts.”
According to the news release, UT Health San Antonio ranks in the top 3% globally for funding from the National Institute of Health, and the newly-merged university will become the third-largest research university in Texas, with nearly $470 million in combined annual research expenditures.
Board of Regents Vice Chair James “Rad” Weaver of San Antonio said merging UTSA and UT Health San Antonio will be transformational.
“This merger is the catalyst that will supercharge our region as a national leader in learning, innovation, health, and economic vigor,” Weaver said. “I’m very pleased that Taylor Eighmy, who has led UTSA so admirably for the past seven years, will ultimately lead the university.”
UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken said combining the two UT institutions will benefit South Texas and the state.
“The impact of a unified presence is undeniable,” Milliken said. “Texas will benefit immensely from this integration, which among many benefits, will enable greater public impact and enhanced global competitiveness.”
Eighmy will work with UT Health SA Acting President Rob Hromas to combine their two institutions.
According to the news release, faculty, researchers and administrators will be asked to be part of transition teams as they work to obtain accreditation.
In an interview with TPR, Board of Regents Vice-Chair Rad Weaver said the board had considered merging UTSA and UT Health SA for a number of years, but the timing had never felt right.
“With the growth we've had both at UTSA and the tier one recognition there, and the growth that we've had under Bill at the medical school. It just feels like this is exactly the right time,” Weaver said.
UTSA was classified as a tier one research institution under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in December 2021.
UT Health San Antonio was led by William Henrich from 2009 until his death March 2024.
Weaver said merging the two UT institutions will raise the profile of San Antonio and the newly combined university, and will better position the UT System to meet the region’s growth.
“It just strengthens the institution. It increases the research funding, which ultimately trickles down to what our board is most focused on, which is the customer experience,” Weaver said. “That's our students and our patients.”
Weaver said that although mergers are normally associated with layoffs and cost savings, that is “absolutely not the case here.”
“This is simply putting these two institutions together with one kind of driving creed and driving force that puts us in a position to handle the growth that we all know is coming,” Weaver said.
