Contact: Rosanne Fohn
Phone: (210) 567-3079
E-mail: fohn@uthscsa.edu

President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., (left), accepts a flag flown over the state capitol from Sen. Judith Zaffirini, Ph.D., Rep. Ryan Guillen and Rep. Richard Peña Raymond (not present) in honor of the dedication of the Academic Building.
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A large gathering of state, local and university officials, and Laredo residents were on hand Oct. 10 to dedicate the second building on the Laredo Campus Extension (LCE) of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The same day, the UT Health Science Center signed an agreement to offer a joint program in nutrition and dietetics with Texas A&M International University (TAMIU).

The 20,600-square-foot Academic Building will provide space for much-needed classrooms, labs and faculty offices to support the expansion of the university’s educational offerings in Laredo. The building will also house a virtual community health library for health practitioners, health professions students and the general public. In addition, the Texas Cancer Registry South Texas/Laredo Partnership, which collects data about cancer incidence in the Laredo area, will be housed in the new building.

The expansion will free space in the original LCE facility, the D.D. Hachar Building built in 2002, for administrative offices and meeting space.

Sen. Zaffirini gives keynote speech
State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, Ph.D., the architect of the legislation that created the LCE beginning in 1991 and a strong supporter of the campus ever since, was the keynote speaker at the Academic Building dedication. She presented UT Health Science Center President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., with a Texas flag flown over the capitol on March 31, 2006, the date ground was broken for the Academic Building.

“Do not forget ― do not forget ― that our master plan calls for six buildings on this campus,” she said, noting later she learned years ago that “Every time you get something (from the legislature), you ask for something else.”

Also offering congratulations at the building dedication were State Rep. Ryan Guillen, Mayor Raul Salinas, and Eddie Zavala, a representative from Congressman Henry Cuellar’s office.

Many have contributed to LCE success
“Our educational initiatives, to benefit and support our mid-Rio Grande border community and our students, is the result of the hard work and dedication of many,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “In addition to the outstanding and vital commitment we receive from the state and the city of Laredo, we have been fortunate to receive many financial contributions from this community. The support we receive from individual philanthropic gifts makes it possible for the faculty of our Health Science Center to enhance and expand our Laredo programs, and to build the infrastructure needed for our continued growth."

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $536 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care industry, the leading sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.