 Good morning, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the A&M San Antonio ROTC and Remain standing please for the singing of our national anthem by Elena Castorino. Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light so proud whose broad stripes and bright stars Please be seated. Today we have two special members of the community with us to give an invocation from the United San Antonio Powwow. Please welcome Irwin Jay. Good morning everyone. Each of us has learned to speak in many different ways. Each of us here have different ways that we express ourselves and how we feel about those things that surround us each day. A simple way of saying hello for example in the language of the Navajo Jate, in Osage, Hawaii, in Choctaw, Halito, in Cherokee, OCO, in Hopi, Hau, Hawaiian, everybody knows that one, Aloha, Spanish, Ola, French, Bonjour, and even Japanese, Konichiwa. Although I'm Navajo and Taos Pueblo ancestry I give you parts of this blessing and a prayer both in English and in the language of the Osage people. Each of us today speak to our Heavenly Father in your own way. Wakanda, Wakanda Jinkai, Wakombra Waewina, Indatzi, Doneminkshe, Agatzi. I ask from the direction of the east the place of the rising sun, the place of new beginnings each day, and the open horizons I ask for the wisdom and blessings for all those gathered here today. From the direction of the south the place that many believe in creation, the place of inspiration, I ask that our hearts be filled with love. From the direction of the west the place of the setting sun I ask for the knowledge and peace which follow the harvest of fruitful life, and from the direction of the north the place of quietness and stillness I ask for the knowledge and blessings that have come to all of us with time. Wakombra Waewina, Indatzi. I want to thank you father. I ask you for the blessings for this university of learning and thank you for our elders and leaders of this university. Faculty, staff and visitors who continue to create new opportunities for students to open their minds to other cultures and traditions. These opportunities recognize the importance of who they are in today's society. We ask for the wisdom and strength and encouragement for our youth and young people so they may be a positive influence to all those who can come in contact with them on a daily basis. It is in their hands that we are placing the future of the people of the world. What starts here today can change our world for the better. Wakombra Waewina, Indatzi. I want to thank you father. I ask you to extend your hand to protect and hold from harm all those men and women who serve in our country's military as they continue to safeguard the freedoms we have here today as we can as we preserve our freedoms and they safeguard those allowing us to preserve our culture and heritage in our communities while working together to strengthen ties to one another. At this time I'm going to light a little bit of sage. Sage is used in blessing and in cleansing and I told him I wouldn't burn down the building. Make sure this is lit. And at this time I'm going to ask Dr. Cynthia Tiniente Manson to step forward. You know we say prayers a lot and we do it in different ways and we also do blessings in different ways. And part of this today I had to think a lot it's not mine 100% but I took some words that I've heard other places and combined them indeed this special blessing for you and I want to say Wakanda which is the creator. As a president of this University of Iron Learning I asked to cleanse your hands. I told you I wouldn't burn the building down so that they may create beautiful things. To cleanse your feet so that you may hear so that you may it may take you to where you are needed the most. To cleanse your heart so that you may hear its messages daily. Very important. To cleanse your voice that you might speak the right words when they are needed the most. And to cleanse your eyes that you may see the signs and the wonders of this world. Wakanda I pray you will provide guidance to Dr. Cynthia Manson as a leader of this University and for your ask for your blessings in your daily life and to you and your family. Weina in Datsi. Thank you father. Thank you Mr. DeLuna. Now our neighbor here on the in the historic south side from the old Spanish missions please welcome father David Garcia. That is just bow our heads in blessing and prayer. God creator of all good things. God giver of all gifts. Today as we inaugurate a new president for this wonderful south side institution that has begun to serve an area of our city that was underserved by institutions of higher learning. We pray for our new president as we especially pray for all of those who will work with her and especially today for the students of this university and the students who will come in the future. That the many gifts that they have and the many talents that they share will be developed here, will be supported, will be encouraged, will be strengthened. So the university here in the south side of the city will be able to share with the entire community and the world the many ways in which these students will change our world in the future. Let this be a place not only of learning but also of inquiry, of questioning, of criticism, of ways in which people can understand how to make this a better world. We pray for our president that as she takes on this leadership today she will be able to inspire the students for all of these many ways in which they can give back the gifts that you, God, our Father, has given to all of us. Amen. Thank you Father David. You have both made this celebration special by your presence here today. Today we are witnesses to an historic occasion the inauguration of the second president of Texas A&M University San Antonio. The university has had a long journey from its inception and we gather today together to celebrate the achievements of many from our students to our president as well as many in the community and government who have been dedicated to the cause of Texas A&M San Antonio. Many of those dedicated people who have been instrumental in the development of the university are here with us on the stage and in the audience. So let's acknowledge some of those. Our president, new president of Texas A&M San Antonio Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson representing the state of Texas which is a pretty big deal, the secretary of state Carlos Cascos, US representative congressman William Herd, councilwoman district 3 Rebecca Villagran, member of the A&M system board of regents Charles Schwartz, vice chair A&M system board of regents Elaine Mendoza, student regent A&M system board of regents Gay Pereira, the chancellor of the A&M system John Sharp, the inaugural president of the university Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, the A&M essay advisory board the honorable Henry Cisneros from the university foundation chair Evangelina Flores, faculty senate president Dr. Lori Webb, dean of the college of arts and sciences Dr. Marley Bala, dean of the college of business Dr. Tracy Hurley, dean of the college of education and human development Dr. Eric Lopez, our staff council president Sylvia Medell and our student government association president Allison Garcia. Let us take this opportunity to recognize their tremendous effort. We are also honored to have with us this morning from the A&M system family Charlotte Sharp, president Ray Keck, president Pat O'Brien, president Dottavio, president Mark Negliaso, vice vice chancellor McDevitt, members of the president's advisory board, members of the foundation board, and members of president Motson's family and numerous other special guests her colleagues from near and far who joined us for the procession with some as far away as Nebraska and her longtime friends and extended members of her family. Thank you all for being part of this special day. I know she wishes to personally recognize you in her remarks. Sorry go ahead. So our purpose here today is twofold. Texas A&M San Antonio has answered the call of its president to convocate together to take time to observe the beginning of the new academic year. We have also gathered here with our friends of the city of San Antonio and the state of Texas as witnesses to honor and bestow upon our president the rights and privileges of the office of the president. The chain of office with which she will be presented is imbued with the duties and responsibilities of this great office. Just as the academic degree that we bestow on our graduates is a physical symbol of the recognition of their achievement, so is the chain of the office a symbol of the faith we have in our president that she will fulfill her duties to the best of her abilities. Today we follow in the steps of a great tradition as we install Dr. Cynthia Teniente Matson as the second president of Texas A&M University San Antonio. Now the creation of a new university is both a major undertaking and a huge achievement. As I have mentioned many people have been been a part of this from community leaders to our government officials to the very students who chose to attend the fledgling university when we started. Today these delegates as representative of their office appointed or elected bring greetings and salutations either in person or having sent a deputy with their proclamation. In recognition of this moment occasion in the annals of history as they formally recognize and witness the installation of our new president, our first speaker representing the state of Texas will be Carlos Coscos and will be followed. Mr. Coscos. Buenos dias. Espero que todos amanecieron bien. Which means good morning. I hope everybody woke up well this morning. I am Carlos Coscos. I'm the 110th secretary of state and what an honor it is for me to be here this morning to share in the fruits and tribulations of another A&M campus. Chancellor Sharp it's good to see you. Mayor Cisneros it's good to see you again as well. Every time I get invited to speak at events like this and just kind of you know I don't know what to say. There's a lot of smart people up here you know A&M graduates most and most of you all know I'm a T-sip. If you don't know you know now but nonetheless as Secretary of State I've quickly learned to adapt to all the universities in this state. What many of you all may not know is that education has been so far overlooked in many parts of this state. I congratulate A&M system for reaching out to the Rio Grande Valley. I also want to congratulate the UT system for reaching out to the Rio Grande Valley. An area that's been long long underserved. I don't think it was by design nor do I think it was by choice. I think it was by circumstance. But we have a new generation of leadership throughout the state. A new generation of alumni new generation of students see the importance of representing the whole state of Texas. I am flattered and honored to be here and not only welcome congratulate President Mattson on this momentous occasion. You know from San Antonio she had to go to Alaska. Had to go to California. But at the end of the day she comes home. She comes home to San Antonio, Texas. And if she didn't know then she knows now that there's two kinds of folks in this world. There's Texans and those that want to beat Texans. And throughout my travels not only throughout this state but through other countries that is the drumbeat. Texas is the best place to live. It's the best place to work. It's the best place to get an education. And it's the best place to raise a family. Muchísimas gracias felicidades President Mattson. Espero que la pases bien. I hope that you do well which I'm sure you will. You've got little shoes to fill. And I mean that symbolically because they're really huge shoes to fill. But thank you very much. I appreciate being here. Thank you for the invite. And I look forward to working with you. Whatever I can do or the Secretary of State's office can do for you. Your predecessor went by to see me early on about some stuff. And I hope to see you soon. Gracias. Have a good day. Howdy. I'm Will Hurd. I represent the 23rd Congressional District of Texas. I've been in Congress for a whopping nine months. And whenever I leave Washington D.C. I tell my chief of staff I'm going back to the real world. And it's always great to be home in San Antonio. It's especially great to be here for such an important occasion. And I spent nine years as an undercover officer in the CIA. I was the guy in the back alleys collecting intelligence on threats to the homeland. I now sit on the Homeland Security Committee and I know something about national security. And what I know about national security is that education is a national security issue. If we're not educating our future generals, doctors, entrepreneurs, then we're not going to stay the greatest country on the planet. And it's awesome being here and playing a little part at Texas A&M. One of Dr. Mattson's first things she did was allowed us to have our office here on campus. What better way to show the importance of education than to be right here. And also, you send them some really great interns. So I appreciate that. So it is, it is, we have, we have incoming equality in this world because we have education and equality. And I think what y'all are doing here for not only the South Side of San Antonio but for the state and the nation is important. And y'all have an amazing leader leading that charge. I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in various meetings with her. She's audacious, which is, I think, one of y'alls, the theme. She's intelligent and she cares. And it's good to be awesome doing whatever I can. And if I need to call some of my old friends up to take care of some, you know, problems, I'm in. Okay? I'm in. And I'm also looking forward to, and Chancellor Sharp, you know, as I'm, you know, I'm a product of College Station, I'm looking forward to the new rivalry between the UT system and the Texas A&M system being right here in San Antonio of UTSA versus TAMU SA. And I'm looking forward to being part of that as well. So thanks for what y'all do for our city. Thank you for what y'all do for our nation. Dr. Mattson, it's an honor to be with you today. And God bless y'all and God bless America. Good morning, everyone. My name is Rebecca Villagran. I have the distinct honor of serving as City Council District Three Representative. And I bring greetings and congratulations from Mayor Taylor and our Council colleagues who are also here today. I want to thank you all for being here. And I want to take this time personally to thank all of the people who invested so much time, energy, blood, sweat, tears, love, and angst as this, the start, the creation of this university moved through the political process to where we are today. I would like to thank Chancellor John Sharp and the Board of Regents with Texas A&M University for having some incredibly strong women leadership here. Elaine Mendoza, our Dr. Ferrier, and now Dr. Dianante Mattson. So incredible leadership that we have here. And I want to thank you for being part of the narrative in the south side of San Antonio, but more than that, the narrative of transforming our educational opportunities in lives here in San Antonio and in South Texas. This has been a journey and it continues to be a new journey, a new chapter, but a phenomenal chapter. And we in San Antonio are better for it and will continue to be better for that as well. Again, thank you. Congratulations, Dr. Mattson. And I look forward. It's been a wonderful first couple of years. It's going to be an incredible legacy that we continue to build here in San Antonio, in our state, and in the United States. Thank you very much. Well, good morning and Buenos dias. My name is Ray Saldana. I'm a member of the City Council. I've been on the City Council now for four years, but I've been on the south side of San Antonio my entire life. And it's interesting to be here, to be here in this place. What used to for me, growing up in the neighborhoods here, used to be just mesquite and brush, is now going to be filled with momentum and potential for what this area can be. And growing up on the south side of San Antonio, there's a certain narrative that builds in the young minds of my neighbors and community members, talking about what is possible for themselves, and what is possible for their neighbors. But there's been a narrative for too long that if you wanted to succeed, and you grew up on the south side of San Antonio, if you wanted to succeed academically, if you wanted to succeed in higher education, that you needed to move away. That had been a message passed along by friends, by adults, even educators. And that's why we're at such a pivotal moment here with the inauguration of our second president, because we believe that she is prepared to change that, to implement a counter narrative to what for a long time has been the message that many people have been getting around what is available to them. We're so excited, and as a son of the south side, to welcome back a daughter of the south side as president. And we're so very, very excited about what's to come for this university, because of the extreme potential not only that this university has, but that the students have all over the south side. So we congratulate you, Dr. Tinienta-Matson. And please be easy on me, because I am your councilman, and you are my boss. And I'm sure that I will be getting calls, not just about the university, but maybe in the conditions of the streets, but we are excited about the work you have ahead of us. And welcome to the next chapter of the south side of San Antonio. Good morning. I am Elaine Mendoza, Servants Vice-Chair of the Board of Regents for the Texas A&M University System, and we are so proud to be here today. To my colleague, Regent Schwartz, and our student, Regent Gabe, we really appreciate the opportunity to bring greetings. So I have the formal greetings of the board. You know how that goes, Dr. Matson. On behalf of the Texas A&M University Board of Regents, I hereby bring greetings to Dr. Cynthia Tinienta-Matson on this occasion of your inauguration as the second president of Texas A&M University, San Antonio. We've heard the words spoken by our previous speakers from our Secretary of State, congressmen, and our council members. We have a lot of promise to live up to, and we are poised and ready with this leadership to deliver on that promise. So we congratulate you, extend best wishes and salute you on your journey to make Texas A&M San Antonio a national model for student and academic success. Thank you so much. Good morning. My name is Henry Cisneros and I serve as Chair of the Advisory Committee to the University, a group of local citizens, generally older Aggies, who have been pulled together to be available to the President to help her address issues but importantly advance the University in San Antonio. It's a special treat on behalf of that advisory board to welcome the Secretary of State, Congressman Hurd, Chancellor Sharp, members of the Board of Regents, especially our own San Antonio representative on the board, Elaine Mendoza, the Vice Chairman, other public officials who are present, the presidents of universities, A&M system, and others, civic leaders, students, friends, and most importantly today, President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and members of her family who are here from Alaska, California, and other places. Let me just very quickly introduce the members of the Advisory Committee who are here, ask them to stand if they would. Jim Adams, Bertoguerra, Rosemary Kowalski, Lowry Maze, for whom the School of Business at A&M is named, Carl Raba over here, Lionel Sosa, Kerry Baker Wells, and Bartel Zachary, a great A&M family. These are members of the Advisory Committee who are here today and if I may take just one moment of personal privilege to mention someone who is not here because he is deceased, but he probably had everything to do with Texas A&M having a campus in San Antonio and that is State Senator Frank Modela who fought hard, hard, hard for the authorizations and the appropriations. Chancellor Sharp will remember that history, but we ought to stop for a moment and just thank with our applause Frank Modela for the job that he did. Today is a win-win-win. You've heard of win-win situations, but today is a win-win-win. It's a win for the Texas A&M system which for over a hundred years has been the preeminent land grant institution in our state. In 1863, the Congress of the United States passed a piece of legislation to set up the land grant colleges whose purpose it was to build America, to build the dams and the roads and the schools and the power stations and the agricultural system that would build the nation from the Civil War forward. No institution in America has played that role better in its state than Texas A&M and certainly one of the best in the country right there with the Michigan states and the Nebraska's and all those institutions that helped build the country. Roads, the building up of the petroleum sector, the lead industry in the state, industries, business, agriculture, providing leadership for the military, more generals produced than any institution but West Point for the American military. In every sector of civic service A&M has played that role and today with an advent of President Mattson coming online, A&M steps up to play its 21st century role in water, in technology, in cybersecurity and locates in a campus in the largest city in Texas in which A&M has a branch. So today in Dr. Mattson's advancement to the presidency is a win for a great institution that has touched not just the lives of those who attended there but through its agricultural extension system and its engineering extension system, touched the lives of every Texan and indeed made a mark for our country. Secondly, it's a win for San Antonio. One of the fastest growing cities in the United States needs the very best in education and particularly technological education. So this campus' role in the biosciences, in cybersecurity, supportive of our aerospace complex at Port San Antonio, of our technology complex just a few miles, just a mile from here at the Toyota plant. The largest footprint of an automotive company in the world right here is going to be a tremendous interaction. It is a win for San Antonio and particularly as the council persons have said for the southern sector of San Antonio which deserves the best. You link up Texas A&M with Palo Alto with Port San Antonio with Brook City Base, with Toyota we're talking about a new day for the southern sector of San Antonio. It's a win. And finally it's a win for people who believe in the human spirit of advancement and progress. If we invest in people, just as the Congress did in 1863 when they said we have to build universities to develop the people who are going to build the country, that spirit exists today. And it's exemplified in the life and times of Dr. Cynthia Teniente Mattson. As Councilor Multaldania said, a daughter of the south side, born just a few miles from here, raised in the schools, a lifetime that takes her to the to the rigors of the cold of Alaska and the tough challenges of the Central Valley of California, but at this point in her career she's back here in San Antonio at Texas A&M. Today is truly a win-win day. We congratulate her, wish her well, and all of us by our presence say we stand with you in building a great institution in a great city. Thank you very much. Good morning everyone. I'm Evangelina Flores and I serve as Chairman of the Board of the Texas A&M San Antonio Foundation. I too would like to take the privilege to ask my foundation board member colleagues to please stand and be acknowledged. All foundation board members, if you will please stand for a moment and be acknowledged. Thank you. Dr. Mattson, I bring greetings from the Texas A&M San Antonio Foundation on this momentous occasion as we invest you as second president of this great university. The mission of the Texas A&M University San Antonio Foundation is to raise funds for scholarships and other funds deemed necessary to help accomplish the goals of this institution. Texas, a Texas A&M university system institution of higher learning. A dream perseverance and good future have brought us to this place. As we look outside and feel the energy of this beautiful and budding south Texas landscape one can see applies that beckons the essence of higher learning of excellence and of discovery and indeed of student success. As a community we understand the good fortune that is before us and we embrace it. Rising from the south side of our great city Texas A&M University San Antonio is in the right place at the right time and with the right leadership. Your imprint Dr. Mattson will forever remain at this university and your ability to inspire to lead to build and to bring a vision to life I know will be among your greatest accomplishments. Of the several adjectives which are attributed to your style the term audacious is my favorite. It intimates boldness and resolve but it also denotes the ability to rally a team with passion and conviction and you Dr. Mattson have rallied a strong team to stand beside you as does the Texas A&M San Antonio foundation. On behalf of my foundation colleagues and all those whose generosity have passed through this foundation congratulations on your special day. I leave with you this crystal bowl inscribed with a significance of this day as a gift from the foundation as an and as a symbol of our support to the future of Texas A&M University San Antonio. Best wishes, felicidades, cariño. Good morning I'm Laurie Webb I'm the president of the faculty senate here at A&M San Antonio. On behalf of the faculty here at Texas A&M University San Antonio I'd like to welcome all of you to this auspicious occasion. I'm honored to play even the smallest part in today's event. I've been fortunate enough to collaborate with Dr. Mattson on many topics over the last six months and I feel I've gotten to know her as the remarkable leader she truly exemplifies. Her walk matches her talk. On the one hand I feel as if Dr. Mattson has been at A&M San Antonio for a lifetime. She's helped guide us through so many positive changes in such a short time. On the other hand however I'm genuinely excited that this is just the beginning of our mission with her. I look forward to what the future holds for us at Texas A&M San Antonio with Dr. Mattson at the helm. This culminating event after the week-long inauguration events officially announces her arrival as the second president of Texas A&M University San Antonio. However she has been with us in mind body and spirit since her first day on campus. Please join us in celebrating the beginning of the next chapter of Texas A&M University San Antonio by welcoming Dr. Mattson to our family. Our future has only just begun. Good morning everyone. I am Sylvia Medell and I am the staff council president. I would like to extend a warm and genuine welcome to Dr. Mattson and her family. It is my honor to stand before you at our second president's inauguration as a representative of our dedicated and hard-working staff. Dr. Mattson I'd like to share with you our staff's first encounter with your vision for moving Texas A&M San Antonio forward. It was back in January 2015. You had initially taken on the role as interim president and when you addressed both faculty and staff you did so with such tremendous energy and passion. You spoke on transparency, shared governance, leadership and your concept of open communication via a digital door. We were immediately inspired. These are all significant attributes we as staff look in true leadership. Staff spends most of their day between these walls ensuring continued support to the university while also ensuring student success. And in the nine months that you Dr. Mattson has served, have served as our president, you have energized us with your vision and your presence with your ongoing transparency. This is refreshing and has been well received. The importance of having a trustworthy leader is paramount to staff. We believe we have inherited a great leader in Dr. Mattson. Today Dr. Mattson we the staff at A&M University San Antonio pledge our support to you. We have confidence in your leadership and we look to a joint partnership with you and our administration and we also look forward to our institution moving forward to the next level that promises a bigger and brighter future for all of the A&M San Antonio community. Thank you. Good morning everyone. I'm Alison Garcia and I am the student body president here at Texas A&M San Antonio. I again want to thank the Chancellor Sharp, our Board of Regents, elected official, and all of our honored guests for joining us here this morning as we celebrate this magnificent milestone here at Texas A&M San Antonio. And I'm deeply humbled to speak before you today on behalf of the student body, not just in celebration of our next university president but in celebration of higher education. This system is the best system to be a part of. It exudes excellence in its faculty and its staff and in its leadership. I'm so proud to be a part of such an amazing system and Dr. Mattson is the embodiment of this value. From day one that Dr. Mattson set foot on this campus she was talking with students, engaging with student leaders, continually trying to improve our experience here at A&M San Antonio and we were so deeply grateful for this. While we were still establishing traditions here on this campus we are proud to be Jaguars. We are proud to be part of the A&M system. As students on this campus we know that we can achieve anything we set our minds to because of the leadership of Dr. Mattson and the overflowing support that we receive from this institution and from this community. So on behalf of the student body congratulations Dr. Mattson on your inauguration and as a current student the alumni before me and the alumni yet to come we were so excited to see the future vein of San Antonio under your great leadership. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Wyatt. I am Cindy's favorite son. Hi mom. I see a lot of, I see a few bulldogs here so I wanted to thank you guys for making the trip down and this is truly such a special honor for our family and we're all so happy that you guys could make it out to this occasion with us to celebrate with us. Every single person in this room has played a role and you becoming the person you are today and we're all so proud to be able to have gone through this journey with you and continue to go through this journey with you. I'm sure as it's been said today my mom's already said thank you all for coming but on behalf of our entire family again I just want to thank everyone for coming like it's like I've said before from Alaska to for California here so thank you all for being here. A lot of you may know my mom by different names Cindy, Cynthia, Dr. Mattson, VP Mattson and as recently President Mattson. Well Phil and I only know her as mom and we've talked a little today about what you've accomplished in your career and rightfully so and what you're going to bring to the south side of San Antonio, bring back to the south side of San Antonio I should say, but today I just wanted to talk about you as a mom and in preparation for my remarks I consulted some of your past co-workers as well as family and friends and what I realized is that your family extends beyond just Phil and I and dad and all of our aunts and uncles and cousins but it extends to everyone you've ever worked for and worked with and conversed with and even just met. We all love you so much and have so much respect for you not only as a leader but as a wife, as a Thea, as a friend, as a mother and most importantly as a person. Through all of your success you've never lost touch of what's most important to you and that's family. I've never met anyone who loves to work as much as you do but what makes us all respect and love you so much is that even with that drive and hard-working mentality when you're with the family or with your friends you're just Thea Cindy or you're just mom. Even with the calls past midnight about some campus emergency or the sometimes hectic travel schedule you always made time for me and Philip and and dad and even Jackson. That's our dog by the way. Mom you always tell me that I'm my own CEO and that I'm in charge of my brand and my legacy and now you are your own CEO. You have given me a lot of advice in my life and in closing I'd like to return the favor and give you some advice of my own. Bear with me a little bit. There's a song some of you might have heard of it it's called I Hope You Dance by Leanne Womack. For those of you who haven't heard it it's about living to the fullest and enjoying the simple things in life. It's about having faith and having fun along the way and the advice I have for you is simple. You see when you look back on the legacy of Cynthia Mattson you won't remember your job titles and you won't remember the buildings that you built. You will remember your Christmas parties that you threw for your team every year at the house. You will remember the amazing memories we had at Shaver a few summers ago with Jimmy and Thea Janie and Victoria and our whole family and you will remember driving up the hill dropping me off at the dorm to St. Mary's for my first year of college and you'll also remember your family and your friends who've been there with you through every step of the way. You may be president of Texas A&M San Antonio now but at the end of the day to Phil and I you'll always just be mom. So remember have faith have fun and I hope you don't forget to dance. I love you and I'm proud of you congratulations. Wow for once I find it very hard to follow up with something my younger brother has done. Today you might be the favorite. My brother alluded to most most you guys only know my mother is Cynthia, Dr. Mattson, President Mattson, etc. I've had the privilege of spending the majority of my adult life watching and learning from her as her careers progressed through higher education. It's all I've ever really known. Over time we've both witnessed how hard she works and I've had the privilege of having many discussions with her about the challenges of her job. I've often tried to pick her brain to get a better understanding of what it is exactly that makes her so successful. As I've gotten older and gone through college entered the working world and had my own experiences now in life I still reflect back on some of our late-night conversations and it's easy to identify what makes her so successful it's her passion. She brings a passion to everything she does inside and outside of the workplace and it extends beyond her work and into the relationships she has with other people and that couldn't be any more evident by all of the family friends and former colleagues that are here today to celebrate the stay with us. Her passion intensifies her focus on her daily tasks and allowed her to set very clear visions of what she wants to do. It provides her the drive to persevere to avoid cutting corners and strive for excellence every single day and it helps her deal with difficult decisions and tasks with relative ease because she knows what her vision is and it's so clear in her mind. It also creates an energy amongst her peers that allows everyone to work together in collaboration to solve even the most difficult tasks. So before we finish up here I just want to end with at the end of the day we all need to remember to keep going. However just making it through another day doesn't get us to where we truly want to be. We must move with vigor with passion and fixed determination to achieve our goals. I have no doubts the unwavering vigor of passion and determination of our mother and that she brings every day to the workplace will propel this university to achieve great things. We're very proud of you mom. Looks to me like those two young men go straight to heaven from here. Thank you all once again for being here and being part of this ceremony and for your words that you've spoken today. Now I would like to introduce the Chancellor of the A&M System, John Sharp. As Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, John Sharp leads the 19 member system which includes 11 universities, seven state agencies, two service units, and a health science center. Chancellor Sharp brings with him more than three decades of public service and a passion to make the A&M system the best system of higher education in the country. It may be already that. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Texas A&M University in 1972 where he was student body president, a member of the 1972 rugby team. Have you ever watched a rugby game? That's impressive and a member of the core staff of the Corps of Cadets. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. In 1976, Chancellor Sharp received a master's degree in public administration from Southwest Texas State University while working full-time with the legislative budget board in Austin. Maybe he'll go to heaven as well having survived that experience. In 1978 he was elected to the House of Representatives and was named outstanding freshman by Texas Monthly. He won a seat in the Texas Senate in 1982 where he served on the powerful Senate Finance Committee and was elected to the Texas Railroad Commission in 1986. Chancellor Sharp was elected State Comptroller in 1990 and re-elected in 1994. Chancellor Sharp has been married to Charlotte Han of Austin since 1978. They have a son Spencer and a daughter Victoria. They are active members of St. Mary's Catholic Church in College Station and are also active in numerous charitable and humanitarian efforts. Please let's welcome Chancellor Sharp. Thank you Mr. Provost for giving me the opportunity to follow those speakers. I would have preferred to be first. Wonderful to be here with all of you that are going to make the reign of this new president successful. Particularly the members of the faculty and staff, the people in the community that are the philanthropists, the people that work so hard, members of the Board of Regents. We also have here two of our regents who both served on the selection committee and I would like to for you to especially thank Regent Schwartz and Regent Mendoza and the members of the Presidential Search Committee that are here today. Would you please stand and receive our applause? I would say they did a very good job. We also have here some of our great presidents from around the state and some of the system universities are here and I'd like those our three or four presidents to please stand up as well as their spouses. Would you guys stand up? And you are right. We already do have the best system of higher education in the country. It is wonderful to be here especially with my idol Henry Cisneros. I have said for a long time that and I continue to say that when I grow up I want to be Henry Cisneros. I have three idols. One is Henry, the other two are priests, Lo Mismo. But it is good to be here with all of you on this very very special day for the Texas A&M University system and certainly for for Dr. Mattson. But one of the things that as you look at just what she's done and since you first got here, we already have freshmen. You've noticed that freshmen are going to be admitted here pretty soon. She had a great legislative session. Thank you Senator Latisha and so many others and Carlos and all the members of the Legislature. The work so well with her that got 11 million dollars to do downward expansion. So for the first time in the history of this university next year you're going to be taking freshmen. You think it's the fastest growing university in the state right now? You ain't seen nothing yet. You wait until those freshmen start getting here. And she had as I said a great legislative session. She's already done wonderful work with the community, as witnessed by some of the great philanthropic leaders of San Antonio that are sitting back here in the back. Bill Griehe and his family foundation just contributed one million dollars to scholarships for for the university and we're very thankful to that family and for what they did. But with all of those things and with the great work that she has done all down the east west coast from from California to Alaska and back with all of the experience that she has gained, which was certainly a part of the reason that she was selected as president here. The reason she is going to be a great wonderful president for this institution is because of her passion for her fellow first-time family members to go to college in the south side of San Antonio and her passion to lead them towards greatness. Let me tell you why this university is the epitome of what the future of Texas is about. Because if you look at the history economically of the state of Texas you'll see three distinct times when we just killed everybody economically. We did it on cotton right after the Civil War and during we did it on cows we did it on oil and gas and petrochemicals from spindle top on. And all of those things are going to be important in Texas for a very long time but they will not create the fourth empire. We hit three. The fourth one will be on the only other thing you got to sell in this world and that's human resources. We happen to be the state that has more 18 to 24 year olds than anybody else in the country. Only Provo Utah has more kids than we got and that's the good Mormon families. It's interesting that when Bob Bullock my predecessor in the controller's office was controller he said when industry came in they said we want tax breaks tell us how many tax breaks you want. I never got that question when I was controller in the 90s. The question I got was how many 18 to 21 year olds live in your town and what's the education level of those kids. And if you didn't have the workforce and they weren't educated they went somewhere else. That's what the future is and that's what this place is going to do. This place is going to make sure that San Antonio and the rest of the place prospers because we're going to do we're going to create the the fourth big economic boom in this state and it is going to be on young men and women the spindle tops of the future are sitting in your first grade classes and sent the attendants to medicine is going to make sure they blow the socks off of the economy of the state of Texas and I welcome her here. Thank you Chancellor Sharp for those inspiring words and an encouragement to all of us. But let me introduce you to Elaine Mendoza who will speak to us in just a minute. You've already heard a little bit from her. She is founder president and CEO of Conceptual Mindworks. Established in 1990 CMI is a biotechnology and medical informatics company located in San Antonio. Ms Mendoza was appointed to the Board of Regents by Governor Rick Perry in 2011. She was elected vice chairman of the board on April 29th 2015. She is serving her second term as chair of the committee on academic and student affairs. She is a member of the committee on audit and also serves as a liaison to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A graduate of A&M University she received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering. Regent Mendoza has seen A&M San Antonio grow from the early stages at the Palo Alto campus when we were in trailers. She has been there to help lift the university up to become what it is today as you are seeing and experiencing here today. Please help me welcome Vice Chair Mendoza to the podium for this special presentation that she will make. Well good morning again. Truly, truly special. I hope you can feel the spirit of the campus. I hope you can sense what we're about to do and what Dr. Mattson is about to lead us through here in this very, very special place. Dr. Mattson you know you've joined a very special and unique system, one that spans this great state. And Texas A&M San Antonio is now the fastest growing university in our system. And your expansion to the four-year university will only accelerate that trajectory. Freshmen and sophomores are going to be here in the fall. What about that? That is awesome and I know you've got us poised and ready to do so and do it well and do it right and do it successfully. We've heard several times Dr. Mattson is a native of our great city right here in San Antonio and we are so proud to be you the ones to have brought you home and we are so happy and so glad and so inspired that you're here. Your passion for the South Side and your focus on the underserved population and first generation students make you perfect, perfect for Texas A&M San Antonio at this point in its history. I hope you're ready. I know you are. I know I speak for the whole board of Regents if I may, Regent Schwartz. When I say that we consider this institution the only system institution in a major urban area, you guys know that's true from Corpus and Canyon and you know Central Texas. Sorry. An incredibly important campus and we know that Dr. Mattson's vision passion and energy will be key to its future. We know that you will make Texas A&M San Antonio a national model because you said you would for student and academic success and your faculty and staff said you are a national model for student and academic success and we look forward to watching you and your faculty staff and students grow together on this next stage of the journey and we will be right with you 100%. We will do whatever it takes to make that happen. As you heard from Chancellor Sharp it's way too important to this state. So on behalf of the Board of Regents I also wanted to extend thanks and appreciation and congratulations to Chancellor Sharp who brought you forth as the top candidate and recommended you highly to the Board. Dr. Mattson will you please stand and be recognized. Chancellor Sharp will be recognized. You guys stand right here. One of the great traditions of the Texas A&M University system is excellent leadership. You will see it in each of our presidents of our institutions. You will see it in our great Chancellor of our system and there is no doubt that Dr. Mattson will continue in this tradition. She has already begun to do so leading Texas A&M San Antonio into a era of a four-year institution. She knows leadership is a capacity to translate vision into reality so today I am honored to witness this great leader public servant be inaugurated as the president of Texas A&M San Antonio. Chancellor Sharp on behalf of the entire Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University system who voted unanimously to accept your recommendation of her I am pleased to present to you the second president of Texas A&M San Antonio Dr. Cynthia Tinienthe Mattson. Congratulations. After these magic words your paycheck will start. Dr. Cynthia Tinienthe Mattson as Chancellor of the Texas A&M University system it is my privilege to bestow upon you this presidential medallion of Texas A&M University San Antonio and to welcome you as the second president of this great institution Regents and distinguished guests please welcome again President Cynthia Tinienthe Mattson. Those are the chains of the office there. Oh I have mercy. Are you okay? Congratulations. That's hers too. 15 pounds. Congratulations. Thank you sir. Congratulations. Oh my goodness thank you so much. I have prepared remarks but somehow they don't feel appropriate. I'd like to start it seems fitting to pause and begin with a modified version of the serenity pariah. Chancellor Sharp and the A&M Board of Regents grant me the serenity to accept the leadership challenges that we cannot change the courage to change our student lives where we can and the wisdom to know the difference. Welcome welcome here today. Welcome to our energetic and motivated students our staff members who create a positive dynamic and professional atmosphere every single day. Our dedicated and exceptional faculty our accomplished academic business community and elected officials our loyal and proud alumni and our foundation board members thank you for all that you do to make this a great university and a special thanks to everyone who has planned and organized each and every inaugural event this week culminating with today's amazing ceremony. This week has truly been spectacular. I was actually moved to tears several times as I participated at various events and and today as well with my sons. These activities speak to the quality and the creativity of the Texas A&M San Antonio community. While today I am briefly here at the forefront it is my colleagues in the that represent the university and the many many voices of our community of students faculty staff and friends each and every day. Chancellor Sharp Regents Mendoza in shorts thank you thank you for selecting me to lead this institution and offering me the opportunity to serve and to contribute. The trust you place in me is significant and I offer my absolute commitment to Texas A&M San Antonio's success. I am pleased that the Secretary of State was able to join us today. We are honored to have you on our campus and we appreciate your generosity and sharing some of your time with our students and with our campus community. Thank you. I'd also like to welcome my family and friends who have traveled from throughout the country to be here. A special thanks to John Welty who's right here in the front President Emeritus of California State University at Fresno for 22 years. An incredible mentor and friend he has been to me and he has provided me with so many opportunities to flourish and prepared me to be where I am today at this podium with you. Thank you and I'm also very honored to have Maria Hernandez Farrier here on the platform. You've heard it from many she's led A&M San Antonio through its early beginnings and formed the foundation of our beautiful campus including the distinct architecture of our facilities which will have a long lasting impact on the campus culture an exceptional learning environment for decades to come. Maria I am honored by your presence. You've symbolized to me a strong commitment that I shall have to the stewardship and growth of this incredible campus. Thank you for joining us today. My parents Carlos and Gloria are here with us today their commitment to a solid work ethic along with their many sacrifices have provided a life of opportunity for my sister and me. They've shaped the person that I have become and that has provided me the privilege of being with you here today. My sister Rebecca is here my pseudo sister Victoria is here with her husband David they trekked from Alaska and to Mariah who moved to to Texas with us and the rest of my California and Texas family welcome and thank you for being here today. Our sons Philip and Wyatt who you met a moment ago you are both an enormous source of pride joy and inspiration and now public speaking. Thank you so much for your support during this transition. A special thank you and welcome to Madam Chair of the Table Mountain Rancheria Leanne Walker Grant she's in the back here and Bob Pannell thank you so much for joining us here today. Sharon Brown Welty my dissertation chair without her I also would not be here today and many of my so very favorite and endearing friends from the California State University. Thank you so much for being here. I also have my special lifelong friends from Alaska that are here Jan, Cindy, Dennis, Paula and my childhood BFF that I met when I was 12 Debbie. Thank you so much for having made the trip to be here with us today. This journey that we call life begins with so many people and my journey would not have been complete without my wonderful husband Mike. Mike is a patient loving and willingness he's got great commitment and willingness to tackle everything I ever volunteer us for. He's been a great partner to me for the past 22 years and as you see we have wonderful sons. Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation and if you've all seen in the short time that we've been here Mike has also become a terrific ambassador for A&M San Antonio. Thank you Mike and thank you to your parents Henry and Carol who are also here with us today. I'm overwhelmed by this celebratory moment my sincere appreciation to the entire A&M community all my colleagues and fellow presidents from around the state of Texas for your warm welcome and your acceptance of Mike and me from the moment that we arrived you have both made us feel welcome and we thank you for your support and your understanding of the vision of our great future. I'm thankful for your dedication and the commitment to advancing the A&M excellence here in San Antonio. I am truly hard pressed to describe the profound and intense feelings of elation, honor, humility and privilege as I stand before you today as the second president of this great university. No person achieves excellence alone and I've been truly blessed to learn from so many gifted colleagues throughout my career. They've influenced me with their integrity, the passion for their academic disciplines and their enduring as aspirations to spread the public good of higher education. I am so fortunate to have an ecosystem of support within the higher ed community and throughout the A&M family. Since arriving on campus in mid January I've spent a lot of time listening to students, listening to faculty and staff, and learning about all that we have to offer here throughout our great programs and from our great alumni who are finding their way in the world inspiring the next generation of students. A prime example is Cresencio Davila who is on stage with us today. Cresencio served as the first SGA president of Texas A&M San Antonio while he was an undergraduate student and was later named the first student regent from A&M San Antonio by Governor Perry. He is a dual graduate who also earned his MBA and today serves as the client service director for Robert Half Management Services. He continues to serve his community, in fact he chaired the subcommittee for the inauguration week of the alumni event this particular week. We have many wonderful success stories. You may not have heard about all of them, I just want to share one or two. Our communications department continues to develop our outstanding students who are coming from a one-of-a-kind program here in part because of our partnership with Univision which shares its actual production studios as classrooms. Right now today we have two of our graduates, Nicole West who is now attending grad school at UC Berkeley and John Salas who is at Boston University. They are shining stars of the products that we are producing here at Texas A&M. In our Teacher Ed program we are producing teachers such as Jennifer Vasquez who is winning the Teacher of the Year awards. She teaches social studies at Rawlinson Middle School in NISD and in 2014 she won, excuse me, she won the NISD Educator of the Year award and was also honored with the Excel award which was presented by Kin's TV and SACU and named her one of the best educators in San Antonio. We have many graduates and who demonstrate the power, the power of A&M San Antonio. Inaugurations, investigators, installations, these are beacons in time that signal a transition for universities. We've seen throughout the week celebrations of diverse faces and voices that all point to our positive future and while I sometimes say that our best days are ahead I want to pause for a moment and remind us that today is also a best day for today is what prepares us for tomorrow. Our preparation leads to agility. At numerous times around the campus I've used the word agile to describe our ability to respond quickly to be nimble and to be effective to the needs of our students and our community. Agile is not a typical word used to describe life in a public university but that's not the case here. We leverage the talents and resources we have to continue to elevate the A&M excellence and deliver results at what's often an accelerating speed. As you've heard I've also used the word audacious just about everywhere I go and it provokes the challenge for us on campus to unleash creativity to let go of habits that unintentionally inhibit new perspectives and to pursue big ideas not just any idea but those that guarantee quality opportunities for our students our colleagues and our community. At this moment in our great history we are fortunate to be untethered by past traditions. We seize this unique circumstance for us to be architects of tomorrow and to create the A&M University of the future a future that is intentional deliberate and student ready. I've asked my campus colleagues to embrace the power of A&M and leverage the significant investments that have been made for this great university in this tremendous city. Here at Texas A&M San Antonio it truly is different. Let me explain a couple of reasons why. First as you've heard from some of the speakers we celebrate our great place located right here in an underserved region of San Antonio the historic south side. This region is reawakening and will experience a rebirth in large part by the presence of our great university alongside the world heritage designations of the San Antonio missions. Together we represent the crown jewels of the south side. Father David who you heard from earlier speaks with great vigor and passion about the world heritage designation and the future of what he calls interactive learning with the missions. He calls this process of discovery experiential tourism. While his spiritual connections to a higher order and the connectedness of the region's authenticity are cornerstones for learning and they're founded on centuries of experience and hands-on exchanges between theory and doing. We too speak about the importance of interactive learning and the impact of applied classroom theory and moving it to real-life action through experiential learning. Across our campus our faculty is in the process of developing this process of discovery and they are embedding it into every corner of the curriculum. All of our new students will have at least two experiential learning encounters in every program in every college and four years in a learning community to progressively navigate the higher end expectations. Also today we are one of the few universities that will provide an experiential learning transcript. As part of our vision to become the national role model for student academic success we are creating intentional practices which document their experiential journey throughout their academic career. To date these types of transcripts are in development in only seven universities nationwide. At A&M San Antonio we will launch the experiential transcript in fall 2016. The power of A&M is here. I commit to steward this great place and by the virtue of our geography which you've heard from many of our speakers this morning our presence itself will continue to catapult purposeful economic development that contributes to South San Antonio and beyond. We have an enviable future in this community. Among the many indelible characteristics of our institution simply put is our name Texas A&M. One of the most widely recognized and distinguished names in the higher education sector. We are harnessing our identity as a valued member of the A&M system to build a national model for student academic success and I have every confidence that it will become THE national model. Yes our best days are ahead. Our campus is graced with a rich diversity of wonderful faces and voices some faces that have experienced significant diversity some that have proudly served our country some that represent the best in their academic class and for some the first in their generations of family to earn a college degree. One of our unique assets is the fact that a majority of our students come from homes facing economic diversity or where college was not a readily accepted tradition. Here at A&M San Antonio we proudly embrace our students and all of their experiences and identities they bring with them. We were born to fill a need in a vastly underserved geographic region. One of our signature initiatives is to be accessible and affordable and to build evidence-based practices that help all students and most notably those from the vastly underserved communities such as our first generation students and historically underrepresented particularly those that self-identify as Latino or Latina. We embrace our students to be inclusive of everyone. Our focus is to meet our students where they are in their journey and stand alongside them as they ascend to a pathway of prosperity. That's a significant outcome of our success. We know attaining a degree contributes to the economic social cultural and intellectual prosperity of our graduates and these result in a better community. This pathway to prosperity concept really resonates with me. It tugs at my roots and at my heritage. As you know, I too am a product of this largely underserved Southside neighborhood. 78224, our zip code, is in my DNA. Please know I will be committed to this region. I've traveled the world, it's true, and I've lived in various cities. But I have an inherent passion, as my son Philip described, for learning and it all began right here. But here's the difference. When I was a child here, there was no higher education options in my neighborhood. There was no Palo Alto. There was no A&M San Antonio. And as you've heard, thanks to the dedicated commitment from great legislative leaders like Senator Manla and Senator Yaresti, we're vibrant and strong. They too believed, when others did not, in the pathway to prosperity. A better life would begin through this great university in this region. I dedicate my wholehearted commitment to make this university a better place because our region needs it. The faculty and staff here at Texas A&M San Antonio are architects of circumstance and they too have harnessed A&M excellence and they have escalated their commitment, even greater, to create a pathway to prosperity. Our best days are ahead. Today, October 10th, 2015, we are 10 months and 14 days away from welcoming our inaugural freshman class of students. And about six weeks ago at Fall Convocation, I challenged our campus community to join me in creating conspiracy. Yes, that's right. A conspiracy. But not the kind that requires wiretapping or cohort operations. Sorry, Will. No, this is actually much more difficult. It requires innovation and grit. And that is a conspiracy of high expectations. Imagine that all of us in this room weaving together our collective spheres of influence, conspiring to create a pathway to prosperity. Here and now we are embracing the best known techniques and inventing new practices while contributing our grit and tenacity to ensure that we truly meet each fabulous student wherever they are in their emotional and intellectual readiness. And we're guaranteeing their success. I have challenged our entire community to come together and challenge the norms of higher education. We must out innovate to achieve the student excellence we're aiming for. We cannot imitate greatness. We have to live it through evidence-based practices adopted specifically for our student population. I pledge to you on behalf of our students, I embrace this responsibility. I will not shy away from it. We know what we need to do to produce the results for our unique population. We are the university for everyone here at Texas A&M San Antonio and we're creating a university with the highest expectations for learning and engagement with an attitude of excellence irrespective of their life circumstances. These achievements include graduating our students with knowledge and skills that will reduce the barriers and embed the ability for them to be civic-minded thoughtful citizens. We know this strategy will solidly place our alumni on the pathway to prosperity. Each university has its own academic and social culture and many, many microcultures. That's what makes education so dynamic and suitable for every individual student and their faculty. However, at Texas A&M San Antonio, right now we're on an on-ramp, metaphorically that is, we're on an on-ramp to become a comprehensive four-year university and we know our lane. We will work together to provide the best education to everyone but our lane is a specialty. Here we embrace the underserved and the historically underrepresented. This is our lane and we'll continue to be strategic in our focus to best serve and support our diverse population of students. We will conspire for prominence and the highest possible ROP. Return on people, not ROI, but ROP. It's the people that matter and those people are our faculty, our staff, our leadership and they all have the greatest passion for our students. This critical investment will have the greatest return on people, our students when they become alumni and prominent global citizens on their upward trajectory towards prosperity. In closing, I'll share this final thought as to why Texas A&M San Antonio is ever so relevant today. About six weeks ago I was visiting the science mill with Drs. Robert LD and Bonnie Baskin, both of whom are amazing social entrepreneurs and science scholars and Dr. LD asked me do you recall that moment? And he described it like this. The moment when there was a person who gave you confidence ignited the spark in you to pursue a discipline or a career. Well I ask all of you this morning, do you remember that moment? That defining moment has actually been simmering in my mind for the past eight weeks or so. Now that's more than an aha moment. It's some sort of a subliminal intersection that sort of brews in our psyche. And as we navigate our university's journey to becoming a comprehensive four-year university, my moment has me thinking back to my days as a college freshman. I was a traditional student attending the University of Alaska. Times were much simpler. I enrolled as an eager freshman with the idea of becoming a petroleum engineer. Well that lasted about partway through the first semester in my first course in petroleum engineering. When I realized this was not for me, it was a complete disconnect. But I later learned that I had connected and relished the study of business management. The interesting phenomena about being a student and in my case a traditional 17-year-old student is this whole process of learning ran parallel with my process of intellectual maturity and the evolution of my own human development. And as we sort of live through this student phase, we cross paths with people that will influence a direction or ignite a spark or a moment. As an undergraduate student myself at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, I recall only three professors and I thought hard about this. Only one that I can recite the name, course number, and period of time in semester when I took that course. It's just so happens that that person who vividly influenced my learning and created that moment that centered for years was my college economics professor, economics 350, money and banking summer session with then UAF professor Dr. Pat O'Brien who is now President Pat O'Brien at West Texas A&M. I am so honored that he was able to be here with us today. And more importantly it's a reminder to me and all of us here today that it sometimes takes decades for us to realize the impact, influence and spark that we have on others. Now, like most busy alumnus, I've led a busy life and never took the opportunity to reach out or the time to reflect on exactly when that moment was and I am so humbled to be able to be here today to say thank you to Dr. Pat O'Brien. There have been many moments along the way these moments take on various forms of what I now refer to as hallway mentoring alongside the traditional classroom learning or the conversations that happen in faculty office hours. Most times we cannot foresee the greatness we are unleashing in others just by offering encouraging words at the right moment at the right place at the right time and as educators and higher ed professionals we imagine the best for all of our students and we wait. Because we know we're nurturing something greater their talents as students build their life tools on the way to becoming strategic and thoughtful thinkers and contributors to a better community, a better region and a better world. Universities like A&M San Antonio we thrive we thrive on the energy of great people who commit to creating the foundation that will move our graduates onto the pathway to prosperity. Today and now what we're doing at A&M San Antonio includes all forms of pedagogy in multiple formats digitally and traditionally alongside undergraduate research and experiential learning. These proven practices weren't readily available when I was a student but here and now at Texas A&M San Antonio our presence alone ignites aspirations. I'm frequently told by parents spouses partners of our current and prospective students we are so happy that Texas A&M San Antonio is an option and we celebrate our faculty today who have generated countless moments for thousands of students. In fact since 2009 5,634 students have received degrees from our emerging university and that number will only grow exponentially in 10 months and 14 days. Our faculty staff and our leadership will focus on creating that A&M San Antonio moment with a new community of student learners. One thing I know here in San Antonio talent is universal opportunity is not. Together with this campus community I encourage each of us to embrace our good fortune and the presence of this prestigious campus and all of its aesthetic beauty. We will soon offer even more options for long overdue opportunities for our region our state and the Texas A&M family. I invite you to all join me in creating moments. Join me as an architect of change building this ambitious and prestigious university. We have great plans audacious plans for new disciplines and programs like a school of engineering and partnerships with other educational institutions and new co-curricular activities for students housing honors programs and yes a competitive athletics program. Join the momentum for audacious thinking as we build the pathway to prosperity for our future generations of A&M San Antonio students and their families. Our best days are ahead. I am honored. I am so honored and I humbly thank you for being here with us today. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Madsen for sharing with us your journey to A&M San Antonio. You can be seated and for your vision for the future of this wonderful university that you now call home. As we conclude today's program I would like to take this opportunity to thank you the audience. Your presence here is a testament to the widespread support of this university and its mission as well as the admiration we share for our president. Thanks also go out to the committee of staff and faculty members who planned and staged this presidential day and this presidential week that we have had. Thank you also to members of our stage party and those who presented greetings and salutations the Texas A&M system board of regents and the leadership of the Texas A&M university system. All of our elected officials and members of the Texas A&M San Antonio Foundation. Visiting presidents and delegates from our sister colleges and universities from around the country and our chambers of commerce and business leaders as well. And of course our world-class faculty and staff who I would like to ask to rise wherever you are in the audience today faculty members or staff here at the university please rise and be recognized. President Madsen told me that I should tell you you can have lunch and then it's back to work. We are now the conclusion of today's event but the community of Texas A&M San Antonio looks forward to inviting you to our future celebrations as we continue to grow and educate for generations to come. Please stay seated as the processional departs. Have a wonderful day and remember that the world is our campus starting on the south side. Thank you very much. We will recess to the right.