UTSA Institute for Economic Development

This March, the Valdez Institute for Economic Development was able to pair Employee Appreciation Day with the presentation of our Values Based Leadership annual awards. Our Assistant Vice President, Rod McSherry, recognized five outstanding performers for their work embodying our values during 2025. This year's winners included:
Excellence: Julio Garcia de las Mestas
Innovation: Michael Gonzalez
Integrity: Sue Munro
Service: Richard Sifuentes
Outstanding Student Employee: Anthony Montelongo-Navejar

One of our own doing great things for the small business community

It's a new day at UT San Antonio!

It’s official! 🤝 UTSA + UT Health San Antonio are now UT San Antonio. We’re a global powerhouse in education, research and patient care, fueling progress for Texas and the nation.

Check out our big announcement: https://bit.ly/4n975fy

If you or your business were impacted by recent floods, SBA's loans can help you. Learn more and see if you are eligible: sba.gov/disaster

Our hearts are with every member of our community affected by the catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River. Campus resources are at the ready as we come together to support each other during this tragedy.

See them here: https://bit.ly/3TV74iG

https://www.utsa.edu/today/2025/05/story/graduates-are-workforce-ready-2.html

At Commencement, UTSA celebrates workforce-ready grads MAY 18, 2025 — In high school, it seemed inevitable that when Yağmur Hocaoğlu entered UTSA, she would study chemical engineering. With her academic strengths in chemistry and math, she was poised to enter and grow in the high-demand field she loved.

The UTSA Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in collaboration with the UTSA Alvarez College of Business, proudly announce the successful completion of the second cohort of the award-winning Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship (S.U.R.E.) program.

This innovative, award-winning, semester-long course brings together UTSA business students and small business owners recruited by the SBDC to foster economic development and entrepreneurial growth in the San Antonio community.

Held in the evenings at the UTSA Downtown Campus' Durango Building, the program provides a hands-on learning experience where UTSA students are trained to become business consultants, guiding small business owners through identifying target markets, crafting compelling elevator pitches, and developing actionable business plans.

Under the guidance of instructor Purnima Chawla, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship Education, The UTSA Alvarez College of Business, and Program Manager, Christa Luna, the student-business owner teams received valuable mentorship from experienced business professionals, enhancing both the learning experience of the students, and the strategic growth of the participating businesses.

SBDC Director Richard Sifuentes played a key role by helping recruit dedicated entrepreneurs for the program. The S.U.R.E. initiative not only empowers students with real-world consulting experience but also provides small business owners with personalized support and strategic insights that can help propel their ventures forward.

Following the success of this second cohort, the S.U.R.E. program is now recruiting small business owners for its Fall 2025 sessions.

If you are a business owner interested in accelerating your business’s growth or a professional eager to serve as a mentor, please email Christa Luna, SURE Program Manager, at [email protected] for more information.

Photo credit: Wendy Frost, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing at UTSA Carlos Alvarez College of Business

This past Monday, we honored the values in our organization by recognizing five outstanding performers within the institute. Our awards winners were:
For Excellence - Assel Krymkulova, SBDCNet
For Innovation - Daniel Olvera, UTSA SBDC
For Integrity - Carla Cardinas, International Trade Center
For Service - Renee Walter, International Trade Center
Outstanding Student Worker - Michel Leon, VIED

We had an excellent meeting today with Heather Boushey, White House Chief Economist, and Lillian Salerno, USDA Rural Development State Director in Texas, where we discussed the impactful work of the Texas South-West SBDC Network and all of the teams at the UTSA Institute for Economic Development.

Excellent meeting today with SBA Regional Administrator Ted James and SBA San Antonio District office leadership to discuss the Procurement Academy program, the activity of the Texas South-West SBDC Network, and activities of the UTSA SBDC Center for Government Contracting (CGC).

Pictured L-R: Michael Gonzalez (Assoc. State Director, TXSW SBDC), Inessa Stepanenko (Deputy District Director, SBA SA District), Sue Munro (Project Manager, UTSA SBDC CGC), Mary Hernandez (District Director, SBA SA District), Ted James (Region VI Administrator, SBA), Al Salgado (Executive Director, TXSW SBDC), and Jaime Martinez (Assoc. Director, UTSA SBDC CGC)

The Institute for Economic Development is honored to be named after our founder, Jude Valdez. And we are grateful for him establishing the Jude Valdez Economic Development Excellence Fund.

Great news! We’ve named the Institute of Economic Development in honor of Jude Valdez ‘72, to recognize his nearly 40-year tenure with UTSA and his generosity for establishing the Jude Valdez Economic Development Excellence Fund.



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UTSA names Institute for Economic Development in honor of founder, Jude Valdez NOVEMBER 27, 2023 — UTSA has announced it will name its Institute for Economic Development in honor of its founder, Jude Valdez ’72, to recognize his nearly 40-year tenure with the university and his generosity for establishing the Jude Valdez Economic Development Excellence Fund. The endowment ...