Posted on November 11, 2014 by Lety Laurel
Eight business and community leaders joined the UTSA College of Business Advisory Council this year. The Advisory Council is a senior-level advisory group whose purpose is to assist the dean, faculty and staff in raising the academic profile of the college.
Members advise the dean; fundraise for the college; support students through guest lecturing, mentorship activities and arranging corporate site visits; connect faculty to the business community; and promote the college to enhance student recruitment and executive education program development.
New members include Pat Duncan, retired chairman and CEO of USAA Real Estate Company; Jim Laffoon, president and CEO of Security Service Federal Credit Union; Patrick Mulva, MBA ’75, retired vice president and controller of Exxon Mobil Corporation; Karen O’Reilly-Smith, managing director and global head of identity administration for Citi; Nancy Ozuna, ’93, MPA ’95, partner at BKD; Michael Ramirez, ’79, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Strategic Materials; Martin Salinas, ’94, chief financial officer at Energy Transfer Partners; and Gary Simmons, EMBA ’00, senior vice president of supply, international operations and systems optimization at Valero Energy Corporation.
“I would like to provide guidance to the college in how to develop the best students possible,” said Duncan. “As a former CEO, I wanted to hire people that were well-trained and ready to contribute to the organization. For new graduates, I was looking not only for the technical skills, but also their interpersonal skills. I feel such interpersonal skills are often overlooked by most universities, and yet are perhaps the most critical for one’s success.”
“As a UTSA alumnus, I truly want to ‘give back’ to the school,” said Mulva. “I have watched UTSA grow from a distance and felt I could contribute to its future through direct involvement with the business school.”
Wendy Frost—
Please send your comments to: wendy.frost@utsa.edu
— Lety Laurel
