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The University of Texas at San Antonio MAGAZINE Summer 2003
Vol. 19, No. 3 IN THIS ISSUE Exploring Texas missions Why we love our
canine companions Climbing
Mexicos highest
mountain SUMMER 2003 2 UTSA Sombrilla FEATURES 12 MISSION MAN Exploring The Art and Architecture
of Texas Missions with Professor
Emeritus Jacinto Quirarte. 16 DOG DAYS OF SUMMER An academics best friend.
Meet purebred and pound-puppy
pooches and the professors and
staffers who love them. 22 ORIZABA Assistant Professor Stephen Brown
climbs the highest mountain in
Mexicoand determines just
how high it is. TA B LE O F C O NTE NTS 3 Summer 2003 DEPARTMENTS 5 In the Loop
Breaking ground on the Biotechnology,
Sciences and Engineering Building; news
from the Texas Legislature; a history of
video games; fun at the Folklife Festival;
and more campus news. 8 Investigations
Digging for Toyota; putting pavement
in the fast lane; simplifying the Rules. 9 Q&A
Robert McKinleys job is to keep his
nose in other peoples business.
A chat with the director of the Institute
for Economic Development. 12 Roadrunner Sports
Freshman golfer talks about his long game
and his long-term goals. Also, sports briefs. 24 Class Notes A preview of Alumni Gala. 27 Perspective
Retiring art professor James Broderick
shares his photographic point of view. 28 Looking Back Making friends at the first Roadrunner Camp. On the cover Professor Emeritus Jacinto Quirarte.
See Mission Man, beginning on
page 12. Photo illustration by
Mark McClendon and Karen Thurman. On this page From Dog Days of Summer.
Story begins on page 16.
Photography by Mark McClendon. 4 UTSA Sombrilla I recently attended a conference sponsored by the Council for the Advancement
and Support of Education where I picked up a lot of new ideas and inspiration
from experienced teachers and colleagues. One of the sessions that drew a fair
crowd was titled Measurement and Accountability. Those of us who took a seat in the stadium-style classroom wanted to learn how to quantify our day-to-day accomplishments, how to measure our effective-
ness, and of course, how to communicate those numbers back to our bosses and
constituents. In this day and age, we all want our moneys worth. My colleagues
and I learned a lot in that session, but it also got me thinking about the limitsas
well as the benefits
of measurement. In this issue of Sombrilla, our feature stories lend themselves to some impres- sive numbers. For example, Jacinto Quirarte, professor emeritus of art history,
has spent a good portion of his 70-something years filling in a great gap of
knowledge about the art and architecture of Texas missions. He traveled hun-
dreds of miles and spent thousands of hours in libraries, archives and the mis-
sions themselveslooking, drawing, thinking. He produced a book that has won
three awards (so far). But, despite these
statistics, when freelance writer Retha Oliver returned from her first
interview with the Quirartes, she characterized the feature in a way we didnt
expect Its a love story, she said. Environmental scientist Stephen Browns mountaineering challenge could also be reported by the numbers. He was part of an expedition that climbed
Orizaba, the third-highest mountain in North America. Why? Ostensibly, to test
and study some GPS equipmentto measure the mountain! Yet, Browns endear-
ing first-person account of his teams determination and joy upstages the story of
scientific discovery. Perseverance, yes, but passion, too. Which brings me to our dog stories. By featuring these portraits of campus dog people we bring our readers a different view of UTSA staff and faculty
members . . . one that goes beyond such measurable quantities as salary level,
win-loss record, or the amount of federal funding brought to campus. Our staff
and faculty (including me and my dog, Ollie) were more delighted to pose with
their dogs than we could have imagined. Can we calculate the amount of joy these companions bring to the lives of these teachers and staff people? Maybe, but it would have to be in dog years. Lynn Gosnell UTSA EDITORS NOTE Sombrilla Magazine Summer 2003, Volume 19, Number 3 The University of Texas at San Antonio Ricardo Romo, President Editor: Lynn Gosnell Art director: Karen Thurman Associate editor: Rebecca Luther Web design: Juan Fitzmaurice Copy editor: Judith Lipsett Contributors: Tim Brownlee, Randy Degner, Jeanne Lassetter, Tina Luther 01, Stephanie Mota 01, Retha Oliver, Kris Rodriguez Photographers: Patrick Ray Dunn, Mark McClendon Assistant director of multimedia imaging: John Poindexter Assistant director of publications: Frank Segura Director of publications: Elton Smith Office of University Advancement Vice President for University Advancement: Sonia Martinez Assistant Vice President for University Communications: David Gabler Director of Alumni Programs: Jane Findling Sombrilla Advisory Board Palmira Arellano 86 Guy Bailey, UTSA Ernest Bromley 78, 80 Renee Crittenden-Garcia 96 Marjorie George 84 Richard Lewis, UTSA Janice Odom, UTSA Rick Riordan Noe Salda

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