Dr. Ricardo Romo

Ricardo Romo became the fifth president of The University of Texas at San Antonio in May 1999. As President, he leads one of the fastest growing institutions of higher education in Texas and the nation. UTSA, under his leadership, is now poised to be one of the state’s next premier research universities.

President Romo has led strategic efforts to enhance both access to education and excellence in scholarship and service at the University.  

During President Romo’s tenure, UTSA’s enrollment has grown nearly 50%, and the University has added numerous programs and facilities to enhance student life. He also has implemented new student support programs designed to help students succeed at earning a university degree. The number of advisers has tripled, and UTSA, with 28,500 students in 2007, is recognized as a leader in “Closing the Gaps,” a statewide initiative by the Legislature to enroll more Texans in higher education.

A native of San Antonio’s West Side, President Romo graduated from Fox Tech High School and attended The University of Texas at Austin on a track scholarship.  He served as captain of the track and cross-country team and earned All-American honors in 1966.  Romo was the first Texan to run the mile in less than four minutes, and his mile record still stands as a university record. He earned a B.S. degree in Education.
Romo holds a master’s degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in history from UCLA. A nationally respected urban historian, Romo is the author of “East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio,” which is now in its ninth printing (one in Spanish).

In 1980, President Romo returned to UT Austin to teach history before becoming a Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. In 2002, President Bush appointed him to the President’s Board of Advisers on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  In 2004, former Secretary of State Colin Powell appointed Romo as a U.S. representative to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, and in 2005, Romo was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio branch and was reappointed in 2007 - Romo currently serves as the Vice Chair.

In 2006, Romo was honored by the UT Austin Friar Society as “Outstanding Friar Alumnus.”  He was elected Chairman of the Board for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (the largest U.S. Hispanic Chamber organization) for 2006.  In 2007, Governor Rick Perry appointed Romo to serve on the “Commission for College Ready Texas.”   He serves on nearly 20 boards, many of them in San Antonio.  He is active in several museum boards and is especially proud of his work with the United Way.

President Romo is married to Dr. Harriett Romo, an Associate Professor of Sociology at UTSA. She also serves as Director of UTSA’s Mexico Center and works with the Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute (CAPRI). They have one son, Carlos, who graduated from Stanford University and The University of Texas School of Law. Their daughter, Anadelia, attended Princeton as an undergraduate and received a doctoral degree from Harvard University and presently teaches at Texas State University.

Dr. Romo has received many honors during his academic career, one of the most recent recognitions was the Isabel la Catolica award, the highest award given to non-Spanish subjects, bestowed upon him by King Juan Carlos of Spain.