Centurions Meeting Recaps

In late September, the Centurions gathered at Bauer House for their 2024 Fall Business Meeting, engaging with UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken and other leaders in Austin. The UT System’s organization for young alumni of UT institutions welcomed 23 new members — with 13 attending the meeting — extending the Centurions’ reach across all UT academic institutions and several health institutions.

Chancellor Milliken addressed the group, highlighting the UT System’s work to meet Texas’ growing educational and health care needs. As part of his conversation with the Centurions, the Chancellor provided news and updates from across the system in support of the System’s commitment to advancing education, research and health care, and engaged with members on issues critical to higher education and health policy.

Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. John Zerwas and Associate Vice Chancellor Zain Kazmi, who leads several UT health enterprise-wide, strategic initiatives and collaborations in areas of technology, provided updates on health policy advancements and digital health initiatives within the UT System, including the implementation of the UT Health Intelligence Platform – a system-wide data and AI program.

UTSA alumna Carla Juarez concluded her one-year term as chair, passing the gavel to Andrew Grabato, an alumnus of UT Austin while UTSA alumna Yvonne Addison was elected by the membership as chair-elect for 2025.

The Centurions held their annual spring meeting at The University of Texas at Dallas on April 26, delving into UTD’s history, growing campus, key initiatives and its meteoric rise to becoming the top-ranked public university in Dallas-Fort Worth. 

Recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the nation’s 10 fastest growing universities, UT Dallas boasts a culturally diverse student body exceeding 30,000, with over 4,000 first-generation students.

Six of those first-generation UT Dallas students met with the Centurions in small groups to share their journeys and experiences at the university. A panel discussion followed, during which the students explained how resources provided by the institution, such as mentors and other forms of assistance, aided in their academic and personal growth on campus.

UT Dallas Provost Inga Musselman welcomed the Centurions and opened with a detailed overview of the institution and its priorities as a Carnegie R1 research institution. Courtney Brecheen, senior associate dean of undergraduate education, and D’Ric Jackson, assistant director of undergraduate programs, presented insights into UT Dallas’ student body and the Office of Undergraduate Education’s efforts to support student success.

The spring meeting also provided an opportunity for the Centurions to fulfill their commitment to service. As part of the program, Centurions Chair Carla Juarez announced a joint donation of $20,000 from the Centurions and the UT System Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee (CECC) to support UT Dallas’ First Generation Student Programs.