A&M-San Antonio’s president, Teniente-Matson, to depart for a California university

Texas A&M University-San Antonio President Cynthia Teniente-Matson will be the next president of San José State University in California, a position she will transition to in January. The California State University governing board announced the appointment Wednesday, starting the countdown to Teniete-Matson’s final weeks as the young San Antonio institution’s second president. “It is a bittersweet moment as I am extraordinarily proud of all the students, faculty, staff and alumni of A&M-San Antonio,” she said in a written statement. “Together we have helped to further our trajectory with an eye towards inclusive excellence, academic program growth and support for the future of our community.”

Teniente-Matson, 58, grew up in San Antonio, a South Side native who has led the only four-year university on the South Side since 2015. She succeeded founding president Maria Hernandez Ferrier, who led the school since its inception in 2009. For years, A&M San Antonio has been the A&M University System’s fastest-growing campus. At the start of Teniente-Matson’s tenure, the university had about 4,520 students. This fall officials reported an enrollment of about 7,300. It now offers 37 undergraduate and 19 graduate degrees. The university has yet to name an interim president. The coronavirus pandemic halted much of the expected growth across higher education institutions. Even with Texas providing an exception to the nationwide slowdown, Teniente-Matson said, administrators needed to develop programs and financial aid opportunities to attract and retain those still on the fence about continuing their education. “There’s great incentives for students to be able to focus on school,” she said in an interview last summer. “But students are stressed, we know that. The world is stressed, we know that. So, we are trying to lean into more intentional programming to help students recover and thrive.”