September 22, 2011
St. Mary’s University kicked off its new public issues forum series on Sept. 28, bringing together business, public and government leaders for a dialogue on the area’s water issues.
The series, called Community Conversations at St. Mary’s University, began with a discussion of water issues in the San Antonio area titled “Is San Antonio Running Dry? Meeting Our Current and Future Water Needs.” The discussion featured Robert Puente, President and CEO of San Antonio Water System; State Sen. Carlos Uresti; and Sam Dawson, Chairman of the Board for the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
The event, which was in the St. Mary’s University Center’s Conference Room A, began at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed by the program at 6:30 p.m. The series is free and open to the public.
The Community Conversations series is a part of the newly created Institute for Public Administration, Politics and Public Policy at St. Mary’s University, which is housed within the St. Mary’s Graduate School. One of the primary goals of the Institute is to develop outreach programs that foster dialogue between the University, the public, government agencies and nonprofits to address important public issues.
“St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic and Marianist institution is dedicated to the ideas of service and civic engagement, not just in our classrooms but also in the community,” said Charles L. Cotrell, Ph.D., St. Mary’s President. “This new Institute for Public Administration, Politics and Public Policy will seek to advance research and dialogue on issues that affect us all as citizens and as scholars. The Community Conversations series will take that a step further by inviting the public to participate in discussions directly with policy makers, legislators and business leaders.”