The Department of Integrative Biology at UTSA is excited to announce three scholarships in honor of individuals who have supported our efforts to educate environmental scientists. As the chair of the department, I am honored that I knew/know all of these individuals and proud to call them friends.
- Dr. O.W. Van Auken Endowed Scholarship
- Max William Hanners Endowed Scholarship
- Henry Willard (Bill) Lende Endowed Scholarship
Current Scholarships
Dr. O.W. (Bill) Van Auken has been a professor at UTSA for over forty years. He started the desert/field biology field trip in 1979, which continues today. His impact on conservation and natural resources extends throughout the region and beyond. His former students work in San Antonio, Texas, and across the United States; as academicians (from San Antonio to Puerto Rico), in government entities (including in the Washington, D.C. Forest Service Office), and in many other positions and locations. The O. W. Van Auken Endowed Scholarship honors Dr. Van Auken's belief that field work is important experiential learning for biologists.
Each scholarship is disbursed equally in the fall and spring semesters, provided the funds remain available and the recipients continue to meet the Eligibility Criteria.
Eligibility Criteria
- Junior or Senior, enrolled full-time (12+ credit hours/semester) or
Graduate, enrolled full-time (9+ credit hours/semester)
*exceptions for those who do not need to be full-time to graduate if enrolled in at least 6 credit hours - Major: any in the College of Sciences
- GPA: cumulative 3.0 (4.0 scale)
- Enrolled in or have completed an environmental research and/or field course
- Previous recipient is eligible for renewal, provided that they re-apply each year and all Eligibility Criteria are met
Additional Requirements
Max William Hanners earned an M.S. in environmental science in 1992 and was hired by longtime UTSA staffer John Massey to form the fledgling Safety Office—now known as Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management. During this time, he was appointed as the UTSA Radiation Safety Officer and was part of a tight-knit group officially called The Radiation Advisory Safety Group, who represented The University of Texas System and each UT component. Later, as Assistant Director of IT at UTSA, Max helped oversee construction on key components of the Downtown Campus, the Rec and Wellness Center, and the Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering Building. After 20 years of service, Max retired and was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away at 61. Max's wife, Susan Whitley, funded a permanent scholarship in his name that will be awarded every year in perpetuity. She invites others to join her in supporting a scholarship that will help students in the College of Sciences this next year.
The number and amount of scholarship may vary depending on availability of funds and the applicant pool in any given year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Undergraduate, enrolled full-time (12+ credit hours/semester) or
Graduate, enrolled full-time (9+ credit hours/semester)
*exceptions for those who do not need to be full-time to graduate if enrolled in at least 6 credit hours - Major: any in the College of Sciences
- Preference will be given to students majoring in Environmental Science or a successor program
- Automatically renewed if all Eligibility Criteria are met
Additional Requirements
Henry Willard (Bill) Lende, Jr., was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December. 29, 1937; his family moved to Garland, Texas, after World War II. Bill held a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in solar engineering, and made his home in San Antonio. After a successful business career, he established the Lende Foundation with his brother Bob and sister-in-law Elizabeth in 1978, where he served as board chairman for 30 years. A huge fan of science and engineering, Bill collected notes, photos and letters from many of the great minds of the 19th and 20th centuries: Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright brothers, among many others.
In June 1981, Bill began purchasing property to create his Herff Falls Ranch in Boerne and became a dedicated land steward. For 27 years, he operated the property as a working farm, raising and selling blackberries, table grapes, and venison. In 2008, he created and endowed the nonprofit Cibolo Preserve and transferred ownership of the ranch, to be used as a natural habitat laboratory dedicated to research and education. The nationally-recognized, 644-acre karst limestone research laboratory, with 1.5 miles of Cibolo Creek flowing through it, is a critical aquifer-recharge property, with multiple ongoing research projects related to the study of nature. The preserve serves as a living ecological laboratory for scientists with UTSA, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the San Antonio River Authority. San Antonio Express-News wrote of Bill, "Described by many as a 'gentleman's gentleman,' Bill evolved from engineer to philanthropist and land steward, without shedding the earlier roles. His friends describe a brilliant and inquisitive mind, balanced by warmth and a genuine curiosity about the many people he met." Bill died September 9, 2016, at the age of 78.
Funds will be used for research enhancing purposes, including but not limited to, graduate research assistantships, fellowships, and/or research stipends.
Eligibility Criteria
- Graduate, enrolled full-time (9+ credit hours/semester)
- Major: any in the College of Sciences
- Must be engaged in research projects on nature at the Cibilo Preserve
- Project funding renewable if the research demonstrates progress as determined by a College award committee
Additional Requirements
Additional Scholarship Resources
Visit the main COS scholarships webpage and UTSA One-Stop to find more available scholarships.
