"My name is Cody Kelly. I am a 17 year- old Junior at Bandera High School in Bandera, Texas. I graduated as the PREP "valedictorian" in the summer of 2002, after three awesome years in the PREP program. There is no measure to the benefits I received from the PREP program. Even today I still feel the numerous benefits from this great program. Among the benefits, however, were my $50, 000 PREP scholarship. It is a complete travesty (spelling might be wrong) that the founder of this wonderful program has to resign in the face of controversy, instead of the praise he deserves. While I was involved in the PREP program, Mr. Berrioz�bal was always visible as the administrator of the program. He was always approachable, much like a kind grandfather who was always there to help and advise. During my third year at PREP, I even was able to talk to him personally to have him allow me to go to a camp in Wisconsin, and he gladly said "yes". This man was easy to talk to, more so than many principals I have had in public school. The three years I spent in PREP were the best in my life so far, allowing me to explore my career possibilities, meet great like-minded children, and letting me experience the extraordinary leadership of Dr.Berrioz�bal, a man who should stay as the runner of PREP, not as a scorned professor."

-Cody Kelly
PREP Valedictorian
Summer 2002
Bandera, Texas

"I am a Program Assistant with PREP and have been for the past three years. This is the first year without Dr. B at the helm and not only has the program suffered, but important individuals and site directors have left as a consequence of the removal of Dr. B. The new management of San Antonio College PREP is incompetent or absent, being that we had two new site directors this year. One director was bad, the other was never there. Removing Dr. B removed Dr. Garcia, and the program, the children, and we suffered as a result. "

-Reynaldo Valdez
San Antonio, Texas

"My son, Cody Kelly is a graduate of PREP. What has been done to the program and Dr. B. is absolutely horrible. How anyone could say the things that have been said about this man is beyond me. This program was a godsend for Cody. I drove him back and forth every day from Bandera for 3 years because he was getting an education that he wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. As for Dr B.....the man has put his heart and soul into this program. The way he has been treated is cruelty!!!!"

-Denice Jenschke
Bandera, Texas

"I believe that what has happened to Manuel is an example of ageism and is another case of injustice of higher education against people of color."

-Sr. Theresa
Atchison, KS

"Dr. Berrioz�bal has been an icon of leadership, foresight, and vision. He has inspired hundreds of young students and professionals to fight for what we believe in and for making dreams a reality.
Dr. Berrioz�bal has given students hope and has allowed them to reach their full potential by offering them opportunities and guiding them through the path of excellence. He has worked hard in an unselfish journey of belief in the greater good for ALL students, especially the underprivileged who many times get lost in the maze of political inequities and unfairness.
It is a shame that such vision and tireless work are not appreciated "

-Selina Catala
San Antonio, Texas

"No other Latino has made the advances in math and science education for his community than Dr. B. In a time when great role models need to be recognized in our community Dr. B and all of his hard work are disgracely being ignored. The true disadvantage is that our future leaders of America are not going to be given the same opportunities other students have had when the PREP program was under Dr. B's leadership. UTSA should be embarrassed and ashamed of what they have done. "

-Stephanie Tovar
Los Angeles, CA

"This is an outrage, please do not let snakes like the ones that ruined Dr. B's career to continue their march toward destruction. A complete re-instatement should be offered, whether or not it would be accepted."

-Trey Ehrhardt
San Antonio, Texas

"Dr. B is Prep. It's his life and his child. Dr. B. always makes sure that his program is running top-notch, and that the students are the ones who are benefiting from the program and what it offers academically."

-Minda Tovar
San Antonio, Texas

"What an injustice to remove Dr. Berrioz�bal without an excuse to him and to the rest of those who are interested in PREP. We demand an explanation. It is our right to know why this action was taken."

-Lee Norwood
San Antonio, Texas

"I was a tutor/mentor in PREP's first year, 1979, and very much enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to work with Dr. Berrioz�bal and the first PREP class. I was deeply saddened to learn tonight from Dr. Berrioz�bal himself that he was forced to step down from his long-time post as Director of PREP. As a San Antonio native, Princeton graduate, and son of a former UTSA Math and Engineering faculty member, I am very disappointed that UTSA could not find a more graceful and diplomatic manner in which to execute a change in the directorship of PREP. Dr. Berrioz�bal worked very hard and long to develop PREP into a top-flight program, bringing UTSA Math and Engineering into the national spotlight as a result. I think he deserves much better than to be treated this way, regardless of what disagreement or conflict brought this about.
I was further disappointed to read the PREP website history page which only once mentions his name (in a photo caption); but instead refers to the many awards listed as going to the "PREP coordinator" or "PREP Director". Why even bother having a history of PREP page if you cannot even bring yourselves to say the name of the founder and 25-year Director of the program?! For shame, UTSA. I would have thought you could rise above such a petty display of disrespect for one of your most well-known and beloved faculty members. At the very least I hope this petition will make the UTSA administration search for better options the next time it encounters a similar situation."

-Felipe de la Garza
San Antonio, Texas

"There are no words for the wonderful experiences and for how outstanding the PREP program is for everyone involved. We have been able to have a true effect on the success of students and even the students themselves understand the importance of an education because of the PREP program. There is not another like it. No where else can they meet actual people who do what they want to do when they grow up, or meet actual college students who encourage them to continue their education. Many children do not have that. It is a shame to see the program falling apart because of something like this. We need to save PREP for all of the students to come."

-Annette Garc�a
San Antonio, Texas

"Although I did not personally participate in the PREP Program, several of my friends did. All of them were first generation college students and have achieved great academic success. This is a testament to the importance of this program, which is an invaluable resource for preparing our young students for the rigors of higher education. We must fight to fully reinstate this program and to demand justice for the wrongful actions taken against Dr. Berrioz�bal ."

Lori Rodriguez
San Antonio, Texas

"Dr. Manuel Berrioz�bal is held in extremely high regard by his mathematical colleagues who have become involved in K-12 mathematics education reform. His positive contributions to the futures of the tens of thousands who've gone through his PREP program and through other similar programs across the country that have developed from it, constitute exemplary efforts to both address the achievement gap and to promote a model program that offers young people special opportunities to prepare for college courses and careers in mathematics, engineering, the sciences and computer sciences. In light of Professor Berrioz�bal's exemplary history and many accomplishments, a special review and scrutiny of his removal is most warranted."

-Elizabeth Carson
New York, NY

"Dr. Berrioz�bal is a highly respected member of the educational and civic community in San Antonio and has been instrumental in focusing local, state and national support on a great need: increasing the number of students, especially Hispanic students, who pursue careers in the engineering and science fields. He has been a true leader and mentor for both Hispanic students and professionals. His efforts should be rewarded and recognized by UTSA and the San Antonio community. "

-Rosa Maria Gonzalez

"I want to dedicate my Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Texas at Austin to Dr. Berrioz�bal and the PREP Program. They are the reason I am an engineer. I graduated from the program with a $1,000 scholarship in 1996 and went back to work as a PA summer 2001 because I enjoyed the program so much and believed in the extraordinary good it was doing for the community, students, minorities, and women. It angers and saddens me the injustice of what they are doing both to Dr. B and the PREP program. It is unethical! Unethical is gaining advantage at the expense of other people or society as a whole (taken from my professor and the textbook). For those people who are opposed to the program, tell me what do you gain?...power, money, ego??? "

-Cindy Valdes

"I am a mathematician of Russian origin interested in mathematical education. I have taught at various levels for 40 years in Russia, USA and Brazil. I taught for several years in San Antonio and can confirm that American mathematical education needs a very serious improvement. In an American university I taught ``college algebra'', which was more easy than algebra taught in Russian public schools on a regular basis for decades. I don't remember when I first heard about Berrioz�bal who has become a legendary figure in American education, but all I heard about him was great. Firing Berrioz�bal from his famous program would be ridiculous if it were not so tragic. God save America! "

-Andrei Toom
Recife, Brazil

"I am deeply disappointed that the Pre-freshman Engineering Program (PREP) is in consideration for cancellation due to a lack of funds. I cannot stress to you how much this program meant to us and all the other PREP students. This program gave hundreds of kids the unique opportunity to learn new and exciting things that other students our age weren�t  able to learn in the classroom throughout the school year. This program has enlightened our vision that we can do anything and everything we strive to do. It enforced responsibility, determination, and ambition.  Please don�t take this wonderful gift away from NISD students. We need the continuation of this program so more students can discover the enjoyment of learning."

-Dylan Heart (PREP1 student of �03)

"Okay, this is straightforward from an eighth grader's point of view, you CAN'T shut down PREP, there are just too many kids out there who are depending on it, especially the ones like me, who are on their third year. It's not fair, and you're taking away the very limited amount of good opportunities that we have. And dude, it's 25 years! Come on! And you randomly decide to close it down because there's too many expenses? Isn't that your fault, yeah so stop taking it out on us kids because you don't even know what you're ruining. You got to at least let Northside students get the chance to at least pay to go which would be dumb too, but it's the LEAST you could do. I know, this isn't written on a professional level, but it is the blunt truth so be it. So why don't you think twice before ruining our dreams. ok? KEEP PREP ALIVE!"

-Kim Pritchard

" Manuel Berrioz�bal is a national treasure and the action of the administration at UTSA to remove him from the directorship of PREP is shocking. I recently met with five members of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to discuss the poor showing of too many Wisconsin students on the mathematics NAEP. I suggested they contact Achieve to get an outside review of the state math program, and contact Berrioz�bal to talk with someone who has run a first rate program in mathematics education. These were my only recommendations of organizations and people to contact. What is happening at UTSA? "

-Richard Askey
Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

" I have nothing but the highest regard for Prof. Berrioz�bal . His accomplishments with PREP have been remarkable, and on the national level he has served with distinction on, e.g., the Department of Education Expert Panel for Mathematics. There can simply be no rational reason for removing him from this program. "

-R. James Milgram
Department of Mathematics, Stanford University
Stanford, California

" I don't know Dr. B. but I do know how hard it is to run successful education programs for underrepresented minorities. Consequently, resolution of this injustice requires immediate action. "

-Beverlee Bruce, PhD
Program Director
Social Science Research Council
New York, NY

" I have known Manuel Berrioz�bal since I joined the faculty of Tulane University in 1964. I have followed with great pleasure his tremendous work in PREP. He is one of the most sincere and effective teachers I know and the PREP program has been on of the most successful activities ever in increasing the number of minority students that attend and succeed in college. He has international reputation in Mathematics Education and I most strongly urge his reinstatement as Director of PREP. "

-Ed Dubinsky
Cincinnati, Ohio

" I direct an Emerging Scholars Program in the Department of Mathematics at Michigan State University. This is a calculus-level, integrated minority support program. I have talked with Dr. Berrioz�bal about common issues of interest, and have read with interest and respect articles about his work. He should be respected, not abused for his innovation and hard work. "

R-ichard Hill
Department of Mathematics
Michigan State University
E. Lansing, MI

" As a mathematics professor I strongly support Dr. Berrioz�bal . "

-Richard H. Escobales, Jr.,Ph.D.
Professor of Mathematics
Canisius College
Buffalo, NY 14208

" I have known Manuel for many years. We have frequently discussed the methods of diversifying the ranks of those with degrees in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering. He has contributed much to this effort of strategic national importance. His contribution has earned him considerable recognition by those in a position to know. It is unthinkable that some faceless bureaucrat could replace him with or without due process, which is absent in this instance. "

-Michael Bleicher, Mathematics
Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, GA

" Dr. Berrioz�bal created the PREP program and built it into a hugely successful, high-quality operation over a period of many years. The foundation of that program, and one major reason for subsequent successes of the PREP students, is the high intellectual level provided there. It is the challenging courses, with their depth of scientific experience, that provide positive, life-changing effects in the young students. I feel strongly that Manuel Berrioz�bal should be reinstated to a leadership position within the PREP program, and that future PREP policies should continue those that he originally put in place. "

-Daniel Shapiro
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Mathematics
The Ohio State University
Director, Ross Mathematics Program

" He is a highly respected professional. He does not deserve this treatment. "

-Richard Gibbs
Durango, Colorado

" I look up to Dr. Berrioz�bal  with a great deal of respect and admiration. He is a person of honor and his credentials are impeccable. Under his leadership, the success of the PREP program is a matter of record. I will borrow some words from the person who said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. It appears that at this time, Manuel's integrity is being challenged and controversy is being contrived to undermine his unflinching dedication to students. Dr. Berrioz�bal  will continue to stand tall on the truth as he always has. Justice will prevail.....Godspeed... "

-Manuel L. Flores
San Antonio, Texas

" As a professor of mathematics at UTSA, I have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Berrioz�bal  often over the past decade. I'm impressed with what he has done for mathematics education in the San Antonio area (and nationally for that matter). What is unfortunate, is that we have both worked under administrations at UTSA whose actions or lack thereof have been counterproductive to the advancement of mathematics and mathematics education at UTSA and within the region. In my opinion, the administration's handling of the situation involving Dr. B. is simply indicative of a continuing history of disregard for faculty and due process. The really tragic result is that President Romo, who if nothing else is a great advocate of students at UTSA, apparently is unaware how the Provost's Office mismanagement (my opinion, of course) of departmental and curricular affairs has had and will have a negative impact on faculty and students alike. The PREP program has been a singular and shining achievement for UTSA, due primarily to the hard work, dedication, and inspiration of Dr. Berrioz�bal . His treatment at the hands of the University has been shameful! "

-Sandy Norman
Boerne, Texas

" The actions taken against Dr. Berrioz�bal  and PREP are unconscionable and suspect. The UT System's attack on Dr. Berrioz�bal  and the PREP is nothing short of an attack on the entire Hispanic community. A quarter century of progress in education for minorities is being erased. As usual, it is the children and young students who pay the price! "

-Rudy C. Ortiz, Assistant Professor
Counseling & Student Development
San Antonio College

" Dr. B. is one of the most honest, ethical, hard-working individuals I have ever met. I feel for what he must be going through right now. Is this the way you get rewarded and applauded for your 25-plus years of commitment to his profession of teaching and the PREP program? I think not!! "

-Evelyn J. Garc�a
San Antonio, Texas

"Dr. Berrioz�bal has done a great job in the initial stage and maintaining the organization of the PREP program. I believe the program is extremely beneficial to students who understand the importance of higher education and are also determined to succeed in life and their careers. "

-Christine Mendiola
San Antonio, Texas

Letter to President Ricardo Romo

--Darwin E. Peek, PhD
2nd officer of PREP for 18 summer programs

"The PREP program has served siblings, relatives, friends, and neighbors all with the same ambition of one day rising out of our barrios to live a dream which only our parents could have depicted in their imaginations. PREP has helped me achieve several milestones in my life, which I could not have been able to climb without the knowledge that PREP helped me gain. It saddens me and at the same time I am disgusted at the fact that Dr. Berrioz�bal  is being removed from his position and that PREP is being robbed from our future children and our raza. No, I cannot shy away from allowing this to happen to a man who worked so hard to create this nationally recognized program. For this reason, I share my testimony of what PREP has done for me. It will be a stab in the heart of many to see PREP die. Instead, we should work to improve PREP and to continue a growth of this program, which has served our state for many years, and we must continue to allow Dr. Berrioz�bal  to lead to dream which he started."

-Luis Robert Cervantes Jr.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Class of 2007

"Both my son and daughter are PREP graduates and I feel this program, under Dr. Berrioz�bal 's leadership, offered them a unique opportunity for personal and academic growth. My son has gone on to attend college at UT Austin and is on the Dean�s list. My daughter was recently inducted into the National Honor Society at Incarnate Word High School and she will graduate in 2005. Both of my children verbalized the important role the PREP Program played in developing their math and science skills. Dr. Berrioz�bal  has created a wonderful program and belongs back at the helm."

"I stand against the unwarranted dismissal of Dr. Berrioz�bal . I think the downsizing of the PREP program that Dr. B helped create will adversely affect the San Antonio Community and the greater area of Texas!"

--Renee Watson

"I would like to share my simple story about the impact of PREP and Dr. Berrioz�bal .

I served as the director of a youth drop-in center in the West side of San Antonio and frequently found myself directly involved with serious issues faced by youth in this community. In the brief time I worked there, three of my students were murdered in drug deals. Several of the young women got pregnant. Many students confided in me experiences of personal abuse and violence they were experiencing in the home. Many of the students, as a way to escape the pain in their personal lives, were serious substance abusers and I often found myself playing a duo role of counselor and policemen when they became a danger to others or themselves.

At a certain point, I received applications for the PREP Program and was asked to identify any students that might be interested and eligible. Two young men came to mind. Despite having some behavioral issues, these young men seemed to display an interest and ability in the area of mathematics. While I wondered if they had the discipline needed to participate in such a program, we spoke to their parents who got in touch with their teachers and applications were submitted for both of them. They were accepted and upon starting PREP, they began to come less and less to the center. When they did show up, they expressed that they were sticking with the program but that it was very hard. At times, they talked about quitting because it was so much work. We continued to encourage them to focus on getting through at least one summer of PREP.

Over the course of that summer, these two young men began to display interesting changes. I would often overhear them talking about their PREP experiences with other kids, almost as if it were a badge they wore. They often bragged about how smart you had to be to get in and how only the best students go to PREP. While our staff worked on keeping their egos in check, we started to notice a transformation. They didn�t talk back to the staff as much. They were no longer disruptive or combative with the other children. They started to develop a maturity and a pride that showed in how they carried themselves.

While I do not know whatever became of these two young men, I know that somehow PREP changed them over the course of that summer and I was grateful that somehow PREP staff saw past what I know must have been a lot of attitude and helped them tap into their own potential. If one summer of PREP could produce such a notable change, I can only imagine what enormous impact the program has had on the lives of thousands of youth.

In my current work as a coordinator of a research project, I had the great fortune of having a graduate student from Southern Methodist University intern with me over the summer. Because of her outstanding analytical skills and abilities, I wanted to hire her for additional hours and asked her to consider working additional days. She thanked me but stated that she was already committed to working for the PREP program. I asked her whether the pay was sufficient because I knew she was a full-time student. . She told me that she had been a graduate of PREP and that while the money was less than what she was earning per hour in the internship, she felt her work in the summer with PREP as a program assistant was her way of �giving back� to PREP. I was very impressed by that response.

These are simple stories of how I have seen the impact of PREP. It is interesting to note that in all three situations, these students referred to Dr. B as if they had some sort of personal connection to him. I am convinced that the leadership of Dr. Berrioz�bal  is key to the success of PREP and the transformation that happens with the youth in the PREP program. For the good of the program and most importantly for the benefit of all the youth who need PREP and whose futures will be shaped by it, I hope that administrators of UTSA will re-consider their decision and reinstate Dr. Berrioz�bal  to his position as the Director of PREP. It is the right thing to do for these youth and our community."

-- Esther Peralez-Dieckmann

--Graciela Arizpe-Ortiz