University of Houston

The University of Houston
Established	1927
Type:	Public university
Endowment:	$455 million[1]
President:	Renu Khator, Ph.D.
Provost:	Donald J. Foss
Faculty:	3,003[2]
Students:	35,344[3]
Undergraduates:	26,959
Postgraduates:	8,385
Location	Houston, Texas, United States
Campus:	Urban, 560 acres (2.3 km²)
Former names:	Houston Junior College (1927–1934) University of Houston–University Park (1985–1988)
Colors:	Scarlet Red and Albino White
Nickname:	Cougars
Mascot:	Shasta
Affiliations:	SACS, ORAU, AACSB, GCU, UHS, Conference USA
Website:	www.uh.edu
Logos are trademarks of the University of Houston

The University of Houston (often referred to as "U of H", "UH", or "Houston") is a public doctoral/research university located in Houston, Texas. It is the flagship institution and the only doctoral degree-granting university in the University of Houston System, which includes three other universities and two multi-institution teaching centers. Founded in 1927, the University serves more than 35,300 students^[4] in 12 academic colleges and in the interdisciplinary Honors College on a 560-acre campus southeast of Downtown Houston. UH offers 109 bachelor's, 131 master's, 51 doctoral, and three professional degree programs.^[4] It currently holds Texas's third-largest university enrollment, awarding more than 6,600 degrees annually.^[5][4] The University of Houston conducts research in each academic department and operates more than 40 research centers and institutes on campus. Interdisciplinary research conducted at UH includes superconductivity, space commercialization, biomedical engineering, economics, education, petroleum exploration, and virtual technology.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.2 University beginnings 1.3 State university 1.4 Merger of UH and UH System administrations 2 Academics 2.1 Faculty and research 2.2 Rankings 3 Campus 3.1 Facilities 3.2 Parking and transit 4 Student life 4.1 Demographics 4.2 Housing 4.3 Media and entertainment 5 Traditions 5.1 The Cougar Paw 6 UH in popular culture 7 Athletics 7.1 Varsity sports 8 Notable people 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

History

Founding

The University of Houston began as Houston Junior College (HJC). On March 7, 1927, trustees of the Houston Independent School District Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution that authorized the founding and operating of a junior college. The junior college was operated and controlled by the Houston Independent School District (HISD).^[6][7] Originally HJC was located in San Jacinto High School and offered only night courses.^[8] Its first session began March 7, 1927, with an enrollment of 232 students and 12 faculty.^[6] This session was primarily held to educate the future teachers of the junior college, and no freshmen were allowed to enroll. A more accurate date for the official opening of HJC is September 19, 1927, when enrollment was opened to all persons having completed the necessary educational requirements.^[9] The first president of HJC was Edison Ellsworth Oberholtzer, who was the dominant force in establishing the junior college.^[6]

University beginnings

The junior college became eligible to become a four-year institution in October 1933 when Governor Miriam A. Ferguson signed House Bill 194 into law. On April 30, 1934, HISD's Board of Education adopted a resolution to make the school a four-year institution, and Houston Junior College became the University of Houston.^[9] UH's first session as a four-year institution began June 4, 1934, at San Jacinto High School with an enrollment of 682. In 1934, the first campus of the University of Houston was established at the Second Baptist Church at Milam and McGowen. The next fall, the campus was moved to the South Main Baptist Church, on Main between Richmond and Eagle, where it stayed for the next five years.^[9] The University of Houston moved to its present campus in 1939. Its first building, the Roy Gustav Cullen Building, was dedicated on June 4, 1939, and classes began the next day. The first full semester of classes began officially on Wednesday, September 20, 1939.^[9] The next step was the creation of the University of Houston as an institution separate from HISD. On July 26, 1943, the Board of Education adopted a resolution establishing an Advisory Board of the University of Houston consisting of 15 members. On March 12, 1945, Senate Bill 207 was signed into law, removing the control of the University of Houston from HISD and placing it into the hands of 15 HISD-approved regents.^[9] In 1945, the university, which had grown too large and complex for the Houston school board to administer, became a private school. In March 1947, the regents authorized creation of a law school at the University referred to as Bates College of Law—later renamed to University of Houston Law Center. In 1949, a gift of $1.5 million from the M. D. Anderson Foundation for erection of a library building for UH. By 1950, the educational plant at UH consisted of 12 permanent buildings. Enrollment was more than 14,000 with a full-time faculty of more than 300.^[6]

State university

In 1953, the university established KUHT, the first educational television station in the nation.^[6] During this period, however, the university as a private institution was facing financial troubles. Tuition failed to cover rising costs, and in turn, tuition increases caused a drop in enrollment. After a lengthy battle between supporters of the University of Houston, led by school president A.D. Bruce,^[10] and forces from state universities geared to block the change, Senate Bill 2 was passed on May 23, 1961, enabling the university to enter the state system in 1963.^[6] In 1977, the University of Houston System was established, with the University of Houston named as its flagship university.^[4] The University of Houston was known as University of Houston–University Park from 1985 to 1988. This name change was an effort by the UH administration to give the flagship institution of the University of Houston System a distinctive name that would eliminate confusion with the other three UHS universities. While these three universities (UH–Downtown, UH–Clear Lake, and UH–Victoria) share the root name "University of Houston," they are essentially autonomous institutions, and they each have their own president.

Merger of UH and UH System administrations

In 1997, the UH System and the University of Houston administrations merged. That same year, Arthur K. Smith became the first person to hold both the UH System chancellorship and University of Houston presidency simultaneously. Smith was responsible for overseeing the successful merger of the UH System and UH administrations, the launching of the "Learning. Leading." image campaign, the planning and construction of major buildings at all UH System institutions, a growth in external funding for research, and an increase in student enrollment.^[11] As of the merger in 1997, the University of Houston System administration is located in the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building on the University of Houston campus. On June 1, 2007, former UH President and Chancellor Dr. Jay Gogue left UH and UH System to become President of Auburn University. The University of Houston System Board of Regents appointed John M. Rudley, vice chancellor/vice president for administration and finance, to serve as Interim UH System Chancellor and Interim UH President.^[12] On October 15, 2007, Dr. Renu Khator—who had served as provost and senior vice president of the University of South Florida—was selected for the position of UH System chancellor and UH president.^[13] On November 5, 2007, Khator was confirmed as the third person to hold the UH System chancellor and UH president position simultaneously, and is expected to take her position at the start of January 2008.^[14]

Academics

The mission of the University of Houston is to "provide a range of educational programs that foster an intellectually and culturally diverse environment that enhances individual growth and development."^[15] UH offers a variety of programs through its 12 academic colleges: 109 bachelor's, 131 master's, and 51 doctoral degrees, and three professional degrees. In fiscal year 2004, the university conducted more than $75.9 million in research programs and ranked third in research expenditures within Texas when compared to non-medical institutions, and eighth when medical institutions were also considered.^[16] The University of Houston's academic colleges are as follows:

• Hines College of Architecture
• Bauer College of Business
• College of Education
• Cullen College of Engineering
• Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management
• University of Houston Law Center
• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
• College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
• College of Optometry
• College of Pharmacy
• Graduate College of Social Work
• College of Technology

Faculty and research

The University of Houston conducts research in each academic department and operates more than 40 research centers and institutes on campus. Through these facilities, UH maintains creative partnerships with government and private industry. Interdisciplinary research areas conducted at UH includes superconductivity, space commercialization, biomedical engineering, economics, education, petroleum exploration, and virtual technology, The University of Houston's faculty includes three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Albee, National Medal of Science recipient Paul Chu, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams. The University is home to the Creative Writing Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, which was founded by alumnus Donald Barthelme and offers an M.F.A. and Ph.D. degrees in poetry, fiction, or non-fiction. Noted writers who have come out of the program include novelists Robert Clark Young and Padgett Powell. The program attracts major authors, including international and award winning authors. The Creative Writing Program was ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its first annual ranking of writing programs in 1997.^[17]

Rankings

The University of Houston is ranked second among national universities for Campus Ethnic Diversity by U.S. News & World Report.^[18] It also ranks the Bauer College of Business as the top Undergraduate Business Program in Houston, third among public universities in the state of Texas, and 63rd in the nation among public universities. The ranking places the Bauer College in the top quartile of the approximately 400 AACSB-accredited undergraduate business programs and top five percent among all 1608 undergraduate business programs in the United States.^[19] The evening MBA program was ranked as the 27th best part-time MBA program in the country by Businessweek in 2007.^[20] It also ranks 5th among public universities for producing CEOs of S&P 500 companies, according to Bloomberg Markets. Houston was tied with the University of Michigan and Dartmouth.^[21] The EMBA Program ranked 17th in the U.S. among public EMBA programs according to the 2004 Financial Times ranking of the top 75 EMBA Programs in the World.^[22] The University of Houston Law Center is a Tier I law school, currently ranked 60th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.^[23] In addition, the news magazine ranks three of the Law Center's specialty programs in the top ten in the country: the Health Law and Policy Institute (Healthcare Law), the Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law (IP Law), and the Blakely Advocacy Institute (Trial Advocacy).^[24] The Hines College of Architecture is one of only 36 schools to have an accreditation certificate from the NAAB for both Bachelor's and Master's Degree programs.^[25] It recently added an industrial design program, the first in the state of Texas.^[26] In 2002, the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management ranked third in the nation in hospitality management by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education.^[27] Additionally, according to the Institute for Scientific Information, five of the top fifty cited physicists in the world come from the university's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.^[28]

Campus

The University of Houston campus is located southeast of Downtown Houston at the intersection of Interstate 45 and Texas Highway 35 (also known as Texas Spur 5), with the official university address being 4800 Calhoun Road. UH's campus beautification projects recently received awards from the Keep Houston Beautiful group for the improvements to Cullen Boulevard, which traverses through the UH campus.^[29] The 560-acre campus includes greenery, fountains, and sculptures, including one by James Sanborn, the same artist who made the famous Kryptos sculpture. Architects that have designed buildings at the University of Houston include César Pelli and Philip Johnson.^[30] The campus is located in the Third Ward of Houston and is adjacent to Texas Southern University and Yates High School.

Facilities

UH facilities regarding media include the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, which houses KUHT Houston PBS the nation's first educational television station; KUHF (88.7 FM), Houston's NPR station; the Center for Public Policy Polling; and television studio labs. The University is also home to the Blaffer Gallery, which exhibits both visiting artists and student work from the University of Houston School of Art. Other notable facilities dedicated to art on campus include the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Performing Arts which houses the Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre, and Moores Opera Center where live performances take place.

The 264,000 ft² (25,000 m²) Campus Recreation and Wellness Center was recognized by the National Intramural-Sports Association as one of the seven most outstanding sports centers built in 2004.^[31] The venues for most major athletic teams are located on the UH campus, including Hofheinz Pavilion, Robertson Stadium, and Cougar Field. The athletic facilities are located to the west of Cullen Boulevard, with the exception of the Recreation and Wellness Center. The 200,000 ft² Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex (SERCC) was designed by architect César Pelli.^[32] This building provides facilities for the many interdisciplinary research programs including bionanotechnology. The university has an on-site Hilton hotel as part of the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. This hotel was established with a donation by the founder of Hilton Hotels, Conrad N. Hilton.

Parking and transit

In addition to parking facilities including garages and lots for commuters, public transportation is available to and from the University of Houston via several METRO bus routes. To travel around campus areas where parking is not practical or limited, UH provides an air-conditioned shuttle bus service that is open to anyone on-campus. There are five different color coded routes that serve different areas.^[33]

Student life

Demographics

The University of Houston is notable for its diverse student body, and U.S. News & World Report ranks UH as the second-most diverse research university in the United States.^[18] With more than 35,300 students, the university has significant Asian American and Hispanic populations. Its international student population is primarily from Asia.^[4] As of fall 2006, the demographic makeup of the student population was 38.5 percent non-Hispanic white, 19.5 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, 19.3 percent Hispanic (of any race), 13.2 percent non-Hispanic black, 0.4 percent American Indian or Alaskan Native, 7.3 percent International (regardless of race), and 1.8 percent other or unknown.^[4]

Housing

Roughly seven percent of UH students live on campus.^[34] UH has two main housing areas for dormitories: Moody Towers and the Quadrangle. Moody Towers, frequently just called "The Towers", is one of the tallest complexes on campus and the largest area of residence halls. Each of the two towers consists of eighteen stories and together house 1,100 students. The Quadrangle, also known as "The Quad" is the oldest housing area on campus and consists of several coed dorm halls: Bates, Law, Oberholtzer, Settegast, and Taub. The Quadrangle houses 800 students.^[35] In addition to traditional dormitories, UH has an apartment-style dormitory called Cougar Place that is a housing area consisting of 400 units.^[35] UH also has several privately-owned apartment complexes on campus that are Cullen Oaks, Bayou Oaks, and Cambridge Oaks. In late 2006, it was announced that UH approved a new apartment complex on campus specifically for graduate and professional student living. The new housing area is scheduled to be finished by 2009 as part of UH's "Master Plan" and will include retail stores, lecture halls, recreation facilities, and has been dubbed "Calhoun Lofts".^[36]

Media and entertainment

The official student newspaper is The Daily Cougar, and has been published since 1927.^[9] Another student publication is The Houstonian, the official University of Houston yearbook. The University of Houston operates KUHT-TV, the nation's first public television station, and KUHF-FM, which are housed in the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting on campus. The UH Student Video Network, a student-run network, appears on the University of Houston cable network is one of the few fee-funded student organizations on campus.

Traditions

Cougar First Impressions, a program headed by the UH Staff Council, takes place every year on the first two days of classes, when faculty and staff turn out to welcome new and returning students.^[37] Frontier Fiesta, a re-creation of a 19th-century Western town, with music, food and historical exhibits, is a major event on campus each spring semester. The official colors of the University of Houston are Scarlet Red and Albino White. These were the colors of Sam Houston's ancestor, Sir Hugh, and were adopted by UH at the same time as the official seal. Scarlet red symbolizes courage or inner strength to face the unknown, and white symbolizes the goodness and purity of spirit embodied in helping one's fellow man. The seal of the University of Houston, officially adopted in 1938, is a stylized version of the coat-of-arms of General Sam Houston. The first official version was placed on the floor of the Roy Gustav Cullen Building.^[38] The Frontiersmen are a group of students who participate in university events to drive school spirit. At football games, the Frontiersmen, donning cowboy hats, Wrangler Jeans, and dusters for attire, run across the field with the university's flag and the Flag of Texas after each score.

The Cougar Paw

The Cougar Paw is a popular hand sign used by University of Houston students, faculty, alumni, and athletics fans to represent camaraderie and support. The Cougar Paw tradition was adopted through several athletics events between the University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin. The first time UH played UT in football was in 1953, and since this was their first meeting, members of Alpha Phi Omega, the service fraternity in charge of taking care of Shasta I, the university's mascot, brought her to the game. During the trip, Shasta's front paw was caught in the cage door and one toe was cut off. At the game, members of the opposing team discovered what had happened and began taunting UH players by holding up their hands with the ring finger bent. UT went on to win this game 28-7, and UH students began using the sign as notice that they would remember the taunts. In 1968, at their second meeting, the Cougars, holding up the now-adopted symbol of UH pride, played UT to a 20-20 tie. UH did not play UT again until 1976, the first year UH was a member of the Southwest Conference. In front of a record crowd, UH defeated UT 30-0. This solidified the use of the Cougar Paw as a tradition.^[38]

UH in popular culture

The 1996 film Tin Cup depicts Kevin Costner's and Don Johnson's characters as former teammates on the University of Houston golf team.^[39]The 1999 film, Arlington Road was partially filmed on-campus.^[40] Jeff Bridges' character and his girlfriend are seen walking between Melcher Hall and the University Center. Other locations on campus was inside a classroom of Agnes Arnold Hall, and a telephone booth in the College of Technology Annex. Also filmed on campus was the 2003 movie Dude, Where's the Party? where Kal Penn's character attends the university.^[41] In the long-running television show Reba, Steve Howey's character, Van, receives a scholarship to play as a cornerback for the Houston Cougars football team in the episode Labor for Love.^[42] In a later episode, Skating Away, Van, his wife Cheyenne, and their new baby move into an on-campus apartment at the university while Van plays football.^[43]

Athletics

Main article: Houston Cougars

UH's 16-sport intercollegiate program is a member of Conference USA. Since the conference was formed 12 years ago, the Cougars have won 33 C-USA titles. After 61 years of athletics a UH, other notable achievements include 16 national titles in men's golf, five NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four appearances, and two College World Series appearances. More than 50 Olympic athletes have attended UH, bringing home 33 medals, including 19 gold.^[4] Former Olympian and UH alumnus Leroy Burrell returned as the men's track and field head coach in 1998, while in March 2004, Tom Penders was named the seventh men's basketball head coach. In December of 2007, Kevin Sumlin was introduced as the university's twelfth head football coach. In addition to varsity sports, the University of Houston offers a variety of intramural sports programs.

Varsity sports

The university has an intercollegiate sports program that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The football team has made 16 post-season bowl appearances, Numerous Southwest Conference Championships and Cotton Bowl appearances, 1989 Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, 2006 C-USA Champion ^[44]. The varsity football team went 10-4 in 2006. The Cougars won the Conference USA title, defeating Southern Miss 34-20 in the C-USA title game on December 1. They fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks by a score of 44-36 in the Liberty Bowl on December 29, 2006. The men's basketball team has made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, with five trips to the Final Four. See also Phi Slama Jama, the Cougars teams of the early 1980s that featured current Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler and likely future Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. Houston competes with other notable sports teams such as the baseball team who have made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances with two trips to the College World Series, the men's golf team who has won 16 NCAA National Championships, the women's soccer team who was rated as the top first-year women's program in the country in 1998, the swimming and diving teams who have spawned multiple Olympians and All-Americans, the track and field who ranks in the perennial top-10 as an NCAA team, and the volleyball team who has had a streak of nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Notable people

Main article: List of University of Houston people

With strong academic programs in the arts, media, business, hospitality management, law, as well as a successful athletics program, the University of Houston has seen many now notable persons pass through its halls. Jack Valenti, long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America and creator of the MPAA film rating system, received his B.A. from UH and for decades was one of the most influential people in Hollywood. Current Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy Leslye A. Arsht also graduated from the University of Houston. Several notable athletes within the list are NFL Player Kevin Kolb, Fred Couples, Carl Lewis, Wilson Whitley, the NBA's Bo Outlaw, Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon and Carl Herrera, Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, and legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys' Tom Landry.

References

Further reading

• Nicholson, Patrick J (1977). In Time: An Anecdotal History of the First Fifty Years of the University of Houston. Pacesetter Press. ISBN 0884153711. 

External links

• University of Houston
  • The Daily Cougar
  • Student Government Association
• University of Houston Alumni
• Master Plan page
• University of Houston is at coordinates 29°43′08″N 95°20′21″W / 29.718922, -95.339162Coordinates: 29°43′08″N 95°20′21″W / 29.718922, -95.339162

•  • e University of Houston
Academics	Colleges: Architecture • Business • Education • Engineering • Hotel and Restaurant Management • Law Center • Liberal Arts and Social Sciences • Natural Sciences and Mathematics • Optometry • Pharmacy • Social Work • Technology Programs: Moores School of Music • School of Art • Creative Writing Program
Athletics	Sports: Football • Men's Basketball • Baseball • Men's Golf • Soccer • Swimming and Diving • Track and Field • Volleyball • Bayou Bucket Facilities: Athletics/Alumni Center • Hofheinz Pavilion • Robertson Stadium • Cougar Field People: Dave Maggard • Kevin Sumlin • Tom Penders • Rayner Noble • Phi Slama Jama
Campus	Blaffer Gallery • Hilton University of Houston • LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting • Moores School of Music
Student Life	The Daily Cougar • The Houstonian • UH Student Video Network • KUHF 88.7 FM • Houston PBS • Student Government Association • Notable Cougars
Traditions	The Blaze • Cougar Paw • Frontiersmen • Frontier Fiesta • Shasta

•  • e University of Houston System
Universities	University of Houston • UH–Clear Lake • UH–Downtown • UH–Victoria
Health Science Center	University of Houston Health Science Center (proposed)
Teaching Centers	UH System at Cinco Ranch • UH System at Sugar Land • UH System at Texas Medical Center (proposed)
Media	KUHF • KUHT • The Daily Cougar • The Dateline Downtown • The Flame • The Signal

•  • e Conference USA
West Division	Houston Cougars • Rice Owls • SMU Mustangs • Tulane Green Wave • Tulsa Golden Hurricane • UTEP Miners
East Division	East Carolina Pirates • Marshall Thundering Herd • Memphis Tigers • Southern Miss Golden Eagles • UAB Blazers • UCF Knights
Soccer-Only Members	Kentucky Wildcats (men's) • South Carolina Gamecocks (men's) • Florida International Golden Panthers (men's) • Colorado College Tigers (women's)