Welcome Wilson Named New Chair
of UH System Board of Regents

Welcome W. Wilson Sr. (’49), noted real estate developer, community leader and University of Houston alumnus, has been elected chair of the UH System Board of Regents for the fiscal year 2008, which began Sept. 1. He replaces Leroy Hermes (’66), who served two terms as chair. The board also elected Calvin W. Stephens (’72) to serve as vice chair and Jim P. Wise (’66) as secretary.

The nine-member board is the governing body of the University of Houston System, which includes the University of Houston, UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown, UH-Victoria and teaching centers in Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch. The new officers were elected by the board at a meeting last month that also saw the approval of the FY08 budget, which totals $1.12 billion.

Wilson is chairman and CEO of GSL Industrial Holdings, L.P., and also chairman of the board of River Oaks Financial Group, Inc. To learn more, click here.

UH Appoints Engineering Dean

Joseph W. Tedesco has been named dean of the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston. Currently a professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida, Tedesco’s new appointment will become effective Jan. 1, 2008.

Tedesco has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s in civil engineering from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Lehigh University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the states of Florida and Alabama and is the author of the internationally renowned textbook “Structural Dynamics: Theory and Applications.”  To learn more, click here.

New Parking Garage Approved For UH

As the University of Houston continues to grow, parking remains a concern for members of the campus community. Soon, parking worries will be eased as the UH System Board of Regents recently approved a proposal to construct a $9 million garage that will contain between 900-1,000 new parking spaces.

The garage will be built at the northeast area of campus on Calhoun Road near the C.T. Bauer College of Business and the site of the future professional and graduate student lofts. Construction on the garage will begin in May 2008, and the facility will be open to the campus community in time for the fall 2009 semester.

“Our goal is to have this garage up and running by the time the lofts are completed,” said Dave Irvin, associate vice president for plant operations. “This area of campus will be particularly busy as the lofts and Michael J. Cemo Hall also are being constructed in this northeast area of campus.”

This new garage is in accordance with the Campus Framework Plan, which calls for a total of six parking garages to be built on campus.

The framework plan will span about 20 years and allows the university to increase the square footage of campus buildings to 15 million from eight million and increase overall enrollment to 45,000 from 35,000. It also bolsters the student residential on-campus population from 12 percent to 25 percent. Other enhancements include increasing parking spaces and closing Cullen Boulevard to automobile traffic. Cooper, Robertson and Partners is the architecture and urban design firm that developed this plan, which divides the campus into four districts: arts, professional, stadium and undergraduate.

For the latest news from UH, visit www.uh.edu/newsroom.