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It has never been more appropriate to say “Welcome Back.”
Our students and university have had a remarkable year. Let me take just a moment to share our story with you.
The average SAT scores for our first-time-in-college freshmen are up, while the national average is down. This is because we aggressively recruited the best high school students. When our students get here, we want them to succeed. That’s why we now offer scholarships as incentives for our students to graduate in four years instead of six years or more.
We also hired about thirty faculty members— helping to reduce the student-to-faculty ratio and ensuring more personalized attention to our students. And, we fully expect them to add to the body of knowledge created by their colleagues.
We started our fall semester with the opening of the Welcome Center in our new four-story parking facility. We also dedicated the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, which unites our nationally acclaimed programs in theatre and dance, music, art, and creative writing.
I would have to say the twenty-year master plan has created the most excitement from our campus community and among alumni and community partners. The plan calls for increasing the square footage of our facilities from 8 million to about 15 million. In some cases, we will combine academics, residential, retail, and parking in one structure. At the same time, we will increase the green spaces with attractive gardens and spacious plazas. In short, we will change the way we teach, work, and live on the University of Houston campus by transforming ourselves into a twenty-first century university serving a twenty-first century world.
You can find out more about the master plan and other good things we’re doing by visiting us at www.uh.edu, and by reading this issue. Inside, you can take a visual tour of the Welcome Center, meet four of our phenomenal professors, and learn how one professor uses computer technology for early detection of heart attacks.
We have great stories to share of incredible people doing incredible things. I hope you’ll share our stories with your family and friends.
President, University of Houston
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