The new UH School for Public Affairs is named for Bill Hobby, the lieutenant governor of Texas from 1973 to 1991. | Courtesy of uh.edu
The UH System Board of Regents passed a resolution concerning construction plans of Bill Hobby School of Public Affairs in August, bringing the university just a little closer to welcoming a new program.
Jim Granato, director of the UH Hobby Center for Public Policy, said the decision is just one more step in the process.
“The Hobby Center staff is working on expanding on their existing activities,” Granato said. “They are outstanding and are ready to ramp up.”
Fundraising activities are also going to expand as the center’s advisory board begins to adapt to the transition from being a center to being a fully operating school. The board will also provide guidance on planning issues, including the development of pre-existing bylaws.
Granato said the idea for the school started as far back as 2005 and took a lot of work to finally become a reality.
“It was always the long-term goal. We would only proceed so long as we passed certain milestones,” Granato said. “About three years ago, the milestones were met, and it then was a question of the vision we had for the school and how that vision would differentiate us from other policy schools.”
“We knew what other top policy schools were offering and we also knew we had strengths that we could capitalize on.”
The name attached to schools on college campuses carry much significance, and Granato said this one is no different. He described the significance of having former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby’s legacy carry the new school as “huge” for the faculty, staff and prospective students.
According to a UH press release, the HCPP’s advisory board chairman Beverly Kaufman praised the decision.
“It is completely appropriate that a school of public affairs be named after Bill Hobby, whose family has left its mark of public service on the state of Texas,” Kaufman said.
Granato, who will be teaching a course on research methodology with Hobby, said he agrees.
“There are very, very few individuals who have Lt. Gov. Hobby’s understanding of how the private sector works, how the public sector works and how the political and policy process works,” Granato said. “But, there is more. He also is well versed in the use of applied statistics and has been invited to give public lectures at prestigious academic places.”
Prospective students who enter the school will be immersed in what Granato calls a “skill-building regimen” that prepares them to address public policy challenges. Students will develop quantitative skills, including advanced multidisciplinary technical abilities, and develop an understanding and appreciation of political theory and ethics.
“We want our students to be nationally competitive,” Granato said. “The Hobby Center has already incorporated training reforms from the National Science Foundation. This is one of the milestones that have been reached. We will just expand on them with the Hobby School.”
The school will also focus on policy research on areas like the environment, energy, monetary policy, education and fiscal sustainability.
Details and planning are under way, with the basic structure of the school already established. Granato said activities of the school are set to begin in Fall 2015 with Master’s in Public Policy courses.
As funding for student and faculty support increases, Granato said the school will add joint degrees and a doctoral program in succeeding years.
Correction: The resolution is the first step in having a Public Affairs building on campus, but it is a long process. There is no building that will soon be constructed.
