UH President Renu Khator laid out the school’s goals to be nationally competitive, keys to student success and how the University relates to the local community during her 2009 Fall Address on Wednesday.
Khator said research is important now that Proposition 4 passed, not only for UH and its faculty but also for Houston.
‘That day was a defining moment for the city of Houston,’ Khator said of Election Day. ‘That day was a transformational moment for the University of Houston. That day was the day we began the most important stage on our journey toward Tier One.’
Khator also said more than 10,000 students leave the state annually to enroll in doctoral degree programs out of state, while only 4,000 come to Texas, leaving a 6,000-student hole for the state.
‘As a major university, we have an obligation to provide access to (higher education) to students from Houston and from Texas,’ Khator said.
The markers of student success, in addition to enrollment, include graduation, student retention rates, student services, academic programs, course completion, financial support, student experience, athletics and campus life, Khator said.
‘We must, and I repeat, we must, commit to raising the graduation rate,’ Khator said, ‘which no doubt will require a holistic and focused approach to undergraduate education.’
UH Board of Regents Chairman Welcome Wilson Sr. said the key to raising graduation rates was to raise enrollment standards.
‘We’re not doing students a favor to accept them if they’re not going to succeed,’ Wilson said.
Wilson said that the raising of admission standards is slight and that students’ success before entrance to UH helps future attendees.
‘We have more transfer students every year than enrolling freshmen, so it is easy once a student goes somewhere else and succeeds to be able to transfer to UH; diversity will not be affected,’ Wilson said. ‘If they are not in the top 10 (percent) of their class, then they have to have an SAT score of 1,000; if they are not in the top 20 (percent) of their class, they have to have an SAT (score) of 1,100.’
Texas Tech freshmen must have an SAT score of 1,200 and UT-Dallas freshmen must have a 1,280, Wilson said.
Khator said she wants UH to work with high schools to prepare as many students as possible to succeed in college and admit students that are academically prepared, as well as have programs to support and help new students and work with the community.
Ruby Andrews, principal of James D. Ryan Middle School, said he is proud his school partners with UH in its goal to have a positive impact on the community. Ryan will collaborate with UH through a social work program featuring a computer on which Third Ward residents can tell their stories of the area.
‘We’re really looking to get that computer in there and folks from the community really start coming in and start telling their stories. I think that’s going to be a huge impact on the community,’ Andrews said.
‘The student social workers will be coming into our schools and working with students with high needs. The partnership with UH has just been phenomenal.’
Andrews looks forward to the help the student social workers will bring.
‘We have a school where 70 percent of our children are at risk of not completing the work,’ Andrews said.
Khator said UH needs more diversity in its faculty to reflect the students’ diversity.
‘True success will come through the efforts of search committees in recruiting diverse faculty,’ Khator said, ‘and it will come from departments and colleges creating an environment that allows these faculty members to succeed and stay here.’
Khator said she hopes the UH Energy Research Park will be a vision of education, innovation and impact for Houston.
‘The Park will provide research and classroom space for programs like petroleum engineering and (will) be home for UH energy research centers, institutes and an incubator for start-up companies,’ Khator said. ‘Under the guidance of the (UH) Energy Advisory Board, which consists of the CEOs of top energy companies, the Energy Research Park will become a hub of innovation and discovery.’
Khator concluded her remarks by quoting Mahatma Gandhi to encourage University progress.
‘He said, ‘Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is important that you do it,” Khator said. ‘That is because when thousands of people dream together and work together, they can turn any dream into reality.’
