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President's Periodic Messages 2004-2005
February 2, 2005
Saludos UHV Community,
So to follow the historic white Christmas in Victoria, UHV hit
historic enrollment totals in the spring 2005 semester -- 2,507 -- the first
time ever over the 2,500 mark! Enrollment is everybody's concern. So accolades
are due to all of you, faculty, staff, and supporters, for the work you do in
making UHV a place of choice for so many people who otherwise would not be able
to pursue their dreams of higher education. In the rounds I make I continue to
hear wonderful testimonials regarding the helpfulness of the UHV staff and the
manner in which faculty deal with students. This reputation is well deserved
and no doubt has a positive impact on our enrollment numbers.
Along this line, for a second time UHV has participated in the
governor's workplace survey and the results, received recently, are
encouraging. Collectively you rate UHV as a good place to work and this
certainly shows in the atmosphere prevalent here -- and again, this is something
clearly detected by our publics and our students.
Already we are in the midst of the legislative session and are
heavily engaged in all the attendant processes that the session brings -- more
frequent trips to Austin, more frequent engagement with legislators and their
staff, more testimony, more presentations to civic organizations, more
consistent discussions with colleagues and pundits about what the session will
bring, etc. As you know, in addition to pushing for the restoration of any
previous budget cuts, UHV has asked for funding for a number of special items
(such as funding for the nursing program, to boost LEAD, for a Mexican-American
Center, and for new buildings) that we believe are essential to our mission.
The status of these items is discussed ad nauseam and we remain "guardedly"
optimistic. One cause for relative optimism is the apparent better than
expected performance of the Texas economy which, depending on whose figures you
believe, has produced a "projected" surplus for the lawmakers to spend. Still,
the fate of tuition revenue bonds (TRBs), which all universities now rely on to
some extent for the construction of facilities, is uncertain especially in light
of the fact that the state's contribution toward retiring the debt on current
TRBs was reduced in the last cycle.
UHV's largest TRB request is for our planned expansion in Sugar
Land. We have asked the legislature for approximately half of the $30 million
needed for a complex to be located adjacent to the current building. Meanwhile,
I and others have been devoting a great deal of time to raising the "other" half
of this total. We have made some good progress on that front with Mike Piewitz,
a Vice President at Fluor Enterprises, Inc. agreeing to chair a private fund
raising effort with a goal of $3.5 million. In addition, the City of Sugar Land
has agreed to donate $3.5 million in exchange for use of part of the site for
recreation and the potential development of an entertainment pavilion. And most
importantly, a final proposal was submitted recently to The George Foundation
for $4 million for the project. Many of you will know that the current building
bears the names of Albert and Mamie George and that this foundation is firmly
committed to the development of educational opportunities in that region. The
remainder of the "other half" will be addressed through in-kind contributions
from the county and through our collaboration with Wharton County Junior College
who will co-occupy a portion of the space with UHV. This is a complex project
that involves all aspects of the UH System and all facets of the political
spectrum from Austin to Sugar Land. The project is as important as it is
complex; our success is essential if UHV is to fulfill its mission of meeting
the higher education needs of our region and providing our students and faculty
with proper facilities.
Dr. Dan Jaeckle continues to lead our efforts to have a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing (BSN) degree approved. The program is designed to provide
current RNs with a pathway to a baccalaureate degree. Meetings with local
hospital administrators and nursing staff, community college leaders, and
selected political leaders have all been encouraging -- the support for the
logic of the program and the manner in which we have approached it is solid.
Parallel to the approval process underway is the effort to locate and, with
luck, hire a director for the program and at least one additional faculty
member. As there is an acute national shortage of nursing faculty, this will be
no mean feat. But UHV is a great place to build such a program and we intend to
aggressively pursue these possible hires. When implemented, the program will
be a boost to the region in terms of its long term social and economic
development plans and will be the first such program in the UH system.
Late last year I was appointed to the American Association of State
Colleges and Universities' international committee. I hope to use this
assignment to influence the development of AASCU and national policy on the
important issues of the internationalization of our campuses and the development
of study abroad opportunities for American students. At UHV, I look forward to
working with the new international committee appointed by Provost Smith as we
work to ensure that our own students and faculty are provided with appropriate
opportunities to engage globally.
In late January the cabinet met in retreat -- I still don’t know why
we call them "retreats" when what we want to do is "advance". Anyway, the
discussion was important, lively and inspiring -- well, the assessment bit was
at least important. In a sort of SWOT format (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats) we dealt with everything from the state of affairs in
each of the colleges to the larger philosophical questions of our mission and
vision. And lunch wasn’t too bad either. These sessions often remind us of
just how deeply we all believe in the role of UHV and the power of higher
education in providing opportunity for our students, faculty, and stakeholders.
This retreat was no exception and I thank cabinet members for their candid
input, time, and commitment.
Speaking of the Cabinet, I’m sure all of you will be pleased to know
(if you don’t already) that Dr. Don Smith has decided to stay with us for
another year. I’ll be sure to send Mona some flowers! His leadership is
particularly critical at this juncture as we search for deans in Arts and
Sciences and Education and Human Development, and as we move forward with
efforts to further define our role in the UH System, particularly the Fort Bend
area. And as indicated in an earlier e-mail, Dick Phillips will be moving to
University Advancement to lead us in the comprehensive campaign, and Dr.
Margaret Rice will assume leadership of the Student Services and Regional
Outreach units. The talents and creativity of all these folks will be welcome
as we define our role in the ever changing higher education environment.
For our first President's Advisory Council meeting of the year, we
changed the traditional format considerably. Instead of the usual round of
reports we heard a wonderful testimonial from Nadia Cano, a graduate psychology
student, about her experiences with research at UHV and about her plans for the
future. Then, we focused on the vexatious yet all important issue of tuition
increases (or not) through a role playing exercise designed to illuminate the
many complicating factors surrounding that topic. The final "recommendations"
from the breakout groups varied but the one commonality was support for quality
regardless of any other required tradeoffs -- and I am in agreement with and
grateful for that sentiment and for PAC's input.
Earlier this year I represented UHV at the annual Texas Business and
Education Coalition (TBEC) in Austin. TBEC, as many of you will know, has been
instrumental in advocating legislation and other initiatives that it believes
strengthens education in Texas and prepares Texans to be competitive in a
modern, knowledge based, global society. Among the many topics discussed at
this forum of business and education leaders was the issue of increasing
participation in higher education among underrepresented groups. My description
of UHV's initiatives such as LEAD and FAFSA workshops in Spanish drew a very
positive response. Indeed, the new Commissioner for Higher Education, Reymund
Paredes who also attended TBEC told me that he looked forward to learning more
about these possible statewide "models" when he visits us in late February.
The "fall" commencement (well, it was held in January but it was for
the "fall" and “summer” terms) celebration went off without a hitch, thanks to
the hard work of the committee and the participation of the students, their
supporters and families and many of you. Nearly 340 graduated including many of
our own UHV staff. The commencement speaker, Herb Appel, President of the
Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council advised the graduates to "choose
good and change the world for the better" and to be "lifelong learners".
Alfonso Rubio of Madrid, Spain added an international flavor to the proceedings
as he reminded us of the global community we now inhabit and that, regardless of
governments, the Spanish people are connected to Texans through history and
shared values. For me, the highlight of the day was the on-campus reception
which followed the ceremony -- hundreds of students with their families and
supporters showed up and the atmosphere was truly electric. Sure, some of our
graduates just wanted to have a picture taken with the cougar mascot, Shasta,
and some wanted to enjoy the wonderful jazz music, but many of them wanted to
introduce the important people in their lives to our faculty and staff; they
wanted to bring together the supporters who helped them fulfill their
educational dreams. Such reunions are vitally important to our students. I
look forward to many more in the future as we continue to develop our
commencement ceremonies into a platform for celebrating the achievement of our
students and the contributions of all who help them succeed.
Another happy event followed soon after commencement when we
recognized UHV employees for their long service. At the Employee Recognition
Luncheon I also had the privilege of announcing Robin Cadle as the employee of
the year. She is certainly a deserving recipient of this award as she
represents wonderfully the fine staff at UHV. I also had the privilege of
hearing Don Smith hand out the "fun" awards -- I knew that our staff was
talented but I was not aware of the depth of that talent -- and now I know who
to go to for chocolate and to be sure to match my shoes! And if you haven’t
been able to attend yet, let me suggest you come by one of our Thirsty
Thursday’s. It offers a great opportunity to get an informal update on campus
and community events, meet new people who are interested in UHV, and have a
little fun at the same time.
These early year ceremonies followed a very large and very
successful holiday reception for our UHV family and our community. The turnout
was impressive and many new friendships were formed. Our remarks featured our
student-led “Giving Tree” project, a service effort for which our students can
be duly proud. Following their example and in the spirit of giving, Dee Dee and
I decided to devote all of the money typically spent on season's greeting cards
sent by the UHV president to a scholarship fund for a deserving student.
Colleagues, please know that I remain very interested in any of your
criticism or encouragement; your achievements and challenges; your ideas and
opportunities. In addition to communicating with me, you can also utilize your
representative on the cabinet to bring forward any concerns or ideas. At each
cabinet meeting a roundtable discussion takes place where every person in the
room is asked whether they have anything to bring to the group for
consideration. All of our various UHV constituent groups, students, faculty,
staff, etc., are represented at that table. Again, while you are always welcome
to communicate directly with me, you are also encouraged to work through your
cabinet representative on anything you think needs attention for the good of the
order.
Finally, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to
welcome my family and me to UHV and to this community. We feel very much at
home here thanks to your many kindnesses, your continuing generosity and sincere
friendship.
Tim Hudson
President
“We’ve removed the
ceilings above our dreams. There are no more impossible dreams.” Jesse Jackson
“Education is the
ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self
confidence.”
Robert Frost
“Democracy is the
art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.”
H. L. Mencken
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