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President's Periodic Messages 2007-2008
August 14, 2007
An Update from President Hudson:
It is with eager anticipation that we move into a new academic year at UHV. One thing that always challenges us in organizations is to maintain open, meaningful communication. I recently attended a national meeting of university presidents, and communication was cited as the number one challenge for all administrations. So, one of my goals this year is
to improve communication throughout our university. To that end, I will be sending out highlights from our cabinet meetings once or twice monthly. These will be informal communiqués to inform and promote dialogue on university issues. Complete cabinet minutes are posted at www.uhv.edu/president/cabinet.
The cabinet is composed of campus leaders who together represent the entire university;
everyone on campus has a cabinet representative. These cabinet members are listed at the above website. I encourage you to discuss issues that are important to you with your cabinet representative, to ask them any questions, and to let them know of your ideas.
A significant issue that has come to the forefront recently because of community, faculty, staff and student interest, along with media coverage, is the
idea of UHV becoming a comprehensive university. This would mean a “downward expansion” to include freshman and sophomores. This is an issue that has surfaced on and off over the years and it seems the time has come to take a serious look at it – what it would mean for the community colleges, UHV, the UH System, faculty, staff, students, and the community. By the time you receive this update from me, you will have already received the news release indicating that a positive next step, agreed to by VC President Goodson and UHS Interim Chancellor Rudley, would be to have an inclusive study done that would explore the effects such a change would have on all stakeholders. In addition, I am considering appointing an internal UHV ad hoc committee to explore this issue.
The search for our new UH System chancellor is reportedly on target. Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque, UHV Provost, who is serving on the search committee, indicates that top candidates have been identified from a very diverse and experienced pool. The goal is to have a new chancellor by January.
Our healthy enrollment growth over the past year has been exciting and has enabled us to add qualified faculty for the increasing number of programs and new concentrations. This growth has also allowed us to give UHV’s hard-working employees much-deserved salary increases. Our enrollment growth has come at a time when many universities have experienced declining enrollment, so I want to thank all of you for the part you play in recruitment. Truly, we all have a role to play when it comes to recruiting students.
Often I come in contact with people who mention a desire to complete a degree or a regret that they didn’t go to college. You probably do too. This is a perfect opportunity to become an ambassador for UHV by encouraging that person to fulfill his or her dreams of a college degree. Help us connect those people with one of our school recruiters or with our LEAD office.
Delores White is our incoming Student Senate president. We have already had a number of good conversations regarding her ambitious plans for enhancing students’ involvement in all aspects of the university. As president of the Student Senate, Delores serves on the president’s cabinet. The Student Senate will have its first meeting of the year on August 15. A number of positions are still open to any student who wants to take up these leadership opportunities. The senate will distribute “back to school” packets at the Victoria, Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch campuses during the first week of the semester.
One of the topics we reviewed at our cabinet meeting was the importance of the faculty-student relationship. It is the most important and basic relationship within the university and we want to do all we can to ensure these relationships are strong. Students are our reason for being, and we want to guarantee each student receives what is needed for a successful scholastic career, what he or she is entitled: quality interaction with professors, a valuable part of the university student experience.
Over the next few months, we will have some moving (and perhaps shaking) going on.
Growth nearly always means physical changes as we try to provide the best working environment possible for each department. The addition of new programs and students means “moving day” for several groups. The Media Library will relocate to the main library, with plans of digitizing many of their resources to provide electronic access. Other departments that will see new quarters include LEAD, Athletics, Marketing, Advancement, Alumni Relations, Human Resources and Training, and ABR. To prepare for these changes, some remodeling will begin soon.
Finally, let me say that UHV had an outstanding legislative year. Our new special item request for nursing “survived” the grueling process and became one of the few such items funded, thanks to Representative Morrison and Senator Hegar. And the approval of our tuition revenue bonds means that in the next three years or less, UHV will more than double its physical plant – another indication of healthy growth thanks to the good work of our faculty and staff. Kudos to all concerned.
I hope this update is helpful to you and welcome your feedback. Thank you for your dedication to UHV. It is a privilege to work with such an excellent team.
Tim Hudson, Ph.D.
President
Full cabinet minutes are posted at
www.uhv.edu/president/cabinet.asp
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