Education technology company College Factual recently named three UHV programs in finance, literacy and creative writing as some of the most affordable in the nation.

Each ranking was based on UHV’s accreditation and tuition. UHV is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges. 

The University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series will bring to Victoria this spring a new group of five writers, including a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a composer and media artist, and other award-winning authors and scholars.

The University of Houston-Victoria once again is upholding its reputation for excellence after 95 percent of the university’s students studying to become educators, administrators or counselors passed their state exams.

UHV students took the Texas Examination of Educator Standards tests in 11 different education certification programs from Sept. 1, 2017, to Aug. 31. Ninety-five percent of the 59 UHV students seeking initial teacher certification passed the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities test, one of the state exams required to become a teacher in Texas. 

University of Houston-Victoria business students and faculty now have more resources to improve programs, research and international business studies in China thanks to a $700,000 contribution from an esteemed Chinese businessman who previously was awarded the first honorary doctorate from the university.

The donation from Bingxin Wu is the largest the UHV School of Business Administration has ever received and comes five years after his first contribution to the university. His first donation of $600,000 supported international business education, including study abroad opportunities for UHV’s students.

UHV retiree Joe Ferguson displays a quilt Thursday that he had made from 49 shirts he accumulated during his 42 years working at UHV. The shirts include T-shirts from various events, such as the YMCA Corporate Cup and UHV’s annual convocation ceremony, in addition to shirts from campus departments. The shirts were dated from 1985 to as recent as 2018. 

As Hernán Díaz was developing the story for his novel, “In the Distance,” he chose to set his story in the deserts of the American West.

“There’s a strange dissonance to deserts because the vaster the space, the more claustrophobic it feels,” Díaz said. “The story explores themes of loneliness, foreignness and disorientation, and the desert was a natural space for those feelings.”

Díaz will be the first author in the spring University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series. He will read from “In the Distance” at 11 a.m. Jan. 31 in the UHV University West Alcorn Auditorium, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. 

The University of Houston-Victoria is bringing back the ‘90s during its 2019 Homecoming.

“Keepin’ it Fresh at UHV” will be this year’s Homecoming theme, and attendees during the week’s activities will get to experience some flashbacks to the decade.

“We’re really excited about the theme,” said Hilary Kofron, UHV Student Life director and co-chair of the 2019 Homecoming Committee. “Voting results were narrowed down to top three options, and the ‘90s theme won by far, so we know students, faculty and staff are invested in Homecoming and will be engaged during the week’s activities.”

The University of Houston-Victoria is preparing to welcome visitors, including prospective students and their families, on Feb. 9 for the final Jaguar Day of the 2018-2019 school year. 

Jaguar Day is a come-and-go event that will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UHV’s Victoria campus. The event will begin with check-in at Jaguar Hall, 2705 Houston Highway. It is free and open to the public.

The University of Houston-Victoria recently received a $10,000 grant from a national group in support of university programs that will recruit and support women pursuing degrees in computer science.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology awarded funds to UHV to help with the university’s goals of increasing enrollment, retention and graduation of women in undergraduate computer science programs.

The University of Houston-Victoria recently received a $7,500 grant from the Dow Chemical Co. Foundation to support a new computer science summer camp for Victoria-area middle school girls.

The Dow Gives Community Grant program will provide funding for organizers of the UHV Texas Women in Computing Summer Camp to purchase portable computers and a portable computer station for female students to learn programming, wiring and source code tuning. 

The executive director of the University of Houston-Victoria Small Business Development Center and Regional Center for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship is retiring at the end of January after 12 years at the university guiding small business owners to success.

Joe Humphreys will retire Jan. 31 from the UHV SBDC, which provides quality counseling, training and technical assistance to existing and start-up small businesses in an 11-county area. UHV’s economic development center partners with 10 counties surrounding Victoria to realize rural job creation, increase community awareness and involvement in regional economic development, and better prepare the region for economic stability.

The University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development is preparing to host a two-part symposium on homelessness and how communities can help with the issue.

The first session of the Homelessness Symposium will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in UHV University North, Room 111, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The second symposium session will be March 7 at the same time and location. Both events are free and open to the public.

The University of Houston-Victoria is gearing up for Black History Month with a variety of free, public events and activities, including a poster contest for fifth-grade students, an educational symposium and a demonstration of African dances.

“Black History Month is an opportunity for the university to show its support for our African American students,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “We are excited to offer events that will showcase the importance of this month for our students and the community.”

A $100,000 grant awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to the University of Houston Foundation will fund a yearlong community-based program led by two UHV faculty members focusing on ways to reduce chronic kidney disease in at-risk populations.

The $100,000 grant is funded through Healthy Kids, Healthy Families® – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’ signature community investments program. The funding will finance a program by The Victoria Alliance Against Chronic Kidney Disease. The program will examine risk factors for chronic kidney disease and look for ways patients can lower their chances of developing kidney problems.

Before launching CivilCorp LLC, a Texas-based civil engineering and land surveying company, Ben Galvan was a first-generation college student chasing his dream to some day own his own business.

“My professors at UHV were extremely flexible, and going to class always was an enjoyable experience,” said Galvan, who graduated in 1994 with a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston-Victoria while working full time. “I knew the end goal I was working toward, and it’s a blessing to see it come to fruition.”

Galvan will receive the 2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award at the March 1 UHV Alumni Banquet. 

When Gillianna Gonzales was choosing her topic for the Black History Month Poster Contest, she chose a local leader in law enforcement because she wants to be a defense attorney, she said.

Gonzales, a 10-year-old De Leon Elementary School student, won first place on Monday for her poster during the Black History Month Fifth-Grade Poster Contest reception at the University of Houston-Victoria. She received a $2,000 UHV scholarship and a Victoria College summer camp voucher.

Increases in student retention and international student enrollment have helped the University of Houston-Victoria’s preliminary spring enrollment reach 4,163 students.

The preliminary enrollment total for this spring semester was 1.5 percent more than a year ago as of Feb. 6, the 12th class day of the spring semester when the official enrollment count is taken. This spring, 3,690 students returned to UHV from the fall semester, 2.5 percent more than the 3,599 students who returned a year ago. In addition, the university also has 166 international students taking classes this spring, a 12.9 percent increase compared with the previous spring.

University of Houston-Victoria faculty, staff and community members prepare to take their seats Thursday for the start of the first part of the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development’s Homelessness Symposium. Presentations were given by Lisa Griffin, president of the Victoria Area Homeless Coalition; Yvonne Rossman, family and KIDZ Connection coordinator for the Victoria Independent School District; and Tim Stahlke, senior coordinator for the Texas Homeless Education Office.

Crossroads Bank is donating $300,000 over the next 10 years to support the expansion of athletics at the University of Houston-Victoria, Athletics Director Ashley Walyuchow announced Saturday at the A Night for the Jaguars fundraising event.

The gift is the largest cash donation the university ever has received in support of its athletics program and also designates Crossroads Bank a UHV Athletics Sponsor for each of the university’s sports throughout the academic year.

Lindsay Young learned about running a business at a young age because she grew up watching her family run a chemical business in Houston.

Now Young is bringing her years of experience as a business advisor and her love of working with Crossroads businesses to the table as she steps into the role of University of Houston-Victoria Small Business Development Center director after the previous director, Joe Humphreys, retired in January.

Nalo Hopkinson sees interest in science fiction and fantasy stories as a kind of literary orientation.

“I like them because they’re weird, unexpected, and full of possibility,” said the author who is the next speaking in the spring University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series.

Hopkinson, a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, will read from her novel “Sister Mine” at 11 a.m. Feb. 21 in the UHV University West Alcorn Auditorium, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The event is free and open to the public.

A longtime University of Houston-Victoria employee in Career Services and Human Resources was named the 2018 Employee of the Year Monday during the UHV Faculty & Staff Recognition Luncheon.

Eunice Mesa, senior training and development coordinator in Human Resources, was recognized at the annual luncheon in honor of faculty and staff members celebrating employment anniversaries and the Employee of the Year.

The University of Houston-Victoria has released the names of undergraduate students who made its fall 2018 President’s List and Deans’ List.

The President’s List honors undergraduates who earn a 4.0 grade-point average on all work completed during the spring semester. To qualify for the Deans’ List, undergraduates must earn at least a 3.5 grade-point average.

Area students who want to attend the University of Houston-Victoria’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics summer camps and events now can find everything they need to know in one central website.

The website was created by Amjad Nusayr, UHV assistant professor of computer science, to coordinate the various high school and middle school summer camps, after-school robotics classes and Math & Robotics Awareness Day, all funded by a grant from Alcoa Foundation. 

The University of Houston-Victoria “Keepin’ it Fresh at UHV” 2019 Homecoming Week starts Monday, and community members are encouraged to attend several events. 

“We’re excited to invite the community to participate in events that they can enjoy while supporting higher education in the area,” said Hilary Kofron, UHV Student Life director. “We want to bring the Victoria community together and engage them in what’s happening at UHV.”

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and the Victoria community can participate in the week’s festivities by showing their support during the free kickoff at 7:30 p

University of Houston-Victoria President Bob Glenn asks a group of first-graders if they know about former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Glenn received a surprise visit Thursday to his office from the Ganado Elementary School students during a field trip to tour the university.

When Jun Yang, a University of Houston-Victoria associate professor of marketing, wanted to find a hands-on social media project for her senior students, she approached the UHV Small Business Development Center about finding a local business.

The University of Houston-Victoria is launching a new Emergency Aid Fund to help students deal with unforeseen expenses that may make them miss classes or fall behind in their studies.

The University of Houston-Victoria awarded 397 degrees to undergraduate and graduate students who completed their coursework during the fall semester.

Undergraduate candidates with honors wore gold braids over their robes during a Dec. 15 graduation ceremony at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy.

Students graduating cum laude, with honor, had grade-point averages of 3.5 to 3.67 on a 4.0 scale. Students graduating magna cum laude, with high honor, had GPAs of 3.68 to 3.84, and those graduating summa cum laude, with highest honor, had a GPA of 3.85 or higher.

Members of the University of Houston-Victoria Homecoming Court stand with UHV’s mascot, jaX, Monday during the Homecoming Kickoff. Pictured from left are Sophia Solano of San Antonio, Randall Jasek of Palacios, Alexis Wallace of Austin, Alvaro De La Cruz of Conroe, Marissa Cervantes of San Antonio, Cesar Gonzalez of Rosenberg and Cynthia Ortega of Katy. Leticia Evans of Houston also is on the Homecoming Court but was unable to attend. UHV students will vote during Homecoming week to select the Homecoming king and queen from members of the court. The king and queen will be announced Saturday at Riverside Stadium after the first Homecoming baseball game. The games against Wiley College will begin at noon.

CORPUS CHRISTI – The University of Houston-Victoria was honored Friday night with six prestigious ADDY awards for advertising excellence, including a Gold ADDY for a brochure about the university’s Here, We Go comprehensive fundraising campaign and a Silver ADDY for the 2017-2018 President’s Annual Report website.

The awards were announced at the American Advertising Federation-Corpus Christi Chapter’s American Advertising Awards and Big Wigs event at the Solomon P. Ortiz Center.

Members of University of Houston-Victoria Student Life are using Women’s History Month as an opportunity to host its first poetry slam and open mic night featuring performances by poet Ashlee Haze and UHV students.

Cesar Gonzalez, left, and Sophia Solano, right, stand with UHV President Bob Glenn Saturday after they were crowned at Riverside Stadium as the university’s 2019 Homecoming king and queen. Solano, a senior from San Antonio, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on fourth- to eighth-grade education. Gonzalez, a junior from Rosenberg, is studying to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration in both marketing and management.

University of Houston-Victoria students, administrators and President’s Regional Advisory Board members traveled Feb. 25 to the Capitol in Austin to meet with legislators and make a case for the university’s budget request for the upcoming biennium. 

Margaret Rice’s love for the University of Houston-Victoria is no secret. She tells people about it all the time.

“The university does so much for our community and higher education in our area,” said Rice, who retired in 2016 as the UHV assistant to the provost and an adult and higher education faculty member in the School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development. “It’s been really exciting to be part of the many successes and expansions at UHV, and I love to share those experiences with people.”

March is National Women’s History Month, and the University of Houston-Victoria Women’s Empowerment student organization is celebrating by hosting WE’MERICA Week starting March 25 through 28.

WE’MERICA Week will feature free events open to the public. Each event is intended to highlight part of women’s experiences in the U.S. and the world, said Dominique Mitchell, a UHV junior from Kingston, Jamaica, and president of the Women’s Empowerment organization.

Paul Miller plans to share some of his love for exploring the world and how different media can portray a message when he gives his March 14 presentation as part of the University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series.

“Everything I do involves exploring and trying to factor in approaches to art, science and data that create new perspectives,” said the composer, musician, author and artist. “I have a passion for looking outside the box and thinking outside of the ‘cognitive biases’ that define so much of our media. We need better tools for thinking.”

When Sophia Solano heard her name announced Saturday as the 2019 University of Houston-Victoria Homecoming queen, she was shocked.

“All of the women in this year’s Homecoming Court are amazing, and I didn’t expect to be the winner,” the San Antonio senior said. “There’s been so much buildup this week, and it was an amazing moment.”

Solano and Cesar Gonzalez, a Rosenberg junior, were crowned the 2019 UHV Homecoming queen and king after the first game of a baseball doubleheader the Jaguars played against Wiley College. Solano and Gonzalez were elected from a group of seven students nominated to be part of the university’s Homecoming Court.

Sara Vela, owner of Vela Farms in Victoria, is awarded an honorary belt buckle on Friday at the University of Houston-Victoria by representatives from H-E-B’s corporate office for reaching $1 million in sales in H-E-B grocery stores. Vela has worked with the UHV Small Business Development Center throughout the process of starting and expanding her business. Her products, including jams and jellies, have been sold in H-E-B stores since 2015.

The University of Houston-Victoria Small Business Development Center will offer two training workshops to area entrepreneurs who want to learn about how to apply for and be eligible to receive government contracts, as well as what is required to be designated a Historically Underutilized Business in Texas.

Programming and computers fascinate Devin Gonzalez, so he jumped at the chance to take an after-school robotics class through the University of Houston-Victoria.

“My engineering class teacher told me this was available and encouraged us to apply,” said Gonzalez, a Victoria West High School senior. “I enjoy working with computers, and programming is a good skill to have, especially if I become a mechanical engineer.”

Shelbie Ayala has participated in several volunteering trips and projects through her church, but the University of Houston-Victoria’s fifth annual Alternative Spring Break trip to Biloxi, Miss., will be a completely new experience for her.

“This will be my first time volunteering outside of my church groups, my first trip with UHV and my first time to leave Texas,” said Ayala, a native of Beeville and a UHV sophomore. “I’m so excited to have the opportunity to bond with my peers and experience new scenery and cultures during this trip.”

Sharp, business-minded student Gian Marco Zancanaro came to the University of Houston-Victoria with two things in mind: a degree in international business and to play soccer.

UHV graduate Marley Moehrig left her mark on the University of Houston-Victoria softball record book five years ago.

Now, Moehrig is taking that success to the high school field where she serves as head coach of the Victoria St. Joseph Lady Flyers softball team.

Moehrig, who received both her Master of Business Administration in 2016 and her bachelor’s degree in 2013 from UHV, was named the team’s head coach this season after helping coach the team two years ago.

University of Houston-Victoria students take a break from volunteer work March 20 near Camp Wilkes in Biloxi, Miss. Ten students took part in the university’s Alternative Spring Break volunteering trip from March 17 to 22. During the trip, students worked with Community Collaborations International to volunteer in soup kitchens, and help with environmental and house restoration projects.

Julie Iromuanya, an author and assistant professor of creative writing and English at the University of Arizona, has wanted to be a writer her whole life, so much so that she had her own little office with a typewriter as a child.

Iromuanya will be the next presenter in the University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series. She will read from her first novel, “Mr. and Mrs. Doctor,” at 11 a.m. April 11 in the UHV University West Alcorn Auditorium, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The event is free and open to the public.

The University of Houston-Victoria is preparing to share the cultures of 17 countries, including food, music, dances, traditional clothes and more during its fourth annual International Festival. 

The festival will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. April 12 in Jaguar Hall Commons, 2705 Houston Highway. The free, public event is hosted by UHV International Programs Office and the UHV International Student Organization. 

Patrick Guissou, a UHV graduate student from Africa, left; Beverly Tomek, associate provost and dean of University College; Aarushi Kumar, a senior from India; and Gen Kaneko, an assistant professor of biology, pose on Monday after displaying a research poster during Texas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in Austin. 

UHV President Bob Glenn and Jesse Pisors, UHV vice president for advancement & external relations, discuss on Monday the four new plaques and names added to the UHV Donor Recognition Display in University North, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The steel plaques permanently honor the Trull Foundation, Rebuild Texas Fund, Bennett-Wood Family, and Claud and Mary Virginia Jacobs for their cumulative gifts of $50,000 or more to the university. 

The University of Houston-Victoria is participating in April’s national Distracted Driving Awareness Month by hosting motivational speaker Tyson Dever talking about how he survived a nearly fatal car crash caused by a distracted driver.

Dever’s presentation will be at 6:30 p.m. April 15 in the UHV University North Walker Auditorium, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The event is free and open to the public.

“Distracted driving is dangerous and avoidable,” UHV health educator Chanel Hicks said. “We want to encourage drivers and passengers to be safe on the road. We expect Dever’s presentation to address this, but also be very encouraging to our audience to overcome hardships of their own.&

Students learned Thursday about the affects of Artificial Intelligence using intelligent assistant Siri on their Apple devices.

“I always look forward to this event,” said Ricardo Teixeira, a UHV assistant professor of mathematics. “It’s such a great opportunity for students to learn while considering attending college after high school. It’s also a good opportunity to work with teachers and bridge gaps between the schools. We’re really happy to see there’s a benefit for all who participate.”

Representatives from the University of Houston-Victoria and San Antonio Independent School District signed an agreement Monday that provides extensive advising and financial support to enable up to 10 graduating seniors to attend the university as freshmen each year starting this fall.

Financial aid for the students will be met by UHV through a combination of scholarships, grants, loans and work study opportunities, as funds allow. The university’s application fee also will be waived for these students.

Three international students from the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine are spending the spring semester at the University of Houston-Victoria as part of the university’s participation in the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program.

“Students are chosen for the Global UGRAD programs on an extremely competitive basis,” said Ludmi Herath, UHV International Programs director. “Programs such as these allow the university to reach out to countries that might not typically send students to UHV and puts us on more equal footing with other universities across the nation.”

Ben Zeller remembers feelings of accomplishment and pride when he graduated in 2005 from the University of Houston-Victoria, and he looks forward to seeing other students experience those same feelings when he delivers his keynote address at UHV’s spring commencement ceremonies.

“It was a great milestone for me, and I feel incredibly honored to get to come back and speak to students who will soon be my fellow alumni,” Zeller said. “UHV opened some wonderful opportunities for me, and I am looking forward to encouraging these students as they take their next steps forward.”

UHV will hold two commencement ceremonies on May 18 at Faith Family Church, 2002 E. Mockingbird Lane. 

For many small businesses, employee issues such as hiring, firing, training, recruiting and developing job descriptions falls on the owners’ and managers’ shoulders, so the University of Houston-Victoria Small Business Development Center is offering two workshops to address these important topics.

The first workshop in the Human Resources Series will be “The Employment Lifecycle” from 1 to 4 p.m. April 23. The second workshop, “Job Descriptions and Performance Management,” will be from 9 a.m. to noon the following day. 

Amina Lnu has wanted to study in the U.S. for a long time, and when she found out she was coming to a university in Texas, the Pakistani national became even more excited.

“When I was selected, I was so happy I started dancing,” Lnu said. “Going to college in the U.S. has been my dream, and the people I’ve met here have been so friendly and welcoming.”

Lnu came to the University of Houston-Victoria as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan. 

Crossroads entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders will get a full day of instruction about how to develop and lead healthy teams at the May 17 annual Leadercast Victoria event sponsored by the University of Houston-Victoria.

Leadercast, a worldwide leadership conference in its 19th year, is a full-day webcast from Atlanta. This is the eighth year the UHV Small Business Development Center and the School of Business Administration have hosted Leadercast Victoria, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Our Lady of Victory Cathedral Center, 1309 E. Mesquite Lane.

During a time of need, 36-year-old Alisha Stearman of Victoria discovered she couldn’t pay the additional student fees for a class at the University of Houston-Victoria. Then she received a phone call regarding the UHV Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.

“When I got my bill that I had a great deal of money still owed, I was not prepared for that,” Stearman said. “I just kind of gave up on the idea of furthering my education during this time in my life, until I got an email from UHV about the relief fund that was available to people who were affected by Hurricane Harvey. It was great, and it did cover those fees.”

The University of Houston-Victoria’s search for a new provost and vice president for academic affairs has resulted in the selection of three finalists, and community members can learn more by attending open forums starting Monday in Victoria and Katy.

Rogerio da Silva, UHV assistant professor of gaming and computer science, second from left; stands with his students Saturday after the team ranked 13th out of 31 teams during the International Collegiate Programming Contest at Texas State University in San Marcos. Members of the UHV team, named Runtime Terror, were students Estrella Candia, left, Randall Jasek, Itzel Juarez and Jose Alvarez. 

The University of Houston-Victoria recently was ranked 34th in a Washington Monthly regional list of Best Bang for the Buck Colleges, which places emphasis on each institution’s economic improvement of students, research and service.

The publication included UHV in its 2018 list of Best Bang for the Buck Southern Colleges, which consists of 50 institutions from states that include Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Missouri. 

Ngoc Pham of Brooklyn, N.Y., was posed for success in the fashion industry after graduating in 2013 from the University of Houston-Victoria with a Master of Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and accounting.

While commuting in New York, Pham, a 31-year-old assistant professor of marketing and international business at Brooklyn College, met Imani Jones, CEO of Find Your ID NYC, a global creative agency that focuses on brand development and strategy, events and content creation. They realized they shared many passions, Pham said. She remembered they both wanted to build a bridge between schools and the fashion industry.

Two University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration graduate programs in human resource management and international business recently received national rankings based on such factors as affordability, academic quality and student success.

OnlineMasters.com ranked the UHV School of Business Administration’s Strategic and Global Master of Business Administration in human resource management programs 36th out of 50 on its 2019 Best Online MBA in Human Resources Programs list. 

When Joseph Tabbi thinks about digital literature, the final author in the Spring 2019 University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series doesn’t look at Kindles and e-books, he looks for works that incorporate different elements as part of the storytelling experience.

“To really experience electronic literature, there needs to be so much more than just the words,” Tabbi said. “The words should be part of a larger combination that includes media, art, design and programming. That is how a digital aesthetic is created.”

The University of Houston-Victoria University College is preparing to host its first Undergraduate Research Showcase featuring presentations by university students about biology, criminal justice, the humanities and more.

A group of nine undergraduate students will participate in panel and poster presentations of their research projects from noon to 6 p.m. Friday in Rooms 203, 215 and 216 of UHV University West, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The showcase is free and open to the public.

A $100,000 donation from the Rebuild Texas Fund via the Qatar Harvey Fund will provide scholarships to University of Houston-Victoria students still struggling with the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey.

Students unable to re-enroll in courses or near graduation will be given priority for the scholarships. The number of scholarships awarded and amount given will be based on the number of qualified applicants and the degree of need. Each award will be no more than $5,000 a student.

Anthony Canela Reyes, a University of Houston-Victoria senior from Austin, delivers his presentation Friday titled “Understanding Fox O1 Gene: A Deeper Analysis of its Function During Cell Division and Fat Synthesis” during the first UHV University College Undergraduate Research Showcase at UHV. Reyes was one of nine UHV undergraduate students who gave presentations or displayed posters showcasing their research, and he was awarded first place. 

The national Guide to Online Schools website recently included the University of Houston-Victoria as one of the best online colleges in Texas because of the university’s accreditation, affordability and alumni success.

UHV was ranked 17th out of the 25 universities in the website’s 2019 Best Online Colleges in Texas list. 

Three University of Houston-Victoria faculty members from the fields of curriculum and instruction, history, and adult and higher education recently were recognized for their efforts to help students and the university through teaching, research and service.

The faculty members are selected by their colleagues and students each spring for the prestigious awards. 

At first glance, the students in Jaguar Esports might just seem like a bunch of people playing video games, but the members of this year’s University of Houston-Victoria Student Organization of the Year use their love of gaming to do much more.

During the 2018-2019 school year, Jaguar Esports hosted and coordinated video game tournaments at UHV and in the community to encourage students to come together, have fun, develop leadership skills and meet others from all walks of life, said Randall Jasek, a UHV junior from Palacios and president of the club.

Edna resident Heather Socha enjoyed creating her own curriculum during her 18 years of teaching, so the Edna High School English teacher decided to get her master’s degree from UHV to help her take the next step in her career.

Socha recently was named the Spring 2019 Outstanding Graduate Student for the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development. Mary Naser from Houston was named the school’s Outstanding Undergraduate Student.

Victoria resident Brandon Cantu, 26, has earned respect for serving his country and being a model citizen on and off the University of Houston-Victoria campus.

Cantu was a sergeant in the U.S. Army for six years before becoming a UHV student. It was in the Army that he gained many different life skills that later would help him as a student.

“My primary job was to care for and treat soldiers in war time and at bases during peace times,” he said. “I was a squad leader for more than 10 soldiers and had to protect and mentor them for further success.” 

When the winning team was preparing its presentation for the 36th University of Houston-Victoria Bachelor of Business Administration Case Conference, the team members decided to take an uncommon approach from the typical car dealership business model.

Ashal Calder and Komal Ram of Cypress, Sana Irshad of Richmond, Eric Pharis of Sugar Land and Elizabeth Tenorio of Fresno won first place for their presentation on Group 1 Automotive.

University of Houston-Victoria faculty members are preparing to hold their first meeting for a free public health program that will focus on combating chronic kidney disease, and there still is room for more participants.

The meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. May 16 in the UHV University North Multi-Purpose Room, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The free program will be run by The Victoria Alliance Against Chronic Kidney Disease. It will examine risk factors for chronic kidney disease and look for ways participants can lower their chances of developing kidney problems.

Crossroads residents can get free tickets to the May 29 home opener for the Victoria Generals collegiate league baseball game sponsored by the University of Houston-Victoria. 

Free Ticket Night at the Victoria Generals presented by UHV will feature a game between the Generals and the Acadiana Cane Cutters. The first pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. at Riverside Stadium inside Riverside Park. Admission is free with an advanced ticket. A limited number of free tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

When Mary Kate Biggers first enrolled in college in the 1980s, she left because she decided she would rather work and earn money than get a degree. Her mother told her she eventually would go back.

Now, Biggers has been named the Spring 2019 Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration. Sugar Land resident Zaure Russell was named the school’s Outstanding Graduate Student.

As University of Houston-Victoria student Aarushi Kumar was preparing for her graduation and a visit from her mother and brother who live in India, she was surprised and overjoyed to learn that in addition to receiving her degree, she would receive another honor.

Kumar, an international student from Bangalore, India, was named the Spring 2019 Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the UHV School of Arts & Sciences. Frank Jalufka of Yoakum was named the school’s Outstanding Graduate Student.

The next University of Houston-Victoria provost and vice president for academic affairs will be a university dean who also holds positions as a foundation president and executive director, and is the founder of a 3D printing technology company.

Chance Glenn Sr., dean of the College of Engineering, Technology and Physical Sciences at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, will start his new position Aug. 5. Glenn also is president and executive director of the Alabama A&M Research, Innovation, Science and Engineering Foundation; and founder and president of Morningbird Media, the creators of Electronic Alchemy eForge 3D printing technology.

“I’m looking forward to getting started at UHV,” Glenn

A team of University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration graduate students recently made university history by earning three weekly top 100 rankings in the eight-week Global Business Simulation competition.

Sumanpreet Phul of Houston, Zaure Russell of Sugar Land, Bianca Sabido of Richmond and Jinzhi Si of Katy were co-managers of B Global Drones, a simulated drone and active camera company, during the international simulation. All three of their rankings were in the Return on Average Equity category.

As the school year draws to a close, the University of Houston-Victoria is preparing to host four free science, technology, engineering and mathematics summer camps for high school and middle school students, including two new computer science camps.

All of the camps are funded by a $30,000 grant from Alcoa Foundation. In addition, a $7,500 grant from the Dow Chemical Co. Foundation funded the purchase of computers for the Texas Women in Computing middle school camp.

Close to 375 University of Houston-Victoria students are expected to participate in two commencement ceremonies on Saturday.

UHV will hold spring commencement Saturday at Faith Family Church, 2002 E. Mockingbird Lane. The 9 a.m. ceremony will be for graduates of the schools of Arts & Sciences and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. The 1 p.m. ceremony will be for graduates of the School of Business Administration.

The University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration soon will welcome a new dean who has more than 30 years of experience in business and higher education.

Ken Colwell, a professor and dean of the School of Business at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn., will take the reins July 15 as dean of the UHV School of Business Administration.

“I’m thrilled to join UHV at such an exciting time in its history,” Colwell said. “President Glenn is assembling an outstanding team, including the new provost, Chance Glenn, to further his ambitious vision to grow the university for the benefit of students."

Construction on the University of Houston-Victoria University Commons is nearing completion with the library moving at the end of May to the second and third floors of UHV’s first student center.

To accommodate the move, the library will be closed to the public from May 17 to June 2. Library resources and services will continue to be available to UHV and Victoria College students and faculty. The library officially will open in its new space inside University Commons on June 3 at the start of UHV summer classes.

UHV’s Library is moving this week into its new space inside University Commons. The new student center is nearing completion and is expected to open in time for fall classes. 

Five of the seven students from the Houston area who completed the University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development’s educational diagnostician certification program this spring have been hired by the Katy Independent School District to meet the district’s growing need for educational diagnosticians.

“An educator’s goal should be to see that all children have access to the education that is appropriate for them and best meets their needs,” said Rachel Martinez, associate dean of the school and associate professor of special education. 

University of Houston-Victoria master’s student Christopher McDonald was inspired to join the university’s Student Government Association by friends who encouraged him to pursue a leadership position.

Now, the graduate student has been elected as the new SGA president and will start his term June 3.

The University of Houston-Victoria recently received a collection of books and a portrait to honor the memory of Dorothy Alcorn, a longtime supporter of the university and the first UH System regent from the Victoria area to be appointed by the governor of Texas.

Alcorn’s 2,227 fiction and nonfiction book collection was donated by her family. The 1985 portrait of Dorothy also was donated to the university and is displayed outside of UHV Alcorn Auditorium, home to the UHV/American Book Review Reading Series and named in her honor in 1993.

Yuan Wang, one of University of Houston-Victoria’s newest faculty members, takes pride in her work and loves having the opportunity to shape young minds. She is thrilled to be an assistant professor of management at UHV.

“What I like the most about UHV is seeing everything grow and develop,” Wang said. “I’m also getting all different kinds of students. I try to get to know them and find the best way to educate them.”

Wang, who originally is from China, knew she wanted a career in education at a very young age, and it seems to run in the family. Her mom is a college professor, and her father works at the educational bureau in China. She remembers seeing what her mom did for her stude

A national Master of Business Administration website recently included one of the UHV School of Business Administration’s graduate programs in its list of the best programs in Texas based on affordability, support services and the quality of the classes.

MBA Central ranked UHV’s online Global MBA program 12th in its 20 Best Texas Online MBA Programs 2019 list. 

A group of 14 University of Houston-Victoria students recently took part in an online competition promoting cybersecurity, and UHV placed among the top 7 percent of U.S. colleges participating.

After the first phase of the Cyber FastTrack competition, UHV ranked 27th in the state and 268th out of 5,200 U.S. colleges and universities that took part in the competition.

“UHV’s computer science and computer information systems programs have a tradition of emphasizing information technology security among students,” said Yun Wan, a UHV professor of computer information systems.

Community and University of Houston-Victoria leaders broke ground Tuesday with golden ceremonial shovels to signify the beginning of renovation on the university’s new 44,000-square-foot Northwest Campus, formerly Town Plaza Mall.

“Providing additional space and amenities will help us better serve our students and continue down our path on becoming a destination campus,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “Northwest Campus will be a place for our students and community to engage in meaningful partnerships. We’re thrilled to see the positive impact it will make to UHV and the community.”

Four University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development faculty and staff recently received recognition from their peers for their outstanding teaching, scholarship, service and work.

The awards have been presented every year since 2013 to recognize outstanding accomplishments by the school’s faculty and staff. A faculty and staff committee chooses the recipients.

KATY – Thanks to support from Katy Times readers, the University of Houston-Victoria has been voted the Best College in Katy for the fourth year in a row.

“Receiving this repeated show of support and recognition of our university is so encouraging and humbling,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “We are grateful for the continued support from the Katy community, and we look forward to providing quality higher education for many years to come.”

More than 72,000 Katy Times readers took part in the Best of Katy voting process. 

Sophomore Shelbie Ayala attributes her strong Christian faith to setting her on a path to teach one day at a private Christian school and providing her with the conviction to do good work at the University of Houston-Victoria.

One example came during UHV’s Alternative Spring Break in March. Alternative Spring Break is an opportunity for students to go volunteer for a week during their spring break. Ayala, 20, went with a group of nine students to Biloxi, Miss., to various sites to help clean up the community.

“We went to one place two different times to clean up the outside location to make a trail, trim trees and pick up trash,” she said.

Faculty members from the University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development are leading the charge in expanding a new free online database of lesson plans and accompanying videos through a contract with the Texas Education Agency.

The Texas Lesson Study Professional Development program consists of lesson plans, including videos of the lessons, that are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and created by Texas teachers for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms. The purpose of the database is to give teachers access to high-quality, research-based resources at no cost. 

Construction on the University of Houston-Victoria’s new $22.8 million residence hall passed another milestone Thursday when a “topping out” ceremony took place, marking the end of foundation and framing work on the building.

“Building Don & Mona Smith Hall is the next logical step in our ongoing plans to bring more students to our main campus here in Victoria,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “It will allow us to offer students a range of on-campus housing options so they can choose the one that best fits their needs. It will be conveniently located next to the new University Commons student center and library.’”

The University of Houston-Victoria has released the names of undergraduate students who made its spring 2019 President’s List and Deans’ List.

The President’s List honors undergraduates who earn a 4.0 grade-point average on all work completed during the spring semester. To qualify for the Deans’ List, undergraduates must earn at least a 3.5 grade-point average.

The recognitions are awarded each fall and spring semester. A minimum of nine semester hours, excluding courses in which grades of “Satisfactory” were earned, is required. 

A longtime University of Houston-Victoria faculty member is retiring in August, and the UH System Board of Regents is honoring her with the title of professor emeritus.

Diane Prince joined the UHV faculty in 1974, a year after the university was founded, and now that she is planning to retire, she is proud to look back at how she has helped the university grow.

“UHV is fortunate to have employees like Dr. Prince, who have remained dedicated to its growth and excellence,” UHV President Bob Glenn said.

University of Houston-Victoria alumnus Steven Kaufman has climbed his way up the ladder of success by creating the mortgage company ZeusLending.com and winning an award from the Houston Business Journal for his leadership.

Like many successful people, Kaufman had to start from the bottom of the ladder to get to the top.

He graduated from the University of Houston-Downtown in 2000 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, then earned his Master of Science in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at UHV. He recently received his doctorate from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Students pose Tuesday with Ricardo Teixeira, front row right, University of Houston-Victoria assistant professor of mathematics, during the first day of the university’s Math Summer Camp. Seven students from Woodsboro, Calhoun and Victoria West high schools are attending the camp to learn about theoretical concepts in advanced mathematics, including Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, number theory, optimization and graphs.

University of Houston-Victoria President Bob Glenn, left, accepts a $2,000 check Monday from Glynis Straus, ConocoPhillips community relations advisor for Eagle Ford Shale, at the Cuero City Council Chamber. The UHV Partnerships for Regional and Economic Prosperity and the UHV Small Business Development Center are working with the DeWitt County Texas Rural Leadership Program to continue improving the Cuero community.

The University of Houston-Victoria awarded 406 degrees to undergraduate and graduate students who completed their coursework during the spring semester.

Undergraduate candidates with honors wore gold braids over their robes during a May 18 graduation ceremony at Faith Family Church in Victoria.

The University of Houston-Victoria received approval from the Texas Legislature to move forward on its $125-a-semester fee to finance a new recreation center for the Victoria campus.

“Our students showed overwhelming support for a recreation center, and it’s our responsibility to provide that to them,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “A recreation center is a cornerstone to creating a residential campus, and now, we’re one step closer to doing that.”

KATY – The University of Houston-Victoria at Katy is preparing to move by the start of fall classes into a new building that it will share with UH in the Katy area.

The location will be home to programs from both UHV and UH to serve the Katy and Greater Houston communities. The three-story, 80,000-square-foot building is located at 22400 Grand Circle Blvd. in Katy near the intersection of Interstate 10 and the Grand Parkway.

Area residents who already have a bachelor’s degree in another field but have always wanted to be a teacher now have an option to make that dream a reality through the updated online VOICE program at the University of Houston-Victoria.

The UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development’s VOICE program started in 2003, but the university recently revamped the online program to make it more affordable and give students the option of applying course credits toward earning a master’s degree. Students participating in the program can earn a teaching certificate in as little as a year.

Kelly Xu, left, a Calhoun High School junior; UHV senior Randall Jasek; Travis Cunningham, a Bloomington High School junior; Samuel Scavo, a Victoria West High School freshman; and Kary Xu, a Calhoun High School sophomore; watch robots attempt to navigate a maze Tuesday as part of the UHV Robotics Summer Camp. Eleven high school students from Calhoun, Bloomington, Victoria West and Victoria East high schools and one homeschooled student are participating in the camp that started Monday and will end Friday in the UHV University North robotics lab.

Victoria-area nonprofit organizations will have the opportunity to learn where to look for grants and find out tips about how to apply for funding thanks to a training session offered by the University of Houston-Victoria Library.

“Grant Funding Workshop: Find Funders and Write Successful Grants” will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 26 in Room 215 of UHV University Center, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The all-day workshop will be taught by Kristal Johnson, creator of the Assertive Ask fundraising system and owner of FundJoy LLC. Registration for the training costs $50, and lunch and a light breakfast will be provided.

For the seventh consecutive year, the University of Houston-Victoria has been recognized for its work by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) and NAIA Sports Information Directors Association (NAIA-SID).

UHV Sports Information Specialist Paul Ebner along with members from the UHV Marketing & Communications Creative Services department were recently recognized by the two organizations in their publication’s and media contests at the annual CoSIDA Summer Convention.

The University of Houston-Victoria softball team was among the 1,939 teams that earned distinction as National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Scholar Teams for the 2018-19 academic year.

The NAIA announced the scholar teams on Monday.

University of Houston-Victoria student-athletes continue to achieve in the classroom with nearly 50 percent of the athletes earning Red River Athletic Conference GPA Awards recognition for the 2018-19 academic year.

In their fourth year of competition in the RRAC, the Jaguars had 62 student-athletes recognized Wednesday for academic success by the conference.

The University of Houston-Victoria men’s and women’s golf teams will be rejoining the Association of Independent Institutions Conference beginning with the 2019-20 season.

Along with the reunion, UHV will play host to the Aii Conference Golf Championships on April 27-28.

The University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series is preparing to kick off its fall 2019 series with a diverse lineup of writers who have published collections, chapbooks, essays, memoirs and even digital poetry projects.

“The American Book Review is always looking for diverse, compelling writers to participate in the reading series,” Jeffrey Di Leo, ABR editor and publisher, and dean of the UHV School of Arts & Sciences. “Each of these writers has a distinct voice and perspective in many genres and media, and I look forward to sharing their work with the community.”

The sound of whirring gears and excited laughter filled the computer lab Wednesday as 11 middle school girls got their first taste of computer programming and robotics during the University of Houston-Victoria’s first-ever Texas Women in Computing summer camp.

UHV is able to offer the camp thanks to grant funding from Alcoa Foundation and the Dow Gives Community Grant program. Students from middle schools including Cade, Travis, Goliad, Howell and Our Lady of Victory, in addition to two homeschool students, attended the camp from July 15 to 19 at UHV. The camp’s purpose is to help young women learn about and explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. 

You could hear the excitement in Joshua (Spud) Bromberg’s voice as he talked about being named the head baseball coach for Clear Lake High School.

It is the first head coaching job for the former University of Houston-Victoria Jaguar.

“I’m real excited and ready to get going,” said Bromberg in a phone interview Thursday.

As Joe Dahlstrom prepares to retire as senior director of the University of Houston-Victoria Library, he can look back on a career full of growth and helping students find the resources they need to succeed.

Dahlstrom will retire on Wednesday after working since 1988 in the UHV Library, previously the Victoria College/UHV Library. Before coming to UHV, he had worked 16 years in various other librarian positions at Hardin-Simmons University and the San Antonio Public Library System. 

The University of Houston-Victoria’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs is retiring Wednesday, three years after stepping into the position at the university.

David Cockrum has more than two decades of higher education administrative experience. Cockrum served from 1990 to 2010 as provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. Upon his retirement from Sul Ross State, he was named provost emeritus. He started work at UHV on Aug. 22, 2016.

Former University of Houston-Victoria softball player Jena West has never been one to shy away from hard work.

Following a very active college career at UHV, West has been busy working hard to keep the Victoria community safe as an employee with the Victoria County Public Health Emergency Management Department.

After serving a little over three years at the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, she was recently named to the Deputy Emergency Coordinator position with the Victoria Office of Emergency Management.

In order to help meet its growth goals, the University of Houston-Victoria has created a new executive position focused on enrollment, and the community is invited to meet the four final candidates in a series of open forums.

From Tuesday to Friday, UHV will host public forums to allow the community to see presentations and ask questions of the four candidates for the position of vice president for enrollment management. The forums will be from 2 to 2:45 p.m. in UHV University North Room 111 with an overflow room in UHV University Center Room 303, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St.

Elise Hendricker, a University of Houston-Victoria assistant professor of school psychology and director of the psychology program, has a strong desire to help children find out what they need to succeed in school.

Hendricker’s passion to help students succeed led her to pursue a career in school psychology so she can help others fulfill that same desire.

“I always knew that I wanted to work with children in some regard,” Hendricker said. “I just didn’t quite know how.”

When a University of Houston-Victoria dean was considering the changes happening to the publishing industry in America, he noticed a striking similarity to the resurgence happening in another creative industry: vinyl records.

“Records went away with the change to cassette tapes, CDs and digital recordings, but they’ve come back with a fury,” said Jeffrey Di Leo, dean of the UHV School of Arts & Sciences. “Books started to disappear after the development of digital media and ebooks, but they are coming back. However, they are not coming back the same.”

As a staff member at the University of Houston-Victoria at Katy for more than 18 years, Rosemary McCusker feels a sense of duty to serve on the university’s Staff Council, build relationships and promote collaboration. 

McCusker, senior recruitment coordinator for the UHV School of Business Administration, is the 2019-2020 UHV Staff Council chair. As chair, she represents the university’s staff on the UHV President’s Cabinet. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity to serve and be part of the university’s leadership,” McCusker said. “There’s so much talent and shared commitment within our staff, and we can gain a lot through collaboration." 

When the University of Houston-Victoria’s School of Business Administration dean was working as an entrepreneurship professor, he developed some clear ideas about what works when starting a business, and he decided to convey that knowledge in a new book.

Ken Colwell recently published “Starting a Business QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Launching a Successful Small Business, Turning Your Vision Into Reality and Achieving Your Entrepreneurial Dream.” The publisher, ClydeBank Business, a division of ClydeBank Media LLC in Albany, N.Y.; approached him about creating a small business guide, and what resulted was his book.

As Keith Akins steps into his role as University of Houston-Victoria Faculty Senate president for the second time, he plans to focus on helping the university and its new administrators improve communication with faculty.

“This is a very exciting time for UHV in that we have the potential to expand in many different directions,” Akins said. “I hope to get the faculty engaged and involved in the discussions about our future. I’m deeply honored that my colleagues saw fit to elect me to this position and trust me with this responsibility.”

KATY – Readers of Living Magazine recently named the University of Houston-Victoria as Best College/University in Katy/Fulshear.

More than 30,000 Katy and Fulshear area readers submitted votes for the magazine’s 2019 "Best of" Readers’ Choice awards, which came out earlier this month, said Sharon Hilburn, a Living Magazine account executive. The awards were received from online, write-in ballots, meaning UHV was not listed on the ballot, and voters had to have written it into their ballots for the university to be considered. 

“Receiving this recognition of our university is exciting,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “We are grateful for the support from the K

University of Houston-Victoria seniors Eli Juma and Sophia Solano have watched the new UHV University Commons come together since its groundbreaking in April 2017. Now they are looking forward to an Aug. 28 ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house, when the public will get to see UHV’s new library and first student center.

“There’s been so much anticipation about getting to this point,” said Juma, an education major from Sabinal. “It’s been a journey watching the building go up a little bit more every day as we went to classes. It’s just mind-blowing to be one of the first students to use this new space.”

Jose Cantu will start a new job in early September as vice president for enrollment management at the University of Houston-Victoria after working for 25 years in higher education in Texas.

Cantu, vice president for strategic partnerships at New Reach Media, a San Antonio marketing firm that works with small colleges across the nation to increase student enrollment and alumni engagement, said he is looking forward to starting his new position at UHV. He previously worked in admissions, recruitment and enrollment at Schreiner University in Kerrville, UH-Downtown and UH.

Students and faculty members participating in the UHV School of Business Administration study abroad program to China gather July 24 for a group photo at the bottom of Mount Tai. Thirteen UHV business students participated in the two-week program from July 12 to 28, and they visited various cultural sites including the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Royal Garden and the Summer Palace.

On Sunday, the University of Houston-Victoria will promote 11 faculty members, seven of whom will receive tenure and four others who will be named full professors.

“These faculty members have worked hard to improve themselves within their respective fields and to offer UHV students an excellent education,” said Chance Glenn, UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I am happy to see their hard work rewarded, and I look forward to seeing how they will bring their expertise to help the university continue to grow and serve its students.”

Faculty members hired as assistant professors at UHV are eligible to apply for tenure and promotion to associate professor after six years.