Fresh off the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) receiving the news that it climbed 15 points in the recent 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings to No. 62 in Overall Rank for Regional Universities (West) (tied) and No. 31 in Top Public Schools-Regional Universities (West) (tied), up by nine points as compared to last year’s list, President Loren J. Blanchard delivered the 2023 State of the University address.
Blanchard’s speech highlighted UHD’s strategic goals: increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs by 2028; boosting the university’s graduation and alumni participation rates; developing more community partnerships; and securing additional research opportunities through federal and state grants.
And as the elevated U.S. News & World Report college rankings reveal, the school is on the rise, thanks in large part to the implementation of “A New Paradigm,” the strategic plan Blanchard introduced over the past year.
“This past year, implementation of our strategic plan, a New Paradigm, was in full swing. Our primary goal has student success at its center,” said Blanchard, during his address. “Enhancing student success requires more than faculty excellence. It even requires more than robust academic advising and built-in career services. Through the restructuring of our student affairs department as the Student Success and Student Life Division, we can now more holistically address student needs.”
Accomplishments cited included:
The opening of the Basic Needs Center, which granted emergency funds to 276 students at a value of $88.5K over the past six months, an increase of 350% in monetary value over the previous five months when the Center was only online.
· Major strides in student mental health care with more than 100 faculty and staff plus 50 UHD police officers trained in Mental Health First Aid and an increase in the number of counselors on staff to 6.5 licensed clinicians and five master’s level counseling trainees. (The University offered 3,406 counseling sessions in 2022-23, more than double the number of sessions the year before.)
· The restructuring of student advising, an enhanced Academic Recovery Program for students on academic probation, increased scheduling of bottleneck courses, and the addition of evening tutorial services. Degree plans and journey maps for each academic discipline were also created.
· A $259,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Vassilios Tzouanas and his team in the College of Sciences and Technology are leading undergraduate students through intensive research in such areas as cybersecurity, machine learning and process automation.
· A $2.5 million grant to expand the College of Public Service/Department of Urban Education’s focus on educating bilingual students and another $2.8 million to support a bilingual e-library project, led by Dr. Irene Chen and Dr. Maria Bhattacharjee.
· $990,000 from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, secured by Dr. Angelica Roncancio of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences to support primary prevention efforts to reduce HPV-related cancer disparities in underserved communities.
· $2.6 million in scholarships provided by the Ted Bauer Foundation over the last five years for undergraduates in the Marilyn Davies College of Business.
And according to Blanchard, UHD is just getting started.
“We will continue to increase partnerships and service-learning opportunities, and we will engage more broadly in undergraduate student research. We will also increase credit-bearing internships, fellowships, and practica for undergraduate and graduate students. And in 2024, we will successfully renew our Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.”
“That’s a big deal, but here’s an even bigger deal,” stated Blanchard. “We aspire to develop new degree programs, moving from 46 to 50 undergraduate programs and from 12 to 20 graduate programs by 2028. Through more programs that meet industry standards, we will increase UHD’s economic development.”
Blanchard shared additional institutional goals:
“We will continue to increase partnerships and service-learning opportunities, and we will engage more broadly in undergraduate student research. We will also increase credit-bearing internships, fellowships, and practica for undergraduate and graduate students. And in 2024, we will successfully renew our Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.”
“That’s a big deal, but here’s an even bigger deal,” stated Blanchard. “We aspire to develop new degree programs, moving from 46 to 50 undergraduate programs and from 12 to 20 graduate programs by 2028. Through more programs that meet industry standards, we will increase UHD’s economic development.”
Blanchard also noted cause for celebration: “This year marks a very special year in the life of our university. You see, in 1974, the University of Houston acquired the assets of South Texas Junior College and opened the doors of what was then the University of Houston-Downtown College (UHDC) at One Main Street. UHDC, which is now our beloved UHD, was from its inception in 1974 a four-year institution. And that means we are on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the University of Houston-Downtown.”
Univision President and General Manager Glenn Coleman emceed the event, which took place in the Wilhelmina Cullen Robertson Auditorium on the UHD campus and included University of Houston System Chancellor Renu Khator in the audience. Houston Grand Opera Butler Studio artists soprano Renée Richardson and pianist Marco Rizzello performed “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana” from Catalani’s opera “La Wally” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” echoing the President’s optimism for a bright future for the students and graduates of UHD.
“This growth in rankings is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to addressing the needs of our students to ensure their success, as outlined in our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: A New Paradigm,” said Blanchard. “Over the last year, we opened a new Wellness & Success Center as well as a Basic Needs Center, while at the same time expanding our academic offerings such as our new Master of Educational Leadership program. We understand the determination of our students to succeed. As the staff and faculty persist in strengthening infrastructure and expanding programs, UHD will continue to grow as an institution and as an anchor for Houston.”
