Sunday, December 20, 2009

Commencement--A Magnificent Experience



Graduation ceremonies at any university are so much fun. But December graduation ceremony at the University of Houston-Downtown was especially impressive. Nearly 1,250 students, the largest single graduating class in the university's history, shook hands and crossed the stage to receive their diplomas.

So many parents and loved ones show up each semester that the university has to hold its graduation ceremonies at Minute Maid Park--where the Houston Astros play their games. The place was packed with between 15,000-20,000 parents, spouses, family, and friends in attendance. And, the flash from cameras filled the air.

The crowds began early Sunday morning with parents taking pictures, and students in cap and gown running from the parking the lot to line up. Parents hugged their students and students hugged their children or loved ones--parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, husbands, brother and sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, neighbors and co-workers--all celebrating.

Any graduation is colorful and exciting: the multi-colored regalia, the march of the faculty and students to "Pomp and Circumstance," the shouts and joy of the students, and the happiness of the parents and loved ones fill the air. For students, it marks the end of courses, finals, and late-night study sessions. For parents and students alike, it means the end of those checks for tuition, fees, and books (at least, until the loans are due).

Because UHD's graduation ceremony takes place at Minute Maid Park, the parents can watch the students cross the stage on the large screens throughout the park. Some come with banners, noise-makers, and cheering sections. They scream when the name of the student is called or when the student crosses the stage.

Because these are first generation students and mainly working students, it is a big deal when they graduate. It is not uncommon to see extended families of 25 or more sit together--they come early, mark off seats, and fill the stands.

At this graduation ceremony the youngest student to receive their bachelor's diploma was 20 years old and the oldest was 63! The average age of the graduates was just over 30. There were students from nearly 30 countries--from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. But, most were born and raised in the Houston area or in nearby cities in Texas. And, most were the first in their family to earn a college degree.

Like the name itself, "Commencement," the ceremony marks a new beginning--as students move to a new phase of life, entering the job market and seeking new careers. The stories of the students are quite impressive with many who overcame tremendous sacrifices and personal or family difficulties to make it through college.

UHD graduate Norvia Read gave the student address. She has earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies, with an emphasis in teaching. She spoke about the impact UHD has made in her community and the potential that every graduate holds. Despite a learning disability, Ms. Read persisted in education, ultimately succeeding.

Novia Read was among the first to enroll in the UHD/Lone Star College-Kingwood joint-admissions program for future teachers, which allows community college students to complete an associate degree from LSC-Kingwood and a bachelor's degree from UHD at the Kingwood campus. She completed her graduation requirements in August and is already working as a third grade teacher in the New Caney Independent School District.

Like Read, the vast majority of UHD students already have some job and are seeking a bachelor's or master's degree for a better job or a more secure career. When I asked, "how many the graduates worked 30 hours or more while going to college?", nearly the entire graduating class stood up.

But, a lot of students and quite a few parents are worried about the prospects for jobs in the future. As one graduating student told me, "It's a bit terrifying, to be graduating in this economy. There are so few jobs for students to take. I just hope I can find a job."

This is a natural concern, after all, they are entering an economy that is showing signs of life--but still losing jobs. Nationally, many students will postpone the search for new jobs by entering graduate school or by taking a year off to travel, volunteer with a community organization, or work as low-paid (or even unpaid) interns to build up their resume.

Houston, at least, is better off than most cities in the country and Texas is better off than the majority of states. Even so, Houston's economy is flat. According to projections by the Greater Houston Partnership, job losses in Houston will continue into 2010, with slight gains by the summer and a net gain for 2010 of only 1200 new jobs. So, the economy will be tight for a while.

But, there is great hope from these students. Some will move into graduate programs. Many will become teachers or social workers or doctors. Others will use their diploma to move up the career ladder with companies where they are currently employed.

There was also optimism at the ceremony. As one new graduate told me, "The economy will turn around. I plan to start my own business. Who knows, maybe I'll hire some of these graduates one day."

Good luck to all of you and congratulations!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

"Don't Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste"--Building an Entrepreneurial University

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel likes to say, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” This outlook has become the mantra of the Obama Administration. But, it is also good advice for universities.

Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitón wrote in Business Week that while big business hunkered down during the recession by hoarding cash, canceling projects, and laying off staff, by contrast, entrepreneurs began new ventures with new business models--and several paid off. They urge us to learn from entrepreneurs, scrap our old business plan, and develop new business models for a very different economic reality.

The advice is good for colleges and universities, as well. But, how does a public university become entrepreneurial? After all, we have to deal with state regs, system rules, coordinating boards, accreditation, legislators, alumni and, of course, you have to build broad participation and support from faculty and staff.

John Walda, president and CEO of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), noted that the 'new normal' is likely to mean reduced levels of state support for higher education institutions in coming years. Wanda noted that several economists now view the recession as a 'square root sign,' where it dips sharply and moves upwards but then is flat below the old normal. Others view it as a very slowly rise U with a long flat-line.

Several economists feel that it may be 5 to 10 years before state revenues are back to where they were prior to the recession. Wanda points to data showing net declines in state revenue for the past two years of roughly $350 billion. He noted that several public universities received less state funding in 2009 than they received a decade earlier.

Like Rahm Emanuel, Wanda suggests that universities take advantage of the crisis to radically change their business model, reduce costs, find new efficiencies, strengthen the organization, and develop new strategies for the 'new reality.'

Barbara Mackoff (author of Leadership as a Habit of Mind) urged university presidents to understand the chaos we face today is an opportunity for a 'productive disequilibrium,' one that changes the way universities look at reality, alter their organizational culture, and radically change their organizational behavior. She urged presidents to 'come out of hell with something'--that is, not only surviving, but growing stronger.

Universities that move quickly to an entrepreneurial model and are proactive may avoid many of the deep cuts faced by universities in other states. Entrepreneurial universities must first focus on who they are, and be clear on their mission and vision. Together with faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders they need to develop strategic priorities with clear plans and metrics to evaluate progress. And, they must be willing to find efficiencies and make cuts within their organization, re-adjusting to the 'new reality.'

Here are some of the other characteristics which I think are important for entrepreneurial universities. They need to be:

1) nimble and strategic--developing new degree programs and certificates based on changing needs of the market and with close advice from and consultation with industry--and, yet, strategic by aligning their budget to strategic priorities;

2) responsive to student needs--changing how they offer courses, including when, where, and how students receive those courses--whether that be at night, on weekends, at distant learning sites, on shortened schedules (one night a week or concentrated over a three-week period including weekends), or through hybrid, online, etc.;

3) future-oriented--developing and teaching courses based on competencies students will need now and in the future and by developing new degrees and majors geared to future industries and the global economy;

4) engaged--they address the problems of the society and of their university service area, build strong partnerships, engage students and faculty in learning and research that contributes to addressing societal needs, and build strong ties with and seek support from donors, alumni, industry, legislators, city and states government, federal agencies, and other friends;

5) aggressive and cooperative they identify and expand into new new markets, find distinctive niches, seek out new revenue streams, and build their university's brand--yet, they also, build partnerships, work in consortia, and leverage resources with other institutions.

UHD is still in the process of developing our goals and our vision for the future. But, we are becoming more entrepreneurial. We are reviewing our programs, reviewing how we conduct our business, and we are identifying areas where we can be more efficient. The process will take time, as we engage more of the faculty and staff in these discussions. But, our path is clear, we will grow stronger and be a better university.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Surviving Turbulent Times and the 'New Normal'

These are frustrating times for public universities. We've all seen the headlines of the fiscal problems confronting California and several other states. The Pew Center for the States recently released a report listing ten states that are in crisis. Joining California on this list are Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Oregon, Rhode Island, and New Jersey--mostly states devastated by the real estate crisis and the decline of industries critical to their state or region.

But the truth is that every state is facing large budget deficits--many public universities have already taken large percentage cuts in state funding, resulting in higher tuition, furloughs, layoffs, and reduced access to higher education for many students. And, it is not likely to get better soon.

At the recent American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), presidents of public universities shared their situations. Several spoke openly about their fear that their states face huge deficits in 2012, when stimulus dollars disappear. Most states used stimulus dollars to shore up shortfalls in medical care, public education, and higher education. But, those monies end in 2012 and, unless state revenues pick up, huge cuts loom on the horizon.

At AASCU, the President of U.T. San Antonio, Ricardo Romo, underscored the problem for Texas, where the combined effects of declining tax revenue and the budget shortfall offset by stimulus dollars nears $16 billion. But, as he advised, "we have to plan now to address the shortfalls."

At the AASCU Conference, former university presidents, John Moore and David McFarland, spoke of "Leading in Turbulent Times," which they described as the "New Reality." They urged presidents to remain calm and to temper the cuts with long-term planning. Turbulent times, according to Moore, require leaders to "think and act strategically."

McFarland cautioned presidents to avoid across-the-board reductions, but rather to "align" budgets with strategic priorities and to make cuts which improve efficiencies, while growing areas that expand and diversify resources: enrollment management (recruitment and retention of students), fundraising, and sponsored research.

At this week's TIAA-CREF Institute's Higher Leadership Conference, David Gergen (former White House advisor and CNN senior political analyst) calls this situation, "the New Normal," as states are being squeezed to support essential public services with diminishing revenues. He advises higher education leaders to "get used to it" and to "rapidly adjust."

Like many institutions the University of Houston System has held off on pay raises, began to make selective budget cuts, and is considering tuition and fee increases. At UHD, we are being proactive. The planning process is providing focus for our institution. We are still planning a mid-year salary increase, assuming we continue our enrollment growth this next semester, and we are working hard to find efficiencies.

UHD is working on long-term goals and plans for the institution, for example, strengthening strategic partnerships with P-12, community colleges, charter schools, and community-based organizations; increasing our research with joint projects with the UH system and by increasing funded research; developing stronger ties with the business community, including creating new degrees that are tied to the needs of Houston and its economy; and building stronger relationships with our alumni, supporters, and friends--which will help our fundraising.

Critical to our plans is the need to improve student retention and graduation rates. Anything we do must always keep that prime mission in mind. In the budgeting process for this year we have decided to focus on recruiting new students and retaining and graduating the students that we already have.

A committee in Academic Affairs is reviewing the success of several intervention and support programs. Most of these are currently funded by foundation grants, some have been reduced when the grants ended. Based on funding available, we will try to fund several of these programs with base dollars, because they are critical to student success.

Departments and colleges are developing five-year plans for new degree programs and goals for their departments. We will also hire more faculty and staff in critical areas of need to support student success. To meet expanding student demand and to expand access we will work closely with community colleges to increase transfers; we will improve and accelerate the review of transcripts and articulation plans; and we will expand to other areas through distance education with hybrid and online courses, as well as being more effective in developing learning centers (such as the University Center at 249 where we will begin to offer courses this summer).

These are difficult times for higher education, but we must respond. America requires new college graduates in every industry. It needs more teachers, more scientists, more social workers, and future leaders of business and government. And, it needs a highly trained, diverse work force. At UHD we are building our plans and our university to respond to those needs. And, I am confident that we will grow stronger in the process.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Changing Urban Schools is Essential to America's Future

Closing the educational gap in this country has been rightly called "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." The drop out rate for Latinos and African Americans in many American cities is nearly twice that of whites. Fewer Latinos and African Americans attend college. Fewer still graduate from college. For example, for 100 Latino students who begin 9th grade only 53 will graduate from high school (compared to 75 whites) and only 10 of those will graduate from college in six years (compared to 23 whites). This achievement gap endangers our economy and our future.

According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, by 2020, the net loss to the U.S., if we don't close the achievement gap, is estimated to be $850 billion in lost income, revenues, and GDP. That number will grow to over $1 trillion by 2030, unless we eliminate the achievement gap.

President Obama's Race to the Top, seeks to simultaneously encourage schools to improve and raise the number of Americans completing some college education. Critical to success in this effort is the transformation of schools in the 50 biggest cities in America.

Houston, like any of the biggest cities in the country, needs to dramatically reduce high school dropout rates. Houston Independent School District and other districts also need to increase the number and percentage of students who graduate from high school ready for college.

We in higher education have an interest in ensuring that public schools are successful. After all, we receive the vast majority of our students from the public schools. And, in our case, the majority of them need remediation. Also, higher education institutions can do something about it, with high quality teacher education programs, K-12 partnerships, and community partnerships. At the University of Houston-Downtown, we take this responsibility seriously.

Urban schools have very distinct problems: crowded schools, little money or resources, and dangerous and deteriorating neighborhoods. Urban schools often lack basic resources that are common in suburban schools. Teachers need special skills to survive and succeed in urban schools.

A week ago, I visited with the faculty of the Urban Education Department at University of Houston-Downtown. The UHD Urban Education Department specializes in the problems of urban schools. UHD faculty research the specific problems and address the needs of schools in Houston.

The department focuses on creating teachers ready for the challenges they will confront in Houston schools. Our student teachers work in classrooms throughout Houston. Faculty help them develop curricula, they also provide on-going professional development for teachers in Houston schools. The department also produces excellent bilingual teachers, a must for Houston. Recently, the Urban Education department re-established the undergraduate high school teacher preparation program to focus on the special needs of urban high school teachers.

UHD Urban Education take a holistic approach. They not only focus on teachers and schools, but also engage the entire family to increase student success. For example, Urban Education faculty and students provide literacy nights and math nights in several schools. In partnership with the Fifth Ward Enrichment Center at Weatley High School, for example, they offer a special literacy program with teen fathers and their families to help them develop self-expression and clear educational goals.

UHD students apply what they learn in the classroom to real life. At Houston's House of Tiny Treasures, UHD faculty and early education students work in service learning projects and literacy programs with homeless toddlers, pre-schoolers, and their families.

UHD seems to be doing a pretty good job. According to HISD staff, teachers trained by UHD are more likely to stay in the profession than those of other several other nearby teacher education programs. They enjoy their profession and are more likely to pursue further education.

Also, UHD students and faculty are involved in service learning and community engagement efforts to improve K-12 performance. UHD partners with Project Grad Houston in five Houston schools. During the summer, middle school and high school students from the Project Grad schools attend special classes at UHD. The summer sessions help prepare students for college. The students attend classes, meet and study under regular UHD faculty, and they begin to realize they can and will succeed in college. UHD students mentor middle school and high school students in the five Project Grad schools.

Once the Project Grad students graduate from high school (having taken college preparatory courses and having achieved at least a 2.5 GPA) they get a scholarship from UHD along with a $4,000 from Project Grad. The result: more students from Project Grad Houston’s partner schools graduate ready for college and more students go on to college. Project Grad schools have reduced dropout rates by 26% and one of them, Jeff Davis High School, had the third lowest dropout rate in Houston this past year.

A large portion of those Project Grad students enter UHD because they’ve already been to our campus, studied with our faculty, and met our students. They know the quality of UHD programs and the close interaction UHD faculty have with their students.

UHD faculty and staff also partner with GEAR UP/Project Grad in offering an annual symposium for approximately 135 teachers from HISD teachers in the GEAR UP schools. This year, on December 5th, the symposium will bring high school teachers to UHD for professional development associated with College Readiness and assessment.

I have been very impressed by how UHD faculty, staff, and students are working to improve Houston's schools and student achievement through a variety of strategies: preparing better teachers with curricula and pedagogy designed for urban schools; encouraging undergraduate students to tutor and mentor high school and middle school through service learning courses and civic engagement projects; and partnering with community-based programs like Project Grad, GEAR UP, and Communities in the Schools.

And, from what I've seen, they are making a real difference. Keep up the great work!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Setting Admissions Standards

Friday, we held a forum on Automatic Admission Standards at UHD. This is a somewhat controversial issue because UHD has historically been an Open Admission institution. The forum provided the campus community with an opportunity to hear various speakers and proposals on the subject. It offered a broader context to the issues taking place in the state and throughout the nation.

It is important to point out that whatever automatic admissions standards are established, the majority of applicants will still be admitted to UHD, but through a process of review of other factors in their file. The small portion of students who are not admitted would be referred to nearby community colleges under a dual enrollment program, so that they could return to UHD as soon as they soon as they complete any deficiencies or requisites, or after completing an AA degree.

Dr. Steve Murdoch, a demographer, demonstrated convincingly that the Harris County population and Texas population is rapidly becoming majority Hispanic. Hispanics and African Americans are less likely to graduate from high school, and when they do, they are more likely to need remediation. They are also less likely to graduate from college within six years of graduation from high school.

High school graduates and college graduate earn significantly more money than those who do not finish high school or college. They buy homes, raise their families, pay more taxes, and make significant contributions to our society. Dr. Murdoch noted that over their life-times college graduates earn roughly a million dollars more than those who do not graduate from college.

Dr. Murdoch then made the point that without dramatic efforts to close the educational achievement gap, in twenty years or so Texas could face a $300 billion loss in earnings, tax revenue, and GDP. So, it is in everyone's interest to improve Hispanic and African American graduation rates.

Later, Coordinating Board Commissioner Raymund Paredes stated that "access without preparation is not opportunity." He argued that admissions standards are essential to communicate to middle school and high school students that they need to adequately prepare for college by taking the right courses and getting good grades.

Dr. Paredes said that the legislature will likely adopt policies to link higher education funding to graduation rates. In addition, Texas Guarantee scholarships are likely to become Need plus Merit, with requirements for GPA and class rank to qualify. He is also recommending that the incentives for increasing students who graduate, particularly in high need areas like STEM, be built into base. This would help UHD, which graduates a high proportion of STEM students through the Scholars Academy and has been recognized as a Star Performer by the Coordinating Board.

In the afternoon presentations were made by Ed Apodaca, VP for Student Services and Enrollment Management, and William Waller, chair of the Developmental Education Coordinating Council. Both recommended admissions standards. While there were some variation in their recommendations, most participants felt setting standards are essential for several reasons:

First, almost every public four-year university in Texas now has admission standards for entering freshmen. The exceptions are UHD and the University of Texas, Brownsville.

It may have made sense for UHD to be open admissions years ago, because many institutions in Texas were open admission. But, UHD's six-year graduation rate for FTIC (full-time, first-time freshmen)is 15%--or about 21% when you include students who start at UHD, who transfer and graduate from another public university. Most of our peers have graduation rates of twice that of UHD. So, it makes sense to keep pace with our peers.

And, adopting admission standards does have an impact on graduation rates. UTEP which was once open admissions, now has a combined six-year graduation rate of 32%. Prairie View A & M has raised its rates to 41%!

Second, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the federal government, and most reporting systems monitor six-year graduation rates. This hurts UHD, as it gives the impression that UHD does a poor job of graduating students. The fact is that only 25% of all new entering students each year are first-time, full-time freshmen. Most of our students are transfers from community colleges and other four-year institutions.

Third, federal guidelines now tie financial aid to "ability to benefit" and require that institutions pay-back federal financial aid dollars of students who do not make adequate progress, accumulate too many "F's" drops and withdrawals, or dropout of college without graduating.

Fourth, our students tell us that they are embarrassed that UHD has no admission standards. It gives the impression that UHD will admit anyone and doesn't portray UHD as the high-quality institution it has become.

Finally, and most importantly, students that are inadequately prepared have to take too many remedial courses and are likely to dropout. Currently, UHD loses two-thirds of its FTIC students by the end of the second year. Many of the students leave having accumulated students loans on average of about $11,000. They would have been better served at a community college, where they would have paid lower tuition and incurred fewer debts.

As Student Government president, Laura Sanchez explained, "Setting admissions standards is important. Students want to have pride in the institution where they graduate. Sadly, many don't right now--even though it's a great school."

Michelle Moosally, chair of the Faculty Senate, made the point at the close of the forum that setting admissions standards is only a small part of the bigger solution. I underscored that point, stating, "We can't just set admissions standards and think we have solved the problem. We have to implement campus-wide efforts to help retain and graduate students."

Over the next few months the discussions will continue as faculty, staff, and students review the proposals and, particularly, as faculty committees make recommendations as to the final standards to be proposed to the Regents and the Coordinating Board.

The discussion has begun. There is a long road ahead. But, everyone feels confident that UHD will be a stronger institution as we make these changes.

Monday, November 2, 2009

At the HACU Conference--Serving Hispanic Students

This week I attended the 23rd Annual Conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). I've been going to HACU conferences off and on for two decades.

At the Business meeting Sunday afternoon, I was elected to the Governing Board of HACU. This is a great honor, as I was nominated and elected to the position by fellow presidents.

HACU was formed to represent the interests of Hispanic Serving Institutions. At Monday's lunch, HACU recognized Dr. Max Castillo, former president of UHD, for his many years of service to HACU. He was also one of its founding members. HACU has grown to be one of the major higher education organizations in the nation. It now has 225 member universities (to be a member requires that at least 25% of student enrollment is Hispanic), over 100 associate members (colleges and universities with less than 25% Hispanic student enrollment), 49 international member universities, 57 corporate and agency partners, and 23 Hispanic Serving School Districts.

The U.S. Dept. of Education (USDE) provides special federal funding to eligible HSIs, and most federal agencies (such as USDA, DOI, DOE, and DOD) provide paid internship opportunities, co-ops, and specially-designated grants for HSIs. HACU has the largest internship program in the country. This year 680 interns will be placed with government agencies and corporate partners. HACU helped obtain funding for special programs, such as, Title V funding to support HSIs, including a new program which helps HSIs fund start-up costs for new graduate degree programs, especially in health care and STEM fields.

UHD is the only HSI in the UHD system. This is important because the University of Houston-Downtown is eligible for designated HSI grants or can be the lead organization in multi-university grants because of its HSI status. We are currently working with the UH System and the Vice Chancellor for Research to develop several multi-institutional grants with UHD as the lead partner.

The HACU annual meeting provides an important opportunity for colleges and universities to learn best practices, share experiences, network, and partner with corporate sponsors. During my trip I quickly reconnected with many old friends from New Mexico, California, New York, and Texas, as well as presidents, provosts, and deans from other institutions. I attended several workshops on recruitment, K-12 partnerships, work with first generation students, and STEM students. I also made contacts with several corporate sponsors that will be helpful to UHD.

In Spring 2010, UHD will host "HACU on the Road," where HACU representatives will come to Houston to showcase its work and programs. UHD will partner with local school districts, community colleges, four-year institutions, and CBOs like Houston Prep and Project Grad Houston, among others to host HACU.

HACU is a great organization and it's wonderful to be a member.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Thinking About a New Name....

This past week representatives from STAMATS, a higher education consulting group that is assisting the University of Houston-Downtown on its name change, visited the campus and met with students, alumni, faculty, and staff. The discussions were varied, but quite helpful. I had an opportunity to participate in a few of those meetings and would like to share my thoughts and observations.

As a new president, I arrived at a time of considerable change and controversy. A few years ago, the former president of the University of Houston-Downtown, Max Castillo, suggested that UHD change its name. Last year, after considerable discussion, the UH System Board of Regents voted to change the name of UHD. We are now in the process of selecting a new name.

There is a lot of unease and anxiety on campus. Understandably so. Alumni are proud of the institution they attended, as are our current students. Some feel they are being forced to give up a name they love. Others are worried that they will lose connection to UH.

Be assured that whatever name is ultimately selected, this campus will remain a very important part of the UH system. UHD, no matter what the name becomes, will remain Houston's University of access and opportunity. But, we are a long way from choosing a new name. At this point, we are simply renewing the discussion. STAMATS is helping us in that process.

There are a number of very good reasons for changing the name of UHD. First, unlike most systems, where there is usually one university from a university system in a city (such as U.T. El Paso, U.T. San Antonio, etc), Houston is home to four separately accredited universities from the same system, two of which are just a few miles apart from each other, UH, (often called 'main campus' or 'University Park campus') and UHD. UH is bigger and more established. It is a research university, has more alumni, and has a very good football team. So, UH clearly has established name recognition.

Proximity and similarity of names causes some confusion, which is the second problem. Many people do not realize that UH and UHD are two separate universities. Some students apply to one university, but show up at the other. Companies get confused when they are asked to give to UHD. Some respond, "We already gave scholarship money to the main campus." They don't realize that UHD is a separate university and must raise scholarship money for its own students.

Third, UHD lacks a clear identity. Very few people know what UHD does or can describe how it is different from UH. In fact, a survey done last year found that when Houston residents were asked to name four-year universities that serve the city of Houston, only 5 percent included the University of Houston-Downtown in their lists. Of those, a large portion thought UHD was a branch campus of UH, others thought it offers doctoral programs or had a Division I football team.

Fourth, UHD is located downtown, but our students come from all over Houston. Thirty years ago, 90 percent of our students resided within the inner loop. Today, that number is down to just 40 percent. UHD serves the entire city of Houston. We have students from as far south as Kemah and as far north as Montgomery County. We have learning centers in several parts of Houston. So, we are more than a downtown university--although we love our location! The current name simply does not reflect our service area.

Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, UHD is now in the process of planning for its future. We have begun discussions on where we can excel. We are developing exciting goals and work plans. We are laying the groundwork to build a very different university over the next few years.

This is a great opportunity to select not only a name, but to build our reputation as a new and very distinct university. You probably have already seen our billboards with the slogan, "At UHD, We are Making a Name for Ourselves!" Those are UHD students on those billboards. Several of the students have won major awards. In the coming months, we will be telling their stories, along with the stories of our great faculty, staff, and alumni. We are doing great things, and we will do a better job of getting the word out all over the city.

During this next year, we will make great strides in building a new university. We will build pride, we will build identity, and we will build reputation. And, Houston will know us by what we do. Help us to build that reputation and help us become a great university.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Going Good to Great II

On Friday of this past week, UHD held a second retreat. We expanded from 50 to roughly 70 faculty, staff, and students. This retreat applied the concept from "Good to Great" to UHD. Our faculty led the workshop and preparation. Doug TeDuits moderated, Akif Uzman (Natural Sciences) and Rob Jarrett (English) co-chaired.

In preparing for the workshop we had several work groups meet. One reviewed the UHD Mission, a second looked at possible Peers, a third examined Issues identified at the last retreat, and I prepared a few PowerPoint slides summarizing the G2G concept and how we might apply it to the University of Houston-Downtown.

If you know about Jim Collin's book, Good to Great, the Hedgehog concept is key. (See my earlier blogpost on Good to Great) You draw three circles. In the first is the organization's passion (or its mission). The second houses its resources and economic engine, and and the third circle lists where the organization excels and has the potential of being best in class. Where the three circles overlap, you find your potential BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).

In goal-setting, an organization can't set goals that are easy to attain, even if you have to stretch. You need to set goals so high (like reaching for the stars) that you must transform the organization to attain them. Here is a summary:

In the first circle, "What is UHD Passionate About?" groups came up with: student access, student success, community engagement, engaged citizens, diversity, high quality education, and student-faculty interaction.

In the second circle("What Can UHD Be Best At?") groups listed: having a holistic approach, student engagement, best Hispanic education, experiential learning, top unique academic programs, international education, best at educating non-traditional and diverse students, and student access.

In the final circle, "What Drive's UHD's Resource Engine?" the groups listed: funding (including all money inputs), partnerships, student success, faculty/staff, diversity and location, branding, graduate programming, effective data, technology and community.

In the final session of the day, groups listed possible BHAGs: leading in student success through experiential learning; becoming a 'communiversity' which links learning and engagement in all aspects of what we do; creating engaged citizens; leading in graduating minority students, particularly in the sciences; increasing retention and graduation rates by 3-5% a year through various interventions; creating a university where everyone can graduate; becoming the best darned public undergraduate university in Texas!

The process is not finished. And these are still very rough goals. But the discussions were lively and the groups engaged. So the process has begun for UHD. In the coming months, we will refine the process further, involve more faculty, staff, and students, and sharpen our circles and goals. I will describe what we are doing, as it unfolds, in future posts.

By the way, in our poll, nearly three-fourths of those who responded felt that UHD should focus on helping students to succeed.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Latinos and America's Future

This past week I spoke on the Julie Stav Show, a nationally syndicated, Spanish, talk-radio program about financial matters; attended a western regional conference focused on STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with educators and legislators, and hosted and was a panelist at the preview showing of the upcoming CNN special, “Latino in America,” which airs October 21st and 22nd. At these various events, I have raised several key points, some of which are in the book I co-edited, Latino Cultural Citizenship.

First, Latinos have come to America for the same reason that others have-- to create a better life for their families. We are Americans, but we also have the strong desire to retain our ethnic heritage and identity. Most of us speak English as our main language of communication, even so, we want to retain Spanish and encourage our children to learn Spanish.

Latinos are transforming America, just as they are transformed by it. That is the central thesis of Latino Cultural Citizenship, the notion that as Latinos claim space and rights, they also define themselves. How the country as a whole comes to grips with the growing Latino population is vital to the future of America. How so?

Currently, there are 46 million Latinos in the U.S. One out of every two new births in this country is Latino. That number will grow significantly by 2050. But, if Latinos continue to be under educated with high dropout rates and with lower college attendance rates and lower college graduation rates, it will cost this country billions of dollars.

A Pew poll found that 80% of Latino youth feel that college is important but only half feel they will ever attend college. According to U.S. census data, in 2006 of 100 Latino 9th graders, 53 will graduate from high school, 27 will enter college right after high school, and only 10 will graduate from college within six years of entering college. Ten out of 100!

According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, if the U.S. does not close the achievement gap of Latinos and African Americans, by 2020, it will cost the U.S. about $805 billion in lost revenues, taxes, productivity and income. By 2030, that number could grow to $1 trillion!

A recent study of U.S. workers in the global economy projects that by 2020, the U.S. will lack 15 million skilled workers, most of them in the STEM and high-knowledge areas, but also in health care and education. By 2030, the shortfall could reach 35 million. The Committee for Economic Development projects a decline of .29 percentage points a year, affecting incomes and Gross National Product, unless we increase college graduates, particularly in STEM fields.

The Latino population in this country is younger than the whites, Latinos currently account for 13 percent of the labor force. By 2020, Latinos will represent one-of-every six workers in America and one-fourth of new college applicants. By 2050, Latinos will account for one of every four workers in America and could represent one-of-every three students in college.

The future of America is bound up with the future of Latinos in America. So, we must increase the number of Latinos graduating from high school and going on to receive a college education. We have to address this issue. The future is here.

[By the way, 53% of those responded to our poll felt that the main obstacle to Latino success remains economic barriers and discrimination.]

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Challenging Times

I think all of us are worried about the future, especially if we have kids or grandchildren. Rising national debt, the pending end of Social Security and Medicare, the so-called 'jobless recovery' of the recession, massive unemployment, declining standards of living, low math and science achievement levels of K-12, and a depressing number of Americans who are losing their jobs, homes and their health care benefits. It's enough to make your head spin.

But, Americans are an optimistic and innovative people. We find solutions. We apply our creative energies. Take higher education. Students, whether they be those coming out of high school or adults needing re-training or a degree, realize that college is beneficial. In this economy, the one segment of the population that has been least likely to lose their jobs during this recession have been those with college degrees.

That doesn't mean that having an A.A., a B.A. or an M.A. will protect you, like some magic shield. Banks and Wall Street firms have closed, laying off thousands of accountants. Engineers are losing jobs at GM, as are line workers in assembly plants. But, in the 21st Century economy, college degrees are as essential as a high degree was in the 20th century.

That's why the massive cuts to higher education taking place in many states are both depressing and short-sighted. Students find few seats available in community colleges and public four-year universities.

Tuition, fees, books, and other costs associated with college have skyrocketed at many institutions. Student and parent indebtedness has risen far faster than income. More students are applying for financial aid and maxing out their credit cards. More parents are taking on second or third mortgages--even selling family possessions to pay for college. And students are working more hours.

Meanwhile, public universities compete for the "best" students and for rankings by U.S. News & World Report that emphasize the number of students a university rejects, rather than the number of working class or minority an institution graduates. So universities, rely more and more on test scores and less and less on need, increasing merit-based scholarships over need.

Don't get me wrong, I encourage merit and believe in raising standards in K-12 and higher education. America cannot compete internationally without improving achievement of our students and ensuring better learning by our students. I believe in rigor and excellence.

But, I am also committed to access and opportunity. I chose to be president of a university like UHD (and was excited to be selected as its president) because it is an urban, engaged, comprehensive university. Its students are overwhelmingly minority (31% Hispanic, 27% African American). It is also a New Generation university. UHD's students are commuters, work 30 hours or more, often have their own families, and usually are the first in their families to go to college.

By the way, UHD remains the best value in higher education in the region. It has one of the lowest tuition and fee structure in Texas combined with wonderful academic programs.

UHD is caught in a dilemma though. We have very little space at our campus. We teach night courses and weekend courses, as well as day courses. The campus is rapidly approaching the maximum size for its buildings. We need more buildings. We need to expand our courses to learning centers throughout Houston and expand our hybrid and online offerings.

But, we also confront our past as we embrace our future. UHD has been an Open Admission university--one of the few remaining in the country. Many of our students are not adequately prepared for college. A vast number of our students fail in the first semester or second semester and drop out. By the 21st day of the third semester, we lose 60% of first-time, full-time freshmen.

Many of these student leave the university with heavy debt (often ranging from $9,000 to $11,000). In addition, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, is concerned that UHD duplicates services better provided by community colleges--at a cheaper cost to the state and to the students.

In addition, the federal government has issued instructions to universities to admit students based on their "ability to benefit." It is concerned that several universities admit students, who then receive financial aid, that lack requisite skills for success. Those students then fail and often are unable to re-pay student loans. Meanwhile, accreditation bodies are increasingly tying re-accreditation to student outcomes as demonstrated in both learning outcomes and graduation rates.

So, the university is beginning a conversation on admission standards. Later this month, State Commissioner, Raymond Paredes, will visit UHD and address these changing needs, This is simply one part of an on-going discussion.

UHD is committed to opportunity, student success, and excellence. That will not change. If and when we adopt admission standards we will not set arbitrary standards, but rather we will adopt standards based on the ability of students to benefit and succeed. Our students will continue to be diverse and heavily first-generation, reflecting Houston.

We will expand our efforts to reach out to students in early grades to mentor them and prepare them for college. We will expand training of teachers and the civic engagement of our undergraduate students in HISD schools, as mentors, tutors, recruiters, and guides. We will expand dual credit and work closely with HISD and other high school districts on early college initiatives. We will expand our partnerships with Houston Community College and Lone Star Community College with joint admission programs.

We will recruit and graduate more students. And, we will continue our commitment to Houston's future. We will continue to be the First Choice of students who desire a university where they can learn and where they can succeed.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Health Care Insurance Reform

On Thursday, September 30th, I was part of a panel of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Second Annual Health Summit. Given the nationwide debate on health care insurance reform, the Summit was particularly timely.

The Health Summit began with a presentation by David Lopez, President and CEO of the Harris County Hospital District, who discussed his observations on Hispanic health disparities. Then, he, I and Randy Giles, CEO of United Healthcare, spoke for a few minutes and answered questions.

You might wonder why a university president is speaking about health care reform. Actually, I ran a small health center with several clinics. Later, I obtained my doctorate at Stanford in public policy with a focus on health care. These are some of the points I made in my presentation.

In 2007, according to the Journal of Health Affairs, total health care spending in the U.S. was $2.4 trillion or $7,900 per person, without addressing health care costs and extending insurance coverage to the uninsured and under-insured, total health care spending in the U.S. could rise to $8 trillion a year by 2025.

Health care and insurance costs are out-of-control. Medical tests and procedures, pharmaceuticals, lack of competition, malpractice insurance, among others, all affect the cost of health care and all are rising at rates faster than inflation. Health care insurance has simply skyrocketed.

In Texas, in the past nine years, average insurance premiums rose from $6,638 to $12,271 a 91.6% increase! By contrast, during the same period, wages rose only 19.7%. Of all states in the U.S., Texas ranks first in the percent of its population who are uninsured and first in the percent of non-elderly who are uninsured. One-fourth of Texans lack medical insurance. Roughly 60% of all uninsured Texans are Hispanic. That’s 3.4 million Texas Hispanics without health insurance.

The U.S. has more than 46 million people without medical insurance and 25 million people who are under insured. The recession exacerbated the problem as 7 million additional Americans have lost health insurance. Of the more than 3 million bankruptcies filed in the past two years, over half resulted from medical bills.

The U.S. spends nearly $100 billion per year to provide health services to the uninsured, often for preventable diseases or for those that physicians could have treated more efficiently with earlier diagnosis. The human cost is great. Last year a research team at Harvard Medical School estimated that roughly 45,000 Americans die each year as a direct result of lack of coverage.

The huge number of uninsured Americans costs all of us. Hospitals provide about $34 billion worth of uncompensated care each year. Another $37 billion is paid by private and public payers to cover the uninsured. According to the Baylor Health Care System estimates, patients with insurance are charged 150% of actual costs to offset costs for the uninsured. The Center for American Studies estimates that families pay about $1,000 of their annual premiums and individuals pay over $400 per year to cover the cost of providing medical care to uninsured patients.

Without health care insurance reforms those numbers will grow. Let’s hope that this time Congress will pass some form of medical insurance reform. It won’t be perfect, but it will be a starting point. We can’t wait another ten years to begin solving the problem.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Jazz Fest at Kemah

The University of Houston-Downtown held a wonderful alumni event this weekend at the Kemah Boardwalk during the 2009 Kemah Jazz Fest. We had alumni, supporters, faculty, staff, and friends of UHD, along with a few of the jazz musicians who preformed this weekend. I made a lot of new friends and was impressed by the many people who work with the Jazz Fest. I even got to present the 2009 Jazz Performer of the Year Award.

The Kemah Jazz Fest couldn't be held last year because of the aftermath of the hurricane, which damaged quite a bit of the boardwalk. You can still see the damage in other areas near the boardwalk. But, the Boardwalk and the Jazz Fest are back in their full glory.

The Kemah Boardwalk is great place. The event was held at the Kemah Inn owned by one of the UH System newest Regents, Tilman Ferttita, founder of Landry's, and owner of several restaurants in Houston. There are restaurants, a hotel and, of course, lots of rides for the kids. You can watch the sailboats, take a ride from the dock, kick-back and have a soda, or maybe a margarita or a beer, eat great food, and watch some of the best musicians in the country.

All of it is organized by one of the UHD faculty, Robert Wilson, in cooperation with the Houston Professional Musicians Association. Robert teaches English and jazz courses at UHD. He is also an award-winning musician. In fact, in the near future he will be honored in Austin as one of the Texas legends of music (Past award winners include Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn.) That's pretty amazing company. It says something about Robert and about UHD.

But Robert Wilson is not just a performer or educator, he also organizes two very successful jazz groups affiliated with UHD. Both performed on Sunday. The first group is the Young Sounds of Houston Jazz Orchestra made up of middle school and high school performers, most of the them Black and Latino, but it includes kids from all backgrounds and from all over Houston. They practice at Jeff Davis High School. Several of them became interested in jazz as a result of the Jazz Camps held each summer by Robert Wilson. Some started studying music as a result of their exposure to jazz. Most go on to college because of their participation in the Orchestra.

The quality of the music of the Young Sounds of Houston Jazz Orchestra is amazing. Their performances are tight, well-orchestrated, sophisticated and mature, with great solos. I could easily see these kids performing on a television show, like the Tonight Show. They are that good.

Late Sunday afternoon, the UHD Civic Jazz Orchestra performed with vocalist Julie Wilson, Robert's wife. She's an amazing performer who became interested in jazz as a result of studying Jazz at UHD in Robert's classes. Julie sang Frenesi in Spanish, an arrangement by Quincy Jones.

The UHD Civic Jazz Orchestra brings together adults (many of them professionals from throughout Houston) with high school and college students mixed in. Equally exciting is that the band members are joined by renowned musicians from all over the country who come each year to Kemah for one reason--because UHD educator, Robert Wilson, asked them. They get to play with him, other musicians, and with the young people--and they contribute to the jazz scene in Houston.

Great going Robert, thank you for all you do for UHD. Congratulations on your upcoming award!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Building a Team

A central tenet of the book Good to Great is "First 'Who' then 'What'." Or put another way, you have to work on the team. Wednesday and Thursday a little more than 50 University of Houston-Downtown leaders (faculty, staff, and students) met to discuss the issues affecting UHD, to discuss their views of leadership, how they might be better leaders, and how all of us might work together for a common purpose--making UHD a better university.

We were fortunate to have a nationally-known higher educational leader serve as our facilitator and guide, Dr. Tom Meredith, who served as president of Western Kentucky University, as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, as state Commissioner of Higher Education for Mississippi, and was Chancellor of the University System of Georgia. He understands higher education and colleges likes ours.

Tom was energetic and a helpful guide to our discussions. He also has a great sense of humor and a patient and calming attitude. He built in exercises to engage participants and kept us on schedule. But, I was most impressed with the attitude and energy of the participants. They worked hard, had many suggestions, and committed to continue to work together to extend the discussions throughout the campus and to lay basis for focus on where we go from here, the 'What' of Good to Great.

We identified barriers that hold back the university, issues that we have to address, and identified some priority areas which we will address in a follow-up retreat.

As we formally summarize the discussions, I will share them with the campus and on this blog. I am pumped.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Extending Our Reach

It's hard teaching distance education courses. I've done it. When I was at Fresno State, I drove to the Visalia campus twice a week and taught evening courses. I've taught ITV courses, hybrid, and a fully online course. Each course took a great deal of work to prepare and to deliver. And, there was a lot of late night driving back and forth from Visalia to Fresno for the face-to-face courses.

Both faculty members and students have to put up with a lot of frustrations. Traffic can be horrendous (especially in Houston), so you might arrive late to the learning center. ITV equipment or the computer server or Blackboard Vista (the software we use for the online and hybrid courses), as good as they are, occasionally break down or the system goes down. And, these courses are not cheap. The equipment costs a lot of money, as do the license fees. Understandably, you need to pay the faculty more to off-set their time and troubles. And, since the courses cost more, there are usually extra fees that the students must pay, althought that is not the case at UHD.

But, like it or not, distance education is the future, especially in Houston. Houston is the fourth largest city in the country, soon to be the third. If you count the University of Houston Victoria that is 123 miles from downtown Houston, Houston has ten public and private non-profit four-year institutions (not counting DeVry and the University of Phoenix). Chicago, which Houston will pass in population the next decade, has 40 four-year colleges and universities, including specialized schools.

Houston needs more access to higher education. Since it is unlikely that the state will approve construction of more universities, existing four-year institutions will fill the need through distance education. Other four-year institutions have set up centers in Houston or are offering programs online.

Distance education is critical to Houston and UHD's future. The Northwest Corridor will add 2 million residents over the next decade. That's the size of the current population of New Mexico, where they have seven four-year universities (three research universities) serving barely 2 million people. There is no four year institution in Northwest Houston. Other than UHD, the closest four-year schools are those of Texas A&M Prairie View and Sam Houston State University.

UHD has the best potential for serving the area. Only 40 percent of our students come from within the 610 loop. The rest come from throughout Houston. That need will grow. As the University of Houston moves to Tier One and adjusts its admission policy (from accepting the top 20 percent of high school graduates to accepting the top 10 percent), it will be vital that UHD fills the gap, not only on the downtown campus, but also via the learning centers and via online education.

On Friday, I received a tour of the many distance education sites where UHD offers courses. The trip took almost a full day to drive to all of the sites. The learning centers form an arc across the northern part of Houston from Cinco Ranch (West of State Highway 6 and South of Interstate 10) to Lone Star College-CyFair (along U.S. 290) to the new University Center near State Highway 249 and Louetta (the old Hewlett-Packard site) to the University Center along Interstate 45 in The Woodlands to Lone Star College-Kingwood on U.S. 59. At each site, we have great staff and faculty who serve as advisers. Some also teach. They are great ambassadors of UHD.

I was guided in the tour by the former distance education director, Gail Evans, the Provost, Molly Woods, and the new interim director of distance education, Louis Evans (no relations to Gail.) Gail drove. Along the way, each of them gave me a description of the city and areas we were passing, the programs we offer, the staff there, and the history and politics behind each site.

Faculty members have to be recruited for the programs. Some of our faculty live in the area where we offer the courses. It's convenient to them and they like teaching a portion of their courses at those sites. In some cases, their courses can be beamed by instructional television to our site downtown or faculty can augment their teaching with online materials and instruction. Either way, they like it. In other instances, we have to hire adjuncts from the region or pay extra for our faculty to drive in the afternoons and evenings to teach courses at the various sites. It is hard to build a consistent core of offerings, but that is essential for the students there.

In most cases, UHD is just one of several public higher education institutions offering courses. Degrees have to be approved to be offered In Multiple Institution Teaching Sites, where several public universities offer degrees. The problem is exacerbated by politics. Some institutions declare there intention to offer degrees (usually a whole list of them). Then, because of limitations on their own campuses (budget or lack of faculty support), they never offer the degrees. But, nobody else can either. What seems like a great system, doesn't always work in real life.

Meanwhile, for-profits, like the University of Phoenix or DeVry, can offer any degree they want. They don't need the approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or the legislature. They can start up a program face-to-face or online. They can add bachelor's or master's degrees based on market demand. By contrast, if a public university wants to add a degree, the institution has to apply for the right to offer the degree. It takes a long-time to get the approvals at the various levels. And, there may not be any demand for the degree once it is finally approved.

But, even if you have the authorization to offer the degree, you may run into problems. At some sites, UHD has plenty of demand. We have faculty who want to teach there, but can't get classrooms or are bounced from one classroom to another. It can be very disconcerting to faculty and to students.

Even so, the need is growing. And, UHD wants to take our degrees and courses where they are needed. So, our faculty drive north. We hire faculty to teach who live there. And, we expand our online offerings, including full-degree programs. There's lots of work ahead and as I visit the sites more, I will get better acquainted with the city--or lost a lot. Either way, I'll be learning too!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Celebrating Mexican Independence

In every city that I've lived, there have been some type of celebrations for the 16th of September, the commemoration of "El Grito" of Father Hidalgo in Mexico in 1810.

This launched the Mexican revolution against Spain. It also spurred other independence movements throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The celebrations are often organized by the Mexican Consulates. Parades are usually organized by community groups to celebrate Mexican Independence, but also to honor and recognize organizations here in the U.S.

Houston has its celebrations too. Saturday morning I went to the Fiestas Patrias Parade in downtown Houston, which starts at Minute Maid Park and snakes through a few blocks of the downtown East of Main. There were floats, marching bands, a queen and her court, ROTC bands, fire trucks, the media, and most of the people running for office in Houston. These parades are very multi-ethnic and Houston is no exception. The marching bands had kids from every racial and ethnic group. There were high schools, middle schools, even K-12 charter schools and private academies.

And, of course, there was music. Norteño, salsa, mariachi,and hip-hop. Those that walked passed out flyers for their group,cause or politician, and gave out candy, T-shirts, beads, or other trinkets.

This is a family event, where parents bring their kids. Vendors sell balloons, soda, Mexican flags and tacos. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday evening, I joined Adolfo Santos (chair of the Social Sciences Dept. at UHD) and his wife, Betin, at the Mexican Institute Banquet. A Black Tie event, the banquet honored the 199th anniversary of the independence of Mexico and the 188th anniversary of independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. There were consuls from each country, members of the Hispanic Chamber board, judges and elected officials and local business people. The event honored Mexican Consul General Carlos González Magallón, with whom I met a few days earlier. We spoke of joint work, including cultural and educational exchanges.

I also was introduced, as was the newly-selected Superintendent of Houston Independent School District, Terry Grier. I met Grier, and his wife Nancy, and had a brief opportunity to talk with him about how UHD and HISD could work together, especially on dual credit. A joint reception for both of us is being planned by one of the board members.

It was a wonderful event with great music, great food, and a silent auction, and of course all of us wanted to bid on at least one item. I came home with a beautiful pewter dish. I'm so glad that Adolfo convinced me to attend.

Sunday night, I headed to Jones Hall to watch the Houston Symphony for the 17th annual Chevron Fiesta Sinfónica Familiar. Selections from composers from Mexico, Argentina and Spain were featured. Alondra de la Parra conducted. She is the first woman from Mexico to conduct in New York City and serves as Cultural Ambassador for Mexican tourism. The show featured a performance of Spanish classical guitar by Pablo Sáinz-Villegas from Spain.

The theater was packed by 5:30 p.m. with more Hispanics than I have ever seen in a Symphony in the U.S. Amazingly, the coughing and crying kids quieted as soon as the music began. I bought a CD and Sáinz-Villegas autographed it--and I ran into several people from UHD and the Hispanic Chamber.

It was a wonderful concert and a great way to celebrate Mexican Independence.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Preserving Families

On Thursday, I was the keynote speaker at the Family Preservation Conference held at Houston’s Reliant Crown Plaza. When I was invited to speak I really wasn’t sure that I had the time to prepare a presentation and wasn’t convinced that I was the right person to be presenting. After all, it had been a long time since I had worked in mental health. But Alvin Sallee of New Mexico State University and a founder of the Family Preservation Institute urged me to speak, saying, “It is in your blood. It’s what you’ve been doing all your life.”

So with that encouragement and still very little time to work on a speech, I decided to present on both my works in New Mexico with the Consortium for Behavioral Health, Training, Evaluation and Research (CBHTER), and my work many years ago at the Centro de Bienestar in San Jose. I also the Behavioral Health Collaborative, which consists of eighteen agencies working together to coordinate and improve behavioral health services in New Mexico.

All of this work is consistent with family preservation, which is holistic, believes in empowering family members, and promotes advocacy, education, and the improvement of family life. Family preservation believes that, in most cases, strengthening and preserving the family is better than removing children from the family unit. It assumes that family remediation works, that family members can learn new behaviors and that social workers can help promote that process.

The work of the Centro de Bienestar was similar. Centro de Bienestar in English means the Center for Well-Being. It was founded on a perspective that the social fabric, families and social networks, are important elements for community mental health.

Under this perspective, the individual is viewed in the context of their social setting, including the family. Where possible, social networks—friends, family, the church and other important part of that fabric are brought to bear on the healing process. We recognized that social work and therapeutic techniques evolve based on the needs of clients and society.

I explained that we had formed cross teams that included social workers, clinical psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists, community mental health workers, etc. Community mental health workers were encouraged to pursue certificates and degrees, and several became licensed therapists.

I discussed some of these approaches and urged conference participants to take a research and practice approach: to apply what they learn, write and present on their practices, and share their work with others as many had done at the conference I also urged them to consider the public policy implications of their work, to advocate for their clients, and to advocate for changes in law and policy that benefit their clients, family preservation, and society.

I ended with a couple of quotes on family. Alex Haley, author of “Roots,” wrote: “In every conceivable manner, family is the link to our past, the bridge to our future.” Preserving family preserves society, and it too is a bridge to the future. Finally, I quoted a sign I read at a barber shop: “Families are like fudge…mostly sweet with a lot of nuts.” It’s our job to bring it all together.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Convocation: At UHD, We Are Making a Name for Ourselves!



View the Convocation at:
http://www.uhd.edu/presidentsoffice/videoconvocation09.html

Last week's Convocation was truly memorable. My wife, Celina, flew in from Santa Fe and visited for a few days. She came to meet faculty and staff and to attend the Convocation. A very good friend of ours, Alice, who lives in Kemah, drove up to be there too. They enjoyed the event and meeting faculty and staff afterwards.

The program began with very good presentations by both Karen Alfaro, president of the Staff Council, and Michelle Moosally, president of the Faculty Senate. Both presentations spoke about the importance of their two organizations. Karen encouraged staff to attend the meetings and get involved in the Staff Council. Michelle explained the important issues that the Faculty Senate is addressing.

I welcomed everyone and introduced some of the heroes of UHD, students, faculty, and staff who are doing exciting work and helping UHD to make a name for itself.I stressed that UHD has a wonderful opportunity. We can define who we are. We will tell our story. We will pride in the institution by stories of the great things are faculty, staff, students, and alumni accomplish every day.

I spoke about the challenges and the opportunities. Take the time to view the video and let me know what you think of the presentation. Also, if you haven't responded to the President's Survey, please do.

To complete the survey online, go to the survey or fax your comments to UHD President at (713) 221-8075.

Great Faculty, Great Students, Great Alumni


A week ago today, I met with alumni from ExxonMobil who are great supporters of UHD.

They give money to UHD for scholarships, help with internships, and mentor students at UHD to prepare them as professionals for the industry. They told me how much they love UHD, their experiences here and their desire to help mentor students and provide them with interships.

Last Wednesday, I met with 90 students in an expanded Council of Student Organizations meeting. I heard their concerns and their suggestions. They love UHD, but are frustrated, especially about parking and food service. They want more places to meet. They want the cafeteria and bookstore to be open for evening students. They want more student study areas, more meeting rooms, a dormitory and a student union. Several students also expressed interest in practice fields for soccer and baseball.

As one student said, "We want to have a community here, and we need space to build one.” I said that later in the year or early next year will initiate initial discussions for a new master plan for the University. When we do, students will definitely be part of the planning process.

I also made a presentation to the UHD Faculty Senate last week. I explained that I strongly support shared governance. I've been a faculty senator, since I was president of a college faculty assembly in the School of Social Sciences at Fresno State, and that I have always included faculty in key meetings, whether they deal with budget, positions or policy.

I explained that I support a 4-3 teaching load (which means that faculty teach four courses one semester, and three courses the other), so that faculty can follow their passion, whether it be developing a new courses, mentoring students or a newly-hired faculty member, initiating service learning projects, undertaking new research, completing a scholarly article, or preparing online courses.

Of course, a move from a 4-4 teaching load to 4-3 is expensive. It will cost us more than $2.5 million a year, but it is an investment in the future of the University. It also helps us retain faculty and attract and hire new faculty.

We can work together to greatly improve the University. In addition, there is much to be done, especially in retaining and graduating students.

And, we are very fortunate. While public universities in several states face hiring freezes, furloughs, and layoffs, UHD hired new faculty last year, we will do searches this year and next for a total of 40 faculty in three years. This year and next, we will hire a total of 28 new tenure-track faculty members, which is about 12 percent of our current tenure track faculty. We are hiring for the future and need to think about the needs of UHD in the future.

I made the point that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Internet. The entering freshman class of 2020 just began second grade. For those students, Wikipedia has always been the only encyclopedia they used. Google has always been where they go first to find answers, and phones have always taken pictures that can be sent to friends or uploaded to Facebook and Web sites. Friends have always sent text messages or called each other on a cell phone.

According to the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” by 2020, students will take 60 percent of all college courses online. We need to start planning for that world. We need to hire faculty that are comfortable in that world.

But, I also want to ensure the success of those faculty and asked the Faculty Senate to give me plans for mentoring new faculty, so that we can help them to succeed. I also asked the Faculty Senate also to provide me with recommendations on establishing a task force or committee to review roles and rewards.

I want to make sure we align those things we ask faculty to undertake with the most important rewards--tenure and promotion. Clearly, there is something wrong if we tell faculty we want them to mentor students or develop online courses, and then refuse to consider that work for promotion or tenure.

I have also asked the Faculty Senate to review departmental guidelines for tenure and promotion to ensure fairness and alignment of roles and rewards. I understand that each department will establish its own guidelines for tenure, but they should fit within the mission of our university and the expectations of all faculty members for teaching, research and service.

Finally, I want to build our research capacity. I explained that I met with the Vice Chancellor for Research for the University of Houston System Don Birx. He is going to help us build our research program. UH has workshops for faculty on grant writing. He will bring those workshops here. UH has a search engine and newsletter for research opportunities. Our faculty will access to those resources. We will work together on grants develop a plan for growing our research program here at UHD.

I'm truly impressed with the faculty at UHD. They are committed to our students and we need to give them the tools and support that helps their success. I thank the president of the Faculty Senate, Michelle Moosally, for inviting me and providing me with the opportunity to address the faculty leadership on campus. I look forward to working with the Senate.

During the fall semester, I will visit each of the colleges and try to meet with as many departments, as possible. I have already begun to meet faculty as I stroll the campus and as I hold focus groups. We will work together to continue to build UHD as a great university and a great place to spend your career.

Friday, August 28, 2009

First Week

Wow! The past ten days have been crazy. Lots of activity. Lots of meetings. Last week I met with former Texas Lt. Governor Bill Hobby, a truly impressive man who has left his mark on Texas, the University of Houston System and UHD.

This week classes began. We had lots of students unable to find parking spots, elevators that didn’t work, and new students and faculty wandering the halls trying to find their classrooms. It was a typical first week.

But, I have had amazing experiences the past seven days. I had an opportunity to meet with State Rep. Sylvester Turner, who strongly supports UHD. Later in the week, Laura Murrillo, president and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, interviewed me for an upcoming edition of her new television show, “Contacto.” The next day, I attended the Hispanic Chamber’s breakfast meeting.

I spent time with Texas Southern University President John Rudley who is transforming Texas Southern University. I am very impressed with his team and what he has accomplished in a short period of time. We discussed several possible joint projects such as joint research and faculty exchanges.

Friday, I visited with the Model UN team and addressed the Scholars Academy Orientation. Both groups are doing amazing things. The Model UN Team consists of some of the brightest students on campus. They take seriously their role as representatives of UHD. In fact, last year, their first year on campus, they sent teams and won awards in Mexico, New York, and Paris. They have formed a Houston Model UN competition, with teams coming from around the world, hosted by UHD.

The Scholars Academy brings together undergraduate students interested in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and engages them in research with faculty. This is a great opportunity and not one readily found at many four-year universities. These students go on to present their research projects at national conferences. They also attend sessions that prepares them for the GRE and graduate study. The program has great students and truly dedicated faculty.

In my presentation, I emphasized how the U.S. is losing its competitive edge to other countries and is being outpaced in the production of scientists and engineers by both China and India. I told them that we want them to succeed at UHD and, in fact, to go on to get a master’s or Ph.D. I congratulated them for being in the program and ended by saying, “You are the future who can help America maintain its innovation edge, so that it can continue as the strongest economy in the world.”

Later, I joined others from UHD and headed off to view the new Lone Star College site off Texas 249 that was part of the Hewlett-Packard complex (formerly the Compaq site). Lone Star College, UH, UHD, and several other universities will offer degrees there. It's an impressive property. A million square feet. Houston needs it to meet the demand for higher education there. Houston’s Northwest Corridor will see growth of 2 million new residents in the next decade. Demand is already growing for bachelor’s degrees and the demand will continue to grow through 2020.

We have a lot of work to do before we start programs there. We are still negotiating the lease terms. Renovations have to get under way and faculty must be hired. Nevertheless, we are on the ground floor ready to go!

This has been a fabulous first week of classes. Headaches, sure, but we are moving forward. Stay Tuned!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

First Day of Class

It's been a long day and evening. In fact, I am posting this at 1:24 a.m. So, it's a Tuesday, but to me it is still Monday night.

Earlier tonight, a friend asked me, "How was the first day of you first week of your first semester as president." With one word, I smiled and replied, "Wonderful."

I'm not sure what I expected. Fanfare and balloons? A marching band? No, not at UHD. I was curious how they would celebrate the new semester. Every campus is different on the first day of class.

I arrived early this morning. The lines are longer in some areas, but shorter than I expected. At UHD, the wait for the elevator was endless. I watched students pour out of the MetroRail and wait to get into the doors of the main building. The third floor, which serves as the main lobby and student union, was packed.

After several morning meetings, at 11 a.m., I donned my Gator T-shirt and made for the main deck. I expected to be crushed by the many freshmen pushing their way to class and through the long lines of registration. I was pleasantly disappointed.

There were plenty of students, but the lines were very reasonable. Most had made it through registration and financial aid last week. There were lots of students in the bookstore. Staff and volunteers stood behind tables offering goodies: pens, water, snow cones, and yellow Gator T-shirts.

Outside in the South patio a volunteer challenged me to throw a basketball. A member of the Weight Team had just won a prize. He told me he is excited, because this year we have a very good team. Last year, the team received several awards.

My first shot skidded off the backboard and into the hoop. I should have stopped there. I learned that the volunteer is both a student and the director of a program in the community. We talked about her program and how we might get more students involved. Then, I threw again, the ball just slid off the rim. I joked, "I hope I make a better president than a basketball player."

On the north end, near the MetroRail, a large air-filled rubber Gator with a goofy smile bobbed in the wind. It was about ten feet tall. Like any good president being followed by students and egged on by a cameraman, I shook hands with the Gator. I was quickly joined by a woman who works in the bookstore. We took a picture under the mascot. I probably wore the same goofy smile as the Gator.

I then learned that we have a cheer-leading squad. Cheerleaders? Yep, in red with white skirts, except, of course, for the lone male cheer leader who is tall and could easily be a basketball player. The cheer leading team is pretty good. I watched them do a cheer. They lift up the squad leader, swung her in the air and caught her. I chanted along with them. Then, I had my picture taken with the whole crew.

Afterward, I went to the cafeteria, spoke with students and had lunch. What can I say, it's a cafeteria! Actually, the food wasn't bad and there were more choices today than last week (as more food stations were open). They even have sushi!

As usual, much of the day was filled with meetings. I continue to meet faculty and staff. Every day I learn more. Today, I realized that I have gained a sense of the buildings. I actually helped several students and two lost parents find their way through the maze.

At the end of the day, as I walked toward the elevators, several students asked me if I was their professor. It was understandable, after all, I wore a tie and carried a brief case.

The heavy rain had backed-up traffic. I explained that students and professors were tied up trying to get in and out of the parking lots. In fact, it was worse than I expected. Students were double-parking, rushing out of their cars to make it to class. The city police were giving out tickets. Some cars parked illegally were towed.

But, most students and most instructors made it to class, if not on time, at least dry. The pouring rain stopped just before the beginning of the evening onslaught of night students. Student lined the hallways. Some sat on floors waiting for the beginning of class.

UHD at night is different than during the day. The students are older. Most of them work at nearby locations. You see more adults in their 30s or 40s. I ran into an older man who I mistook as a professor. It turns out he is a 60 year old student--a former business owner, taking economics with the hope of beating the stock market. Good luck to that!

As I drove with a friend to have dinner with colleagues from the University of Houston campus, I smiled. It was like any other campus on the first day of the semester: crowded, not enough parking, and long lines at the bookstore.

But, there was patience among the students. I bet on these students. They're going to do well. They are serious. They are determined. They are Gators!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Bon Appetit

Downtown Houston is unlike other cities I have lived in or visited. It doesn't have the fresh markets of Paris (although it does have a Farmer's Market downtown on Saturday mornings). You have trouble finding a place to have coffee and turn on your laptop on the weekend.

It doesn't have the Korean markets that are always open and where you can buy salads or prepared food (usually measured and charged by the pound), as does New York. And, unlike Manhattan, it isn't teeming with rushing pedestrians.

But, neither does Houston have the smell of diesel and less pleasant stenches that are ever-present in parts of Manhattan. In fact, it is a surprisingly clean city with relatively clean air.

Even more frustrating, the tunnels, which have many fast food or chain restaurants, salons, etc.--and which provide shelter from the raging heat--are only open weekdays from 9 or 10am to 3pm (with a few shops that remain open until 6pm). Even the downtown Macy's is closed on Sundays!

Houston does have the constant ring of the MetroRail, the sirens of ambulances and police, the incessant blare of alarms set off when someone brushes against then or teenagers intentionally bang their sides. You would think that would bother me, but I usually sleep well (well, for me, as I usually only sleep 4-6 hours).

But, I miss the luxury of a Cappuccino on Sunday mornings sipped as I leisurely peruse the New York Times. I miss hold the Times in my hands and flipping through the pages. I settle for my home-made brew, this morning it was Bustelo and the NY Times , which I read from my laptop. There is a nice cafe near the university, but none near the condo and nowhere to have breakfast on Sunday, unless I drive to Midtown or Montrose.

Later in the day, I did read the Houston Chronicle's Sunday paper as I sipped on a bottle of water, waiting for Julie and Julia at the Angelika Theater--which I loved. Yesterday, I watched the Tarantino flick, Inglorious Bastards, which would have been over the top for any other director, but for Tarantino it was restrained, with gore inflicted on Nazis. It included a reinterpretation of history, a separate reality, if you will, one that the audience could easily embrace.

I love the fact that I can walk to see a movie or ride the MetroRail to one of the museums, drop in at night to partake of jazz or blues, and walk back to the apartment from an Astros game--when the sky has been cleansed by a quick storm. I often watch the lightening from my condo or from a restaurant window.

Sunday, I walked around the city, enjoyed the film, and inhaled the city. This afternoon I plugged in my new GPS unit and headed off to explore the city, only to find that the GPS didn't work downtown because of the high-rise buildings. It did work once I left the region of skyscrapers.

I'm getting to know some of neighbors in the condo, although, like New York, it is still just to say "Hi." But, I know several of them by name. I even know the names of some of their dogs, as I run into them early morning or at night, as they walk their pets.

After seeing Julie and Julia, I wished I could take the time to prepare a wonderful meal. I miss my kitchen in Santa Fe, my stove, and all of the wonderful cookbooks. I miss sitting in the backyard with the BBQ, wine, and friends and, of course, I miss Celina and her daughters, Erin and Annie. My daughter, Diana, may come to visit in a few weeks. But, for now, I must be content with seeing the flick, calling Celina and talking about it, and toasting them all from Houston with a fine Bordeaux!

Today, I did view a few Open Houses in the Montrose and Upper Kirby areas. Ouch! Everything I saw was over $700,000. Even small town houses were over $500k. The condo is looking better and better.

Downtown Houston rightly boasts about its many wonderful restaurants. I have only sampled a few, but the list is growing. I might try a seafood pasta tonight or crab cakes with an Albarino or Pinot Noir. As Julia Child would say, "Bon Appetit!"

Friday, August 21, 2009

Going 'Good to Great'

Charlie Rose - JIM COLLINS - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.


I am attaching an interview of Jim Collins that appeared on Charlie Rose some time back. I purchased a stack of 'Good to Great' and this week distributed the books and other materials to 50 people and various groups on campus to begin a discussion at UHD. The discussion and survey (see "What Do You Think?" below) are part of a broad process to better know the campus and the community.

I am asking UHD students, staff, faculty, alumni, and supporters to help us better understand the areas in which we excel, those where we are doing pretty good, and those areas where we are doing poorly or should stop doing. In the survey and focus groups, I am asking, "If you were president of UHD for one day, what one thing would you do to improve UHD?"

I think the University of Houston-Downtown is a very good university, doing a very good job. Our students, for the most part are the first in their families to go to college. The student body is very diverse. UHD is 31% Hispanic and 26% African American, with a large number of foreign-born students from many countries in the world.

UHD is a commuter campus and a majority of the students work 30 hours or more. Most of our students transfer from community colleges or from other four year institutions. They take courses that fit into their schedules. Many students take years to earn their degrees.

I've been very impressed with the commitment of faculty and staff. They work hard to help our students succeed. And, the faculty and staff do a wonderful job. But, every institutions can improve, every institution can get better.

The book "Good to Great" essentially argues that you have to understand your core values and your mission. It urges organizations to stare in the mirror and examine the "brutal facts"--where you are strong, where you are weak, and where you have serious problems; and, then, decide what you are going to do better than anyone else.

Collins urges organizations to examine the facts, decide where their passions lie, and what they can be the best in the world at doing. In his research, he found that similar companies often proceeded on very different trajectories. Some became great organizations, while others floundered or even withered and died.

The great organizations had strong teams, selected a singular focus, concentrated their energies and resources, and became great at what they did. The others didn't. Even in turbulent times, some universities will flourish and become great, others will not. If you fail to adjust to changing world, students and faculty may pick other institutions. Foundations and donors may decide to put their money elsewhere.

Before I came to Houston, I witnessed a sad event--a very good private Liberal Arts college, the College of Santa Fe, closed its doors. I was part of the Task Force put together by Governor to try to save the college. As a result, the state and city stepped in and are trying to buy the land. The hope is to preserve the facility both as a city-run learning center (with the community college and four-year institutions offering degree programs). The city is negotiating with a private, for-profit which is interested in leasing some of the facility. But, the College of Santa Fe no longer exists.

Public universities face turbulent times. Several states are dramatically cutting back on funding for higher education. Universities have raised tuition, reduced faculty and staff, cut programs, and, in some cases, stopped funding new facilities. Every institution has to take a good look at itself. What we are doing? Where are we headed? How can we do a better job?

Over the next few months at UHD, we will examine what we do and how we can do it better. Listen to the interview, read the book, participate in the survey, and help us as we take the journey to become the very best at what we do.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Helping Students Achieve Their Dreams

The August 19th issue of U.S. News &World Report has an article by Michael Bowler on the high drop-out rates in four-year colleges: (http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2009/08/19/dropouts-loom-large-for-schools.html). At many universities, including UHD, drop-out rates by the end of the sophomore year approach or exceed 60%.

Bowler presents several interventions that have been developed at universities across the country, most of which UHD is already doing. Here are some of the solutions mentioned in the article.
1) Start college preparation early with orientation programs; (We already work closely with local high schools and middle schools and we offer orientation programs for freshmen, transfer students and international students.)
2) Revamp remedial learning with modular and 'accelerated learning.’ (We are doing this too.)
3) Develop concurrent enrollment. (We offer dual-credit courses at four nearby high schools and offer dual-enrollment options at local community colleges.)
4) Make sure no one falls through the cracks. (This is an area where we can improve.)
5) Make college more engaging. (We have projects under way through the Quality Enhancement Program and through our civic engagement and sustainability efforts.)
6) Expand online and hybrid courses. (We have made progress in this area, but we also have much work to do.)

Wednesday, when I met with the UHD Deans and the Provost, I hadn't seen the article in U.S. News &World Report, but all of us know retention and graduation rates are important areas where we need to improve. I reiterated a point I made before the staff of the Student Success and Enrollment Management Division last week --“When you think about it, our main mission as an institution is to help students succeed so they can achieve their dreams.” I have asked the Deans to launch discussions on how we might improve retention and progress to degree.

Nobody starts college because they want to drop out, especially these days. They come to college to pursue their dreams: to be a nurse, a teacher, a doctor, an astronaut, an engineer, an accountant or a lawyer. Those who fail or have to drop out postpone their dreams or, in some cases, never achieve them.

Worse, students quickly accumulate debt with loans, credit cards and unpaid bills. And, if they drop out with 'Ds', 'Fs' and 'Ws', it is difficult for them to get back into college and back on track.

So, we want to improve retention and graduation rates, which will take some thought and intervention. This year we are adding eight new advisers to help students navigate the curriculum and requirements for their majors.

Retaining students is also important to the institution. If you think about it, students bring revenue to the University. Add up the amount of money each student pays in tuition and fees, along with the amount provided to the institution through state appropriations. That is a lot of money.

Each UHD graduate invests, borrows or generates through appropriations about what it costs to buy a brand new BMW to receive a degree! That's just about what it costs on average to add one new staff position at UHD. Two students bring in about what it costs the university to add a new faculty line. Ten students will get you a long way to upgrading a lab. Clearly, it is critical to retain students, especially in difficult financial times.

Don't misunderstand me. I am certainly not saying that students are just like BMWs. We are not in higher education to make money or to generate resources. Nor do we want to think of students as commodities. Rather, as faculty and staff we entered our professions because we enjoy helping others succeed. We love teaching, research, service and because probably along the way someone encouraged us to get a college degree. That's why we are here. For most of us this is more than a job; it is a calling.

But, it is in our interest to improve student retention and graduation rates. Every student lost is a loss to society. They are valuable. They are cherished. They are our future. Society as a whole loses out when a student drops out, because that might be one less teacher, one less nurse, one less social worker or one less scientist.

Right now, UHD and other institutions like us, lose a lot of students. Some aren't prepared for college. Others have financial problems. They leave for different reasons. But, at present, UHD loses over 60% of its first-time freshmen by their fifth semester.

So, I have asked the deans and vice presidents to give thought to this problem. And, I will be asking the campus community to consider how we can dramatically improve retention and graduation rates. We must do a better job for the sake of our students. Let us all help students achieve their dreams.