About Us

Dean's Message

Ted Estess
Honors College Dean

We in The Honors College are extremely interested in the lives that our students live before they arrive here. After all, it is on the basis of their past accomplishments that they are invited to join the Honors community at the University of Houston.

But we are also extremely interested in the lives that our students live after they graduate. While in New York recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with some twenty-five Honors alumni who live in the area. Over dinner, these alumni swapped stories of their undergraduate years. It was clear to me that each had achieved what I often think are the two goals of an undergraduate education: to learn a lot, and to have a lot of fun.

I was all the more pleased and proud to learn of their experiences since graduating. Niki Clegg—who came to our College from South Africa as a varsity swimmer—completed her Ph.D. at the University of California in San Francisco and is now at Sloan Kettering, one of the best places for cancer research in the country. Tina Lee is finishing her Ph.D. at the City University of New York. Ravi Thakur—who majored here in Philosophy and French—spent six or eight years working in Europe, and is now a Senior Vice President with Dreyfus Investments, a major mutual fund company. Josh Breeden did graduate work in architecture at Columbia University and is now with a firm in the City.

Five attorneys attended the dinner. Two did their law degrees at New York University, another at the University of Houston, one at Boston College, and one at Indiana University. If ever I have need of an attorney in NYC, I will be in good hands with any one of these Honors graduates!

Sometimes I am asked what I wish for our Honors students when they graduate. These NY Honors alumni give an answer: while undergraduates, they distinguished—and enjoyed—themselves. Now, some years later, they are doing the same. And, in their various ways, each of them is helping to make the world a better place.

With the example of these Honors alumni in mind, then, I encourage prospective students to apply for admission to the College. Let me know if you need any assistance along the way. And to alumni reading this message, we in the College want to hear about the various ways in which you are continuing to distinguish—and to enjoy yourself.

Best wishes,

Ted Estess, Dean