Report to the
University of Houston System Board of Regents
February 15, 2007

Joseph A. Kotarba, President
University of Houston Faculty Senate

I would first like to thank Dr. Gogue for the opportunity to address the Board of Regents today, and I will keep my comments brief.  Senate President-elect Wynne Chin joins me in wishing all of us a productive year as we continue to navigate the University of Houston System toward greatness.       

On behalf of the faculty of the University of Houston System, I want to thank Chairman Hermes, Vice Chairman Cemo and the other distinguished members of the Board for your tremendous dedication to higher education.  As President of the Faculty Senate at the University of Houston, I realize that my one-year term of office forces me to prioritize my goals.  We must continue to work towards the key goals set by my predecessors: to grow the faculty in size in order to place it on a plane with those faculties of the great research universities in our nation; to continue to improve the quality of our teaching so that our students can leave the University of Houston with degrees that allow them to compete with the graduates from any other university—for jobs, careers, admission to graduate and professional schools, and for leadership positions in their communities; and to grow the total university community so that South Cullen becomes a destination for many, many people who want to learn, live, experience the arts, and entertain new and exciting ideas.

As President, I also have the responsibility—and opportunity—to activate my vision for the University of Houston a bit.  That vision can be summarized in the role of the professor, and the potential that role holds.  As I now speak to a group of citizens who have achieved great honor in the professions, in commerce, in law, and in community service, need I tell you that professors are an unusual breed of employee?  Professors work long hours, work with students beyond what is required by normal course loads, serve on seemingly endless committees and taskforces, why?—ultimately, for the love of ideas.  I believe that we can help the University of Houston achieve greatness by discovering ways to invest in its professors to nurture that love for ideas that the university is really all about.  Put differently, we must grow the faculty qualitatively as well as quantitatively.

I hope I get the opportunity in the coming months to update you on specific aspects of this mission.  I invite you to join us in pursuing the following kinds of tasks:

·       To grow the faculty intellectually, for example, by increasing the opportunity for professors to travel to professional meetings and to share their work with colleagues at other institutions.

·       To grow the faculty in terms of leadership, for example, by helping professors move beyond a traditional “love it or hate it” relationship with intercollegiate athletics, to a constructive, collaborative relationship.  We will strengthen our leadership role in the Coalition for Intercollegiate Athletics that is working for athletics reform at a national as well as local level; and

·       To grow the faculty in term of the University of Houston System.  There are two events planned for this year that will bring professors together from all four universities—and to which the Regents are of course invited.  The first is a conference on international study to be held at UH Clear Lake on March 30^th.  My colleagues at UH Victoria, Downtown and Clear Lake have done a marvelous job organizing this event.  We will discuss faculty exchange programs, teaching abroad programs, and low-cost ways to collaborate internationally.  The second is a conference to be held in September at the University of Houston on the theme of “Teaching Culture and the Culture of Teaching.”  This conference will focus on culture in a very contemporary, inter-disciplinary way that highlights the increasing prominence of creative media in the increasingly sophisticated work of the professor.

Thank you.