July 25, 2011

Fellow Cougars –

This has been a year filled with challenges not only for us, but for all of higher education.  It also has been a year of wonderful and gratifying accomplishments, made possible by the commitment and dedication of our outstanding faculty and staff.  
 
Today, we have another significant achievement to celebrate.  According to a survey by the prestigious Chronicle of Higher Education, the University of Houston is one of the best colleges in the nation to work for!  

We join 84 other four-year institutions on the annual “Great Colleges to Work For” list, which recognizes the best practices of elite groups of schools based on enrollment size.  UH was acknowledged among large universities for its quality in four key areas:  diversity, collaborative governance, teaching environment and respect & appreciation.

Think about what that means, because it should make us all very proud.  It confirms that our exceptional faculty and staff – you – not only make UH a great place for an education, but also a great place to work.  

As impressive as this latest honor is, we are not content to stop there. 

There are 12 categories in the “Great Colleges to Work For” survey, and to be a world-class, Tier One university, we want to perform well in the other eight workplace-related areas as well.  By working together, in concert with our Human Resources Department and Staff Council, I am confident we can continue to make strides that will make UH a “great” place to work in every regard.  Of course, we all recognize that we have been addressing challenging budget and fiscal issues and, as a result, have had to make some difficult decisions. But that’s all the more reason to make the very best use of the resources that we have to create an outstanding workplace. 

So, let us all take a moment to appreciate this latest indication of our progress toward overall excellence.  With your help, we are transforming UH into the truly great university it deserves to be.  

If you would like to read more, please see the news release about this Chronicle of Higher Education award.

Warm regards,

Renu Khator