Dr. Karl A. Hearne 
Executive Assistant to the Vice President for Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives

Dr. Karl A. Hearne has served as the Executive Assistant to the Vice President for Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives since March 2011. He provides direct administrative support to the Vice President while daily managing the office, maintaining the University of Houston Third Ward Initiative (TWI), Office of Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives (NSI), State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) websites. In the absence of the Vice President, Hearne serves as a liaison to various university and community organizations such as Civic Heart (formerly Change Happens), The Third Ward Community Cloth, and Super Neighborhood 67. In addition, Dr. Hearne supports the university strategic initiatives through his participation on several campus committees.

Prior to joining the Office of Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives (formerly the Office of Community Relations and Institutional Access), Hearne served from April 2004 to February 2011 in the Office of the Vice Chancellor/Vice President for Student Affairs as a Student Assistant and Special Projects Coordinator.

Hearne is a graduate of University of Houston with a Master of Science in Human Resource Development and a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Science and Merchandising. Hearne has also earned a Bachelor of Science in Christian Education and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Houston’s Theological Institute.

In 2019 Hearne was awarded the President’s Community Service Excellence Award for his work campus-wide; he is also the recipient of the 2011 Houston Mayor’s Office with Disabilities CARE Award and is recognized for his unyielding commitment to overcome adversity while continuing to share his talents with the Houston Community.

Since 2011 Hearne has served on the University of Houston Staff Council. Hearne has held the roles of Staff Council representative for the Chancellor/President’s Division, and also served as the former Historian and Co-Chair of the Community Outreach Committee where he coordinated numerous community outreach projects such as Thanksgiving meals for seniors, Third Ward Community Cleanups, Adopting families for the holidays, and Book Drives for kids annually. Since June of 2024 Hearne has been serving a one-year terms as President of the UH Staff Council.

Dr. Hearne serves the Co-Chair for the University of Houston State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) and diligently as the Chair of the Local Employee Committee for the Houston Area State Employee Charitable Campaign.