January 22, 2020

Dear Cougar Colleagues --

Let me wish you a Happy New Year and welcome you back to our University for the spring semester. The University of Houston continues to expand and excel thanks to the energy, intelligence and enthusiasm you provide, and I want to thank you for that.

Now, I’d like to share some items and other news that may be of interest to you.

The Dream Continues: Nearly a century ago, in 1927, a group of enlightened Houstonians had a dream that they turned into a reality – establishing an institution that made higher education accessible to the sons and daughters of the city’s working class. The University of Houston has grown and changed immensely since then. But today, it’s time to dream again.

Looking to the future – and our centennial anniversary in particular – we must develop a plan that will guide UH’s efforts and objectives during these decisive years. To accomplish this, we are launching a year-long strategic planning initiative called UH100: Dare to Dream. I am asking each of you to take part in this. We want your ideas, your suggestions and, most of all, your dreams. Where should we take UH? How do we get there? We have already achieved great things, but we have the potential to achieve much more. What should it be?

During the coming year, we will offer many opportunities for you to provide input. We will analyze this information to determine priorities and create a draft for the community to evaluate and provide feedback. We will prepare our final strategic plan by the end of 2020. This vital document will help steer our University for the future. Your participation in this process is not just encouraged, it is essential. Please join me in making UH100: Dare to Dream a huge success.

Sexual Misconduct Update: There have been important changes made to our Sexual Misconduct Policy as a result of recent changes passed by the Texas Legislature. Although we previously shared these changes, I wanted to make sure that we fully understand the current policy. Basically, all employees who witness or receive information concerning incidents of sexual misconduct have a duty to report this to the Title IX Coordinator. Under the new law, failure to report will result in termination of an employee irrespective of his or her status (faculty or staff, tenured or non-tenured). Please familiarize yourself with the changes to our Sexual Misconduct Policy, and most importantly, be sure to comply with this mandatory reporting requirement.

College of Medicine: We are waiting for our accreditation from LCME in the near future, which allows us to officially begin enrolling students into the UH College of Medicine. I want to take this opportunity to thank you again for the collective efforts you have put forth to move us to this milestone.

Food for Thought: To help address food insecurity, in February we will open Cougar Cupboard in partnership with the Houston Food Bank. This on-campus food pantry, located on the first floor of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, will be open to all currently enrolled students. There is no charge, but students are asked to sign up to participate. The staff of UH Wellness will operate Cougar Cupboard, but will need volunteers to assist with everything from unloading pallet deliveries and stocking shelves to supporting outreach. If you are interested in volunteering to help with this wonderful work, please email Reuben Parrish at rgparris@central.uh.edu.

Still Going: As of this month, our ‘Here, We Go’ fundraising campaign has now exceeded its original $1 billion goal by a remarkable 18 percent. And we have another nine months till the campaign officially wraps up. That makes me wonder just how far “beyond the billion,” we will end up. Every dollar that’s been raised has been a vote of confidence in what UH has done and will do. While the total amount of money raised is extraordinary, I am equally impressed – maybe even more so – by the number of donors who contributed. At this point, it’s more than 183,000 … and 130,000 of those were new donors. That level of participation is awe-inspiring. I thank our faculty and staff who have graciously contributed toward the campaign.

Hoop It Up: – After last year’s Men’s Basketball Team won the conference and made the Sweet 16 during March Madness, expectations were naturally high for this year’s Cougar crew. Sports fans know that every season (and every team) is different, but, so far, they have been meeting those expectations. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team is tied for first place in the American Athletic Conference and has just been ranked in the Top 25 in two national polls. If you have not attended a game at Fertitta Center this year, I urge you to please do so.

I wish every one of you a satisfying and successful spring semester. Thank you again for all you do.

With warm regards,

Renu Khator