Just weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday, Philip G. Hoffman returned to the University of Houston’s Office of the President, an office he had occupied for nearly two decades, to receive a resolution from the UH System regents in recognition of his contributions to UH and the UH System.

The son of missionaries, Hoffman served as UH president from 1961 to 1977 and as UH System chancellor from 1977 to 1979.

After the presentation, Hoffman spent some time talking to UH Today about his days as the university’s chief executive officer.

Hoffman: One of the things I’m most proud of is the way we integrated the University of Houston. We decided to integrate the university because it made good sense politically and, more importantly, it was the right thing to do. We had hoped to integrate the university beginning in the summer of 1961. About three days before this was to happen, I invited the editors of the newspapers and the heads of the television and principal radio stations for cocktails one late afternoon in the Houston Club. I told them that we were going to integrate the University of Houston, and we were going to do it Thursday or whatever day it was. We could either do it quietly or we could have something that resembled Mississippi or Alabama. My choice was that students would look around Friday and say ‘we are integrated.’ There were at least 15 people in that room, and that was a tremendous story. Everyone there agreed that it was best to integrate the university peacefully. So, the university integrated quietly, and that is all there was to it.

Editor’s note: In the summer of 1961, the University of Houston enrolled its first African-American, a graduate music student. By March 1963, there were 20 African-American students attending UH.

Question: Why did you accept a position at the University of Houston?

Hoffman: The then newly appointed president of the University of Houston, Clanton Williams, who had been my friend at the University of Alabama, called me one day. He asked if I could give the honors day speech at the university on March 15, 1957. I said I would be glad to deliver the speech. The day after I arrived, he turned his office over to me. I met with the deans all day. I thought this was rather strange and a bit beyond normal professional courtesy.

The next day, I gave the Honors Day speech over in Oberholtzer Hall. A gal from the Houston Post came up to me and said, ‘Dr. Hoffman, I understand you are going to be the next dean of faculty.’ I asked her if we could take a little walk around the campus, which we did. I said “Betty, I don’t know anything about this. Nobody has said anything to me about being dean of faculty here. This could be very embarrassing to speculate publicly because I haven’t been approached, and I don’t know if I want to be dean of faculty.

She then questioned me about how I viewed the University of Houston and its potential. I said that it seems to me that given the location of the university, given the potential of support and given the quality of the city, it has unlimited potential. I told her that if she would hold the story and if I had any control of the story later that I would give her the first stab at it; but old Clanton broke the story to the press. He was a spontaneous, go-go kind of a guy. So, he called me and told me that he had broken the story. Then, I negotiated the position of vice president and dean of faculty.

Question: What were some of the major issues facing the university at that time?

Hoffman: One of the biggest issues was finances. The university was a private institution. It was becoming, rather rapidly, larger, but the university did not have access to public funds and had to depend on tuition and private gifts.

The tuition was getting to a point where it threatened to defeat some of Mr. Hugh Roy Cullen’s ideas about the function of the university and its relationship to the common man. It became increasingly obvious that we needed a broader base of support. So, we went to the Legislature in 1961 to request that the University of Houston be made a state institution. That bill passed.

Editor’s note: Even though the bill passed, it prevented UH from offering graduate programs and financing campus improvements with state funds.

Hoffman: We went back in 1963 to amend the bill. We had two doctorates — one in psychology and another in education. At the time, the state commission of higher education was convinced that we shouldn’t have doctoral programs. They wanted it to be a broad-based public university. A few months after becoming president, I spent one week meeting with every member of the board, and I laid out our case.

Then on Monday, a carload of us went up to the coordinating board meeting to make our pitch. They were trying to determine the role and scope of the university. That was the turning point. The board approved our undergraduate and graduate programs. It could have easily gone the other way because there was a great deal of opposition from other universities who felt that we were a threat to their turf.

Another challenge was quality. One of the things I noticed was how many people at the University of Houston said that it was a great university. In my inaugural address, I had a line—which I still remember. I said institutions, like people, who prematurely claim greatness rarely will achieve that greatness. I think the statement was right at the time. The university has made great progress since then. It is a very good university. I think it is on the verge of becoming a great university.

Question: What was your most memorable moment as UH president?

Hoffman: The drive for black power, as it was called, was taking place across the nation and at the University of Houston. I agreed to meet with the entire black student body at one time. The stipulation on their part was that I would be the only white person, and I agreed to it. I met with them for 2 ½ to 3 hours in Cullen Auditorium. I talked first and then fielded questions. I didn’t know at that time that they had sealed off the entire auditorium, but all went well. That was the most memorable moment.

Editor’s note: Under Hoffman’s leadership, UH was firmly established as a major higher education institution, achieving tremendous growth and success. From 1961 to 1977, university enrollment grew from 12,187 to 29,297. Additionally, the university constructed 25 buildings, including the Lamar Fleming Jr. Building, the University Center and Moody Towers.

Hoffman also launched fund-raising campaigns bringing tens of millions of dollars to the campus. During Hoffman’s tenure, other UH System institutions were developed. In 1971, the Texas Legislature authorized the creation of UH-Clear Lake. A higher education center in Victoria, which later became UH-Victoria, opened in 1973. The UH System was established by state law in 1977. Two years later, the Legislature granted approval for UH’s Downtown School (UH-Downtown).

These accomplishments and many others earned him the unofficial title of “builder” of the university.