HINES COLLEGE | Strategic Planning

Over the course of the 2022-2023 academic year, the Hines College community came together to develop its next strategic plan, incorporating input and involvement from students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The resulting strategic plan framework is our starting point for moving forward and advancing the college over the next several years.

The Hines College is a leader in holistic, interdisciplinary design education that empowers students to proactively create more sustainable built environments, systems, and objects and to shape the evolving role of the architect/designer. The College develops critical pedagogies, research, and practice to tangibly improve equity, resilience, and other shared challenges through the power of design.

As designers and change agents of the future, our students will continue to address climate crisis and its disproportionate impact on marginalized peoples. We cultivate our students’ awareness, sensitivity, and curiosity about the communities and cultures they design with and their sense of responsibility for how their work contributes to equity and sustainability.

Cross-pollination between programs emulates the interdisciplinary collaboration that characterizes real-world practice and enables students to succeed as well-rounded critical thinkers and designers, who can implement innovative solutions, evolve the role of the designer, and influence emergent practices.

We engage with design, design media, history/theory/criticism, and technology as they evolve. We leverage emerging tools and concepts for practice and research and equip our students with the skills and critical lens that will allow them to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.

GOAL ONE:
Curriculum + Programs

Develop adaptable, diverse, pedagogically-driven curricula that give students agency in their course of study, motivate faculty with compelling teaching opportunities, and systemically build design media and technology competencies.

Strategies

• Promote a student-centric pedagogical approach that celebrates critical thinking and making, while emphasizing collaboration and innovation.
• Increase curricular flexibility and diversity to promote choice for students, customization for a desired career or professional path, and a less rigidly linear progression of courses.
• Promote balance between all programs in the College and create space for new, complementary programs to offer a more comprehensive architecture/design education.
• Identify opportunities at the College and University levels for interdisciplinary work within the curriculum, including offering interdisciplinary studios and/or courses and strengthening shared degree collaborations.
• Embed ecological consciousness and sustainability in the curricula in a comprehensive manner for students of all levels.
• Promote fluency in design history, theory, and criticism so students have a deep understanding of the communities and contexts within which they are designing.
• Build a robust sequence of courses in design media for all undergraduate programs that provides a strong base level of skill and technical competency and supports peer-to-peer learning through a shared language of tools and technologies.
• Ensure access to up-to-date technology in the College including computers labs, studios, and research labs.

GOAL TWO:
Environmental Responsibility

Make sustainability a core value set underlying the Hines College culture for teaching, research, service, and operations.

Strategies

• Define and advance the College’s comprehensive perspective on ecological sustainability in design and our commitment to caring for our planet, which will be integrated in everything we do.
• Institutionalize environmentally sustainable practices in standing operating procedures, material selection and use, waste management, and printing for the College and evaluate impact, using the College and community as a living laboratory for sustainability.
• Project University- and Houston-specific sustainability practices to broader audiences.

GOAL THREE:
Culture of Care + Wellbeing

Strengthen our community bonds and embody a culture of care – for ourselves, one another, and the environment of the Hines College.

Strategies

• Offer opportunities for student connection and feedback at a variety of levels, including within programs and across the College.
• Sustain and strengthen faculty and staff networks within the College to nourish a shared sense of purpose, aligned and effective approaches to pedagogy, interdisciplinary partnerships, and awareness of student needs.
• Create opportunities that promote faculty/staff and student interaction, different modes of studying and working, and a sense of ownership within the College.
• Be sensitive to the financial burdens of a design education and help all students to excel, regardless of socioeconomic status.
• Encourage an environment that enables and supports effective mental health management.
• Normalize mental health care, heighten our community responsiveness to challenges, and promote access to University of Houston resources.

GOAL FOUR:
Global Community Engagement

Because the Hines College connects to the world beyond the University, we engage with peers and partners on local, regional, and global levels to discuss the trends, challenges, and changes in design and participate in creating solutions.

Strategies

• Capitalize on the city of Houston as a global center for an array of industries and cultures and serve our local community, especially those who traditionally lack access to design, through knowledge sharing and dedicated projects.
• Raise awareness of our programs across the design education landscape, as a partner for those in our region, and for professional firms looking to hire the best talent.
• Learn from and build relationships with other design colleges and programs in our region, nationally, and internationally.
• Strengthen study abroad and international programs in strategic locations, such as Mexico and the Global South.
• Recruit a rich faculty community from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, prioritizing a variety of expertise, specialization, and experience.
• Continue to engage diverse and distinguished practicing architects and designers from around the world.

GOAL FIVE:
Professional Preparation + Development

Bolster the professional success of all members of the Hines College community through mentorship, skill-building, robust connections to practice, and networking. 

Strategies

• Prioritize mentorship for both students and instructors, with particular emphasis on providing knowledgeable guidance and advising to students on curricular choices, course of study, and career options.
• Invest in technology engagement and training for faculty and staff to support advancements in teaching and research outcomes.
• Equip students with a foundation of skills and a framework of understanding of the software, applications, and tools used in design firms and enable them to comfortably move between digital and analog workflows.
• Partner with professional design practitioners to continue to ground the College’s approach in the real-world demands of the design professions, to invite professionals to engage with courses, and to expose students to a wide array of practitioners over the course of their study.
• Leverage the College as a hub for continued learning, professional connection, and advancement for our alumni, in addition to our faculty, staff, and current students.

GOAL SIX:
Research

Bolster the professional success of all members of the Hines College community through mentorship, skill-building, robust connections to practice, and networking.

Strategies

• Invest in infrastructural support dedicated to increasing research opportunities and funding, building/maintaining interdisciplinary partnerships, and pursuing synergistic research relationships outside academia.
• Develop and support research initiatives for faculty and students that are awarded annually.
• Partner with external industry and community stakeholders to drive research that serves society, making sure correct steps are taken to include the communities for and with whom we are designing.
• Leverage Labs and Centers as hubs for partnerships and advanced research studios. Continue to upgrade and establish facilities to support research.