We have exciting news to share today: we have changed our name.

Starting today, the Urban Experience Program will now be known as the Center for Student Empowerment.

Our name may have changed, but our mission of helping Coogs succeed is the same. We will still be here to help students solve any financial, academic or other barriers that stand in the way of their graduating.

Our new name simply better reflects who we are and why we are here at the University of Houston.

We have been here at UH since 1994. We started off as a five-year pilot program, originally to recruit, retain and propel Black and Latino students towards a degree. We began by helping just 50 students, but we have expanded to more than 600 Coogs and a more diverse student population.

As the Center for Student Empowerment, we will continue to focus on supporting students with scholarship resources, student internships, and enhanced campus services. We will also continue to offer help with grants, mentoring, off-campus college work study opportunities, volunteer opportunities, and financial empowerment seminars.

We are making small changes as a result of the name change:

• New signs will be going up;
• The new name will be reflected around our offices, and on promotional items;
• Our social media outlets will have the new name;
• And we’ll be promoting our services around campus with the new name.

What won’t change are our core services and programs, including the personal one-on-one support students receive from our staff, the scholarship opportunities, and our pillar programs designed to help students succeed to graduation.

Our pillar programs will remain the same:

• Las Comadres mentoring program, which focuses on supporting first-generation Latina students by offering culturally relevant conversations and connections with current UH Latina faculty and staff.
• The Black Excellence Scholars Training Program, which supports Black students across all majors;
• The Diamond Family Scholars Program, which supports students who have experienced time in foster care;
• DREAM Scholars, which expands opportunities for DACA and undocumented students;
• And its Financial Empowerment Series, which helps teach students and the UH community about resources and ways to be fiscally responsible.

We hope that the new name will allow us to recruit support for vulnerable UH students from outside the University of Houston to help fund even more services, programs and scholarships.

Should you have any questions about our new name, or would like to share your experience, please contact our office at 713-743-6032 or uhcse@central.uh.edu.