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Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate

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Welcome to the University of Houston Faculty Senate

Welcome to the pages of the UH Faculty Senate website. Here, we hope you will find the informational resources you are looking for. Our goal when developing and managing this website is to bring under one umbrella a variety of links and resources that might impact the day-to-day work of a faculty member. Of course, we wish to also provide information on the workings of the faculty senate itself and on all the proceedings and documents related to the various senate committees. In that sense, the senate website is designed to be both “outward-looking,” that is, a resource for UH faculty and “inward-looking,” that is, a resource for faculty senators.

Read our Message from the Faculty Senate President

Featured Events

Weekly Top 5

  • 1. Treat Yourself to Outstanding Music. You’ve Earned It.

    Throughout June – The annual Immanual and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival, sponsored by the Moores School of Music has a two-fold benefit. First, it prepares college-age, and young adult age, musicians with an intensive summer training presented by faculty and a series of internationally recognized guest artists. Second, you can enjoy one or many shows as a treat to yourself after a semester of hard work. Performances are a variety of orchestral, chamber, jazz, vocal, and keyboard music. Tickets can be purchased HERE at $20 for faculty, and there is a season package available. Shows are in the Moores Opera House or Dudley Recital Hall.

  • 2. Tidy Up Your Office or Your Lab

    Ongoing – There may not be many quiet days between now and August, but you can take at least part of one to clean up and refresh your space. After a bustling semester, there may be lots of random papers and some old post-its with unreturned phone calls on your desks. A good clean up may include shredding old tests and assignments. According to the Faculty Handbook, “Faculty are required to return all evaluated student material to the students or retain it for a six month

    period after the end of the last class of the semester evaluated” (pg. 55). However, the next sentences cautions that colleges may have different rules, so double check at the college level first. Bring comfort to your space.

  • 3. Attend a Suicide Prevention Training and More

    Multiple through May – The QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) trainings will continue until the end of May. This nationally recognized suicide prevention program is designed to help individuals recognize possible signs that an individual is considering suicide. Trainings help participants learn how to ask about a person’s intent related to suicide, convince others to seek assistance, and to know how to refer to specialists. Even if you have had the QPR training before, it is recommended that you complete this class as a refresher once a year. You never know when you may use it. The QPR comes from CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services), where you will see that there are many faculty and staff resources for mental health. Summer may open some time for you to take care of you.

  • 4. Increase your Simple Syllabus Proficiency

    Ongoing – Yes, this is a repeat. However, now that the semester has come to an end, you can start thinking about next semester. (The king is dead. Long live the king.) And you know Simple Syllabus is required going forward. I’m willing to wager that there’s a sizeable number of us who have not participated in the live training events yet. So, it’s time. Fortunately, HERE is a link from Instruction@UH with several Simple Syllabus self-study modules. While you’re on the Instruction@UH page, now on Canvas, you’ll find information on how to utilize many other services such as Respondus, CASA, and Turnitin. Your future self will thank you for this preparation and learning that you’re doing now.

  • 5. Plan Your Routes

    Starting Early June- After a brief pause, the Centennial Project will begin soon, reshaping the look and feel of the University of Houston. This massive undertaking will bring a new experience to the space between. (Read more about the space between on the Project’s website.) A highlight of the Centennial Project includes increasing walkability under a tree canopy throughout campus and a focused central plaza. The plan features benches for relaxing along with a great lawn for holding events or just sitting in the grass. The goal is to have this transformation complete for UH’s 100 anniversary in 2027. However, construction will start in early June and last for approximately 20 months. That means fences and equipment and rerouting. Keep your eyes open for more information, including closures and blocked areas. There will be signage to help navigate around construction zones. Be aware, your path to class or Cougar Grounds may be further than usual. Plan ahead.