Highlights

The Division of Academic Affairs is headed by Dr. Edward P. Sheridan, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost, and includes the university’s libraries and thirteen colleges. The division is responsible for the delivery of academic programs that are of the highest quality and serve the needs of students from Texas, the nation, and over 100 other countries. This vision of excellence requires strong leadership within our colleges, exceptional faculty to support our academic programs, well-equipped instructional and research facilities, and excellent financial and academic support for students. Major accomplishments for the 2001-02 academic year include the following:

• Allocated thirty-two new faculty positions to academic programs of strength and promise within the university. These positions are the result of tier-one excellence funding the university received from the Texas Legislature, and they build upon the allocation of thirty-nine new positions in 1999-00.

• Appointed Dr. Arthur Warga as Dean of the C.T. Bauer College of Business. Dr. Warga brings outstanding academic credentials to this position, as well as the confidence of the Houston business community and a plan for investing the college’s resources in ways that will elevate the quality and reputation of its programs.

• Addressed twenty of the university’s most pressing research facilities needs. In partnership with the Divisions of Research and Administration & Finance, the Division of Academic Affairs identified the university’s top research facilities needs, funding the development and renovation of facilities and the purchase of equipment.

• Enhanced the quality of the university’s instructional facilities. Each year, the Division of Academic Affairs allocates $500,000 for improvements to the university’s instructional facilities. Projects undertaken this year include renovations in the Heyne Building and the Agnes Arnold Auditorium; the purchase of computer cabinets for College of Architecture students; and the purchase of data projectors and computers for general purpose classrooms.

• Played a lead role in planning the new UH Science & Engineering Research and Classroom Complex. Over the past several months, Provost Sheridan has served as chair of the university committee to plan and develop this new complex of buildings. Upon completion, the facilities will include 1,720 new classroom seats and accommodate up to forty principal investigators. The building is being designed by internationally acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli.

• Expanded participation in the Scholars’ Community. The Scholars’ Community, a program of academic support for undergraduate students, continues to show excellent results, with first year student retention rates exceeding 82%. Increased funding has allowed the freshman cohort size to increase from 324 in fall 1997 to 977 in fall 2001 (approximately one-third of entering freshman class).

• Expanded financial support for graduate students. Increased financial support for graduate students enables the university to enhance the quality of its student body. Through the graduate tuition fellowship program, the university covers the tuition and fees of its graduate students. Through the Presidential Graduate Fellowship program, awards are made to candidates of exceptional promise who are sought by the leading research universities in the nation. The number of top students awarded these fellowships and pursuing graduate studies at the University of Houston has increased from twenty-six students last year to forty-nine students this year.

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