In conclusion, learning and leading have been more than mere words to our University over the past year; they have been signposts for the new directions we are taking and symbols of what makes us unique as the largest public university in the nation’s fourth-largest city. All of our major accomplishments this past year could be said to influence how these words have been defined.

However, no other major accomplishment of 2001 will affect how we learn and lead in the future at the University of Houston more than the Texas Excellence Fund. Passed by the 77th Texas Legislature, the fund will provide UH with an average of a little more than $6 million each year over the current biennium.

These funds will not automatically thrust us into the ranks of the nation’s Tier I research and teaching universities, but they will help us bring together the elements needed to achieve this goal. Among these
elements are more world-class faculty, students, and support staff, and better-equipped classrooms and research facilities. Over this next year, we will see an additional seventy-six to eighty new and replacement faculty positions filled with both top researchers established in their fields and outstanding young faculty members beginning their careers.

But reaching the goal of becoming a Tier I research and teaching institution involves more than just funding. It also involves developing an identity and fulfilling our own role in the ranks of major urban universities. As we continue to set high standards for learning and leading, we will refine our identity and further our reputation as an exceptional environment for higher learning and a recognized leader in the exploration of the frontiers of new knowledge.

Arthur K. Smith, President