From President Arthur K. Smith
Seventy-five years ago,
the Houston Board of Education launched an institution devoted to
the education of the children of the working men and women of their
fine city. Looking back over the accomplishments of this past year,
we can be confident that these founders would be proud of what has
become of their initiative. We have not only educated those native
sons and daughters, but an increasingly diverse student body
numbering 33,000 in 2001 from more than 100 countries and
a broad spectrum of ethnicities, and we have become one of the nations
major research universities.
A retrospective of the past year reveals more
than just a list of impressive accomplishments. Such a retrospective
also reveals a collective spirit and guiding purpose behind our
work that binds us together and gives the University of Houston
its identity.
In addition to starting our seventy-fifth anniversary,
2001 was also the second year of our highly successful Learning.
Leading. image campaign. These two words were chosen to represent
UH because the way we approach these two core educational missions
sets us apart from other institutions of higher learning.
I invite you to join us in celebrating our accomplishments
for 2001 and in reflecting upon how we have defined learning
and leading in a way unique to our community at this
particular moment in our history.
I use the word community with good reason,
for what is unique about UH is the role community plays in the learning
and leading that take place here. Whether it is learning opportunities
like our Research Experience for Undergraduates program or leaders
like our researchers and faculty in the Department of Biology and
Biochemistry, learning and leading at the University of Houston
are both facilitated and enriched by community.
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