A Cougar Legacy

Six-year term increases UH's standing in every measure

by Chris Evans

In the six years that Arthur K. Smith has held the dual position of University of Houston System chancellor and UH president, the university has experienced some of the most dramatic growth in its 76-year history.

From spearheading the university’s efforts to become a preeminent research institution in the country to leading UH through Tropical Storm Allison’s aftermath to elevating fundraising to new heights, Smith’s tenure will not soon be forgotten.

The Texas Legislature

Smith, the first person to hold the dual chancellor/president position, will perhaps be best remembered for his political skill as he led UH through four Texas Legislative sessions. A few highlights from Smith’s legislative efforts include establishing Tier One Excellence funding, securing $51 million for a new Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex, establishing the Texas Learning and Computation Center through state and federal legislation, securing $25 million for Tropical Storm Allison recovery efforts and approval for the $53 million.

Grover Campbell, vice president for governmental relations, said that the four legislative sessions in which Smith participated were tremendous successes for the institution. Many successes were due to Smith’s commanding presence on the legislative floor.

“He is the best I’ve ever seen, not just at UH, but any other university. He takes a second seat to no other chancellor in Texas,” Campbell said. “He has such an incredible grasp of all the issues and an ability to communicate -- he speaks and writes so well.”

According to Campbell, Smith’s results-oriented legislative campaigns have moved the university ever closer to its long-term goal: becoming one of the nation’s top urban research universities.

“The programs and institutes for which Dr. Smith fought so passionately will be his lasting, sustained legacy,” said Campbell. “Initiatives such as the Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex and the Texas Learning and Computation Center are quickly moving UH to become a nationally competitive research university.”

A major step toward UH reaching this goal was accomplished when the 78th Texas Legislature approved combining the two separate but unequal research funds and creating a single fund, called the research development fund. The fund, which will take effect in fiscal year 2006, was passed in large part due to Smith’s support and unprecedented rallying of major Texas universities.

“His active participation and vision have forged new partnerships with the University of Texas System and Texas A&M System, bringing the states’ senior universities together for greater access and influence with the Legislature,” said Richard J.V. Johnson, publisher emeritus of the Houston Chronicle.

Campus Research

Smith’s legislative efforts had a quick and powerful effect on campus - research efforts and funding increased dramatically in every measure.

“He and his management team have raised the greatest amount of resources for creativity and innovation of any other administration,” said Arthur Vailas, vice president for research and intellectual property management. “His efforts have paid off in building the university’s research enterprise beyond its wildest dreams. He thought research was important and empowered it.”

According to the Division of Research annual report, research proposals, awards and expenditures have increased markedly during Smith’s tenure. Between fiscal years 1997 and 2002, federal research grant proposals increased from $89.6 million to $157 million, or 75 percent; awards increased from $22.3 million to $35 million, or 57 percent; and expenditures increased from $21.9 million to $33.9 million, or 55 percent. Total research proposals increased from $204.9 million to $226.6 million, or 10.5 percent; awards increased from $40.3 million to $72 million, or 78.5 percent; and expenditures increased from $41.7 million to $65.8 million, or 57.5 percent.

Vailas said that Smith has boosted the university’s research and innovation in four broad areas: energy, life and medical sciences, the environment and humanities.

Due to the university’s location in the nation’s energy capital and near the Texas Medical Center, building research relationships in energy and health sciences seemed only natural.

“Dr. Smith felt that we should increase our areas of investment in the health sciences - today UH receives most of its federal support from the National Institutes of Health,” Vailas said. “He also has done a great job emphasizing energy. We have not only energy research, in superconductivity and oil and gas exploration, but also in energy law, business and engineering.”

UH president emeritus Philip G. Hoffman said that Smith’s achievements in research will be his greatest legacy.

“His greatest contribution, among many, has been strengthening and developing of the academic and research sinews of the university,” Hoffman said. “He has exerted a very effective and positive influence that UH will enjoy for many years to come.”

Faculty, Staff and Students

When building one of the nation’s top urban research universities, retaining a who’s who of the finest faculty is key. UH is among the leaders in public research universities in terms of faculty compensation.

“During the past five years, we’ve had one of the country’s most aggressive and sophisticated programs to address faculty salary compression,” said Edward Sheridan, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “More than 150 faculty have benefited from this plan, including some professors who received these raises two or three times.”

Another change made under Smith’s leadership is a matching offer program to retain faculty courted by other universities.

“We are not in the position where we lose good faculty because other universities are willing to pay more,” Sheridan said. “If another university makes an offer, and we want to keep that faculty member, we meet the offer.”

In addition to retaining the strong faculty base UH already enjoys, the total number of faculty positions also has increased dramatically, as 79 new positions were funded.

Equally important as a strong faculty is a student body to match. Currently, UH is the nation’s most ethnically diverse urban research university.

“Under Dr. Smith’s leadership, UH has enrolled a record number of students, particularly in minority categories,” said Texas Sen. Rodney Ellis. “As a result of his tireless efforts, not only is UH a better school, but the city of Houston is much stronger as well.”

Smith also took innovative steps to recruit some of the nation’s best students. In many states, graduate students with appointments, such as teacher’s assistants, have their tuition and fees paid by state funds - a notion Texas law strictly forbids. To compete nationally against these states, Smith created the Graduate Tuition Fellowship Program in 1999.

“The program is functionally a tuition waiver for full-time graduate student teaching assistants, teaching fellows and research fellows who also meet a required grade point average,” said Marco Mariotto, dean of graduate and professional studies. “It has very quickly made us much more nationally competitive with other national research universities in recruiting and retaining quality students. Now students don’t have to make their decision based only on finances.”

Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin quickly followed suit and instituted similar programs. Before 2000, UH recruited only a few of the nation’s best students in three departments. Currently, the university attracts approximately 80 of the most sought-after students in the country per year in 12 departments.

Jeff Fuller, UH Staff Council president, said staff members have benefited most from Smith’s openness in dialogue between higher administration and the university’s 4,000-plus member staff.

“He has made it a point to notify staff early in policy processes so they can either help shape a new policy, or be informed in-depth,” Fuller said. “During the past legislative session, he kept the staff well-informed and up-to-date on the budget situation. When we learned of required budget cuts, he was quick to stamp out rumors and reassure staff that their jobs were safe.”

Campus Construction

Smith also has been instrumental in securing new facilities throughout the UH System, including the 264,000 square-foot Campus Recreation and Wellness Center; the 170,000 square-foot addition to the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library and Honors College; the state-of-the-art LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting; the Justin Dart Jr. Center for Students with DisABILITIES; a $15 million classroom renovation; and two new residential complexes, Bayou Oaks, which includes the new Greek Park, and Cullen Oaks, which have brought 985 students to campus.

Construction and improvement throughout the UH System under Smith’s leadership totaled more than $406 million, with $293.6 million at UH, $38.3 million at UH-Downtown, $38.4 million at UH-Clear Lake, $12.6 million at UH-Victoria and $23.4 million at UH System facilities, including UH System at Sugar Land.

“Nearly all major campus construction projects involve significant state money, and anytime you’re looking to the Legislature to help fund initiatives, you need an advocate who can articulate what is needed not only in terms of the university, but also for the city and state,” explained Dave Irvin, associate vice president for plant operations. “Every university in the UH System has a project under way that could not have happened if Dr. Smith had not been an advocate for each university’s needs.”

According to Irvin, one of Smith’s greatest accomplishments is the Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex. Groundbreaking is scheduled for October, and is expected to be complete in summer 2005.

“The new building is a culmination of efforts to upgrade faculty and research and provide more initiative for graduate students and graduate fellowships,” Irvin said. “This will be another step toward positioning the university as a top research institution. It took someone with vision and political skills to make the Legislature understand why the building was critical to UH and Texas.”

In June 2001, the university was devastated as Tropical Storm Allison tore through the city. All told, the storm dumped more than 37 inches on the area in less than 24 hours, causing more than $100 million in damage to the UH campus.

“Two days after the storm, we had a meeting with Dr. Smith and the vice presidents to go over the initial assessment of the damage,” Irvin said. “Dr. Smith immediately grasped what we needed to do. He said to shut down for a week to concentrate as a team, go into crisis mode and get UH up and running. Because of his knowledge, we started moving almost immediately.”

Special Events and Development

A hallmark of the six-year administration has been the teamwork exemplified by Smith and his wife, June. The Smiths opened Wortham House for numerous university social affairs, particularly in support of raising funds for major programs and projects. Their gift of gracious hospitality, perfect attention to detail and festive celebrations will long be remembered.

“June brought a soft style of entertaining to Wortham House,” said Gene McDavid, UH System Board of Regents chairman. “The events that she and Art hosted were legendary for their grace and elegance.”

During Smith’s administration, annual giving has nearly doubled. Since 1997, donations have increased steadily from $18 million in fiscal year 1997 to $35 million in fiscal year 2002.
“Dr. Smith is so well respected in the Houston community,” said Ileana Treviño, vice president for university advancement. “He instills such a sense of confidence with alumni and friends of the university that they, in turn, want to give to UH.”

“Dr. Smith is so well respected in the Houston community,” said Ileana Treviño, vice president for university advancement. “He instills such a sense of confidence with alumni and friends of the university that they, in turn, want to give to UH.”

Spencer Yantis, associate vice chancellor for development, said the near doubling of development funds during Smith’s tenure was due to his creation of tactical goals.

“He realized that state funding was going to be less and less, and if UH was to attract better students and more students, we had to have the economic resources to make it attractive to students as well as to faculty,” said Yantis. “He set up specific goals, which were all accomplished, such as the renovation of the athletics complex, renovation and expansion of the M.D. Anderson Library and private fundraising for UH System at Sugar Land.”

More importantly, Yantis said that Smith has positioned the university for a major capital campaign within the next few years. UH's last major capital campaign, “Creative Partnerships,” raised $375 million for the UH System in the early 1990s.

According to Johanna Wolfe, executive director of major gifts, one of the projects that Smith helped see to fruition was a $5 million gift from Houston Endowment, Inc. for the expansion and renovation of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library and Honors College.

“Dr. Smith met with each Houston Endowment trustee and very carefully explained the need for renovation and expansion,” said Wolfe. “This was the largest gift the university has ever received from Houston Endowment.”

Most recently, George and Cynthia Woods Mitchell donated $20 million to fund the creation of a new program, which will attract world-class artists and scholars to UH and establish the university as an international force for education in the arts. The new program will be named the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the University of Houston. The center will create a collaborative alliance of five of UH’s premier academic and arts units within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences - the Department of Art; Blaffer Gallery, the art museum of the University of Houston; the Creative Writing Program; the Moores School of Music and the School of Theatre.

Philanthropist Carolyn Farb said the Smith’s fundraising power can be demonstrated by the sense of family and trust that the couple places with fundraisers.

“The Smiths empower people through the confidence they place in you,” said Farb. “When I first met Arthur Smith in 1998, I was impressed that he didn’t blink an eye when I told him my goal for the Quest for Excellence Award Gala, benefiting the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, was to raise 20 times the amount the last fundraiser netted. Dr. Smith accepted my remark, and both he and June gave me the support needed to raise in excess of $3 million.”

Another major university donor said she will remember her friend and teacher, Smith, for his willingness to share advice on how to make every gift as effective as possible.

“UH had for a long time been on my list for donations,” said Elizabeth D. Rockwell. “After Dr. Smith’s arrival, I learned of ways to make non-cash gifts that provide bigger and better results for the university.”

The largest gift during Smith’s tenure came from Charles T. “Ted” Bauer, co-founder and retired chairman of AIM Investments, Inc. Bauer donated $40 million in cash to the Bauer College of Business.

Marketing and Special Programs

One of Smith’s favorite accomplishments is the university’s five-year, $5 million “Learning. Leading.” campaign. The campaign’s goals are twofold - to bring a centralized look to all materials within the university and to change the region’s perception of UH from being an affordable and convenient university to one of high quality and choice.

“Dr. Smith understood almost instantly when we made the proposal that this would be a benefit to the institution and worth the investment,” said Wendy Adair, associate vice president for public affairs. “Few, if any, universities four years ago were investing that kind of money into strictly positioning, branding or image work without being attached to fundraising or a recruitment effort.”

The campaign spawned a number of icons, including the now ever-present photo of Shasta. The cougar can be seen throughout the southwest Texas region from campus buses to billboards to magazine advertisements.

“We have seen an increase in comparison of UH to other universities, particularly across the state,” said Wendy Adair, associate vice president for public affairs. “We also have seen an increase in people’s opinion of the institution as far as quality of academic programs, faculty and quality of education. It is making a difference.”

Smith made a priority of recognizing traditionally underprivileged groups both on and off campus. From instituting programs including the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women to Conversations at Wortham House, Smith ensured that every group felt equally welcome at UH.

On campus, the views and needs of women who worked, taught and learned at the university were paramount to Smith - an idea he imported with him from the University of Utah. The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women was created to identify issues important to women and to make recommendations to the president.

“The commission presented a report on issues women would to like to see addressed such as safety, maternity, childcare, promotion of women, salary equity and under-representation of women in executive level positions,” said Treviño. “It helped hone in on what the issues were, and make recommendations for action.”

An outcome of the commission is the creation of the Women’s Resource Center in the University Center Satellite. The center, which will receive operational funding in the coming biennium, will serve as a clearinghouse of women’s information, including referrals to counseling or health centers and attracting guest speakers.

Shortly after arriving on campus, the president began Conversations at Wortham House. The program, hosted with no university officials save Smith, invited alumni, parents, businesspeople and politicians from the African American, Hispanic and Asian American communities to Wortham House.

“Since only Dr. Smith attended, people were really unfettered in their conversation - the dialogue was very rich and revealing,” said James Anderson, executive associate to the president. “The conversations were a means of understanding the various group’s needs and a source of building community and political support and friendship for the university. Dr. Smith was very frank, honest and responsive - it built trust within the communities.”

Departure

According to Sheridan, the most lasting aspect of the Smith years will be the positive psychological atmosphere and an overarching sense of confidence.

“He’s brought a real sense of dignity to UH. He’s brought a sense of quality as to how the university conducts its business - a sense of vision that the university will continue to improve,” he said. “He has created that aura - an atmosphere that’s very important.”

Eugene Vaughan, founding chairman of Vaughan, Scarborough & McCullough Investment Management, said that Smith is one of the most effective chancellors of our generation.

“I have researched management in-depth for more than forty years, and I believe that Art is one of our country’s most astute leaders in any field,” he said. “UH, the city of Houston and its people have been uplifted wonderfully and permanently by this splendid leader and his perfect complement, June.”