Editor’s note: see photo of Stephens at http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2004/09sept/
092204cstephens_photo.html.
NEW REGENT CALVIN STEPHENS:
DALLAS BUSINESSMAN WITH DEEP HOUSTON ROOTS
Gov. Perry’s Latest Appointment Adds to Statewide Character
of UHS Board
HOUSTON, Sept. 27, 2004 – Reflecting the growing scope of
the University of Houston System’s importance for the entire
state, the latest addition to the Board of Regents is a noted businessman
from Dallas, Calvin Stephens.
“We are extremely pleased that Gov. Perry has appointed Calvin
Stephens to the University of Houston System Board of Regents. He
is a wonderful addition to the board, both as an alumnus and as
a major community leader in Dallas,” said Morgan Dunn O'Connor,
chair of the UH System Board of Regents. “His appointment
demonstrates the statewide impact and importance of the UH System.
Our Board now includes representation from East Texas, Central Texas,
South Central Texas, as well as Houston. Our sincere appreciation
goes to outgoing Regent Theresa Chang who has served the UH System
so well during her tenure.”
While Stephens, the chairman and president of SSP Consulting, is
indeed honored that the governor selected someone from “faraway”
Dallas to help oversee the UH System, he’s quick to point
out that he still considers Houston home in many regards. As a youth
and teenager, the Port Arthur-born Stephens spent every summer here
with family in Cuney Homes, a housing project near the University
of Houston campus.
“Many of my childhood friends are from the Third Ward area.
And I learned to swim right there in the pool at Jack Yates High
School, near the University,” Stephens recalled.
After a four-year stint in the Air Force, Stephens returned to Houston
fulltime to attend UH from 1967-72, earning a bachelor’s degree
in marketing.
“Those were sometimes turbulent, but mostly wonderful times
on campus. African American students were beginning to play prominent
roles and there was a very real sense of engagement and accomplishment.
Those were the days of basketball star Elvin Hayes, of football
great Warren McVea, of Lynn Eusan, our first black Homecoming Queen,
and the start of the African American Studies program,” Stephens
said.
Moving to Dallas to attend graduate school at Southern Methodist
University, Stephens earned an MBA and worked for the Cox School
of Business at SMU. He also served as president of the Dallas Minority
Business Development Center.
His company, SSP Consulting, is a management consulting firm that
specializes in development of minority businesses, providing bonding
and insurance along with financial and technical assistance.
Former Gov. William Clements appointed Stephens as a member of
the State Advisory Council on Small Business Assistance and former
Pres. Ronald Reagan appointed him to a term on the Board of the
National Advisory Council on Vocational Education. He is currently
the chairman of the African American Leadership Council of the Dallas
County Republican Party.
Additionally, Stephens is a board member of the Metropolitan YMCA,
and the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. He is an ordained deacon
of the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church.
Married to Sandra Williams Stephens, he has four children –
Derrick, Lincoln, Savannah and Chandler – and three grandchildren
– Cinque, and twins, Bria and Haley.
Appointed by Gov. Perry on Sept. 17, Stephens is scheduled to
serve through Aug. 31, 2009.
“I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for Houston
and for UH,” Stephens said. “The opportunity to give
something back by serving as a regent is very gratifying.”
For more information about the UHS Board of Regents, visit the
Web site http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/regents/.
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM
The University of Houston System is the state’s only
metropolitan higher education system, encompassing four universities
and two multi-institution teaching centers. The universities are
the University of Houston, a nationally recognized doctoral degree-granting,
comprehensive research university; the University of Houston-Downtown,
a four-year undergraduate university beginning limited expansion
into graduate programs; and the University of Houston-Clear Lake
and the University of Houston-Victoria, both upper division and
master’s-level institutions. The centers are the UH System
at Sugar Land in Fort Bend and the UH System at Cinco Ranch. In
addition, the UH System includes KUHF-FM, Houston’s National
Public Radio and classical radio station, and KUHT-TV, the nation’s
first educational television station.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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