UH Community, City Leaders Celebrate Repairs to Cullen Boulevard Sept. 24

University Leaders, Students, City Council Members to Attend Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Cullen Boulevard has long been a major gateway into the University of Houston. Approximately 19,000 vehicles travel down a portion of this street daily to enter the University of Houston, but it was often a bumpy ride.

For many years, the street bearing the name of UH’s founding family has suffered from the wear and tear that plagues high traffic roads. Thanks to the support from Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Council Member Dwight Boykins, the stretch of Cullen Boulevard that runs through UH has been renovated.

On Sept. 24 the UH community will welcome city leaders to campus to celebrate the restoration of this vital part of campus. From 6 to 7 p.m., UH leaders, students, alums and City Council Members will observe the renovated Cullen Boulevard and cut the (appropriately colored) red ribbon to officially welcome the new and improved street. During this celebration, a small portion of Cullen Boulevard (from Holman Street to the entrance of the Athletics Alumni Center) will be closed to traffic.

Dignitaries scheduled to attend this event include UH President Renu Khator, UH Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mack B. Rhoades and Houston District D City Council Member Dwight Boykins. Also in attendance will be members of the UH System Board of Regents including Jarvis V. Hollingsworth, Peter K. Taaffe, Paula M. Mendoza and Asit Shah. Former UH Student Government Association President Cedric Bandoh also will be at the event. Bandoh was among the leaders of the student-led “Rebuild Cullen” initiative that helped bring attention to the street’s conditions.

During the event, a resolution will be read honoring Council Member Boykins for his support of this project.

The repairs to Cullen Boulevard came after discussions between Hollingsworth (then-chair of the UHS Board of Regents) and Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and subsequent meetings between UH administrators and Council Member Boykins. In April, the UHS Board of Regents passed a resolution supporting repairs to the street. Work on Cullen Boulevard took place over the summer to ensure a smoother ride for students arriving to campus in the fall.

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 40,900 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.