University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH, UofH, or Houston) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, one of multiple junior college institutions formed in the first decades of the 20th century.[7][8] In 1934, HJC was restructured as a four-year degree-granting institution and renamed as the University of Houston. Today, Houston is the fourth-largest university in Texas, awarding 11,156 degrees in 2023.[4] It has a worldwide alumni base of nearly 200,000.[9]
This article is about the research university. For other uses, see University of Houston (disambiguation).
Former names
Houston Junior College
(1927–1934)
University of Houston–University Park
(1983–1991)
In Tempore (Latin)
"In Time"
March 7, 1927
$1.47 billion (FY2024)[2]
Diane Z. Chase[3]
3,263 (Fall 2023)[4]
46,676 (Fall 2023)[4]
37,356 (Fall 2023)[4]
8,612 (Fall 2023)[4]
708 (Fall 2023)[4]
Large city[5], 667 acres (2.70 km2)
Scarlet red and Albino white[6]
- Cougars
- Coogs
The university consists of fifteen colleges and an interdisciplinary honors college offering some 310-degree programs and enrolls approximately 37,000 undergraduate and 8,600 graduate students.[10][11]
[12]
Houston has nine professional schools: the Hines College of Architecture, Bauer College of Business, Hilton College of Global Hospitality, Law Center, College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Optometry, College of Pharmacy, College of Social Work, and the Hobby School of Public Affairs. The university's campus, which is primarily in southeast Houston, spans 894 acres (3.62 km2), with the inclusion of its two instructional sites located in Sugar Land and Katy.[13] The university is also the founding campus of the University of Houston System.[14] Undergraduate admissions to the university is categorized in the second quintile, "more selective".[15] Nearly 88% of the student body are from the state of Texas[16] and 9% are international students representing over 130 nations.[17]
The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity"[18][19][20][21] and spends approximately $240 million annually in research. The university operates more than 35 research centers and institutes on campus[22][23] in areas such as superconductivity, space commercialization and exploration, biomedical sciences and engineering, energy and natural resources, and artificial intelligence. The economic impact of the university contributes over $6.4 billion annually to the Texas economy, while generating about 62,000 jobs.[24]
The University of Houston hosts a variety of theatrical performances, concerts, lectures, and events. It has more than 500 student organizations and 17 intercollegiate sports teams.[25] Annual UH events and traditions include The Cat's Back, Homecoming, and Frontier Fiesta. The university's varsity athletic teams, known as the Houston Cougars, are members of the Big 12 Conference and compete in the NCAA Division I in all sports. In 2021, the university received and accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference.[26] The football team regularly makes bowl game appearances, and the men's basketball team has made 23 appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament—including six Elite Eight and Final Four appearances. The men's golf team has won 16 national championships—the most in NCAA history.[13] In 2022, UH's men's track and field team earned its seventh Indoor Conference Championship title, and its swimming and diving team defended its American Athletic Conference title for the sixth straight season.[27][28]
History[edit]
Founding[edit]
The University of Houston began as Houston Junior College (HJC). On March 7, 1927, trustees of the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) unanimously signed a charter founding the junior college. The junior college was operated and administered by HISD.[29][30]
HJC was originally located on the San Jacinto High School campus and offered only night courses to train future teachers.[31]
Its first class began June 5, 1927, with an enrollment of 232 students and 12 faculty recruited from Rice University, the University of Texas and Sam Houston State Teacher's College.[32] The first session accepted no freshman students, and its purpose was to mainly educate future teachers about the college.[32] In the fall semester, HJC opened enrolled to high school students. By then, the college had 230 students and eight faculty members holding evening classes at San Jacinto High School and day classes in area churches.[32]
HJC's first president was Edison Ellsworth Oberholtzer, who was the dominant force in establishing the junior college.[29][33]
Institutional structure[edit]
Governance[edit]
The University of Houston (UH) is one of four separate and distinct institutions in the University of Houston System, and was known as University of Houston–University Park from 1983 to 1991.[32][42] UH is the flagship institution of the UH System. It is a multi-campus university with a branch campus located in Sugar Land. The University of Houston–Clear Lake (UHCL), the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), and the University of Houston–Victoria (UHV) are stand-alone universities; they are not branch campuses of UH.
The organization and control of the UH is vested in the UH System Board of Regents. The board consists of nine members who are appointed by the governor for a six-year term and has all the rights, powers and duties that it has with respect to the organization and control of other institutions in the System; however, UH is maintained as a separate and distinct institution.
Academic rankings
83–99
152
133
208
208
301–400
641–650
501–600
432
Jack Valenti, long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America, creator of the MPAA film rating system, and a special assistant in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, received his B.B.A. from UH. Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel is also an alumnus.
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., aka Lil Wayne, is a hip-hop artist from New Orleans. He enrolled in 2005 but dropped out shortly after.
Alice Sebold, a novelist known for Lucky and The Lovely Bones, and Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress (the most popular, open-source blogging platform), also attended the university.
Notable athletes within the list include NFL players Wilson Whitley, Glenn Montgomery, Alfred Oglesby, Craig Veasey, Donnie Avery, David Klingler, Kevin Kolb, Billy Milner, Sebastian Vollmer, Case Keenum, and Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware; baseball stars Doug Drabek, Michael Bourn, and Brad Lincoln; golfers Fred Couples, Billy Ray Brown, Steve Elkington, and Fuzzy Zoeller; track and field legends Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell; NBA basketball players Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, Clyde "The Glide" Drexler and "The Big E" Elvin Hayes as well as Bo Outlaw, Don Chaney, Michael Young, Damon Jones, Carl Herrera and Otis Birdsong; and legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry. The owner of the San Diego Padres and noted philanthropist John Moores holds both undergraduate and law degrees. Wade Phillips, a former head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys, is a UH alumnus as well.
Elizabeth Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, a 2020 U.S. presidential candidate, and formerly a Harvard Law School faculty member and chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the U.S. banking bailout during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, received her B.S. from UH in 1970. Tom DeLay, a former member and majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, who represented Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006, also attended the University of Houston. Other politicians who attended UH include Gene Green, a Democratic politician and a U.S. congressman from the state of Texas representing that state's 29th congressional district, which includes most of eastern Houston, along with large portions of Houston's eastern suburbs; and Ted Poe, a Republican politician currently representing Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Poe's district includes most of northern Houston, as well as most of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area.
Other alumni include Jim Parsons, star of the television series The Big Bang Theory, Brent Spiner of Star Trek: The Next Generation, actors Robert Wuhl, Loretta Devine, Dennis Quaid, Randy Quaid, Brett Cullen, comedian Bill Hicks and former attorney and talk show host Star Jones, Project Runway contestants Chloe Dao and Laura Bennett, sportscasters Jim Nantz and Robert Flores, YouTuber Liza Koshy, singer and rapper Lizzo, and country music stars Larry Gatlin and Kenny Rogers .
Crystle Stewart, Miss USA 2008 is a former student at the university, last attending in 2007. Jason Alkire, an artist and fashion designer, is a graduate as well.[129]
Notable Texas politicians who are graduates of the UH Political Science program include Alfred H. Bennett, U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas;[130] Carol Alvarado, Texas State senator for District 6;[131] James White (Texas politician), State Representative Texas House District 19,[132] Dylan Osborne, Harris County Treasurer; and Odus Evbagharu, Harris County Democratic Party Chair.[133]
Official website
Media related to University of Houston at Wikimedia Commons