University of Houston Downtown Campus Developments

[totheskies]

It occurred to me that another disingenuous part of your argument is that it is the ignorant general public that confuses the two. Who cares? These are not the people who are hiring you. And worse, you claim the general public is too ignorant to recognize that these are two different schools, yet intelligent enough to know the differing admissions policies between the two? Please. Spend your time and money improving the University of Houston and quit wasting your time worrying who rides its coattails.

The move to change UH-D's name is internal... started by President Castillo himself. He has led a movement to try and change the name for a couple of years, but he didn't have system support until Dr. Khator was installed as Chancellor. Jay Gouge (like many of the faculty at UH-D) thought it was a dumb idea.

And I guess you don't live in Houston, don't read the newspaper, have never listened to KUHF, and don't watch television. UofH is working VERY hard to become a top-tier institution. Even last week, Gov. Perry was on campus to announce that UH had earned another $5.5 million in research dollars, and has started a partnership with the Methodist Hospital Research Institute (link). So the University of Houston is doing its part to become a more distinguished institution, and that has nothing to do with whether or not UH-D changes its name.

I suppose that I'm "petty" b/c I went to UH... especially considering that UofH has a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in my field of study, but I can't even complete a minor in the field at UH-D. Sounds petty to me.

Edited February 11, 2009 by totheskies

[LTAWACS]

The move to change UH-D's name is internal... started by President Castillo himself. He has led a movement to try and change the name for a couple of years, but he didn't have system support until Dr. Khator was installed as Chancellor. Jay Gouge (like many of the faculty at UH-D) thought it was a dumb idea.

So they say.

And I guess you don't live in Houston, don't read the newspaper, have never listened to KUHF, and don't watch television. UofH is working VERY hard to become a top-tier institution. Even last week, Gov. Perry was on campus to announce that UH had earned another $5.5 million in research dollars, and has started a partnership with the Methodist Hospital Research Institute (link). So the University of Houston is doing its part to become a more distinguished institution, and that has nothing to do with whether or not UH-D changes its name.

What's the point of belonging to the UH system then?

I suppose that I'm "petty" b/c I went to UH... especially considering that UofH has a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in my field of study, but I can't even complete a minor in the field at UH-D. Sounds petty to me.

I dont understand. UHD has several master's programs. No phd at this time.

[skyphen]

These are all pretty terrible choices. Are these the finalists? I guess one with Southeast in the name if we have to go directional. Definitely not South Texas. There's a South Texas College of Law downtown... they'll be right back here in a few years if they change it to that. UST... TSU... both of which we already got. Terrible choices.

It will be interesting to see if this name change affects their enrollment numbers any. Some alumni I've known liked the association/confusion with UH main campus.

Not to mention we are in Southeast Texas, not South Texas. Culturally and geographically different worlds. Ugh. Again, terrible choices.

[skyphen]

I really would have liked Houston Metropolitan University or City College of Houston. There's a City College of San Francisco. I always thought that had a cute ring to it. It's short, sweet, and to the point, if nothing else. Suggests the open admissions policy, mission, and location of the college in few words, and there would have been absolutely no mistaking it for any other college.

Edited February 15, 2009 by skyphen

[N Judah]

I really would have liked Houston Metropolitan University or City College of Houston. There's a City College of San Francisco. I always thought that had a cute ring to it. It's short, sweet, and to the point, if nothing else. Suggests the open admissions policy, mission, and location of the college in few words, and there would have been absolutely no mistaking it for any other college.

I liked the "City College" idea too but it was ruled out of contention. I think this was due to the fact that the "city colleges" (in california, and probably elsewhere) are community colleges, which UHD certainly is not.

[KinkaidAlum]

The best City College system is in NYC. There are several branches there that are fairly well regarded (Hunter College springs to mind). None of them are JCs.

[totheskies]

I liked the "City College" idea too but it was ruled out of contention. I think this was due to the fact that the "city colleges" (in california, and probably elsewhere) are community colleges, which UHD certainly is not.

No, that just depends on the university. The CUNY system is comprehensive schools, and some of the City collges are as well.

I still think a name like "Houston City University" would work well just b/c it is distinct, but it doesn't overshadow any other institutions.

[Davidlfj]

I would just like to say that first of all, Ford_Guy, you should really re-read your posts for errors..."but never late than ever," pretty sure the saying is "better late than never." UHD, UH-Main, UH-Clear Lake, and UH-Victoria ARE CONNECTED. The president of each school sits on a UH board of presidents. They are the ones who make the decisions for each school. To say that they aren't connected is pretty silly. Even if UHD wasn't connected, UH-Main Campus would still be referred to as the central or main campus because you still have the Clear Lake and the Victoria Campus. For someone talking about how people lying is so wrong, why do you lie about the fact that you only attended UH-Main Campus? In an earlier post on this very discussion you said that you attended UHD for one class. One is not the same as none, so you went to both UHD and UH-Central.

Also, UHD has not changed its name yet. It will probably be taking place late next year (2010).

[Davidlfj]

there are thousands if not tens of thousands of employers in Houston and many probably have HR people that are not from Houston or do not even live in Houston and many probably do not keep up with the daily goings on of universities and their affiliations to one another....but they probably do know the basics that UH means a quality college of business and a quality college of engineering and could easily assume that UHD holds to those same standards when that is far from the truth....A college education is about what is learned in and out of the classroom and that experience is heightened in a residential campus setting with tenure track, full time faculty VS a commuter campus with part time adjuncts

UH has worked to elevate their status and their students in many departments have worked hard to be admitted and graduate from those departments and they deserve to have recognition for that and not be confused with others

and just because you have a conspiracy theory behind why there is a push for a name change that does not mean it is true

no wonder our country is growing fuller of lazy slackers every day.....when people work hard for something people like you wish to call them "big", evil, or elitist, and wish to reward others the same that did not put in the same effort and were not subjected to the same rigors for their education

If it is as you see it then there is nothing to worry about for those at UHD because all that matters is a piece of paper that says degree on it and a major and what school is comes from is of no consequence so people coming out of UHD with a different name will have nothing at all to worry about because they have the piece of paper, but we all know that in reality this is far from true and that is what bothers people like you the most.....that some would actually wish to work harder and separate themselves from the pack and then be rewarded for it.......and we all know to make America better we need to end thinking like that and reward all equally no matter how much or how little effort they put in because that is "fair" and really good touchy feelies for everyone

also the name change might not make a difference over night, but UH is about to raise admissions dramatically which will mean that UHD and other schools will become larger because they will catch those that did not get admitted to UH.....UH suffers from a very low graduation % and as they raise admissions and bring in more residential students and try and raise their graduation % and their external funded research and their % of graduate students the difference between a degree from UH and UHD will grow larger so the time to make a name change is at the time when UH is looking to further elevate themselves not after it is all done....so the time to make the change is now, not after UH becomes a nationally recognized graduate and research university with an even higher level of funding and higher quality faculty and students

Let's see, first of all, I have attended both universities, and I prefer UHD. I think the faculty is more competent, I know that the staff is, and I prefer the small classroom environment. I am graduating this spring with a BBA in Accounting (not Accountancy Ford_Guy) from the UHD College of Business. Both UHD and UH-Main are accredited by the AACSB, which only about 15% of universities in the US are, and the classes needed for graduation at UHD are the same as at UH-Main, except that UHD requires one extra class (Business Cornerstone). I will agree with you that UH-Main is more prestigious than UHD, but that is exactly the point. UHD is for real people, who have lives, jobs, family, and responsibility. This is one of the reasons it costs far less (about 30-40% compared to UH-Central), has open admissions, and FULL-TIME FACULTY. Not all of the faculty at UHD are adjuncts, in fact most are full-time.

When I was at UH-Main most of what I saw was what I was, an irresponsible teenager. I see some of that at UHD, but in my experience it is a much smaller percentage. Most of the people I see are there to get a degree that doesn't cost them a small fortune, and UH-Main is expensive if you are paying for it yourself, like I was. Let's face it, if you are a white male in this country there aren't ANY scholarships just for you, like there are for EVERY minority, and the ones you can apply for you are competing with everyone including the minorities that applied for that minority scholarship too. My high school, in Cy-Fair ISD, gave us out a list of scholarships that was about 35 pages long, and out of that only about 6 scholarships were even available to me as a white guy (there were about 65 scholarships in that list btw).

I am completely ok with UHD changing its name, so long as it is something that stays in-line with their mission statement (University of Hopes and Dreams isn't one of them). The students of UHD recently were given a survey of possible names for UHD and were asked to pick the 5 they most liked. Some of the stuff on there was just plain ridiculous. Gulf State University, Gulf Coast University, Seguin State University...the list of epic fails goes on. Personally, I would prefer something like Houston Central University or maybe Diversity University (just kidding on that one, lol). On the same subject, I know plenty of people who recognize that UHD and UH-Main are different campuses, but not that they are autonomous institutions belonging to the same board of oversight. To confuse where the campuses are is just lunacy though because UH-Main isn't even in downtown Houston, it is a few miles from it in an area significantly less safe than UHD.

Simply put, if an HR employee in charge of hiring business students, for example, doesn't know the difference between UH-Main and UHD, then they need to gain some insight and perspective. I do agree that most of the time (not always though) a company is looking for the piece of paper rather than what is on it, and the gpa helps some.

As a final note, UH-Main is too expensive, as well as almost all Texas public universities...thanks Gov. Perry for being a moron.

[totheskies]

First off... Davidlfj, welcome to the forum!!

Let's see, first of all, I have attended both universities, and I prefer UHD. I think the faculty is more competent, I know that the staff is, and I prefer the small classroom environment. I am graduating this spring with a BBA in Accounting (not Accountancy Ford_Guy) from the UHD College of Business. Both UHD and UH-Main are accredited by the AACSB, which only about 15% of universities in the US are, and the classes needed for graduation at UHD are the same as at UH-Main, except that UHD requires one extra class (Business Cornerstone). I will agree with you that UH-Main is more prestigious than UHD, but that is exactly the point. UHD is for real people, who have lives, jobs, family, and responsibility. This is one of the reasons it costs far less (about 30-40% compared to UH-Central), has open admissions, and FULL-TIME FACULTY. Not all of the faculty at UHD are adjuncts, in fact most are full-time.

I have not attended UHD, but I had the great opportunity to teach one course there. I got my Masters degree from UH-Main (by my considerations a very BIG school), and I got my Bachelors degree from a small school in Arkansas. I too would have been very uncomfortable doing my undergrad degree at a school the size of UofH. It's very confusing, and there are a lot of hoops to jump through, but very little help and direction given to the students. UHD is smaller, yes... but on some levels it still seems to be quite "impersonal"... I don't know if that's because of the different social structure (more non-traditional students) or what.

When I was at UH-Main most of what I saw was what I was, an irresponsible teenager. I see some of that at UHD, but in my experience it is a much smaller percentage. Most of the people I see are there to get a degree that doesn't cost them a small fortune, and UH-Main is expensive if you are paying for it yourself, like I was. Let's face it, if you are a white male in this country there aren't ANY scholarships just for you, like there are for EVERY minority, and the ones you can apply for you are competing with everyone including the minorities that applied for that minority scholarship too. My high school, in Cy-Fair ISD, gave us out a list of scholarships that was about 35 pages long, and out of that only about 6 scholarships were even available to me as a white guy (there were about 65 scholarships in that list btw).

Right, b/c no matter which way you slice it, MOST of the wealth and economic advancement in this country is still held by the upper-middle class white population. I am an African American, and a first generation college student, and from a state where I am definitely a minority, and from a poor family. As much as some people like to "imagine" that all things are equal in this country, it's just not the truth. My grandfather had a third grade education, my grandmother had a 5th grade education. My parents were lucky to finish high school. Going to college was kind of a big deal for me. That's why all of those "minority" scholarships exist... b/c people need them.

I am completely ok with UHD changing its name, so long as it is something that stays in-line with their mission statement (University of Hopes and Dreams isn't one of them). The students of UHD recently were given a survey of possible names for UHD and were asked to pick the 5 they most liked. Some of the stuff on there was just plain ridiculous. Gulf State University, Gulf Coast University, Seguin State University...the list of epic fails goes on. Personally, I would prefer something like Houston Central University or maybe Diversity University (just kidding on that one, lol). On the same subject, I know plenty of people who recognize that UHD and UH-Main are different campuses, but not that they are autonomous institutions belonging to the same board of oversight. To confuse where the campuses are is just lunacy though because UH-Main isn't even in downtown Houston, it is a few miles from it in an area significantly less safe than UHD.

I live very near Third Ward, and I stayed on campus while I was doing my Masters. I have worked Downtown in several capacities, and have been there many many times at night (in the UHD area also). UHD is by no means, and in no way "safer" than UH-Main. Third Ward has a lot of poor people, but it also has a very concerned population of church members, UH-Main's police force, and the regular HPD regional headquarters. What we don't have is the Harris County jail right next to us, or a bevvy of bail bondsman in our midst.

[FordGuyHTX]

The University of Houston System (UHS) has put on hold a name change for the University of Houston

Edited March 17, 2009 by FordGuyHTX

[jmancuso]

how can anyone confuse this:

with this:

?

and the "UH" in UHD is an asset to that school because UofH is widely viewed as a decent university so the association with it should be highlighted. i transfered from UH (central) to UHD after a semester...because UHD had far more evening classes and i like the fact that i still have 'university of houston' on my diploma. also have a masters from UHCL.

[EMME]

Umm, hello...Houston is not in South Texas. We are in Southeast Texas. Brownsville, Kingsville, Corpus Christi...South Texas. Houston, Beaumont, Conroe, Huntsville, Galveston...Southeast Texas. Okay? OK!

[EMME]

Yep, I agree Cullen State or Cullen Robertson State, but that is actually what UH proper should be called. It would not exist as a major university were it not for them. Leave UH-Downtown as UH Downtown and rename the main campus.

[kennyc05]

How about not

[LTAWACS]

Yep, I agree Cullen State or Cullen Robertson State, but that is actually what UH proper should be called. It would not exist as a major university were it not for them. Leave UH-Downtown as UH Downtown and rename the main campus.

An excellent idea.

How about YES!

There. I fixed it for you.

[kennyc05]

[EMME]

An excellent idea.

There. I fixed it for you.

[samagon]

Is it too late to say that I want the name of this school to be named "Sentral Houston Institute of Technology".....

Someone needs to tell the people who feel that they are going to lose the prestige involved with UH by having the school change its name, at least it doesn't say 'devry'

[kennyc05]

I hope I dont get banned for saying this but quit being an asshole samagon

[samagon]

I hope I dont get banned for saying this but quit being an asshole samagon

sorry to have offended you.

Personally, when I am hiring someone, the college they went to is the last thing I look at.

Whether it says UHD, HMU, UH, Harvard, I don't care. At the end of the day, I am interested in a persons ability to learn.

And to top it all off, I actually have hired people who have gone to devry, UHD and UH.

I guess I'm just not that sensitive to the name of a place that people go to for their higher education, a person is only going to get out of it what they put in to it anyway, that is true no matter what the name of the place is.

[LTAWACS]

sorry to have offended you.

Personally, when I am hiring someone, the college they went to is the last thing I look at.

Whether it says UHD, HMU, UH, Harvard, I don't care. At the end of the day, I am interested in a persons ability to learn.

And to top it all off, I actually have hired people who have gone to devry, UHD and UH.

I guess I'm just not that sensitive to the name of a place that people go to for their higher education, a person is only going to get out of it what they put in to it anyway, that is true no matter what the name of the place is.

Try getting FordTXGuy to understand that... ugh.

[Triton]

Noticed this today on my bike ride.... anyone happen to know what they are replacing this with? Another parking garage or something else?

 

[xsatyr]

I was curious too but forgot to ask; glad you brought it up.

 

[xsatyr]

"The One Main Faculty/Staff Garage soon will be demolished to make room for a new replacement garage, tenant space on top of that garage, and an adjoining Welcome Center. The tenant space will create a more unified one-stop student service experience on what will become an expanded 3^rd floor. The Welcome Center will provide an open, inviting point-of-entry for prospective students and visitors coming to UHD."

 

http://skyline.uhd.edu/2013/06/27/garage-demolition-replacement-facultystaff-parking/

Edited August 19, 2013 by xsatyr

[LTAWACS]

So will it be a higher capacity garage? Taller maybe?

[xsatyr]

So will it be a higher capacity garage? Taller maybe?

 

At least 40 floors and maybe a crown.

[musicman]

"The One Main Faculty/Staff Garage soon will be demolished to make room for a new replacement garage, tenant space on top of that garage, and an adjoining Welcome Center. The tenant space will create a more unified one-stop student service experience on what will become an expanded 3^rd floor. The Welcome Center will provide an open, inviting point-of-entry for prospective students and visitors coming to UHD."

 

http://skyline.uhd.edu/2013/06/27/garage-demolition-replacement-facultystaff-parking/

this sounds like UH main campus. I had to get a transcript recently and was surprised how little time it actually took.

[Urbannizer]

Parking garage demo, from the link xsatyr posted.

[Howard Huge]

At least 40 floors and maybe a crown.