| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Students, faculty, staff, alumni, administrators, |
|
|
and members of the board of regents from the University of Houston |
|
|
are visiting Austin on February 11, 2025, to participate in |
|
|
University of Houston Day at the State Capitol; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Tier One university is located in the nation's |
|
|
fourth-largest city, and it serves students at instructional sites |
|
|
in Sugar Land and Katy as well as at the UH Technology Bridge; the |
|
|
institution is located within a region that is home to a quarter of |
|
|
the state's population and that generates nearly a third of the |
|
|
state's gross product; the student body, numbering more than |
|
|
46,600, including many first-generation college students, mirrors |
|
|
the rich cultural tapestry of Houston; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Each year, the university awards over 11,000 degrees |
|
|
in 281 undergraduate and graduate academic programs; it now counts |
|
|
more than 332,900 alumni, many of whom stay in Texas, where they |
|
|
contribute to the success of our communities and state; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the 17th year under the leadership of president |
|
|
Renu Khator, the University of Houston has set its sights on being |
|
|
ranked among our country's top 50 public universities, which will |
|
|
be achieved as a result of rapidly improving graduation rates, the |
|
|
ability to improve the social mobility of its students, and the |
|
|
recognition of the research excellence of its faculty; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, |
|
|
established after the passage of H.B. 826 during the 86th Texas |
|
|
Legislative Session, was founded on a social mission to improve |
|
|
health in underserved communities in Houston and across Texas; the |
|
|
college emphasizes the importance primary care plays in the health |
|
|
of all Texans, especially in urban and rural communities, and in |
|
|
four years, it has already graduated its first class of doctors and |
|
|
has a current enrollment of 210 students; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The University of Houston is helping to improve the |
|
|
health of Texans, with one in four UH students enrolled in a |
|
|
health-related program; the university provides 450,000 hours of |
|
|
patient care in clinical and community settings annually in a |
|
|
variety of fields across Texas, and 85 percent of its graduates in |
|
|
health-related fields are employed in Texas; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The university is home to 12 nationally funded |
|
|
research centers and 27 university research centers and institutes, |
|
|
and it has spent over $230 million in research expenditures |
|
|
annually, mainly in the critical areas of cyber- and national |
|
|
security, drug discovery and development, sustainable communities |
|
|
and infrastructure, and accessible health care; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The University of Houston athletics competes in 17 |
|
|
different sports with more than 400 student-athletes; several of |
|
|
the athletic teams have represented the university on the national |
|
|
stage, including the Cougar men's basketball team led by head coach |
|
|
Kelvin Sampson that has advanced to five NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
|
|
tournaments in a row; following in the footsteps of the previous |
|
|
year's team, the 2023-2024 team earned a No. 1 ranking in the |
|
|
country, generating nationwide support and excitement similar to |
|
|
the Phi Slama Jama era in the early 1980s; beginning in the summer |
|
|
of 2023, Houston now competes in a Power 5 conference after its |
|
|
acceptance to join the Big 12 Conference; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, For nearly a century, the University of Houston has |
|
|
contributed significantly to creating generation after generation |
|
|
of productive and responsible citizens; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby recognize February 11, 2025, as University of |
|
|
Houston Day at the State Capitol and extend to all participants |
|
|
sincere best wishes for an informative and enjoyable visit. |