This message is sent from the Office of the Provost to all UHD faculty.

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August 15, 2024

Dear Faculty,

It is my pleasure to welcome both our new and veteran faculty members to campus this August in anticipation of an exciting academic year! We had more than 100 faculty attend yesterday's Faculty retreat, and I enjoyed welcoming our new faculty at the New Faculty Orientation on August 8-9.

First and foremost, I am grateful for everything that the faculty has accomplished over the last year—from the incredible amount of hard work that went into the past 12 months to the faculty's remarkable leadership.

The sheer number of promotions demonstrates the productivity and excellence of our faculty. Our senior lecturer's promotion process recognized the work and accomplishments of 11 incredible colleagues who earned this promotion. Eight assistant professors earned tenure and were promoted to associate professors, one faculty member at the associate professor level earned tenure, and five associate professors were promoted to full professors.

I echo President Blanchard's remarks from yesterday morning when I say this is an exciting time to be at the University of Houston-Downtown. We are in the final months of celebrating our 50th anniversary and upcoming events (including the 50th Anniversary Gala) are listed on the 50th Anniversary website. We have many new full-time and part-time faculty members expanding our ranks. We have a robust, first-time-in-college freshman class that will begin their higher education journey with us on August 19. UHD is also experiencing increased enrollment for transfer students. We are also focusing on building our enrollments in our graduate programs.

Convocation is an opportunity to welcome our freshman students and kick-off the academic year with purpose and fun! Convocation will take place on Saturday, August 17 from 10:30 – 1:00 (Doors open at 9:30), with a formal program from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm in the Wellness and Success Center and lunch, college activities, and campus tours from 12:00 to 2:00. The Convocation keynote speaker is Dr. Sian Proctor, Astronaut, Professor of Geosciences, Afrofuturism Artist, and Chief Inspiration Astronaut of Space2inspire. Please plan to attend as your Saturday schedule allows!

In-person faculty interaction with students is central to our vision and mission and critical for student success. During Welcome Weeks, there are many activities planned for students, and I encourage you to participate. Our partners in Student Success and Student Life (3SL) appealed to faculty in yesterday's retreat to complete the interest form to become a Faculty Advisor of a Student Organization. Please consider completing this form to allow 3SL to match you with a student group that aligns with your interests and experiences.

Your on-campus presence adds to the overall vibrancy of the campus and success of our students. Student engagement in the classroom and co-curricular and extracurricular activities strengthen our students' knowledge, skills, and experiences. High Impact Practices (HIPs) play a significant role in enhancing student success. Integrating these practices throughout a program of study reinforces and amplifies the effects of deep learning and engagement. One of the key findings in the research done by George Kuh on HIPs is that to increase student engagement and student success, every student should participate in at least two HIPs during their academic career, but ideally every student should participate in one HIP each year in college.

The Impact Learning Office and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence are great resources to learn more about how to best use these high impact activities. The characteristics of HIPS can be used as principles to guide the design and delivery of nearly every learning experience. Please reach out to Dr. Gulati or Dr. Dement for more resources to assist in the development and implementation of HIPs.

I look forward to a year where we can continue to explore innovative ideas to enhance the UHD experience for our students, faculty, and staff. Ideas for research, grants, curriculum, and teaching often arise from casual conversations with fellow faculty members in the hallways, in offices, while getting coffee, or having lunch. The collective work that we engage in as members of committees, departments, and colleges benefit from in-person collaboration. Each of you is integral to what makes UHD a vibrant and successful institution.

Along with the Faculty Senate, we continue to value a strong commitment to shared governance and recognize it is an integral part of our campus life. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) also believes the faculty presence and engagement on campus is important. We believe we can make a stronger impact on the academic community by our involvement across campus. The mission and vision of UHD necessitate the meaningful contribution and participation of the entire campus community. Shared governance works best when the spirit of collegiality is maintained for the benefit of the decision-making process. We firmly believe that such collegiality will make us stronger and better.

One of my primary goals, and that of the entire Office of the Provost, is to support faculty success in teaching, service, and scholarship. To that end, over the last year we:

  • Fully implemented Canvas in Spring 2024
  • Launched our preparations for our SACSCOC reaccreditation through the kick-off meeting for the SACSCOC working groups in March 2024 and our QEP process which started in Fall 2023 and led to the final selection of Transferrable Skills for the 21st Century. Subcommittees are now working on the QEP implementation plan
  • Continued work with our Academic Master Plan Committee to envision a plan for new programs and look beyond the campus to our community partners and industry leaders to help strengthen student success. The work of this committee will continue we share and seek feedback on the vision for academic program growth.
  • Held Faculty Organized Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) Symposium to spotlight faculty scholarship contributions across all disciplines.

As we start the new academic year, I look forward to championing faculty excellence and success as we continue to share innovative teaching strategies to engage students in the classroom and across campus. Student success is the cornerstone for all that we do. Finally, we will continue to work together toward the goals and objectives of the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: A New Paradigm. Again, I appreciate the faculty's leadership in embracing the plan and doing the demanding work to make these goals a reality.

We want to share and promote the wide variety of activities that are happening across our campus. Please be sure to submit your event or meeting information to be posted on the Academic Affairs calendar to Provost@UHD.edu

Your efforts in the classroom, in scholarship, and in service are so important to the success of this institution. Please feel free to drop by and visit with me during my office hours from 1-3 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month and from 10 a.m. to noon on the third Tuesday. We will post on the website the days and times to make it easier to plan your visit.

In closing, I am looking forward to seeing you at our Freshman Convocation on Saturday, August 17 and in the hallways and classrooms of UHD as we build momentum for an exceptional 2024-25 academic year.

Sincerely,

Deborah E. Bordelon, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Various opportunities shared at Faculty Retreat – in summary: