UHCL reaches 50,000 alumni mark

Chris Curry

The Signal Staff

A milestone has been reached for the University of Houston-Clear Lake. This year UHCL will reach and exceed 50,000 alumni, which is nearly equal to the population of League City.

The main goal of the Alumni Association is to develop opportunities for graduating students to stay active and interested in campus activities.

As with any university, the number of scholarships and programs offered is dependant, in part, upon alumni and community donations. With the new theme of “50 Grand,” UHCL hopes to spark renewed interest in the campus that succeeds graduations.

A celebration event will be held at the South Shore Harbour Resort Saturday to recognize distinguished alumni as well as reflect upon the history of UHCL and the many students who have attended since the first classes opened in 1974.

Two distinguished alumni will be honored for their outstanding public achievements.

Richard H. Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines.

Christopher J. Culbert, Lunar Surface Systems project manager, NASA JSC.

Richard H. Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines, graduated from UHCL in 1977 with a bachelor of science in American jurisprudence. He also holds a juris doctor degree from South Texas College of Law.

Anderson has worked in aviation for nearly 20 years and has held several high-level staff positions in the airline industry.

Christopher J. Culbert, manager for the Lunar Surface Systems Project Office, works with the Constellation Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and is responsible for development of all the systems that will enable humans to establish a habitable outpost on the Moon after 2020. Culbert received his master of science degree in physical sciences from UHCL in 1986.

“UHCL has a large number of notable graduates so this kind of honor is something I would never have anticipated,” Culbert said. “The best advice I can give new graduates is to never lose your passion for doing things better, doing things right or just plain doing things. If you want to change the world, you have to be involved.”

Other honors include the early achievement award recipient Corey J. Wilson, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Yale University, and two outstanding professors: Caroline M. Crawford, associate professor of instructional technology, and Gretchen Mieszkowski, retired professor of literature.

Instead of recognizing only the newly graduated alumni, this celebration will be different. All 50,000 alumni will be honored for their achievements since graduating from UHCL.

“We hope that the faculty, staff, students and alumni will join us as we celebrate the paths and life journeys of all 50,000 UHCL alumni,” said Charity Ellis, director of alumni and community relations. “This event is about recognizing and celebrating everyone and all their different paths, the artists, astronauts, teachers, social workers and everyone who has graduated in our 35-year history.”

The deadline to get tickets for the Oct. 17 event has already passed; however, other events have been planned throughout this semester to celebrate surpassing the 50,000 alumni mark including the Summer and Fall 2009 Commencement Kick-Off Dec. 18 and the New Year’s Star Party Jan. 14, 2010.

All graduates of UHCL are automatically members of the Alumni Association and are eligible to receive benefits such as a free subscription to university Egret magazine and alumni eConnections newsletter, free career counseling and career services, free computer training classes, 10 percent discounts on advanced management and foreign language programs and student discount rates for all UHCL performances and events.

Each year the Alumni Association holds a fund drive where alumni may donate funds to support any program or scholarship of their choice .

Alumni have an option to become lifetime members by donating $500 to the UHCL Alumni Association Scholarship Endowment, which grants free parking on campus, full access to the Alfred R. Neumann Library and free use of computer labs in addition to basic alumni benefits.