The University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Association of Senior Programs (CLASP) hosted an event called UHCL: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Oct. 10 as part of the university’s 45th anniversary celebration. Sponsored by Strategic Partnerships, led by Dwayne Busby, executive director; Joyce Delores Taylor, director of internship programs; Alexis Nwgui, program manager; and Vy Nguyen, student coordinator, the event featured four former and current faculty members of UHCL, who shared their stories with the audience.
Jonathan Zophy, professor of history and author of the book “Building a University: A History of the University of Houston-Clear Lake,” moderated the event. Zophy joined UHCL in 1988. His wife had been working there, so Zophy decided, “I should try to be where she is.” As he became acquainted with the students on campus, Zophy became inspired by the human relationships he saw among students. The early faculty members, Zophy said, were “pioneers” during a time when the campus was very small.
“We had lots of snakes in the Bayou Building, and various rodents and raccoons and other creatures,” Zophy joked. “We also had the enduring tradition of leaking atriums – the roofs that never got fixed.”
John Gorman, retired professor of literature, UHCL charter member and the university’s poet laureate (a title which he was given for fun), was working in Austin in the mid-1970s when he saw that UHCL was hiring four ten-year positions in the field of literature.
He flew down to Houston that April, which he called “the best time to be interviewed for the job.”
He recalled this as “the start of a long and happy relationship” with the campus.
Gorman played an active role in not only establishing UHCL but also building it from the ground up. Gorman said he and fellow charter members strongly believed in higher learning, as well as helping people find the jobs they wanted without having to travel far.
“You were free to follow the genius of your motivation and your own discipline,” Gorman said. “You were free to cross into new territory and develop other interests, and to do very stimulating teaching. It was a success from the start in the sense that the people who could use an opportunity like that were the happiest about it in the end.”
Lisa A. Jones, associate professor of multicultural education in the College of Education, first came to UHCL as an adjunct in 1998. After graduating from University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree, she worked part-time as a high school teacher while earning her master’s degree in education and then her doctorate. She eventually stopped working so she could go to school full-time.
Jones’s husband, a NASA contractor for the United Space Alliance, suggested she apply at UHCL. She initially turned down that suggestion because she did not want to work full-time. In 1998, Jones accepted a position as an adjunct in the College of Education.
At first, she only taught one evening class, and said she “was not connected to the institution in that regard.” Later, she became a full-time professor.
“Someone told me that this [was] such a magical place and we [were] on the verge of so much more happening, and I wanted to be part of that,” Jones said. “I’ve seen it grow, and I want to continue to be part of that. I have been here since August 1999.”
College of Science and Engineering Dean Miguel Gonzalez joined UHCL this year for a career change. Originally, Gonzalez was motivated to move to Houston to be closer to his daughter. But what truly drove him to join UHCL was the university’s primary mission.
“What really sold me on coming here is the mission of the institution,” Gonzalez said. “The mission that is student-centered, community-minded and partnership-oriented.”
Gonzalez felt UHCL’s mission reflected his own deeds he has performed over the past 25 years in other institutions he has worked for and that there is a “tremendous opportunity to make a difference” and forge a new heritage with people who honor UHCL’s history. This, Gonzalez said, is why he chooses to stay at UHCL and continue his work here.
The four presenters not only shared their unique points of view, their personal accounts and experiences at UHCL; but, they also shared their own visions of UHCL’s future as they noticed the changes: Gorman representing the beginning; Jones and Zophy representing the present; and Gonzalez representing the new.
Gonzalez said UHCL has experienced growth to this day, especially considering the massive student enrollment this fall. He expressed his desire to not only help students looking to start a career but also assist students wanting to establish their own businesses and create technologies statewide, nationwide and worldwide.
He added that innovations are possible if science and engineering programs are linked to business and education courses. That, he said, will drive UHCL into the future. He hopes that more opportunities will come to more students, more faculty members and the rest of this region.
Jones noticed how racially and culturally diverse the entire student and faculty bodies have become. When Jones started working for the university, she said, she was one of nearly 33% of the faculty members identifying as black.
She would see pictures of the alumni on a wall, and each alumnus/alumna was a white person. Former NASA astronaut Guion Bluford, Jones recalled, was once on the wall but not for very long. The student body has become more culturally varied with students from nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa, as well as other world regions.
“[In terms of diversity], we have a long way to go, but we are on the right track,” Jones said.
Today, Gorman wishes for UHCL to handle current issues while considering what would make a respectable society. Job training is vital, Gorman said, and so is being able to see “how one’s career fits into the whole format of careers,” not to mention a stronger focus on communities.
“People like the practical people – the nuts and bolts – so it’s good to have that toolbox to work on mentalities,” Gorman said.
Gorman recalled a time when engineering students also took basic text courses at Notre Dame University, and he hopes to see UHCL follow this example.
In closing, Jones declared UHCL to be a wonderful school.
“I am very proud to be a part of those things and of what is going to happen,” Jones said. “We are on the verge of something spectacular.”
Gonzalez agreed, saying he and others at UHCL will do all they can to not only preserve but also expand upon the university’s heritage.
“We are going to work very hard to make sure this future is bright and that we drive in the right direction,” Gonzalez said.