Joe Pratt, who has watched the UH campus evolve for over two-thirds of its existence, reflects on 85 years of UH history.
Archive | University of Houston
The People’s University: UH Alumni Memories Through the Decades
The growing number of former students who wanted to maintain contact with and sustain the University led to the formation of the University of Houston Alumni Association (UHAA) in 1940. Today it has over 18,000 members who subscribe to the organization’s core values: commitment, leadership, integrity, inclusiveness, fun, and teamwork.
World War II Veterans and the GI Bill Revilatize UH
The 1940 Selective Service registration affected 77,177 men in Harris County alone, and since UH enrollment drew largely from commuter students, the University experienced record growth.
The Tip of the Spear: Honors Education at UH
Whenever the University of Houston has mustered the will and the resources to compete at a higher level, Honors education has helped “move the needle”— President Renu Khator’s metaphor for positive change. “At its best, Honors has served the institution as a whole,” said William Monroe, dean of the Honors College since 2009. “Academically, Honors […]
KUHT-TV: UH’s Second Great Vision
Houston Independent School District Superintendent Dr. E. E. Oberholtzer’s concept for Houston Junior College was arguably the University of Houston’s first great visionary aspiration. In 1951, UH President Dr. Walter Kemmerer brought another visionary concept to the university, a proposal for an educational television station.
The Campus was our Country Club
I did not realize it at the time, but my childhood was made special by the place my family lived: University Oaks, a small neighborhood separated from the University of Houston campus by Wheeler Street. The campus was our country club, and the kids of University Oaks were our social circle. We led average lives […]
Moving Forward: Area Studies Programs and Diversity at UH
Both Houston and UH provide opportunities unavailable in other cities and universities. Much more diverse than Boston and surpassing Los Angeles and New York City, the Houston metropolitan area currently ranks number one as the most ethnically diverse region in the nation.
The Hall of Honor: Tier One Athletics
From its earliest days, the University of Houston rose to the top in athletics—not in football or basketball as you might expect, but in ice hockey. The team competed for the first time in 1934 against Rice Institute in the Polar Wave Ice Rink on McGowan Street.
Hiding in Plain Sight: The UH Public Art Collection and Blaffer Museum
As the University of Houston has made its push for Tier One status, what many people do not realize is that since the 1960s UH has been building a Tier One art collection that is one of the city’s best kept secrets.
Ideal Housewives: Home Economics at the University of Houston
The Home Economics Department at the University of Houston lasted from 1945 to 1977. According to the 1950 University of Houston Yearbook, The Houstonian, Home Economics offered instruction in food and nutrition, institution administration, clothing, textiles, costume design, interior decoration, child development, family life, and home economics education.