UHCL celebrates 40 years

University of Houston-Clear Lake celebrates its 40th anniversary in fall 2014 by becoming a four-year institution. For the first time in its history, freshman and sophomore students are on campus to join the commemorations.

Established to educate upper-level and graduate students, the university made history when its first lower-level students stepped on campus Aug. 25 for their first day of classes.

Since the university, originally called University of Houston at Clear Lake City, opened its doors in 1974 with one building, 60 faculty members and 1,069 students, the campus has expanded with the construction of the Student Services and Classroom Building, the Pearland Campus, the completion of the Bayou Building and various other additions that make up the 524-acre campus that sits upon a wildlife and nature preserve.

More has changed throughout the past 40 years than the buildings on campus. The addition of freshman and sophomore students has shifted the demographics of the student body, allowing for younger, more traditional students to mingle into the population at UHCL.

Arriving five years after the university’s opening as an Associate Professor of Business, President William Staples has seen the idea of a four-year initiative transform from a proposal in the mid-80s to its execution in the fall 2014 semester.

“When I looked at the future of UH-Clear Lake and what I thought the university should become, I saw it at some point becoming a four-year institution,” Staples said. “It was just a matter of when.”

While it may sound like a small task to add lower-level students into the roster, planning had to be done at nearly every level of the university, from faculty appointments and course schedules, to the creation of new departments such as Orientation and New Student Programs (ONSP).

Angelica Montelongo, director of ONSP, has seen the freshmen’s transition into campus life throughout the summer and the first weeks of school through programs like mandated orientation, Hawk Launch, Welcome Back Bash and the Bayou Block Party.

“The freshmen seem to be very focused on academics and very motivated,” Montelongo said.  “I think this is a group that is looking to get involved. Our hope is that the students connect, both academically and socially on campus, and we’ll be there to support them.”

Having younger students on campus has already begun to change the scenery at UHCL. Students can be seen playing the guitar in the Bayou Atria, skateboarding through Alumni Plaza or relaxing by the pond – scenes that were uncommon when the university was comprised of mostly older students.

“The freshmen that are coming in, at least looking at their credentials, seem to be a very good bunch,” said President of the Faculty Senate Chris Ward. “The people that are teaching the freshmen are already reporting that they are a very high-performing group, that they’re engaged and asking good questions. I think the faculty is going to have raised expectations for these students.”

Since the university’s first graduating class in 1975, which consisted of one student, Language and Literature major Connie Seymour, UHCL has graduated more than 62,000 students. Much has changed since its inaugural year, but Staples said the university’s commitment to student success will not waiver.

“We’re giving different students different options, and our role, which hasn’t changed since the founding of the university, with Presidents Neumann, Stauffer and Goerke, is to provide high-quality academic programs,” Staples said.

While much of the preparation and planning for the freshmen has been done throughout the past four years, the faculty members have continued to adapt the programs to fit the needs of students, both old and new.

“We will see what happens this year, what mistakes are made, what things we planned for that didn’t materialize, what things we didn’t plan for,” Ward said. “This is all living and breathing. This is not something that is set and stone.”