New Building Welcomes Students - Fall 2007

Starting in late August 2007, classes will be held for the first time in the new Shea Street Building, located north of Interstate-10 along North Main Street. Ten years ago UHD added two new structures, expanding the campus beyond the historic One Main Building. That same year the inaugural edition of New Horizons debuted.

In the new Shea Street Building, students will benefit from high-tech classrooms and lecture halls, computer labs, and enhanced student services areas. It will also ease the pressure on available instructional and faculty office space campus-wide, and enable the College of Business to more vigorously expand and grow over the next decade. “The college has reached a point where a new building will make a huge difference. In one sense, it will put the College on the map in Houston and make it more easily recognizable to the public. In another, it will allow us to increase our engagement with the business community and produce more graduates for real-world careers,” says Donald L. Bates, dean. The College of Business is one of the top two largest colleges at UHD in terms of enrollment and employees. Key benchmarks include:

• 850 graduates per year, or
• 45% of UHD graduating class per year, and
• 5% enrollment increase in Fall 2006

Dean Bates and the faculty leadership have a vision for the College that has something for everyone – students and alumni, faculty, and the business community:

• Niche academic programs to serve the Gulf Coast region
• Stronger faculty recruiting and retention
• Endowed professorships in Finance and other niche areas
• An Honors program to hone student leadership skills
• Regional magazine-style publication of applied research
• Improved marketing and branding of the College

One niche program – the Institute for Financial Literacy (www.ffltx.org) – is already in place. The Institute’s mission is to educate and equip mature youth and adults with the knowledge and awareness they will need to effectively manage their personal financial resources over a lifetime. With enrollment growth and increasing demand for its graduates, the UH-Downtown College of Business has proven that “Reality-Based Business Education” is good for Houston. With an ambitious vision for the future and a building on the way, it’s about to get even better!


Watch a short video showcasing UHD and the College of Business.