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Delphian Women Help UHD Achieve the Dream

(Houston, Texas, May 20, 2007) On May 10, the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters hosted a luncheon where nine undergraduate student scholarships and a number of special request gifts for various departments at UH-Downtown as well as UH were conferred. Founded in 1924, the Delphian organization is one of the first women's clubs in Houston. The members pursue their primary philanthropic objective of helping undergraduate students gain a college degree.  

Several departments at UHD received Delphian assistance. The Communications division sports a new digital camera. Humanities and Social Sciences can implement a projection update. Natural Sciences boasts a new microscope. The O'Kane Theatre can now purchase new costumes and scenery while the W.I. Dykes Library secured funding for classic literature.

As helpful as these gifts are for assisting UHD in providing quality education, even more heartfelt gratitude comes from the nine individual scholars who each received a $1,000 scholarship. Jason Gay thought he had missed the boat. He and a fellow student, Mike Grady, applied (meeting certain requirements and writing a one-page essay on family and community involvement). Grady received an email asking him to attend the luncheon in order to receive his scholarship, but Gay did not. After waiting a few days, Gay figured he had not won. Then the email came, apologizing for the delay.

"I was definitely happy about that," Gay says. "This is the first scholarship I have received."

Gay wrote about his mother, an 87-year-old dynamo who adopted 24 children, ran a shelter for homeless women and children, and helped incarcerated mothers keep their children out of the welfare system.

"My mom got more praise and congratulations at the luncheon than I did," Gay says.  

UHD thanks the Delphians for their generosity and commitment to education.  

UH-Downtown is a public university of nearly 12,000 students, offering a wide variety of bachelor’s degrees, as well as master’s programs in criminal justice, professional writing, security management and teaching. One of four distinct universities in the UH System, Houston’s Downtown University is nationally recognized for its student diversity, wireless campus, outstanding academic opportunities and productive community partnerships. At UHD, the emphasis is on excellence in teaching and student success.

Please use UH-Downtown, UHD or University of Houston-Downtown when referring to our university.