University of Houston-Clear Lake
Houston Partnership for Environmental Studies
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 1,541,751
Description and Justification
The Environmental Institute of Houston (EIH) is a partnership among the University of Houston-Clear Lake, the University of Houston, government agencies, businesses and environmental organizations. The institute supports research, professional development for teachers, and broad based participatory efforts for environmental issue resolution. EIH provides funding for research efforts of faculty and students at both universities in four focus areas: pollution prevention, natural resource conservation, environmental public policy, and social and cultural issues related to the environment.
Additional funding is needed for personnel to support regional environmental education (EE) support for various local schools. Educators attending EE workshops are better prepared to teach Texas citizens the importance of natural resources and balanced, science-based analysis of the issues. The Houston-Galveston region served by EIH includes seven counties with 54 school districts, approximately 1,232 schools and 73,413 professional staff. EE efforts by EIH can impact approximately 22 % of Texas' diverse student population. EIH facilitates many EE efforts within the Houston area and can leverage additional support through more partnership projects.
Funding is proposed for the formation of an environmental infrastructure component at UH to address major environmental infrastructure challenges in the greater Houston-Galveston area. The need for clean air and water will dictate the development of new technologies and approaches. Work will focus on: air quality, flooding and security issues; innovative designs, new materials, and state-of-the-art construction and maintenance approaches for water, wastewater and industrial complexes; freshwater inflow and instream needs for rivers and estuaries including Galveston Bay; invasive species; water quality and fisheries; infrastructure databases/GIS; and sustainable development and environmental management.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The Houston-Galveston area is a natural laboratory for studying the balance of economic development and environmental protection. Sensitive estuarine, wetland and forest ecosystems are adjacent to a large industrial complex and a large urban population. Air, water and soil quality are impaired in various ways by human activities and represent issues for research, education and policy debate. The region has a long history of environmental disputes, but has gained a national reputation for broad-based consensus approaches to environmental planning and issue resolution. EIH is the major interface between the community and the UH System for participation in environmental discussions. Currently, the Houston area is experiencing explosive population growth and development. This will burden the current water supply and wastewater systems. With ever limited public funds and increasing public accountability, systemic changes in environmental infrastructure development, maintenance, management, education, and financing will be required if we are to obtain a truly sustainable infrastructure. There is an urgent need to comply with federal and state regulations on clean air and water. It is important that the environmental infrastructure systems are cost effective and that they represent the most intelligent and state-of-art systems.
Collaborative Bilingual Educator Preparation Program
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 670,000
Description and Justification
As the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in Texas continues to grow, so does the need for bilingual teachers, counselors and administrators. The Texas Education Agency continues to list a critical shortage of bilingual teachers and notes that the vast majority of ELL students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten are taught by teachers who are not certified and about 40 % of ELL students in elementary classrooms are taught by those not certified as bilingual teachers. Currently the Texas Education Agency lists approximately 15 % of Texas' public school students as Limited English Proficient. Almost all school districts express a critical unmet need for bilingual teachers and also express a similar need for bilingual counselors and administrators who can work effectively with bilingual children and their families.
The proposed special item request is to provide a program that will recruit 24 bilingual students into a preparation program for certification as bilingual teachers, and also provide stipend and scholarship support for six bilingual teachers preparing to be counselors and six bilingual teachers preparing to be principals.
As we strive to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind, the population of ELL students presents special challenges and requires that fully certified personnel be available to address their needs. This program will help school districts to meet their need for highly qualified teachers, counselors and administrators.
Factors Impacting Strategy
UH-Clear Lake has long established collaborative relationships with school districts in its service region. UHCL has received significant funding from the U.S. Department of Education to develop and evaluate preparation programs for bilingual teachers, counselors and administrators. This special item request will build upon these proven models to provide additional critically needed personnel for the schools in our service area and further refine the training programs used to prepare these educational professionals, providing a model that can be replicated in other programs throughout the state.
High Technologies Laboratory
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 983,942
Description and Justification
The High Technologies Laboratory uses a collaborative model of research and development to enhance the training and education of future engineers and computer scientists and allow them to develop and introduce new technology to the Texas economy. The funds are spent on faculty and student salaries, laboratory supplies and computing and testing equipment necessary to provide an infrastructure for conducting research in the topical areas applicable to this laboratory. Funding to date has been highly leveraged by grant and contract funds from federal agencies and private corporations.
Funding will support the development of new and vital technology needed for advancement in space exploration. More specifically, this research funding will support the development of technologies needed to advance the national space agenda that focuses on the "Moon, Mars and Beyond" including mission and safety critical computing, communications, molecular computing and advanced control technology for robotic systems. Additionally, the focus will be expanded to include Biotechnology, which consists of Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (Computational Biology).
This request for funding is easily justified given the need for innovative research activities to support the national goals for space exploration and the rapidly expanding field of Biotechnology. This research will provide UHCL with a stronger relationship among the government, academic, and commercial communities. This triad will nurture technology transfer among participants and the major stakeholders. The research and development implemented by the High Tech Lab will serve to help keep Texas in the forefront of the opportunities resulting from this invaluable research.
Factors Impacting Strategy
If this request for special item funding is rejected, it could significantly disrupt the current joint research relationship among NASA, DOD, civilian government agencies, UHCL, and the Aerospace Contractors. The special item funding will support the development of new and vital technology needed for advancement in space exploration and biotechnology. The resulting technology is then transferred via joint research among the triad to the Texas technical community. The joint venture would be critically impacted if this item were not funded.
Success Through Education Program (STEP)
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 535,000
Description and Justification
The Success Through Education Program (STEP) is a teacher education project comprised of special academic programs and comprehensive support services that guide students through a seamless track from high school to community college to UH-Clear Lake, culminating in a college degree, teacher certification and employment in local school districts. This program enables disadvantaged and low-income students to pursue a four-year degree and certification toward professional employment and to increase the number of minority and other teachers in local school districts. The pilot STEP program has proven effective, and the requested funding will allow expansion. This program helps students overcome risk factors that often lead them to failure. Evaluation considers student graduation and certification, transfer, professional placement, achievement and employer satisfaction.
STEP has experienced strong growth. In 1993, 14 students were enrolled in the first STEP program at Galveston Ball High School. As of 2004, 1,151 students participate in the program, at all three levels, with 186 of these at UHCL. To date, this program has graduated 268 certified students. UHCL has established partnerships with six high schools in four school districts and four community colleges. The most recent addition to the program involves Houston ISDžs Austin High School and Houston Community College-Southeast. Funding for this exceptional item provides for academic and faculty advising, program management, student financial support, professional development, field and related activities for students and the expansion of the program into other school districts and community colleges.
Two partnerships will be established with at least one high school and one community college in two school districts. About 100 high school students and 70 community colleges students participate, with at least 30 additional students enrolling in teacher certification programs.
Factors Impacting Strategy
Texas is faced with critical shortages of teachers in a variety of teaching fields; school districts also are desirous of having a teaching force that reflects the demographics of the student population. This program is designed to assist with the resolution of these deficiencies in our immediate service area and to validate the STEP program as a model for addressing such needs statewide.
Animal Care/Campus Renovation
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 9,068,725
Project Description
This project will construct a 6,000-square-foot facility to replace the current 3,583-square-foot animal care facility currently housed in the Central Services Building. The vacated space in the Central Services Building will be renovated to accommodate the University Police Department. In addition, this project will renovate and expand UHCL's first building, the Arbor Building, constructed in 1971. This renovation and expansion will include 2,400 square feet of lab space, 300 square feet of storage space, 800 square feet for a special purpose classroom, 300 square feet for a teacher support room, and 25,000 square feet of new space.
Project Need and Justification
- The current animal research facility is 23 years old. It was planned for a much lower level of research than that anticipated over the next few years. There is currently no room for additional faculty research programs in biology, environmental science (including the Environmental Research Institute of Houston), and experimental psychology. As a result, a facility that is flexible and can accommodate multiple aquatic and terrestrial species is needed. There is also a great need for more room to accommodate designated storage areas for volatile solvents, feed, litter, and clean cages. This project will construct a 6,000-square-foot facility to replace the current 3,583-square-foot facility in the Central Services Building. Space in the new building will consist of animal rooms, storage, new built-in cage washer and boiler, a new autoclave, surgical suite, restroom with shower, office space and research/teaching laboratories.
- The project will renovate the vacated space in the Central Services Building to accommodate the University Police Department. 3). The Arbor Building, the first UHCL building, was completed in 1971. The 46,971-square-foot facility is in need of repair and renovating. The renovation will include two 1,200-square-foot labs with 300 square feet of storage space, one 800-square-foot special purpose classroom, and a 300-square-foot teacher support room. 4). The Arbor Building expansion is needed because the art classes are lacking in adequate space for equipment and students. Area demand for graphic arts training has increased rapidly. NASA, NASA contractors, and the energy business all have increased need for people trained in graphics and, particularly, digital arts: digital photography, digital video, and computer graphics. Classes in these areas have expanded rapidly in the last few years. As a response to this, the UHCL arts program is preparing the groundwork for a bachelor of fine arts degree, which would concentrate on the technical arts. Arts programs, however, are space intensive. UHCL can no longer meet the demand; it lacks the space. Courses in the arts program often fill up during early registration; some fill during the first two or three days. This proposal, if funded, would permit a significant expansion of the arts program, particularly digital and computer graphic arts.
Learning, Research and Information Gateway Building
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 38,000,060
Project Description
This project will construct a 160,000-square-foot facility to alleviate a shortfall projected by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's space projection model for the year 2010. The space will consist of the library, an information commons, and a university computing facility to act as an information network hub. Space vacated by the library in the Bayou Building will be remodeled into classrooms and faculty office space.
Project Need and Justification
Neumann Library, given its central role in UHCL's mission, has also changed dramatically in response to the proliferation of information in electronic form, and transitioning from a role as a service provider to that of a partner with faculty. The University Archives, a part of Neumann Library, has dramatically expanded its role in the research community through a partnership with the NASA/Johnson Space Center to house the records of the human space flight program including the NASA Oral History Collection as well as the Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle and early Space Station records.
The present Alfred R. Neumann Library has occupied the same space since 1974. Its reading space has actually decreased while the number of UHCL students has increased from 1,069 in 1974 to 7,776 in 2003. The modernization and expansion of Neumann Library is needed to support an increasing campus and community demand for technology-enhanced library access and services; to remain current with regional and national trends in library facilities and services; to support additional campus-based and off-campus graduate and doctoral programs; to provide curricular support for an information literacy program; and to develop new models of academic support in partnership with faculty and students.
Pearland Teaching Center
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 17,100,000
Project Description
The demand for quality higher education in Brazoria County is evidenced by the region's rapid rate of growth in population and employment. The Pearland area has several community colleges, but there are no institutions that offer either a four-year college degree or a graduate degree.
Project Need and Justification
UHCL is currently offering courses at Alvin Community College's Pearland Center. In Fall 2004, we propose to offer eight programs, four undergraduate and four graduate. Eleven undergraduate sections and nine graduate sections will be offered in FY05. Space at the Pearland facility for use by Alvin Community College and UHCL will accommodate only 1,675 full-time students. Recent ACC credit and non-credit enrollments at this site have reached 1,300. Based on these ACC enrollments, the classroom availability to accommodate UHCL's four undergraduate and four graduate programs may exceed capacity by Fall 2006.
