UHV and the community have always worked together to create opportunities to benefit everyone. The 2011-2012 fiscal year was no different. These opportunities would not have been possible without the
generous financial support of area community members and organizations, and university faculty and staff.
Donations and pledges to UHV totaled more than a half a million dollars in 2011-2012. UHV’s internal employee fundraising campaign raised the highest amount ever in the university’s history. The
$93,951 raised for programs and scholarships was matched dollar for dollar by the university, making the total contribution $187,902. Some of the top areas receiving donations were the Ron Sardessai
Endowment Professorship, American Book Review, Campaign Victoria, Roy and Ileen Foley Scholarship, Wayne and Cheryl Beran Endowment Fund, Nursing Program Support, Library Excellence Fund and School
of Business Administration Excellence Fund.
Here are some other highlights from 2011-2012:
• Community members and UHV stakeholders were invited to take surveys about possible themes for UHV’s Quality Enhancement Plan, a required component of the university’s spring 2014
reaccreditation by
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. “Enhanced Engagement Through Learning Communities” was the topic chosen.
• The Small Business Development Center expanded monthly on-site business counseling services to Yorktown.
• The university was awarded a nearly $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to help prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus. The three-year
grant will allow UHV to expand safety and counseling options in the form of three new staff positions – a victim advocate, a female psychologist and a peace officer.
• It was announced that the Claud Jacobs/Victoria Country Club Collegiate Invitational golf tournament would be hosted for the first time by UHV.
• UHV’s Community of Readers program brought together community members, and faculty, staff and students through a shared reading experience and series of related programs. “World War Z” by
Max Brooks was the book chosen for the second year of the program.
• The UHV-based Society for Critical Exchange, the oldest scholarly organization in North America dedicated exclusively to theory, hosted the Third
Annual Winter Theory Institute at the university. The theme was criticism after critique.
• The Alcoa Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to UHV for a new robotics research course and the annual Math and Computer Science Awareness Day.
• The VC/UHV Library hosted a grant-writing workshop for area nonprofit organizations. It was supported by grants from the Trull Foundation, Gulf Coast Medical Foundation and the M.G. and
Lillie A. Johnson Foundation.
• Student Senate members volunteered for a local Habitat for Humanity project.
• It was announced that UHV would host a transatlantic conference to discuss the migration of Mexican Americans to the U.S. and Muslims to Germany. The conference received a $6,500 grant from
the German Marshall Fund and the Bosch Foundation.
• The SBDC was named the December 2011 Small Business Partner of the Month by the Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
• The School of Business Administration partnered with INVISTA to put on a seminar for business owners and others to learn how to increase entrepreneurial innovation in their organizations.
• Education students partnered with the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Golden Crescent on the Spring Reading Fling and the Young Authors and Illustrators Workshop, events aimed at bolstering
reading and writing development for children.
• The School of Nursing sponsored a Fall Nursing Forum focused on evidence-based care as well as a Spring Nursing Forum about Vietnamese health care.
• Career Services held several networking events for business owners and student job-seekers, including the Part-Time Job Fair and the Career Fair.
• The 26th annual Martin de León Symposium, a joint effort between UHV and Victoria’s de León Club, focused on the history of Victoria during the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Graduate biology students welcomed Rowland Elementary School students to the campus for a biology lesson that included how to process tissue to view under a microscope.
• UHV hosted a free in-service training workshop
called “Motivation: Making Fractions User Friendly” for local teachers.
• The Student Senate put on the ninth annual Giving Tree, a holiday charity drive that supported five local charities: Adopt-A-Pet, Food Bank of the Golden Crescent, HOSTS (Help One Student To
Succeed), Mid-Coast Family Services and the Old Landmark Committee of Victoria.
• UHV sponsored the Leadership Launch seminar at Jaguar Hall, along with Alcoa, First Victoria and TDECU. The event, organized by Women’s Resources, was for emerging women leaders.
• UHV also hosted several events designed to get students engaged in higher education and give them opportunities to win scholarships:
» A Calhoun High School student achieved a perfect score on the computer science test and took first place in both computer science and math in the individual competitions at the annual
UHV/Victoria College Math and Computer Science Awareness Day. Part of his prize included a $2,400 robotics kit from UHV.
» Hispanic Heritage Month events included a reception where the first- through third-place winners in the Hispanic Heritage Month Art Contest received scholarships. All of the entries in the
contest were on display at UHV during Hispanic Heritage Month.
» Black History Month events included an art exhibit and poster contest for fifth-graders. The top winners received scholarships, and all entries were on display at UHV during the month.
