Inventive Academics
Each year, UHV’s three schools create innovative academic programs and make improvements to better meet the needs of the university’s students and the community.
Here are just some of the academic highlights from UHV’s three schools that took place in 2018-2019:
School of Arts & Sciences
- A $30,000 grant from Alcoa Foundation allowed the university to continue its popular mathematics, robotics and computer science classes, camps and events, and helped the university offer the Texas Women in Computing Summer Camp for middle school girls for the first time. An additional $7,500 grant to support the summer camp came from the Dow Chemical Co. Foundation to purchase portable computers and a portable computer station.
- A $10,000 grant from the National Center for Women & Information Technology supported university programs to increase enrollment, retention and graduation of women majoring in undergraduate computer science degrees.
- For the first time, the UHV/American Book Review Reading Series showcased three UHV faculty members. They were Diana Lopez, an associate professor and director of the undergraduate creative writing program; Anthony Madrid, an assistant professor and director of the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program; and Saba Razvi, an assistant professor of English and creative writing. The series started in 2006 and has brought more than 120 authors to Victoria for community readings, books signings, workshops with UHV and high school students, and receptions.
- The Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program was recognized by two national ranking organizations for its quality and affordability. It was ranked the sixth most affordable online M.F.A. in creative writing by College Factual based on the university’s accreditation and affordable tuition. OnlineMasters.com ranked the degree 13th in the nation and gave the online program special recognition for its technology support.
School of Business Administration
- Chinese businessman Bingxin Wu donated $700,000 to the university over a 10-year period to improve programs, research and international business studies for business students and faculty. Wu, who previously was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from UHV, also donated $600,000 to the university five years ago.
- Wu’s donations helped sponsor 13 graduate and undergraduate students’ two-week summer abroad trip to China, where they learned about the history and culture of the country and met and traveled with Chinese students. UHV students were joined by Chinese students from the Central University of Finance and Economics School of Government and the International University of Business and Economics in Beijing. Nearly 100 UHV students have traveled to China since the summer study abroad program started.
- Undergraduate business students helped create a social media plan for the UHV Small Business Development Center. The winning team members got to present their plan at the regional Small Business Association conference and attend a Victoria Leadercast event hosted by the SBDC.
- OnlineMasters.com placed UHV’s Strategic and Global Master of Business Administration degrees in human resource management and Strategic MBA in international business on its lists of the best online MBAs in the nation for their affordability, academic quality and student success. Undergraduate degrees receiving rankings included the Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, which was ranked third in the nation by College Factual for its affordability and accreditation, and the B.B.A. in general business with a supply chain management concentration, which was listed among the top 25 online programs in the nation by GuidetoOnlineSchools.com. The School of Business Administration is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which accredits less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide.
School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
- The national Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs awarded eight-year re-accreditations to UHV’s two degrees in its graduate counseling education program. The university offers the only CACREP-accredited Master of Education degrees in school counseling and clinical mental health counseling in the Victoria and Greater Houston areas.
- The university revamped its online VOICE program, which allows those who are interested in teaching but have a bachelor’s degree in another field to earn a teaching certificate in as little as a year. The changes make the program more affordable and give students the option of applying credits toward earning a master’s degree.
- A $100,000 grant awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to the University of Houston Foundation funded a yearlong community-based program led by two UHV faculty members that focuses on ways to reduce chronic kidney disease in at-risk populations.
- UHV began coordinating a $109,800 contract with the Texas Education Agency to review lesson proposals and select the ones included in a new free, online database of lesson plans and accompanying videos for teachers in pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms.