UH plans to renovate campus extensively over 20 years

"What can we do long-term to accomodate students and provide something different?" Dr. Gogue, President and Chancellor of the University of Houston, posed this question in his state of the university address Friday morning. This was his segue into a discussion of UH's master plan for the main campus.

UH's enrollment is expected to increase to at least 45,000 over the next ten years, but the school has a greater space deficit than any university in the state. The master plan aims to use the current 550-acre campus to its maximum capacity. The plan includes new apartment-style residence halls, more parking, new shuttles, more walkways, and 7 million square feet in new learning space. The campus will be divided into four districts, concentrating performing and visual art resources on the north side of campus. A new "professional district" will serve older, graduate students, while an "undergraduate district" will serve younger students. The average age at graduation for a UH student is 26, about 3 1/2 years older than the national average. A new stadium district will serve as the center for academics and the social scene. This part of the plan will also incorporate a stop on Metro's planned University Line.

The university has already begun several phases of the plan. The recently constructed Science and Engineering Research Complex is a sample of what the master plan will do for the campus. The new Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts is part of the new arts district, which will include a new auditorium, a new house for the Moores School of Music, and a larger Blaffer Gallery, among other things.

In his address, Dr. Gogue said that this plan will make UH a "21st century research university serving Houston and a 21st century world." In a video played at the address, Judge Eckels encouraged Houstonians not to take for granted what we have in our own backyard. UH is a vital component of Houston's economy and the master plan should revitalize the university and, just as importantly, give it the reputation that it deserves.