Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM April 2019 | Page 24
EDUCATION
JIM TOWNSEND
Writer/Editor, University Communications • 281-283-2020
UH-Clear Lake
KAREN BARBIER
Associate Director, University Communications-Media Relations • 281-283-2029
UH-Clear Lake grows
enrollment, programs, facilities
N
ew buildings and increased enrollment
are among the highlights at University of
Houston-Clear Lake.
Featuring 13 faculty research labs,
15 teaching labs and a 100-seat tiered
lecture hall, the STEM and Classroom Building opened
in fall 2018. The state-of-the-art, 121,000-square-foot
building provides classroom and lab space for science
and technology as well as one of the university’s newest
programs, the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering. Other highlights of the building include
specialty rooms that include space for mechanical
engineering projects, computer-aided drafting and 3-D
printing.
UHCL’s new 81,709-square-foot Recreation and
Wellness Center also opened last fall. It includes
academic and recreational wings, an indoor, elevated
three-lane running track that overlooks two regulation-
sized basketball courts and a multi-activity court for
indoor soccer, hockey and other sports. The center,
which came about after a students voted and passed a
referendum to increase student service fees to pay for
the building, also features weight and cardio rooms,
biomechanics research labs, classrooms and rooms for
yoga and other exercises.
A 297-bed residence hall is under construction and
will be ready for occupancy in fall 2019. The residence
hall will complement University Forest Apartments, a
privately owned and managed complex on the university
campus. In fall 2018, students, faculty, staff and alumni
shared their ideas for the name of the new residence
hall, with Hunter Hall selected as the top choice. The new
facility will hold 294 beds and will include study lounges,
a community kitchen and lounge, laundry facilities,
outside patio and more. Students can choose from
three suite configurations: two single-bed rooms with a
shared bathroom, two double-bed rooms with a shared
bathroom, or a single-bed room with a private bathroom.
Meanwhile, at UHCL Pearland, doors opened in
January to the 69,539-square-foot Health Sciences and
Classroom Building to assist students in the university’s
successful health-science programs, notably the RN-to-
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MOMENTUM
BSN program. The facility features a simulated hospital
rooms, a nurses’ and pharmacy station, 100-seat lecture
hall, laboratories and faculty offices. It also houses a
satellite operation of UHCL’s Center for Autism and
Developmental Disabilities. The U.S. Census Board
estimates that approximately 8,000 residents or about 15
percent of Pearland’s work-age population work in health-
related fields.
In fall 2018, UHCL welcomed approximately 9,000
students, a population growth of 5.18 percent over fall
2017, and one of the largest enrollments experienced
by the university. These students chose from more that
90 undergraduate and graduate academic programs to
meet their educational goals.
Students and faculty apply academic theories and
conduct research through UHCL’s many centers,
institutes, clinics and laboratories that include the
following:
• Art School for Children and Young Adults;
• Center for Executive Education;
• Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities;
• Center for Educational Programs;
• Center for Professional Development of Teachers;
• Center for Robotics Software;
• Counseling Clinic;
• Cyber Security Institute;
• Environmental Institute of Houston;
• Exercise and Nutritional Health Institute;
• Psychological Services Clinic.
UHCL’s more than 69,000 alumni are leaders in
the community in a variety of fields and include 10
astronauts, more than 400 CEOs.