May 15, 2025

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Thank you for another productive academic year. Last weekend, 7,040 students received their UH degree in 19 ceremonies, the largest number of graduates in the history of the University. Thank you for your role, whether inside the classroom or outside, in helping these graduates achieve their dreams. As you prepare for summer, I wanted to give you a few updates.

UH System Chairman Fertitta Becomes U.S. Ambassador

Following his appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, Chairman Tilman Fertitta resigned from the UH System Board of Regents, where he has fearlessly and passionately served for nearly 15 years. It is in part because of his advocacy and generosity that we are a member of the Big 12 conference, have a winning basketball program and the UH College of Medicine. He also had a big hand in securing the $1.3 billion Texas University Fund to accelerate research at UH and across Texas.

In accordance with our bylaws, UH System Vice Chairman John McCall now performs the duties of the chair until a successor is appointed.

We thank Chairman Fertitta for his immeasurable support of our university. He has not only been our visionary leader but also our biggest advocate. He has promised to stay involved and continue to help UH in achieving all those dreams that we have formulated together.

Federal Directives

While it is difficult to keep track of all the changes at the federal level, the most talked about change is in the research landscape. In addition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) has also declared a 15% indirect cost cap on all future grants. So far, 25 grants have been terminated, impacting faculty summer compensation, doctoral students, postdoctoral appointments and lab operations. Students remain our top priority. Departments and colleges are asked to prioritize funding eligible students impacted by grant cancellation through local indirect cost (IDC) funds unless other funds are available.

On the positive side, the federal government is prioritizing some areas of research, including chronic diseases, reliable energy technologies, AI and quantum. Similarly, the Texas Legislature is poised to invest $3 billion into creating a brain research permanent investment fund, pending approval by a statewide vote later this fall. We have expertise in these areas and should now synergize our efforts to leverage our strengths.

We will continue to hire Presidential Frontier Faculty and Aspire Faculty and will also keep the momentum on building core facilities, albeit at a manageable scale.

State Legislative Session

The 89th Legislative Session will end the first week of June and we’re continuing to communicate our priorities to legislators and statewide leadership, which includes additional dollars to support the academic enterprise through formula funding. In addition, we’re asking for support of the performance-based funding mechanism that prioritizes student success metrics — an area we have been focusing on for some time, including the areas of graduation rate, persistence rates and degree completion, especially in high-demand fields of study.

The Legislature will not be providing funds for new academic buildings through the Capital Construction Assistance Project (CCAP) program. However, we are hoping to see an increase in our Higher Education Fund (HEF) allocation that supports deferred maintenance and renovation.

We have a vision to expand programming in Katy to serve its growing population, and it is a realistic one, but the pace of its execution will depend on legislative funding. We are hopeful that the additional funds that we have requested will help us with our expansion schedule.

Finally, we have advocated hard for additional support for the Fertitta College of Medicine. This request, if granted, will equalize our college’s funding with other medical colleges as we expand our freshmen medical school class from 60 to 120 by 2028.

I thank all those students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of UH who are voicing their support for UH during this legislative session, either by directly approaching our leaders in Austin or by simply displaying a good return on investment, because of legislative investment in UH. Your support is incredibly important to further elevating the University.

Major Construction Ahead

Having evaluated upcoming construction projects thoroughly, I am ready to lift the “pause” that I had placed several weeks earlier. Most of these projects are funded by the state through previous CCAP authorization, HEF funding or by donors. All these projects involve campus lighting and much-needed underground utility upgrades. You will also see more green space, shade-providing trees and outdoor gathering places.

On June 1, construction fences will go up in many areas of the campus, creating noise, traffic disruptions and logistical inconveniences. The goal is to finish these projects in time for the University’s Centennial Celebration. Here are the projects:

• Innovation Hub
• Hobby School of Public Affairs Academic Building
• Medical Research Building
• Dining Commons
• Centennial Hall
• Wilhelmina’s Grove
• Demolition of Farrish Hall
• Pedestrian-friendly University Drive
• Centennial Plaza
• Lighting and utility upgrades
• Continuing renovation of Agnes Arnold Hall and Science and Research Building 1

You will continue to receive more information from Facilities/Construction Management, but I encourage you to also visit the Centennial Construction Project website for alternative access as University Drive closes on June 1. I ask for your cooperation and patience.

Once again, thank you for your contributions to the University. I hope you take some well-deserved time off this summer to relax and rejuvenate.

With warm regards,

Renu Khator
President