01
September
2016
|
11:43 AM
America/Chicago

2016 Fall Address: A Conversation on State of the University

Michael A. Olivas joined the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) family in February as its interim president. After seven months on campus, the veteran educator and administrator will share his thoughts on the state of the institution during the annual President's Fall Address on Sept. 8.

This year's event will feature a dialogue on UHD, its role in the community and its growth as an institution of higher learning. UH System (UHS) Regent and UHD alumna Paula M. Mendoza will join Olivas in a discussion on the University at 2 p.m. in the Wilhelmina Cullen Robertson Auditorium (Room A350 on the third floor of UHD's One Main Building). Faculty and staff are invited to join the conversation. A reception with refreshments will follow the program in A300.

"I look forward to sitting down with Regent Mendoza and talking about this great university," Olivas said. "I've only been here for a few months, but I've seen tremendous progress in this institution and its students. I've said it before and may say it a few more times next week - we are no longer the best kept secret in Houston. I invite our faculty and staff to attend this event, to share their thoughts on the University, and to discuss how we can work together to make it even better for our students and our city. And there will be coffee, snacks, and talk of baseball."

Olivas was appointed as UHD's Interim President by UH System Chancellor Renu Khator. Olivas has served as a faculty member at the University of Houston Law Center since 1982 and holds its William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law.

Mendoza is a native Houstonian and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from UHD. She was appointed to the UHS Board of Regents in 2013 by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. She is the CEO of Possible Missions Inc., a project management solutions company serving a variety of industries. Mendoza has been featured on the cover of Small Business Today Magazine and listed as one of Houston's 50 Women of Influence by Houston Woman Magazine. She soon will be honored as one of 2016's Women of Distinction and was recently named a "Woman on the Move" by Texas Executive Women.

Faculty and staff can RSVP for the event here. The event will be streamed live on the UHD website.