Confident, dedicated, ambitious, fearless and ready to change the world...meet the UHD student.

Houstonians are now getting their chance thanks to UHD's new campaign—FinishUHDStrong.

Launched in January, the Finish UHD Strong campaign includes digital advertising, television commercials, billboards and other media throughout Greater Houston featuring more than 30 outstanding students from across all five UHD colleges.

For more than five years, "Major Opportunity" has been the call to action for prospective UHD students. While it has successfully served the University well; the next generation of college students are evolving.

The prospective student—first-time-in-college, transfer, adult, distance learning, and graduate students—consider specific factors when choosing a university. Multiple research studies were conducted over the past six years, for and by UHD, to assess those contributing factors including reputation, flexibility, cost, proximity and a great job after graduation--all were considered in developing the new campaign strategy.

The birth of Finish UHD Strong is a natural segue from 'Major Opportunity' to further solidify and communicate the University's brand—UHD students seek a 'Major Opportunity' to Finish UHD Strong.

"FinishUHDStrong is both a promise and a call to action," said Elisa Crossland, executive director, University Relations. "We want our students to know that UHD is dedicated to every facet of their college experience to help ensure they finish strong at the University of Houston-Downtown. The campaign invites prospective students to choose UHD and encourages current students to succeed at UHD."

The 2015-2020 UHD Strategic Plan included an aggressive, yet achievable, goal to recruit and increase enrollment among specific student populations. Through the FinishUHDStrong campaign, the University hopes to aid with student recruitment and retention and also seeks to change some outside perceptions of the University—establishing UHD as the school of first choice among prospective students.

"It's exciting to begin the year with a campaign that embodies the pride and strength of our students, faculty, staff and alumni," said Johanna Wolfe, vice president, Advancement and University Relations. "Finish UHD Strong's imagery and language captures the University's commitment to their success and tells the countless accomplishments and achievements of our incredible students."

This campaign is an example of UHD’s commitment to the Houston Guided Pathways to Success (Houston GPS) initiative. This multi-institutional partnership fosters collaboration among area colleges and universities with the goal of helping students graduate on time and with less debt. Additionally, Houston GPS is focused on streamlining the transfer process between local community colleges and universities.

An updated UHD Graphic Guidelines document will be available in March. Faculty and staff who want to incorporate Finish UHD Strong into promotional materials should contact University Relations at universityrelations@uhd.edu.