UH to celebrate its 75th
birthday
Cougar News Staff
Cougar Pride Week, starting today and ending
Saturday, marks UH's 75th anniversary celebration. The campus will be adorned
with red and white
throughout the week.
Pin Lim/The Daily Cougar
Cullen Family Plaza will
be the site for UH's 75th anniversary celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30
p.m. Wednesday. The event, called "UH Through the
Decades," will feature music, food, refreshments
and historical exhibits.
The campus will be home to live bands,
dance performances, disc jockey appearances and other activities. Food
and refreshments will be provided by
student organizations, faculty and staff.
Each decade of the University's existence will be represented by music,
photographs and exhibits.
"It's important that the students, faculty
and staff come and participate in the celebration. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
event that was a collective effort
from the staff, faculty and students,"
said Wendy Adair, associate vice president for university relations.
UH began as Houston Junior College with
summer sessions June 5, 1927. The faculty consisted of 12 faculty members
on loan from other colleges
and universities. The small number of
students at the time attended classes in borrowed facilities throughout
the city.
The first university president, E. E. Oberholtzer,
envisioned the institution becoming a commodity to the city and its primary
higher education resource.
Today, UH is home away from home to approximately
33,000 students from more than 120 countries and multiple ethnic and cultural
backgrounds.
"Throughout our 75 years, we have been
blessed with extraordinary people who have lead us to exceptional achievements,"
said Arthur K. Smith, UH
System chancellor and UH president. "We
began as a university for Houston's working people, and we evolved into
a university that educates the
people of Houston and the world, and one
that has emerged in many fields at the frontiers of discovery."
Unity Day initiates the festivities and
will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the University Center.
The Council of Ethnic Organizations sponsors
the event and will feature art displays,
food samples and entertainment.
Music and refreshments will be the highlight
of the Buzz Buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Lynn Eusan Park.
The event is sponsored by
KTBZ-FM 94.5, James Coney Island and the
UH Office of University Marketing.
Wednesday has been designated as "Wear
Red Day" and will be the high point of Cougar Pride Week, the day the University
actually celebrates its
anniversary. Students, faculty and staff
can gather at Cullen Family Plaza from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Good
News Gospel Choir and UH's jazz
orchestra will perform. Students can win
one of two reserved parking spaces for the coming school year during the
event.
From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, people
may go to the UH Bookstore to have copies of Our Time signed. The Houston
Alumni Organization will
hold an awards dinner at 7 p.m. in the
UH Hilton. The Student Program Board will also kick off its "Wet and Wild,
UH Style Spring Fest 2002."
SPB's event continues from 7 to 9 p.m.
Friday in the UC's Arbor Room. The Spring Fest will head to Robertson Stadium
from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday
and will include a fashion show, local
bands, dunking booths and other activities.
Adair encourages everyone to participate
in this fun-filled week.
"It's our birthday party. Come and celebrate,"
she said.
— with additional reporting by Christina
Flowers, Daily Cougar Staff
