Thursday, October 11, 2012 // Issue 27, Volume 78 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
N E W S P A P E R
O F T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
H O U S T O N
UH Main receives $109 in private contributions Nongovernmental funds received since 2011 have surpassed the target goal of $80 million Amy Carl Contributing writer
UH raised $109 million in private contributions since 2011, surpassing its goal of $80 million in contributions and boasting an increase of $30 million from the previous year. The increase in funds could not have come at a better time said Eloise Dunn Stuhr, UH’s vice president and vice chancellor for University Advancement. “I give tremendous credit to our staff for the increase in private contributions. They recognized the need to sharpen our focus on private philanthropy during a time when our funding from the state continues to decrease,” Stuhr said. “In addition, the University has initiated several high-profile projects that resonate with donors, such as the football stadium and the Health and Biomedical Sciences Building.” According to Stuhr, donors contributed gifts to UH athletics, Houston Public Media, the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
The Ezekiel W. Cullen Building (above) is the main headquarters for many of the administrators at UH. | Joshua Mann/The Daily Cougar
and the C.T. Bauer College of Business. Alumnus Doug Barnes and his wife, Molly, pledged $5 million to establish the Doug and Molly Barnes Vision Institute within the College of Optometry, which will be submitted for state-matching funds through the Texas Research Incentive Program. The two largest individual gifts came from donors living in Dallas and Austin, a fact which reflects the growing prominence and impact of the University beyond Houston. Stuhr said that UH’s rising national profile will only increase future donor contributions. “Donors want to support winners. There is a reason why Harvard leads the nation in raising the most money among U.S. college institutions. It represents quality and ambition, and that has great appeal,” Stuhr said. “As UH continues to raise its profile, enhance its reputation and improve its overall quality, we will be in a much stronger position to CARL continues on page 11
CAMPUS
Gym moves to improve its lockers, facility cleanliness Joel White Contributing writer
Boasting state-of-the-art design, construction and functionality, the UH Campus Recreation and Wellness Center continues its effort toward improvement. Director of Campus Recreations Kim Clark said that with the Rec Center being open seven days a week, providing a clean, well-maintained facility has proven to be a challenge to the department.
“Due to the (Rec Center)’s operational hours and high volume of activities, housekeeping staff is on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, we are working closely with Facilities Management to address deferred maintenance issues and to proceed with the implementation of our capital plan for larger maintenance projects,” Clark said. Amid complaints about the broken lockers located within highuse areas like the fitness zone and near the three-court gym, Clark
explained that the department is searching for replacement locker options. “We have investigated the possibility of replacing the locker doors and switching to a different lock that would be more reliable and require less maintenance. However, simply replacing the locks (and) doors is not an option due to the original design and installation of the lockers,” Clark said. To combat this issue, Clark said the funding has increased dramatically.
“We spend about $1 million per year on housekeeping and basic routine maintenance and repairs. The amount spent each year on this plan varies, but this year an excess of $1.5 million has been approved,” Clark said. The funding will go toward replacing equipment in the fitness zone and the lounge chairs in the facility, addressing the locker issues, screening and recoating the hardwood floors in the facility, REC continues on page 11
S I N C E
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SPORTS
UH finds a TV partner LIFE+ARTS
UH band goes to get signed GET SOME DAILY
thedailycougar.com
CORRECTION The information regarding the funding support in yesterday’s Nanowire story was inaccurate. The project was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency through an award to the University of Colorado — Professor Yang was the Principal Investigator. UH did not receive a subcontract from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Liu said in an email. The Daily Cougar was responsible for the error and apologizes.
COUNTDOWN
1
Day until Family Weekend.
You still have time to hide all of the dirty laundry.