President Renu Khator
October 8, 2025

2025 State of the University

Introduction

Well, good morning, everyone. Thank you so much, Dr. Grigorenko. I sincerely appreciate your warm introduction. You are a role model faculty, And I know you’ve been selected by your peers to receive the University’s highest honor, the Farfel Award, this year. Your commitment to our students and research excellence runs deep, and I’m confident that you’ll help UH excel during your term as the founding presiding officer of Faculty Council. Again, thank you so much.

And to our Concert Chorale, what can I say?  You were wonderful, as always. Thank you, Dr. Maglione, and thank you, students! Let us give another round of applause to our internationally award-winning Concert Chorale!

Colleagues and friends, it is my sincere honor to welcome you to my 17th annual State of the University address. 

Let’s welcome our regents who guide us, inspire us and push us to achieve goals that are often bigger than our own. Their vision is strong; their support is solid and their love for this University is unparalleled.

Joining us today, and please stand as I call your name, are:

The Honorable Jack Moore, Chairman

The Honorable Alonzo Cantu came here all the way from RGV

The Honorable Beth Madison 

And the Honorable Adrian Caraves, our student regent

Thank you so much for your steadfast commitment and leadership.

I am also thankful for our former board members. If you are in attendance, please rise.

Thank you! 

I also welcome presidents from our sister universities. Thank you for being such wonderful colleagues.

President Loren Blanchard from UH-Downtown, and President Richard Walker from UH-Clear Lake.

Next, let me thank my cabinet and deans…it is their hard work that allows me to stand before you today with so much pride. May I ask you to please rise? Thank you…thank you.

Every summer, I extend my dining table to the maximum length and spread out strategic plans from every division and every college. Then I spread performance numbers from every unit and review them. What emerges is humbling … your performance, your dedication and the results of your hard work are truly impressive. The progress we are making, despite all the challenges, is inspiring.

Did I say challenges?    

Challenges

I am sure you have seen many headlines like:

“Public Trust in Higher Education Has Plummeted”

“A Looming Demographic Cliff: Fewer College Students”

“International Students Are Denied Visas”

“Texas Passes Sweeping Law to Curb Faculty Senates”

“Layoffs and Budget Cuts Pile On”

“Investigations Open in Top Universities”

And I am sure there are times when you feel demoralized, devalued and disheartened. The landscape of higher education is changing fast. We all know that the cheese has moved and the attacks — justifiable or not — are constant. Perhaps you ask yourself, “Does our mission matter? Does my work matter? Do I matter?” 

Today, I am here to show you … with data and evidence … that what you do matters, your work matters and that our mission matters. Our mission is clear — we are in the business of transforming lives, and we are doing so. Our goal of being in top 50 is non-negotiable — we will excel at the top level, and we are doing so. And our strategies are deliberate, and we are choosing them not out of fear or desperation, but out of optimism and with confidence.

First, let’s talk about the specific challenges facing higher education itself.

Last year’s Gallup survey showed that the public’s trust in higher education dipped to an all-time low. As disheartening as this information is, it is also, in part, a reflection of the overall distrust in institutions. As you can see many institutions are even lower than higher education. However, there is a positive sign. In the most recent Gallup survey from June 2025, which is just a few months back, higher education increased in public trust and is the only U.S. institution to have done so irrespective of respondents’ party affiliation.  

What is the benefit of a college education? People mention several benefits, but what they believe most is that universities are at the forefront of innovation, including scientific, medical and technological discoveries. 

When asked, “Why don’t you trust higher education?” participants in the past have mentioned college cost as the primary reason; however, this year, the top reason changed … brainwashing and indoctrination were mentioned as the main reasons for not trusting universities.

Along with low public trust, low enrollment is yet another national trend challenging higher education institutions. Most universities — public or private — rely on enrollment to fund their operations, and now we see that enrollment is declining nationwide. Several factors are responsible for it. 

First and foremost is the demographic cliff in America. Fewer children are born today than 15 years ago due to a decline in the fertility rate, which means that there are fewer kids in the pipeline to go to college. 

Fewer students will be graduating from high schools due to the drop in childbirth. In the next 15 years, a double-digit — a double-digit — drop in high school graduates is projected nationwide and it will begin showing up next year. 

To make things worse, the trend shows that the interest in going straight to college from High School has been waning, which means that the impact of demographic cliff will be drastic on university enrollment.

In addition to the enrollment cliff, recent federal policies on research funding are also pressing higher education finances. Earlier this year, many grants at many universities were defunded or halted. The Department of Education is being eliminated, raising questions about federally funded aid programs. Budgets of funding agencies like the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are being reduced as well. Added scrutiny on international student visas has already resulted in a 15% drop in international students across U.S. universities.

To sum it up, yes, we have many challenges in front of us … challenges that are unprecedented and immense. However, we are not alone … all universities are in the same boat. We cannot use this as an excuse, and we cannot be discouraged because we have, at the University of Houston, we have what many other universities don’t. I will highlight those in a moment, but first, let’s see where we stand today.

UH Against National Trends

Defying national trends, the University of Houston is managing to succeed in all areas from student access to student success, to research and national visibility. The credit goes to you, our faculty and staff and our supporters. 

This fall, almost 48,000 prospective students began the application process for the 6,200 freshmen seats that we had. 48,000 for 6,200 seats. Consequently, we increased our capacity by 500 seats, enrolling 6,700 freshmen — a historic high number. The total student enrollment — undergraduate and graduate — it stands at almost 49,000 for this fall, another historic high. Earlier in the year, the demand for campus housing also surpassed our capacity. In anticipation of growing demand, we are breaking ground for a new 1,000-bed residence hall. 

Out of all very high research activity universities in Texas, which means your Tier One, UH was first in terms of student growth in 2024. This is last year’s data since the data for this year is not yet available. And these are absolute numbers of new students, not the percentage.

As you can see, UH has fast become the university of first choice for many Texans. More and more freshmen are coming to us directly from high school than waiting to come as transfer students. It is important to underscore that, despite our growth, we have remained committed to our mission of providing opportunities to first-generation college students.

Student Success

The six-year and four-year graduation rates have been steadily growing, although not as fast as we all would like. While we can find many excuses, and all of them would be valid, it is important that we remain focused on the many ways in which we can help our students persist and graduate.

I want to take a minute to thank our donors and supporters … it is because of their generosities that dreams come true at UH. Each and every day, they are enabling us to march toward our goal by generously supporting our initiatives. One of these examples is the Last Mile scholarship, an initiative started to help those students who are a few credits shy of graduating but who find it difficult to continue because of financial hardship. Ms. Thasunda Duckett, CEO of TIAA and a UH alumna, started the Last Mile Scholarship with a half million-dollar gift. Inspired by her donation, other donors responded to the call and now we have graduation stories that are full of tears and gratitude. 

Psychology student Leah Gilbert on how the Last Mile Scholarship impacted her life.

Something happened a week before the first day of classes that convinced me that everyone is focused on student success. With all the construction fencing around the campus, that’s why I have my tennis shoes on, you see, traversing the University is challenging. 

A week before the classes, it was realized that existing pathways will not be sufficient to transport students to their classes across campus on time, the facilities team built a concrete pathway through the construction site to allow faster flow of foot traffic and they did it in five days … yes, just five days!

I know that the facilities and construction group always gets lots of complaints about different things, but they are passionate about our mission, and we should give credit where it is due. 

Will the facilities and construction crew that are in attendance today please stand? Let’s give them a hand.     

The enrollment numbers are just as impressive for the Fertitta College of Medicine, which received 5,300 applications for 60 slots for its fall 2025 class.

One hundred percent of the graduates from the College this year are in a residency program, most in primary care and some in the most sought after and toughest fields, like dermatology and neurosurgery. As you can see, 67% are staying in Texas, helping solve the state’s physician shortage.

Our student-athletes are not just excelling on the field; they are exceling in academics.  For spring 2025, they set a record by getting a 3.26 GPA. 12 of the 17 teams had GPAs of 3.0 or above. Quite spectacular.

We cannot leave the topic of student success without pointing out that our students are competing globally and earning accolades. An excellent example is English major Kalena Holeman who was named a Gates Cambridge Scholar. The highly coveted scholarship will support Kalena’s graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England.

Mielad Ziaee is also in Europe, actually in the United Kingdom, at the University of Edinburgh as a Marshall Scholarship recipient — one of the most prestigious scholarships awarded to young Americans to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

Both of them are in Europe; so, they’re not here in the audience, but we are very proud of them.

Research and Rankings

Now, let’s shift to accomplishments in research and scholarship. UH’s research expenditures continued their upward trajectory to $279 million with federal expenditures being over $126 million. In NIH-funded research, College of Pharmacy is now ranked #25 nationally and College of Optometry is in the top 10 nationally. Let’s give them a hand. That’s a really good thing!

Last month, Cullen College of Engineering’s Dr. Venkat Selvamanickam, who is known around campus as “Selva”, received an $8 million federal grant for fusion research, the only one coming to Texas.  

Our performance — both in student success and research — did not go unrecognized. University of Houston stands at No. 43 among public universities in Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges rankings, steadily rising from below 100 just 8 years ago. This is a remarkable ascension, and it is primarily because UH graduates are graduating with lower debt — in fact the lowest debt among all Texas research universities — and earning higher salaries as alumni. Consequently, the University of Houston is a better ROI, return on investment, for our students.

For the first time, UH arrived in the group of top 50 national public universities in America in Qs world rankings, which is the most well-known global ranking system. We cannot point to one single factor that helped our ranking because our score improved in every single category, from student success to global reputation and faculty research. 

University of Houston also ranked No. 48 in the U.S. News and World Report’s “Most Innovative Schools” list. Clearly, many initiatives and successes have accounted for UH making this ranking.

While each of these top 50 rankings indicates we’re progressing in the right direction, we are yet to achieve our stated goal to become an overall … let me repeat, overall … top 50 public university in the U.S. News and World Report ranking. Based upon the report released last month, we moved up 6 spots to No. 68 among public universities. It is the first time that we are ranked in the 60s and it means that we are only 18 spots away from the goal.

The excellence of the whole depends on the excellence of its parts. Many colleges and programs are already ranked among the top 50, top 10 or even No.1, like the Entrepreneurship program, in the nation. 

None of these accolades — student success, research or rankings — are possible without our people. Our faculty are excelling in their fields. 

Not one but two Guggenheim Fellowships, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions, were awarded to our faculty. Anna Mayer received the fellowship in fine arts for her creative work and francine j. harris was recognized for her excellence in poetry. Both awards signify excellence of creative work in humanities and arts by our faculty. Professors Mayers and harris, please allow us to honor you. If you’re here, please rise. Guggenheim is a really big deal. 

Next on my list is Professor Richard Willson. There is rarely any annual address where I have not recognized Professor Willson. This year his recognition is not only global but also royal.  Professor Willson has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, an exclusive group of individuals who have shaped the field of chemistry. Let’s give our applause to Professor Willson. Would you please rise?

Professor Nicolás Kanellos of Arte Público received the National Humanities Medal for his extraordinary contributions to Latino culture in the U.S. He was awarded the medal in a White House ceremony last October. Please stand, Dr. Kanellos.

Well, talent attracts talent. Drawn by the talent at UH, three new leaders joined the university this fall. Dean Gregory Dudley took the helm of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dean Yarneccia Dyson took charge at the Graduate College of Social Work and Dean Xianjun Geng assumed leadership of the Bauer College of Business. We are also proud to see home grown talent excelling at UH Libraries with Christina Gola as its new dean and Russell Dunlavy as Vice President of Advancement and Alumni.  

Making News

And talking of success, let’s not forget the NCAA Men’s basketball championship game between Houston Cougars and Florida, which was watched by over 18 million viewers. This was the most watched basketball game this past season, including the NBA Finals Game 7. That is not it, the NCAA Final Four game between Houston Cougars and Duke Blue Devils … which we won by the way … was the third most watched basketball game of the season. Heartiest congratulations and gratitude to Coach Kelvin Sampson, two-time National Coach of the Year, for turning all eyes on the University of Houston. Let’s give a hand to the basketball team.

But basketball is not the only performance that brought millions of eyes to the University of Houston. A research discovery of the tomb of the first king of Caracol in Belize by Provost Diane Chase and Dr. Arlen Chase was covered by media outlets around the globe, including the New York Times, the National Geographic, the Smithsonian Magazine and Scientific American. Will you two please rise?  I understand Arlen is in class. And that’s more important…I understand that. 

And everyone knows the importance of social media … but no other Texas university does it as well as we do. With 1.1 million followers and over 160 million views, University of Houston ranks No.1 nationally on X, No. 2 nationally on Facebook and No.1 in overall social media in Texas.

UH in 5 years

We are making tremendous strides. If you ever feel discouraged or disillusioned, think of the impact you have made in just the last five years! 

… Think of those 56,000 graduates whose lives you helped transform.  

… Think of those students who are attending UH today because of the millions of dollars you helped raise from our generous donors. 

… Think of those people whose quality of life is better today because of the research done by you, our faculty. 

… Think of those patients who are being treated by our doctors because you dared to start a medical school.

… Think of those millions of people who found a new team to cheer on, because you had the audacity to build the No.1 basketball team in the nation. 

But our work is not done yet. We are evolving, we are changing, and we are shaping that change because that is who we are.

We have come this far not just by molding to change, but also by shaping the change itself. If you think about it, no one forced us to embrace change nearly 20 years ago or to build a medical school five years ago … we chose to transform ourselves because we knew that it was the right thing … the responsible thing … to do for the city and our state.

Houston Metro

Looking forward, we have opportunities not afforded to most universities. At the top of my list is our city, Houston. I have often said that our location is our biggest endowment. Despite national trends and challenges, Houston will continue to grow in population and economic output.

The trend of population decline that we saw at the national level does not seem applicable to Houston … at least for some time. Houston metro’s population stands at 7.8 million today and by Greater Houston Partnership’s modest growth model, it is projected to grow to 10.7 million by 2050.

Houston’s college-growing population is expected to grow by 20% during the same period. The national enrollment cliff is unlikely to arrive in Houston any time soon. And as long as we remain committed to our mission and focus on meeting the needs of the Houston Metro, we won’t face the challenges that other universities in other cities may. However, I don’t have to remind you that Houston, because of its growth, will continue to attract universities from other regions and other states to set up shop here. It is in this context that our expansion into Katy and Sugar Land is of strategic significance. 

This year, the student headcount in Sugar Land grew by 45% and in Katy by 144%. True, in Katy, we are starting with a very low base but thanks to legislative support, our plan is to grow there exponentially. 

Besides population growth, another positive signal for us is the improving quality of Houston’s K-12 public schools. Since over 70% of our students come from the Greater Houston region, we take it with optimism that the latest state ratings for our region’s public schools are improving. Against the national trend of declining interest in going to college, or preparedness for college, we may see a growing interest in our region.

And we cannot ignore or abandon our mission because UH is the largest university in the Houston Metro by far, enrolling twice as many students as the next largest university. 

Now consider Houston’s economy as another blessing for us. I am sure you have read the news:

“Houston Metro Leads All Other Metros in GDP Growth”

“New Industries, like Apple, Nvidia and Foxconn Are Expanding to Texas”

“Eli Lilly Is Investing Over $6 Billion in Houston, Creating 4,000 Jobs”

“One Million New Jobs Will Be Created in Houston by 2050”

“72% of All Future Jobs Will Require Post-Secondary Training”

“43 Million Americans Started College But Did Not Finish” 

and, “Over 2 Million College Dropouts Are in Texas.” 

Here is another need that we can fill.

For this vibrant economy, Texas needs more talent, more college graduates and more researchers. The legislature has recently created some powerful research initiatives … $1 billion fund for water infrastructure, $698 million for semiconductor research and a priority in quantum computing, where the funding level is yet to be determined. Plus, if approved by voters, or should I say, when approved by voters, a $3 billion fund will be created for dementia prevention.

As you can see, our mission is more relevant today than ever. Your work matters more today than ever. So, what’s ahead for us?

Where Do We Go from Here? 

Where do we go from here? 

Albert Einstein gave the magic formula when he said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

Consistent commitment to our goal is the key. Our first and foremost goal is student success, defined in terms of our student’s ability to graduate on time. Until now, we have been measuring it with the six-year graduation rate. 

While we will still do that, we are now shifting our emphasis to four-year graduation rate. It does not mean that we are requiring students to graduate in four years, what it means is that we are making a commitment to provide the level of support and the type of culture that empowers them to graduate in four years, if they wish to do so.  

We know that the majority of our graduating students take around four and half years on average to graduate, and we also know that the significant drop out happens between the freshmen and sophomore years. Clearly, we must pay attention to the first-year experience in a more systematic and thoughtful way. 

Provost Chase is starting a new initiative called “the four-year graduation culture,” which will have many components inside and outside the classroom and will include real-time, 24/7 support to students from admission to course registration, degree planning to advising and tutoring, all using AI tools. 

Former CEO of IBM, Ginni Rometty, a leading voice in AI, once said that “AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don’t.” We can debate about every aspect of AI, we can if we want to, but the fundamental question for us is, “Are we preparing our students to be irreplaceable?”  Are we preparing them for the entry-level job, which may not exist or the jobs that come after that?

Today, an impressive number of our faculty are integrating AI … I mean substantially … in their classrooms where students can learn how to use AI as a tool to enhance their own learning and how to use it in their future careers. We want this number to grow exponentially; therefore, we are launching an initiative to invest substantially in AI to ensure that faculty and staff have access to AI tools, and students have knowledge of AI-embedded courses and degree programs to prepare them for an AI-infused workplace.

The second goal for us is to double our research portfolio. A few years back, we initiated a research plan that includes more than $200 million of investment in research infrastructure by hiring researchers, building core facilities and buying cutting-edge equipment and investing in lab spaces. Significant investments, as per the plan, have already been made and more will come, thanks to the Texas University Fund. 

The next initiative relates to the Fertitta College of Medicine. With the planned growth of the College and the integration of all clinics under UH Health, it is time for us to take the next step.  Therefore, we are preparing our legislative request to be designated a Health Science Center in the 2027 legislative session. You may wonder, “Well what does it mean?” Such a designation will not only bring equitable resources to our health colleges but will also allow us to provide integrated student training and further interdisciplinary research, which are both essential to improving health outcomes. 

The next initiative relates to safety and security, which are always at the center of our planning.  Last year, we added 80 security and police personnel to our existing force to increase police visibility and response rate. And I’m sure you can see that. In addition, we are bringing a police substation to the center of the campus, again for a better sense of security. We are also completing, by the end of the year, the board approved lighting project that has added new bright lights at the perimeter of the campus. The core of the campus lights are being replaced as a part of our new construction and will be completed by the centennial year.

Facilities

In preparation for the centennial, nearly one billion dollars of construction projects…nearly one billion dollars of construction projects are underway on our campus, most of these with a completion date within the next two years. But first let’s look at the projects that we completed this year.

The much-anticipated Memorial Hermann Football Operations center opened its doors this fall. This state-of-the-art facility is home to our football team, providing support services from academic advising to wellness resources. The facility was built with philanthropic support — no tuition dollars or state funds were used in its construction. It’s really spectacular by the way.

The latest academic building in Sugar Land is home to the College of Engineering’s technology programs. 

Now, let’s move to the projects currently underway. There are simply too many, so please bear with me if I miss out on one or two. 

The Medical Research Building is the second building in our Life Sciences Complex. Located behind the Fertitta College of Medicine, this building will be completed in December of 2027.

The new home of the Hobby School of Public Affairs will be in the Professional District, across from the John O’ Quinn Law building. The building will provide 41,000 square feet of space for teaching, research and community events. Expected completion is 2027.

Designed to spark innovation and entrepreneurship, the Innovation Hub will sit at the core of the campus. The first floor will be a state-of-the-art maker space for students, and it will be ready for occupancy again in late 2027.

We are adding another 1,000 beds to campus living. This Centennial Hall will be built in the Residential District across from Cougar Woods and be completed in 2027.

Even though we have 26 dining options, including 16 full-service restaurants on campus today, we anticipate that the need will grow, given the increase in on-campus living. The Dining Commons also has a 2027 completion date. 

Ushering in UH’s Centennial 

I am sure you have seen the renderings of the Centennial Plaza along with the newly imagined Wilhelmina’s Grove and University Drive. The purpose is to create more outdoor, shaded areas for gatherings and conversations and to enhance walkability. What you have not yet heard is that we have commissioned a major piece of art to be placed next to the fountains to commemorate the centennial. Our hope is that this art piece will become a destination spot for visitors, not just to campus but also to the city. We will complete it in time. 

But construction is not the only thing that we are preparing to celebrate the University’s 100th anniversary with. Plans are underway to have robust academic programming with curated lectures, seminars and conferences. A committee, led by Dean Dan O’Connor and Associate Dean Donna Stokes, will be sending out a call for proposals. A fund has been set up to support these academic events. So start thinking. 

We also wish to celebrate our staff. As part of the centennial celebration, one hundred awards will be given to those staff members whose innovative actions are either saving time or money to improve university processes or achieve better results. One hundred staff awards. The first award was awarded earlier in the year to Mrs. Guaquita Lavelle-Watkins, Clinic Administrator at the UH College of Optometry. She led the development and implementation of the first online appointment booking system for the UH Optometry Clinic, enhancing patient experience and saving staff time. Will you please rise, Mrs. Lavelle-Watkins? Thank you. So, look out for calls for proposals or your ideas from the Office of Innovation.  

In the spirit of centennial, we are celebrating our alumni … 342,000 strong… by highlighting 100 of them … the innovators, the game changers and newsmakers ... via a podcast called “The Pride of the Pride” to be released in January. We thank the UH Alumni for undertaking this project.   

The last part of the centennial is to celebrate our biggest partners, our donors, who allow us to dream big and be bold. Our centennial campaign of $1 billion is to ensure that students can graduate, professors have the tools to teach, researchers can solve challenges and athletes can win. At this point we are at the $716 million mark.We are adding 13 additional development officers; so, every college will have the necessary staffing to build on their dreams.

Last but not least, let’s talk about athletics. The men’s basketball program is where anyone can dream it to be, number one in the nation. Watch out for this year’s team … they are more experienced, more talented and more motivated than ever. Keeping this “top of the world” feeling will require vigilance and support from all of us, including our city and corporations and we must commit to doing so. 

Cougar football is also off to a good start with four incredible wins. Our goal remains the same — we need to be competitive and win! 

I am very excited to see that Athletic Director Eddie Nunez has recruited three new coaches to build excellence in our women’s sports. Coach Mitchell for Basketball, Coach Williams for Soccer, and Coach Schoonmaker for Softball. We welcome you and look forward to some exciting wins. Will you please stand if you are here? 

The landscape of college sports is changing at a dizzying speed with NIL [name, image and likeness], the transfer portal and revenue sharing. The time to debate whether it is good or bad or whether the rules are fair or unfair is over … it is time for us to play our best game. No matter what the challenges are, we are committed to keeping our sports nationally relevant and competitive. I want to thank our donors, supporters, boosters and sponsors who have stepped up to ensure that our coaches and players have the tools they need to win. 

As you can see, we are not pausing, and we are not slowing down. How can we, when thousands of students are counting on us? I know one thing; you cannot do today’s job using yesterday’s tools and hope to be in business tomorrow. We must grow, we must evolve, we must adapt and we must change.

Yes, we have challenges, unprecedented and unparalleled, but we also have opportunities — new and exciting — and we have to focus on our opportunities … the glass half full. The demand for UH as a university of first choice is growing. The opportunities for research with state funding are increasing. The campus in Katy is waiting to blossom. The campus in Sugar Land is poised to become the hub of technology innovation. The nation is ready to crown a new basketball champion. Houston is ready to absorb as much talent as we can produce. Industry is eager to give us the hand we need. 

The headwinds you see can be turned into tailwinds with the determination and grit that is known to be in the Cougar DNA. Chaos can always force the emergence of new leaders who are nimble and agile and that’s who we are.

I am always inspired by our mission and humbled by the transformation we bring. But none of this happens with magic. It takes hard work and perseverance. It is your hard work and your perseverance. You are the backbone of this organization. You are the difference maker. I hope you know how much you and your work matter to those whose lives you are transforming.

I’m counting on you. You are unstoppable and so is the University of Houston.

Thank you and Go Coogs!

[President Khator leaves stage, Concert Chorale enters]

[President Khator reenters stage]

I am not the one conducting it (the Concert Chorale). That would be my new passion. But I am here because we have a surprise here for you all; so, before the performance, let me see if we can put the surprise video [up]. And before we do that, I think the script missed out, Regent Durga Agrawal. I want to recognize Regent Durga Agrawal also who is here. 

And if the video is ready from the University of Houston [System’s] Honorary Board Chairman. Will you please play the video?   

A greeting from Honorary Chair and U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta.

Thank you, thank you all for your patience. And the families’ connection with the University and generosity continues. Today we can welcome Tilman Fertitta’s son, Patrick Fertitta who is here with us today. Thank you. Thank you. Now, to our lovely students.