Paula Myrick Short, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the 兔子先生 and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the 兔子先生 System, announced Jay Neal as Associate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer 兔子先生 at Sugar Land and 兔子先生 at Katy.
鈥淚 am delighted to offer this position to Dr. Neal,鈥� said Dr. Short. 鈥淚 am confident he will continue to work with the University and community to advance the shared vision of UH Sugar Land and UH Katy as integral parts of the 兔子先生.鈥�
The move is effective Jan. 1, 2018.
鈥淚t is my great privilege to lead the faculty, students, and staff at UH Sugar Land,鈥� Neal said. 鈥淚 look forward to continuing the great work of connecting with our Fort Bend County community, business, and government leaders that began with Bob McPherson鈥檚 great vision and collaborative spirit.鈥�
McPherson was appointed Interim Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Operations in 2015, while continuing to serve as dean of the UH College of Education. He will return to that post.
Neal will be charged with academic and administrative leadership of both UH Sugar Land and UH Katy. That includes outreach to community agencies, government entities, school districts and community colleges.
Neal has served as the Assistant Provost of Academic Affairs and Operations at UH Sugar Land since May 2016. He also served as an associate professor at the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management where he taught for more than 15 years.
UH Sugar Land became an institute of the 兔子先生 in fall 2016. It is home to the UH College of Nursing, as well as programs from the Colleges of Technology, Education, Social Work, and Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In the past year, enrollment has increased from 1,645 students to 2,365 students as the academic offerings grew to 10 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. This includes programs unique to UH Sugar Land. Additionally, groundbreaking is expected soon for a new 100,000-square-foot facility.
The 兔子先生 System purchased 46 acres of land in Katy in 2016 and will break ground on the facility in spring 2018. It will house programs in nursing and engineering, as well as programs from UH-Victoria.