Spring 2016 Newsletter from Trustee Robert Glaser
Apr 29, 2016
Dear Neighbors,
As your Vice Chair of the Houston Community College Board of Trustees and representative of District V, I am proud to tell you we are making great strides in transforming HCC to meet the changing demands placed on the workforce of our community. Part of the transformation includes improving procedures to enhance services for our students and creating thirteen Centers of Excellence.
As a longtime local area business owner and native Houstonian, I appreciate the Centers of Excellence model designed to support and align with the needs of major industries in our region. This model allows HCC to focus resources and expertise in specific areas so as to benefit student experience and student success. HCC understands the importance of getting future students to recognize the value of higher education and the need for being prepared to work in an environment that demands a skilled workforce.
I am proud to say that HCC will soon “cut the ribbon” on the much anticipated, five-level parking garage at our West Loop campus. The facility will alleviate parking congestion for our growing student population and is a key component to the continuing development of a master plan at the West Loop campus. In addition, this facility also includes a plaza with landscaping, canopies, and covered seating for students to study or just enjoy interaction with fellow classmates. This addition further develops the “campus” feel to our facility.
The successes at our West Loop campus and throughout the HCC system are getting noticed.
- The HCC Cybersecurity program at the Digital Information & Technology Center of Excellence recently applied for designation as a Center of Academic Excellence for 2-year colleges (CAE-2Y). It is a part of the nation’s cybersecurity defense program established by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Once HCC receives the CAE-2Y designation, it will be the fourth community college in Texas to offer the Cybersecurity certification.
- Due to increasing demand, the award-winning Interior Design program originally offered at our Central campus is now available at the West Loop campus. Located near the Galleria, Uptown, Highland Village, West University Place, Bellaire, Memorial, Tanglewood and River Oaks, we are in close proximity to areas filled with design firms looking to hire new talent and hundreds of other businesses hoping to make a good first impression.
- In the fall, HCC- through one of our Early College High Schools located on the West Loop campus - will begin providing Dual Credit to any motivated high school students at no charge. Qualified students in grades 9 – 12 will have opportunities to earn a certificate, an Associate’s degree, or as much as two years of a college education with no out of pocket expense.
Accomplishments such as these are just proof of the remarkable education, opportunities, and value our world-class community college provides for people of all ages to advance in their professional and personal lives.
It is my honor to be a part of what is happening at HCC; however, none of this could happen without your support. We appreciate the trust that you put in this institution—its faculty, staff and administrators.
We are Houston’s Community College.
In service,
Robert Glaser
Vice Chair
HCC Board of Trustees
District V
Download: Spring 2016 Newsletter from Trustee Robert Glaser