University of Houston
EN-12: Community Service

Service to the Community or Public is part of the tenure process. The Faculty Handbook states that tenure seeking faculty are encouraged to: "Document public involvement that is related to the candidate's area of expertise, including speeches, expert advice to community organizations, donations of creative or scholarly efforts to public institutions, consultations with private organizations, etc." Among many examples is "Other Evidence of Teaching, Student Learning, and the Scholarship of Teaching: Candidates may submit evidence that they have facilitated students' success. Examples may include contributions to students who have won awards, letters from community members who have benefited from student projects or internships, and other evidence that the candidate contributed to student learning." The Community Advancement (community service) benchmark on the UH Progress Card also shows a campus-wide assessment of community service. UH faculty and staff awards increased their funded community-service oriented activities over the last five years. In 2014-2015 there were 217 funded research awards with “community emphasis.” Three among the 600 outreach programs in the UH System stand out as signature programs that represent our progress are the Center for Mexican American Studies, Mobile Eye Institute, and the Leadership Academy. These represent how we sustained, expanded and added new programs in response to the 2008 recession. Each is led with the expertise of faculty and staff with the outstanding support of our student body. The Academic Achievers Program (AAP) is sponsored by the Center for Mexican American Studies and the Office of the President. It was established in the fall of 1994 and is designed to retain and propel more students to graduation. The mission of the AAP at the University of Houston is to recruit underrepresented students. About 300 students from one high school alone participated in the program in 2012-2013. Ninety-five percent graduated from high school and 90% enrolled in college, most choosing to attend UH. AAP students are significantly more likely to graduate in six years compared with other Hispanic students who enroll at UH at the same time. This program has helped UH to obtain the Department of Education's designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2012 because 25% of undergraduate enrollment is Latino. Only three institutions in the country had the Tier One and Hispanic Serving Institution classification. The Mobile Eye Institute (MEI) provides outreach and training opportunities for 500 students every year and 75 4th year optometry students. Service populations whose lack of mobility denies them access to eye care have been targeted since 2006. This program has expanded significantly after 2008. In 2012-2013 services were provided to over 50 schools, 10 juvenile detention facilities, FQHCs and other agencies including women and homeless shelters. Since 2008, MEI has provided 458 excursions by bringing quality eye care training opportunities out of the clinic walls and into streets. Over 8000 exams have generated over 5000 eye glass prescriptions. The UH Leadership Academy is a new program for our NCAA Student-Athletes and the community, which started in 2008. The Leadership Academy "develops, challenges, and supports student-athletes and coaches in their continual quest to become world-class leaders in athletics, academics, and life; the Academy functions to equip participants at every level with skillset necessary to be a confident, cooperative, critical decision maker and ethical contributor in a competitive and ever-changing world. "This mission is executed in part by community outreach activities. Approximately 400 athletes now participate in outreach as coordinated through the Leadership Academy. Special Olympics, community beautification, visits to children's hospitals are now organized through the Leadership Academy. In 2012-2013 the Intercollegiate Athletics, American Red Cross, Houston Fire Department, and HOPE worldwide partnered to scale up fire prevention efforts for the CNCS MLK and September 11th Days of Service and Remembrance. To date, over 50,000 people have benefited from the door-to-door canvassing and fire prevention message to Houston's most vulnerable populations. At one event, the entire men's basketball team, including staff and coaches partnered with the stakeholders in the largest door-to-door fire prevention and smoke alarm distribution campaign in Houston.

For the second year in a row, UH was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll: http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2015/March/0318CommunityServiceHonorRoll.php. Employee Incentives: http://issuu.com/uhmagazine/docs/uhs_performancereport2014/1