Your Gifts at Work

Actor Brett Cullen took his first audition on a dare. A senior at Houston’s James Madison High School, and better known as a baseball player and surfer than a serious actor, Cullen gave into his friends and tried out for the lead role in the school play. To everyone’s surprise, he was selected.

“It scared the daylights out of me,” Cullen said. “I didn’t want to do it, but I did … and it went on to win several awards.”

That first acting success was just one of many to come. Cullen, who graduated in 1979 from the University of Houston’s Theater department, has garnered many roles in movies and hit television shows, including recent stints on “Ugly Betty,” “Friday Night Lights,” and “Lost.”

Cullen, a great nephew of Hugh Roy Cullen, one of the university’s earliest and most generous donors, credits his time at the University of Houston as preparing him for years of steady work in Hollywood.

“The University of Houston enabled me to grow as a man, to grow as an artist,” he said. “And it gave me the ability to do what I do now.”

Arriving on campus with hair down to his waist and sand in his flip flops after a summer spent surfing in California, Cullen says he probably didn’t look the part of a serious actor. But very quickly, under the direction of Theatre professor Cecil Pickett, he began to learn the skills that would serve him well in his career.

It was actually an early failure that first cemented his bond with Pickett. Cullen auditioned for the lead in a play on campus, and Pickett didn’t cast him. He eventually was granted a lesser role, but after the play’s run, he knocked on Pickett’s door and asked him how he could improve.

“He was one of those teachers that made you shake … his critiques could be brutal, but honest and real,” Cullen said. “So I was shaking when I went to his door.”

After Cullen explained that he wanted to learn, Pickett agreed to help.

“If you really want me to teach you, I’ll teach you. But you have to be the first kid to volunteer for every exercise. You have to be the first person to do the scene,” Cullen said Pickett told him. “I said, ‘I’m in.’ And he became my coach. At that point forward, he and I worked hand-in-hand, and fought like cats and dogs at times, but he was truly, honestly, one of the greatest influences in my life.”

While at UH, Cullen, who commuted to campus, spent the better part of his days at the theatre department, attending classes in the morning and rehearsals in the afternoons and evenings. The hectic schedule, and the dedication required by Pickett from his students, taught Cullen the discipline it takes to be a successful actor.

He remembers one particular rehearsal when he showed up two minutes late, after difficulty finding a place to park.

“He said, ‘You are not two minutes late, you are 42 minutes late,'” Cullen remembers Pickett telling him. “He said, ‘There are 21 people in this class, and you wasted two minutes of everyone’s time. Don’t ever do it again.’ It taught me about being responsible, about being part of the whole, and about understanding the discipline for theater.”

Other lessons learned from Pickett included a love of English – Cullen said he was three credits shy of a dual degree in English by the end of his time at the university – and a willingness to take risks.

“He taught me to never be afraid to try anything,” Cullen said. “He said, ‘If you don’t fail, how are you going to learn?'”

In addition to acting and directing classes, Cullen took advantage of another unique opportunity at the university – the UH Fencing Club. Led by Theatre professor Claude Caux, the Fencing Club competed at tournaments against other schools in the Southwest Conference. The skills he learned there ultimately helped Cullen win the role of fencing coach Danny Gallagher in the 1993 film “By the Sword.”

Development of acting and fencing skills was just one part of the education provided to Cullen by the University of Houston. Another aspect of his university career was the actual experience he was afforded, both in university productions and during his four seasons with the Houston Shakespeare Festival.

Cullen says it was that professional experience that gave him the advantage over other acting school graduates with little to no stage experience on their resumes.

“I had the opportunity to do so much, and have so many more experiences,” Cullen said. “When I left the University of Houston, what Cecil Pickett taught me, what Claude Caux taught me, what Sidney Berger taught me, was that I was ready to work professionally.”

After graduation, that experience paid off almost immediately, when Cullen moved to Hollywood and landed a part on a television series – “The Chisolms” – within the first few weeks. There, he reunited with another UH alum – Dennis Quaid. Since that first role, Cullen has worked steadily for 30 years, landing more than 100 roles in television and movies.

“When I’m working, I pinch myself,” he said. “I still get a thrill out of creating a character, and working with actors and young kids … I get paid to do what I love to do.”

Cullen credits the university and its professors for helping pave the way for his success.

“If it hadn’t been for the University of Houston drama department, if it hadn’t been for Cecil Pickett and Sidney Berger, I wouldn’t be where I am right now,” he said.

Before she was a writer, Chitra Divakaruni was a young woman in a new country, far from home. She was excited at the prospect of studying in America, but lonely – missing her family in Calcutta and the traditions of her culture.

That experience taught Divakaruni that she had stories to tell – stories that could bring people together and reveal the common humanity in everyone.

“In some ways, I think that immigration made me into a writer, because it gave me a subject to write about,” she said. “When I lived in India, I was so immersed in the culture that I didn’t really think about it. But when I moved halfway across the world, I began to think a lot about what it meant for me to be Indian, and also how immigration changes us.”

Now, an award-winning author and poet whose works have been translated into 20 languages, Divakaruni thinks a lot about her early days in America. As a creative writing professor at the University of Houston, she tries to use her experiences to help international students feel comfortable in their new environment.

“I am very concerned with their well-being. In order to be able to write, or to perform well in college, you have to be able to feel at home. You have to have a sense of well-being,” she said. “I try to create that for them as best as I can.”

For Divakaruni, it was a struggle just to make it to the U.S., because her very traditional family didn’t understand why she would want to leave home. Eventually, she was able to convince them to let her go.

In 1976, she moved to Dayton, Ohio, to attend Wright State University. From there, she went to the University of California-Berkeley, where she earned her Ph.D. in English.

To support herself while pursuing her education, Divakaruni took on a number of odd jobs, from baby-sitting and washing lab instruments to slicing Jell-O at a college dormitory. Initially, she was very lonely in her new life.

“There was no family support anymore – I had to do everything on my own, so that was a big challenge,” she said. “I think on Indian holidays particularly, I felt very disconnected, very cut off.”

But the loneliness forced her to make friends, and she soon found a community of people who were willing to open up their homes to her.

“What had been a problem really became a great strength, ” Divakaruni said. “Because I didn’t have a supportive family structure around me, I was forced to make new friends with people who were very different, and that has been a really positive part of my American experience.”

The experience led her to write, first poetry, and then fiction.

Divakaruni garnered wide critical acclaim with the publication of her first collection of short stories, “Arranged Marriage,” which focused on women from India caught between two worlds. That book went on to win the 1996 American Book Award.

“I think the stories in ‘Arranged Marriage,’ which are largely immigrant stories, did touch people because we are a country of immigrants,” she said. “We are a country of people always changing, always growing.”

Many of the stories in her more than 15 books relate to the experience of women or immigrants in a new country. Though she said her books are not autobiographical, many of her characters share similar concerns.

“I am concerned with how you make a new home for yourself in a place that is so far away and so different from your home culture,” she said. “I am concerned about how we as immigrants transform the places in which we find ourselves. I am very interested in ways women’s roles have changed as we move into different cultures.”

Ultimately, Divakaruni said she hopes her words challenge readers to think about what it means to be an immigrant, and about larger issues such as family and home.

“What I hope people get out of my books is that it will encourage them to think about important issues,” she said. “I also hope that they see that although we come from many different places, what we have in common is the humanity – we want the same things, we desire the same things. … I hope my books will dissolve boundaries and bring people together.”

In her writing, Divakaruni continues to be inspired by her students at the University of Houston, many of whom are immigrants themselves.

“I have just loved my students,” she said. “I learn so much from them. We learn about writing together.”

Divakaruni came to Houston in 1998, in part because her husband was looking for work in the oil and gas industry, and in part because of the reputation of the university’s Creative Writing program.

“It was just a wonderful opportunity to come and work with great colleagues and especially great students,” she said.

In her time at UH, Divakaruni said she has been pleased to see increasing diversity among faculty, particularly at the highest level with President Renu Khator, who is also from India.

“Her having come from a different background and really having overcome many difficulties in her own personal background makes her an inspiring role model,” she said. “She can also understand the struggles of some of our students who maybe come from different backgrounds where they haven’t been given the kind of support they need for college success.”

As the university’s reputation improves, Divakaruni said she is happy that UH has remained true to its mission of serving everyone with a desire for higher education.

“One of the things I love about UH is as it is striving to become more and more highly ranked in the country, it wants to still remain inclusive … particularly for students who maybe their family hasn’t been to college before,” she said. “I think it is so important to reach out to those students and make sure they feel at home here.”

When they signed him up for piano lessons at age eight, Keith Grimwood’s parents never could have imagined the result – development of a lifelong passion and a 30-plus year musical career that includes four Grammy nominations and countless other awards.

Grimwood, one half of the musical duo Trout Fishing in America, and a proud University of Houston graduate, hasn’t stopped performing since those early piano lessons.

“My parents felt that everybody should have one year of piano lessons to be a well-rounded human being,” he said. “When it came time to end that first year, my parents said, ‘It’s time to quit.’ I couldn’t quit. I just kept playing.”

Grimwood moved onto the string bass at age 11 or 12, when a teacher at Houston’s Johnston Junior High School asked for volunteers. By age 15, Grimwood was playing at clubs and bars throughout the Houston region, sitting in with jazz orchestras at places like the Moody Center or the Balinese Room in Galveston.

By 1970, Grimwood enrolled at the University of Houston, determined to give up music. It was there, on campus, that he met Keith Robinson, then the string-bass instructor at the university, and the person Grimwood credits as most influencing his later path in life.

“He saw me walking around campus and he said, ‘I didn’t see you signed up for any of my classes. What are you doing?'” Grimwood said. “I said, ‘Well, I have decided to give up the bass.’ He said, ‘You are a bass player. Don’t ever let anybody tell you you are not a bass player.’ There is nothing like having somebody believe in you to make you start believing in yourself.”

At UH, Grimwood thrived. He took classes of every sort, exploring musical theory, and a variety of different musical genres that still are reflected in his work today. Between classes, he would explore the UH campus, hanging out at the student union, or spending hours in the practice rooms at the Moores School of Music.

“I took any [class] I wanted and I had a great time,” he said. “I could have spent my whole life there. I could have just stayed in college forever.”

Like many UH students, Grimwood put himself through school by working. He played six nights a week at clubs throughout the Houston region, reveling in the opportunity to gain real-world experience while attending college.

“Houston was a great city. You can go to another university out in some little, tiny town, and not get what you can in a city like Houston,” Grimwood said. “In Houston, I was able to work, I was able to experience the arts … that is all part of attending college there.”

By 1975, the University of Houston trained him so well, he landed a position playing bass for the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Though thrilled with the opportunity to perform with such high caliber musicians, Grimwood was determined to finish his degree. He was amused when the registrar told him he only needed one more class to graduate- a semester of P.E.

“The only time I could go, they offered two classes, basketball – remember, I’m 5’5” – and weightlifting,” Grimwood said. “I’m going to tell you, that weightlifting class was one of the best classes I ever took out there. It got me used to carrying heavy amplifiers, and really trained me for my career as a musician.”

After two years with the symphony, a union lockout opened up a new opportunity for Grimwood. He went on tour with the Houston rock band, St. Elmo’s Fire, where he met Ezra Idlet. In 1979, when St. Elmo’s Fire broke up in the middle of a tour in California, the two began playing on the streets in Santa Cruz, California, under the name Trout Fishing in America.

“I went from a major symphony orchestra to a street corner in one year’s time, and I was having a blast,” Grimwood said.

The duo has continued to play together for 33 years, becoming one of the first bands to own their own record label and successfully record and market their own music.

“With St. Elmo’s Fire, we kept thinking the record company – this great hand from the sky – would reach down and take us to the studio and record us, and send us on to this big national tour and stuff. It never happened,” Grimwood said. “So once that band broke up, Ezra and I looked at each other and said, ‘How hard could it be?'”

In 1980, they released their first album, and sold it off the stage. They made enough money from that album to make another album, and their popularity continued to grow. Today their unique blend of folk, pop and kids music has garnered critical recognition, including three national indie awards, numerous Parents’ Choice Awards, and four Grammy nominations.

In addition to their albums, Trout Fishing in America also hosts songwriting workshops to teach children how to write their own music. In 2009, the duo released their first children’s book, “My Name is Chicken Joe,” based on one of their songs.

Much of Grimwood’s success can be traced back to those dedicated hours spent in UH practice rooms, and the determination he learned while a student at the university.

“There was a quote written on a lot of my music – set a higher standard for yourself,” he said. “That was the whole deal.”

With no prior filmmaking experience, University of Houston Honors College student Erica Fletcher picked up a camcorder and documented the experiences of Latina women with HIV/AIDS.

And when there were no international volunteer opportunities on campus, Fletcher founded her own group – the UH chapter of the World Aid Organization.

For Fletcher, who is triple majoring in anthropology, sociology and psychology on top of her Honors College coursework, there are no closed doors, only opportunities to learn or try something new.

“I’m just really interested in learning about a whole range of fields. I think that interdisciplinary research is something that is going to be a growing trend in academia,” she said. “If you don’t know how to adapt to different modes of learning and research, then you are going to be left behind.”

The love of learning is something instilled in Fletcher at an early age by her parents, who homeschooled her through her sophomore year in high school in League City.

As a child, she spent hours in the library, reading and exploring a wide variety of subjects at her own pace.

“I really enjoyed that about homeschooling. I think it gave me a different perspective on society and about reading and learning,” Fletcher said. “I think just having that time to think about the possibilities and just be imaginative and creative really helped me.”

After graduating from Clear Creek High School in Clear Lake, Fletcher and her sister both came to the University of Houston, grateful for scholarship assistance and the opportunity to receive a great education near home.

“My sister is in the same year in school that I am, so going to college with two students was tough for my family,” Fletcher said. “We didn’t know how we were going to do it. When the university stepped up and gave us scholarships … that helped.”

Fletcher said she has loved her experience at UH, particularly with all of the opportunities that are available because of its location in the nation’s fourth largest city.

“I really like the diversity on campus. I think that is one of the most important things that UH has to offer,” she said. “I also like the ability to network with different companies and nonprofits in Houston. I think that is extremely important.”

For instance, when Fletcher was producing her documentary as part of her summer research project with Janis Hutchison, a UH anthropology professor, she was able to work closely with AIDS Foundation Houston – an opportunity she says she would not have had elsewhere.

The end result, a documentary titled “Marianismo,” which explores the cultural factors that contribute to the disproportionate spread of HIV/AIDS among Latina women, has been very well-received. It was screened on campus at UH, at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and as part of the Voices Breaking Boundaries series “La Voz Femenina.”

“My main goal was to raise awareness that HIV is still a huge problem in the U.S., particularly among Latinos, but also among a broad range of people,” she said. “There is still a lot of stigma and a lot of confusion over how to get it, and I think because there is still so much information, I think that people are still scared to talk about it.”

The desire to change people’s perspectives about HIV/AIDS in this particular documentary, and Fletcher’s broader goal to make a difference in people’s lives is something the Honors College has helped instill in her.

“The Honors College got me thinking – I think that is the most important thing I got out of it,” she said. “It just got me thinking about what is really important and what do I want to change in the world and how best to do that.”

But as valuable as her coursework has been, Fletcher said the key to her success has been to look beyond the coursework, to be open to the many different opportunities available on campus, and to create new ones.

“As much as academics has to offer, I don’t think there is any substitute for practical experience and application of the knowledge that you have learned,” she said. “I think that just going to class and going home is not the full university experience. It is not why we are here.”

That is why Fletcher is so involved in so many organizations on campus, including serving as president of the Anthropology Student Association, and founding the World Aid Organization, which has successfully completed three international service projects in Brazil, Peru and the Philippines.

“To get that holistic experience, you really have to participate in student organizations, you have to talk to professors and you have to make an effort to stay on campus longer than just for your coursework,” she said.

Living on campus is one easy way to get involved, she said.

“Living on campus was fun. I got involved in a lot of different organizations, like Club Theater,” she said. “I tried to explore different possibilities, to do some art and photography. It has been really fun. I really enjoy meeting people here on campus.”

Ultimately, Fletcher said she believes her experience at UH has prepared her well for her future.

“I think I got real-world experience here,” she said. “[UH] is a very student-centered organization. This university and professors really care about their students, and they want them to succeed.”

At Reliant Stadium, twin cheerleaders Marisa and Larisa Coy cheer on the Houston Texans, rallying the football players to perform at the top of their game. As middle school math teachers, the two have an even more challenging role – rallying their students to love math and dream big.

The duo – both graduates of the University of Houston’s College of Education – take both roles in stride, staying true to a motto espoused by their mother.

“Our mom has this saying – anytime we do anything, whether it is performing or teaching, she always says, ‘You have one shot to do your very best,'” said Marisa Coy.

The theory applies equally today as it did when they were growing up in Baytown – whether it was taking first place in the state history fair in junior high or excelling in honors classes in high school.

Though their studies were always their top priority, the twins made sure they had time for extracurricular activities, including dancing.

When it came time to go to college, neither had settled on education as a major. Though their mother was a middle school math teacher, and later an administrator, the two weren’t convinced they wanted to follow the same path. But an experience tutoring at their local school changed their minds.

“Initially, I was a little iffy about whether I wanted to go into teaching or not, but when I did some tutoring in Baytown … that sealed the deal,” Marisa said. “We wanted to be teachers.”

The two earned scholarships to a local community college, where they attended to save a little bit of money. At the time, they were also performing as cheerleaders for the Houston Aero’s hockey team.

On a whim, they decided to try out for the Texans cheerleading squad.

“We were thinking, if we don’t ever try, we will always wonder,” Marisa said. “We went out on a limb to try and our mindset was we are not going to get disappointed either way.”

After surviving several rounds of cuts, they made the team and have stayed on it for five seasons.

Though they had considered leaving the area to finish up their degrees elsewhere, the Texans’ job gave them an added incentive to stay near Houston.

“We chose UH main campus because not only did it offer the whole college experience, but at that moment, we realized we wanted to go into teaching, and we had looked into the teaching program here at UH,” Larisa Coy said. “That is why we came to UH.”

Though they were commuting from Baytown, the twins made a home for themselves on the UH campus. They spent much of their time in the education building and the library, but they enjoyed eating lunch at the University Center’s Satellite.

“I loved the flexibility of the schedules,” Larisa said. “We were able to take face-to-face classes, which we loved, as well as the online classes.”

They were inspired by all of their professors, particularly those in the College of Education.

“The longer we went there, we realized that the professors were really great,” said Marisa. “Not only were they telling us how to be teachers, but they had taught themselves. They gave real-life examples.”

They learned a lot from the other students in their classes as well, Larisa said. As they got closer to graduation, the classes got progressively smaller so the students could focus on the particular grade levels they were going to teach, she said.

“Everybody would say (about our group), ‘You are the brave ones – you are doing middle school,'” Marisa said. “We were like, ‘OK, we are going to do this together.'”

The tight-knit middle school group spent their last semesters creating lesson plans, which everyone in the group would share, knowing they had a resource they could draw from in the future.

The twins graduated in December 2008 in the middle of a school year – a difficult time for teachers to be looking for employment. But by a stroke of luck, they attended a job fair at UH, and learned there were openings for positions at two different schools in their home school district. They interviewed for the jobs and learned they would be starting in January.

“At first, I was like, ‘I can do this.’ But on Jan. 4, I realized, ‘the students are coming tomorrow,'” Larisa said. “That is when everything I had been working for was about to start.”

Now, Larisa teaches at Horace Mann Junior High in Baytown while Marisa teaches at Highlands Junior High.

The technology they learned at UH has put them ahead in their classrooms, as well as in their schools, where they often find themselves tutoring older teachers about the latest educational tools.

“I tell them everything I learned was from UH,” Larisa said. “They are like, ‘Wow. They really taught you a lot.’ I am really proud to say I learned it here.”

The technology and other educational skills they learned while students at the University of Houston have helped them to become better teachers, she said.

“I love math, and I just want to instill that same passion in students,” Larisa said. “I always tell my students coming in that, first, I’m going to make math fun. … You may not love it, but you will appreciate it and be more comfortable with it.”

Outside of class, the two stay busy with their secondary career as Houston Texans cheerleaders. They practice several times a week and make multiple appearances throughout the year at community events and other charity functions.

The twins also have been featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, as well as on the Web site for Maxim magazine.

While they enjoy being in the spotlight at Reliant Stadium, the twins say they find greater joy in seeing a student who had previously been frustrated learn to solve a problem.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” Marisa said. “They didn’t get it that first week … but now they get it. They want to do it on the board. They are the master of it – it is their thing.”

When C.W. “Paul” Chu came to the University of Houston in 1979, the superconductivity pioneer imagined limitless possibilities.

After a stint conducting industrial research at Bell Laboratories and serving as physics professor at Cleveland State University, Chu was looking for a place to really delve into his research. He found it in Houston.

“The time I came, that was the boom time of Houston, and nothing seemed to be impossible in Houston,” he said. “That is why I came here.”

The decision paid off. In 1987, Chu, together with colleagues, made a discovery that would usher in a new era in materials science. With the discovery of superconductivity above 77° Kelvin, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, Chu opened the door to major energy breakthroughs.

Superconductivity is a subfield of condensed matter physics. A superconductor is a unique material that loses its resistance to electricity when you cool it below a certain temperature. Superconducting materials are now being used to make devices for energy generation, transmission and storage, as well as ultra-fast and ultra-sensitive signal detection and magnets for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

“In other words, superconducting transmission cables can be used to transmit electricity over long distances without energy loss,” he said. “Today, we use copper wire or aluminum wire which is less efficient, so superconductors can do wonders.”

Chu, who founded the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH and now serves as it executive director, continues his research, hoping to achieve superconductive properties at even higher temperatures with minimal cooling necessary. He receives funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Department of Energy to develop new materials.

“Whenever you are doing any cooling, you are consuming energy,” he said. “So when you can get to the point where you are operating superconducting devices without cooling them, you change every aspect of our lives, wherever electricity is involved. That will induce an industrial revolution. It is very exciting.”

Chu’s interest in superconductivity developed when he was a graduate student, but even as a young boy growing up in Taiwan, he was interested in science and technology.

“Even when I was a little boy, I started making motors, generators, crystal radios, and so on,” he said. “All those small gadgets had a major impact on my later career.”

Chu completed his undergraduate education in Taiwan, and came to the U.S. to pursue his graduate work at the University of California at San Diego. That is where he met his advisor and mentor, Bernd T. Matthias, whom he described as “a giant in superconductivity.”

“Superconductivity is one of the few subjects in science that has intellectual challenges as well as the technological promises,” he said. “Therefore, it has attracted scientists from different fields, such as physics, chemistry, material science and engineering.”

The mentor relationship had a major impact on Chu’s future career.

“One of Professor Matthias’ major goals was to get superconductivity to work at as high a temperature as possible, and that has been my passion for the decades,” he said.

Chu is so passionate about superconductivity because he sees it as key to helping to solve the world’s energy problems. There are two ways to stave off future energy shortages – improving the efficient use of existing resources and developing new resources, including renewable energy, he said.

“Superconductivity can do the first part, which is making the use of energy more efficient,” Chu said.

Superconducting material also can be used in devices like fault current limiters, inserted into electrical grids to help prevent blackouts and brownouts during lighting strikes or other power surges, or for medical applications such as MRI machines, he said.

“If we can reduce the cost of the magnetic resonance imaging technology and improve its mobility, that would have a major impact on health care in the Third World,” Chu said.

For his work, Chu has been given countless prestigious awards, including the Comstock Prize, Bernd Matthias Prize, the Texas Instruments Founders Award, the Prize Ettore Majorana-Erice-Science for Peace and the National Medal of Science. He was named the Best Researcher in the U.S. in 1990 by U.S. News & World Report, and has been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and other prestigious foreign academies.

The awards and recognition are nice, but Chu said it is his passion for his work that keeps him going – passion he likes to share with students.

“I tell them I work seven days a week, and more than 10 to 12 hours a day,” he said. “I don’t expect a student to do the same, but I never feel that it is very hard, because that is where my heart is.”

Chu enjoys working with students at the Texas Center for Superconductivity, which he said serves an important role in educating the next generation of scientists.

“I always like to see that they can develop a passion for the work we are doing,” he said. “Passion is extremely important.”

A passion for education took Chu to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he served as president for eight years and two months while he simultaneously continued overseeing his research at UH until September 2009.

While in Hong Kong, he raised the international reputation of that institution as a world-class university – a similar effort that the University of Houston is undertaking in its pursuit of Tier-One status. Chu said he wholeheartedly supports the efforts to reach Tier One.

“Based on my humble opinion, this is the right way to go because you have to get the recognition from the outside world in particular, to know you are serious about hiring distinguished faculty members, and creating new knowledge,” Chu said. “The best faculty members attract the brightest students … that also attracts funding and recognition from the world. Therefore, having excellent faculty do cutting edge work is the best way to education students and help them as they graduate.”

Great improvements have already been made over the years since he arrived on campus in 1979, he said.

“We are getting more and more quality faculty members, and their work has been recognized by more and more people outside of Houston,” he said. “I think that is a good thing.”

The support of the community is also increasing, he said, adding that is key to UH reaching Tier-One status.

“I feel right now the city is fully behind the university,” Chu said. “I can see that President Khator’s vision for a Tier-One university is getting closer to reality.”

A Pharmacy Student Excels In the Classroom and the Lab.

As a child from a small, farming village in the African country of Cameroon, Odelia Bongmba never could have imagined just how far her desire for knowledge would take her – from Africa to Germany, and finally to the U.S.

A pharmacology doctoral student at the University of Houston, Bongmba began her path to higher education in Yaounde, the capital of her country, where she attended college and earned a degree in agricultural engineering.

“In Cameroon, the most important thing is agriculture – subsistence agriculture,” she said. “When I was growing up, we did a lot of farm work … so as a young girl, I wanted to do something concerning agriculture.”

After working for a few years, Bongmba earned a scholarship to study forest management in Germany. She did her field work in the forests of Cameroon – an experience that would eventually help develop her interest in medicine.

“I was looking at other products from the forest, other than timber,” she said. “I discovered that the people in this area relied very much on medicinal plants for their treatments. I collected a number of these medicinal plants, and that started my interest toward doing something medicinal.”

After working for a few more years, Bongmba came to the U.S. in 2001 to join her husband, a professor of religious studies at Rice University. While still getting settled in Houston, she took a job working at an assisted living center.

“I had a lot of Alzheimer’s patients and people with Parkinson’s, so I was thinking, ‘How can I do something to be of help?'” she said. The medicinal plants she collected during her forestry research began to get her thinking about pharmacology as a career.

After doing some research, Bongmba decided the University of Houston was the best place for her to pursue her degree.

“I don’t think I could have a better environment [than UH],” she said.

Because her background was in agriculture, Bongmba said she had a steep learning curve when it came to certain pharmacy classes. But the professors at UH were all eager to see her succeed, she said.

“All of my professors on this faculty are my mentors. They open their doors to you anytime I need them,” Bongmba said. “When I got into this program, I came from an agricultural background, so I had quite a bit of difficulty. All of the professors encouraged me.”

As an international student, Bongmba appreciates the diversity on campus, as well as in the city of Houston. She said she enjoys collaborating with people from all over the world, who each have different perspectives.

“I have classmates from all over,” she said. “I think that has a big role. I think it gives the University of Houston a big advantage.”

As part of her research, Bongmba is exploring the role of the signaling protein Rac in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory in Assistant Professor Maria V. Tejada-Simon’s lab. Her research could contribute to the search for and development of new forms of therapy that might improve the quality of life for people whose lives are affected by degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“Just thinking that someday, maybe something can happen and we can get, not a cure, but something that can reduce the proliferation of this disease, it makes me feel really passionate about the project,” she said. “If you have a relative who has Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, then you understand why I am so passionate.”

As part of the degree program, Bongmba said students are encouraged to attend conferences and present their work – an opportunity she says adds an important dimension to her educational experience.

“In the long term, you can do all of the work in the lab, and have all of the great results, but if you cannot communicate your results to the world, then your research is not useful,” she said. “Going [to conferences] makes you know how to present what you are doing.”

Because of her success in presenting at conferences, and her research accomplishments, Bongmba was selected for the prestigious Biotechnology Institute Minority Fellowship program, which offered professional development training, career-building skills and mentor matching with biotechnology industry leaders.

“My eyes were really opened,” she said of her experience.

As she continues her research, expecting to complete her degree program in 2011, Bongmba said she feels UH is providing her everything she needs to succeed in her chosen career.

“Here, I have a lot of opportunities,” she said. “Houston is a big city, and at UH, I have all of the connections that I would need.”

The journey to the University of Houston was a long one, but it was worth it to find a place that feels like home, Bongmba said.

“When you like something, you like to keep it close to you,” she said. “The University of Houston is opening the doors. … I think I will always want to remain a part of the University of Houston.”