Jay Neal has been named associate vice president and chief operating officer for the 91视频 at Sugar Land and 91视频 at Katy. The move is effective Jan. 1, 2018.
鈥淚 am delighted to offer this position to Dr. Neal,鈥� said Paula Myrick Short, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the 91视频. 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 University of Houston."
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.
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.
UH Sugar Land became a part of the 91视频 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, the number of students enrolled in classes that meet in Sugar Land has increased from 1,645 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.
In 2016, the 91视频 System purchased 46 acres of land in Katy and will break ground on the facility in spring 2018. It will house programs in nursing and engineering, as well as programs from 91视频-Victoria.