New Pearland Campus To Break Ground This Summer

By Nancy Nguyen

Plans to expand the University of Houston-Clear Lake are moving forward.  The building of a new campus will start in the summer of 2009 and will be completed in September 2010.   
The Pearland campus, located at Pearland Parkway and McHard Road, will include classroom space and a center for arts.
The new campus will offer a variety of classes for undergraduate and graduate students.  The campus plans to fill 300-400 seats when it opens.
“Initially, only one building will be built; new buildings will be added in the future as needed and as resources allow,” said UHCL President William Staples. “Two-thirds of the building will house classrooms, teaching labs, a computer lab, a small library, a conference area and several support staff offices. The remaining one-third will be home to the Pearland Economic Development Corporation.”
Most UHCL students come from local community colleges including: San Jacinto Community College, Alvin Community College, Houston Community College, Lee College, College of the Mainland and Galveston College.
Commuting to UHCL in the evening can be difficult during rush hour traffic. The location will be close to many accessible routes such as the Hardy Toll Road and Highway 288.  
“With all the local junior colleges and the medical center only 20 miles away from where the school is going to be, it was only convenient to expand to Pearland,” said Tom Reid, mayor of Pearland.           UHCL has been offering classes at the Pearland College Center since 2004.
“I was able to take two of my psychology classes in the evening,” said UHCL psychology undergraduate student Jason Thomas, “this was very convenient for me as my job was closer to the Pearland Center.”
“The Pearland Center was a convenient location last year when I was in school,” said UHCL communication undergraduate Ruth Garay, “I started volunteering more at my church which was close by the Pearland location.
The Pearland Center will bring new opportunities to the City of Pearland.
The project budget for the first building is estimated at $11 million however the majority of the funding will be coming from the city of Pearland.  An estimated $10 million will come from issue bonds.
Administration of the new campus will be provided by the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, who reports to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Carl Stockton and serves on the UH-Clear Lake Dean’s Council.
 “As a community-minded, partnership-oriented university, we are excited about bringing higher education, at both the bachelor’s and master’s level, to the City of Pearland, where city leaders have demonstrated a strong commitment to education,” Staples said.

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