As the holiday season approaches, the University of Houston-Victoria hosted a reception Tuesday evening and presented four awards to individuals and organizations that have made an impact on the university and the community.
About 200 people attended the universityƵs annual holiday reception, including faculty, staff, students, alumni and community leaders. The reception is a come-and-go event intended to celebrate the holiday season and acknowledge some of the community members who have made a difference at the university. Attendees enjoyed heavy hors dƵoeuvres by Chartwells and a UHV Holiday video.
ƵThis is a time of year when individuals are told to count their blessings, and UHV is fortunate to have many blessings to count,Ƶ UHV President Bob Glenn said. ƵWe are grateful for the opportunity to bring our students, employees, alumni and supporters together and acknowledge those who have made a difference to the university and our community.Ƶ
The most prestigious award given out Tuesday evening was the UHV Presidential Medal. The medal is the highest award bestowed by the university. It is given periodically to recognize individuals who have made distinguished professional and public contributions to UHV, the community it serves or to higher education in general. This year, the medal was awarded posthumously to Jill Ann Englebright Fox, a former UHV faculty member and advocate for education who passed away in April. Her family attended the event and accepted the award on her behalf.
Fox was a fourth-generation educator whose commitment to education ranged from teaching Sunday School kids as a teenager to graduate-level courses in teacher education. She worked in education for nearly four decades, and her final 10 years before retirement were at UHV. Throughout her career, her achievements included 23 awards and scholarships, 12 research grants totaling more than $3.2 million dollars, 40 national and international journal articles, and book chapters. She also conducted 12 national and international presentations, including presentations at the Oxford Round Table and SingaporeƵs Ministry of Education.
In addition to her scholarship, FoxƵs love of community involvement led her to board positions with the Vine School, the Victoria Symphony, the Nave Museum, the Junior League of Victoria, the Museum of the Coastal Bend and the Victoria Library Board. In her retirement, she was honored to serve as District Director for State Senator Lois Kolkhorst.
ƵThis is a great honor,Ƶ said Ray Fox, Jill FoxƵs husband. ƵVictoria and UHV have been a great blessing for us. I donƵt think you can find a friendlier place to live. This is our home, and I am glad Jill was able to spend the last 10 years of her career at UHV.Ƶ
Another prestigious award that the university presents every year is the People Who Make a Difference Award, which honors those who have supported the university and made a difference in the quality of life in the community. The award was presented to Cindy Buchholz, the executive vice president and chief academic officer for Victoria College and an alumna of both VC and UHV.
Buchholz started her college journey as a young mother in 1988. She started at VC, then transferred to UHV, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in humanities and English, followed by a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in literature and history. Since then, sheƵs worked in various areas of education in the community throughout the past 30 years, including working as an adjunct professor at UHV from 1995 to 2003 and rising to her current position at VC.
Under her leadership, VC has partnered with UHV to better serve students, and the collegeƵs courses have made a shift toward using open educational resources so students can access their textbooks for free. That initiative has saved students at VC almost a half-million dollars since its creation. She also shifted the collegeƵs Continuing Education programs under the academic umbrella, which created a smoother transition when those students were ready to move forward with their education. Throughout her career, she has focused on finding the next step to better serve the needs of students in education.
ƵI am very humbled and pleased to receive this award,Ƶ Buchholz said. ƵI loved my time at UHV, and IƵm pleased to be able to continue working with the university through my role at VC. I look forward to more opportunities to work together in the years to come.Ƶ
In addition to recognizing individuals, the university also knows the value of partnering with area organizations and community leaders. The Community Partnership Award is given to a person, business or organization that has helped advance the quality of life in the region and at the university. This year, the award was given to the City of Victoria.
The City of Victoria has been a supportive partner for UHV since the universityƵs founding in 1973, and that partnership has been especially strong during the past year. One of the most recent examples of the partnership between the City and UHV was the Ben Wilson Street construction project that was completed earlier this year after years of efforts to plan the project and get it off the ground. UHV financed the project while the City took charge of the construction.
The City also supports UHV and its students by offering internships in a variety of departments every semester as well as offering opportunities throughout the year for the university to be involved in city-sponsored events. The City also has been a longtime supporter of UHV Athletics, and some of the community boards include UHV employees as members. Even on a personal level, members of the CityƵs leadership have made personal contributions toward scholarships at UHV.
ƵWe are thankful to UHV for the recognition,Ƶ said Jesus Garza, city manager. ƵThe City knows that having a university in our region is critical for a thriving community. WeƵve said before that as UHV goes, so goes Victoria. It has been refreshing to work with a university president who understands the importance of this partnership.Ƶ
During the event, the university also presented the Student Leadership Award to Kaitlin Lopez, a senior criminal justice major from San Antonio. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates excellence in leadership and academics.
Lopez transferred to UHV in the fall of 2022 and has been involved in various leadership roles while continuing to maintain an impressive 4.0 GPA. She plays on the womenƵs golf team and works as a resident assistant in the UHV residence halls. She was promoted to a senior resident assistant earlier this year. She was recognized as the RA of the Semester for Fall 2023 and received the I Am UHV scholarship award last May.
ƵThis is a big surprise. IƵve worked so hard to get to where I am today, but I couldnƵt have done it without my system of support here at UHV,Ƶ Lopez said. ƵI am so grateful to UHV Residence Life and other leaders here. IƵm happy that I go here, and I look forward to returning one day as a graduate student.Ƶ
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