Longtime business faculty member appointed associate provost for Katy operations
KATY – The University of Houston-Victoria’s newest administrator sees tremendous growth potential for the university’s teaching center in Katy.
“We are sitting on a gold mine,” said Ronald Salazar, a UHV associate professor of management and associate provost for Katy operations. “The enrollment for community colleges in our area exceeds 200,000. These are students within our grasp. In addition, Katy is the fastest-growing zip code in the country, and we are right in the middle of the energy corridor.”
David Cockrum, UHV interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, recently appointed Salazar to the associate provost post after an internal search. Salazar’s primary responsibility is to work with the staff at UHV Katy to meet the needs of students and to incorporate data management tools to better inform and understand enrollment goals and needs.
“We are committed to making every aspect – from first contact through graduation – better and more convenient for our current and prospective students,” Salazar said.
Salazar has taught at UHV since 2004, and he has an extensive background with strategic and tactical planning, management consulting, and the integration of theoretical and practical business applications.
Salazar earned a doctorate in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He has been a consultant on strategic management and technology to numerous private and public sector organizations, including British Petroleum, Exxon/Mobil, The Kroger Co., and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“Dr. Salazar’s track record in business and academics makes him a great fit for the position,” Cockrum said. “I’m excited he is taking on this role in addition to continuing to teach our business students.”
Salazar will oversee most staff members at UHV Katy. He also will develop training activities for staff and inform faculty members about opportunities for community engagement in Katy. He will collaborate with Karla DeCuir, UHV Katy senior director of enrollment management, on some external relations projects.
“I’ve worked with some of the staff in Katy for years,” Salazar said. “I know them to be highly professional and dedicated. I intend to be a resource for them to help them succeed in their job goals in the future.”
UHV Katy, 2002 W. Grand Parkway N., Building 2, opened in fall 2016 and offers bachelor’s degrees for transfer students and master’s degrees The university is leasing the third floor of the building while a new UH System campus is built nearby at Interstate 10 and Grand Parkway. The new campus eventually will house UHV and UH degree programs.
The addition of an associate provost stemmed from a recommendation in UHV’s new Katy Business Plan. The plan was put together by a group of UHV faculty members and administrators, led by Wayne Beran, UHV vice president for administration and finance.
Salazar served on the business plan group, one of several internal service roles he’s taken on. He also is chair of the UHV Technology Advisory Committee. He was president of the Faculty Senate during the 2013-2014 school year.
“The prospect of working with others on the team in Katy to develop and implement responsive growth will be a welcome challenge,” Salazar said. “I am looking forward to building relationships and an organization that will fully serve the educational aspirations of Katy and the surrounding area.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
