HOUSTON - With three awards in just two months, Lone Star College-University Park’s reputation for innovation and excellence in higher education has been recognized by renowned local and international organizations. This summer, LSC-University Park was honored by the International Centre for Innovation in Education (ICIE), the Houston Business Journal (HBJ) and the League for Innovation in the Community College, continuing its position as a frontrunner in bringing innovation and excellence to higher education.

“It’s a true honor for our college to be recognized by these distinguished organizations,” said Dr. Shah Ardalan, LSC-University Park president. “Our talented and compassionate staff and faculty deserve the credit for their commitment to cultivating creativity, innovation, and excellence inside and outside of the classroom. The fact that we were chosen to receive these innovation awards signals our efforts are making a far-reaching impact on the community and around the world.”

ICIE lauded the college for its dedication, commitment, leadership, and outstanding contributions when it presented LSC-University Park’s founding president, Dr. Shah Ardalan, with its “2019 Award for Innovation in Higher Education.” 

The organization joined the Minority Achievement, Creativity, and High Ability Center (MACH III) for the award presentation during the “17th Annual International Conference on Excellence, Innovation, & Creativity in Basic-Higher Education & Psychology” last month at Prairie View A&M University. Their partners also included the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development and the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association (HETL) in presenting the award.

Award honorees also included: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner; State Rep. Alma Allen; State Sen. Royce West; the University of Houston President and Chancellor Dr. Renu Khator; and H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt. 

ICIE promotes excellence in higher education and psychology and boasts a global membership including Nobel Prize winners, notable international scholars and leading keynote speakers from a cross-section of industries. The ICIE Conference was full of firsts. With past conferences hosted in global locales like Paris, Dubai-United Arab Emirates, Portugal and Canada, this year marked the first time the conference was held in the US and the first on a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campus.

HBJ recently named LSC-University Park as an honoree for its inaugural Innovation Awards recognizing pioneering companies across all industries. HBJ selected LSC-University Park, the only institution of higher education to be honored, for its invitation-to-innovate (i2i) process. The i2i process creates an open-source model to grow business opportunities and transformation; increase equity and economic prosperity; and streamline the impact of education on businesses within the greater Houston area. The i2i concept was the vision of President Dr. Shah Ardalan, who infused the whole concept of i2i for the betterment of greater Houston including the founding of LSC-University Park- the only college founded on an idea rather than a place.

HBJ will feature honorees in a special section of its Sept. 27 edition and celebrate them at the Fast 100 and Innovations Awards on Sept. 26 at the Marriott Marquis Houston. Read the HBJ article at: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/07/29/hbj-reveals-finalists-for-2019-fast-100-houstons.html.  

In June, League for Innovation in the Community College – an international non-profit organization whose membership consists of CEOs from some of the most influential, resourceful and dynamic community colleges in the world -  awarded LSC-University Park with the Innovation of the Year Award for the college’s GradUP initiative. The goal of GradUP, launched in 2018, is to increase graduation rates by 300 percent in three years. 

The League for Innovation in the Community College’s mission is to cultivate innovation in the community college environment. The organization will present LSC-University Park with the award at its annual conference in March 2020 in Seattle.

These awards are the latest in a long list of accolades LSC-University Park has accepted since its inception in 2012 for its dedication to student success and excellence.

LSC-University Park is focused on student success and making higher education both accessible and affordable with classes starting at only $330. The college offers more than 70 associate degrees and workforce certificates in high-demand disciplines and careers. Education is provided in an open learning environment with convenient options in face-to-face, online and hybrid delivery modes. Students also enjoy a fully-digital library and free services like tutoring, advising, counseling, veterans’ assistance, and disabilities accommodations and parking.