UH declines spot on UT Houston planning group

The University of Houston declined an invitation to sit on a task force planning the use of more than 300 acres in southwest Houston that the University of Texas is purchasing, a UT spokeswoman said Tuesday.

UH officials have vocally opposed UT's planned Houston expansion, saying the flagship is acting without consulting the city's existing schools. The UT spokeswoman said UH was offered a spot on the 18-member panel, but declined the offer.

The group -- an executive committee that will pull in various other experts and community leaders over the next year to help guide UT's plans for the land -- includes representatives from Texas Southern University and Rice University. Multiple UH alumni are on the task force, however.

"It's all about collaboration," UT Chancellor William McRaven said in a statement. "Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration."

UH did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The members of the group are:

• Paul Hobby, co-chair; founding partner, Genesis Park; chairman, Texas Ethics Commission; former chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; alumnus of the University of Virginia and UT Austin School of Law

• Carin Barth, co-chair; president and co-founder of LB Capital and former Texas Tech regent; former chair of the Houston Forum; former chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush; alumna of the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt University

• Jorge Bermudez, president and chief executive officer, Byebrook Group; former chief risk officer for Citigroup; member of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank board of directors; board member of Moody's Corporation and ERCOT; alumnus of Texas A&M University

• Ernest Cockrell, chairman of Cockrell Interests; chairman of the Cockrell Foundation; alumnus of UT Austin

• Alex Cranberg, UT System regent; founder of Aspect Holdings, LLC; alumnus of UT Austin and Stanford University

• Larry Faulkner, president emeritus of UT Austin; former president of the Houston Endowment; alumnus of Southern Methodist University and UT Austin

• David Gardner, deputy commissioner for academic planning and policy, and ex officio representative of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to the Task Force; alumnus of the University of Houston and Texas A&M University

• Jodie L. Jiles, director of business development, Transwestern; former chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership; former board member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; alumnus of Texas Southern University and UT Austin

• Gene Locke, of counsel, Andrews Kurth; County Commissioner, Precinct 1, Harris County; former city attorney, representative of the Harris County Judge to the Task Force; alumnus of the University of Houston

• Janiece Longoria, chairman of the Houston Port Authority; former UT System regent and vice chairman; director at CenterPoint Energy and Superior Energy Services; alumna of UT Austin

• Gina Luna, chairman of JP Morgan Chase-Houston Region; former chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership; alumna of Texas A&M University

• John Nau, president and chief executive officer, Silver Eagle Distributors; current member and former vice chairman of the National Park Foundation; chairman of the Texas Historical Commission; chairman emeritus of the Civil War Trust; former member of the University of Virginia board of visitors; alumnus of the University of Virginia

• Patrick Oxford, chairman, Bracewell; former UT System regent; former board chairman of BioHouston; former chairman of Greater Houston Partnership; alumnus of UT Austin

• Precious Williams Owodunni, president and founder, Mountaintop Consulting; former vice president, Goldman, Sachs & Company; alumna of Yale University

• Robert Robbins, president and chief executive officer, Texas Medical Center; alumnus of the University of Mississippi and Millsaps College

• Courtney Johnson Rose, representative of the Mayor's Office to the Task Force; principal broker of George E. Johnson Properties; alumnus of UT Austin and Prairie View A&M University

• Gerald Smith, university representative and chair of the Texas Southern University Foundation board; chief executive officer of Smith, Graham and Company Investment Advisors; board member, Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; alumnus of Texas Southern University

• Y. Ping Sun, of counsel, Yetter Coleman; university representative, Rice University; advisory board member, Asian Chamber of Commerce; co-chair of Asia Society Texas Center; alumna of Princeton University and Columbia University School of Law