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History of the Program
The graduate program in Studies of the Future was established in 1974 (when the Clear Lake campus of the University of Houston was founded) by the Dean of the School of Human Sciences and Humanities, Calvin Cannon, and the Chancellor of UH-Clear Lake, Alfred Neumann. The mid-1970s was a high point of futures studies with the founding of the World Future Society, the World Futures Studies Federation and the publication of futures best-sellers, such as Future Shock and The Limits to Growth. Dr. Cannon thought futures should be a regular part of the curriculum, a complement to the study of history.
The University hired two faculty members to staff the program—Jib Fowles, the first chair of the program, and Christopher Dede. Fowles received his degree in communications and sociology from New York University. Dede graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in education and with a strong emphasis in futures studies and instructional technology. Faculty from other programs in the university also taught courses in the futures program – notably, Jim Bowman and Fred Kierstead from education and Jim Coomer from public administration.
The program was assigned to the Human Sciences component of HSH, but it was treated in the early years as more of a humanities program, in which the big issues of the day were studied and debated. One of the biggest debates centered on whether Houston should continue its meteoric growth of the 1970s or whether steps should be taken to control that growth. Most feeling was on the side of managing the growth. Ever the contrarian, however, Fowles became known as the advocate for the pro-growth/no-regulation side of the debate.
It became obvious, however, that a purely academic program would not be sustainable as enrollments began to dip at the end of the decade. As a result, the faculty recruited Oliver Markley from the Stanford Research Institute where he had done a number of futures studies under contract to the US Department of Education among others. Markley had an undergraduate degree in engineering and graduate degrees in experimental psychology from the University of Chicago. His task was to create a more professionally-oriented program that would still retain the diversity and interest of the original program.
Peter Bishop joined the faculty in 1983. Bishop had come to UH-Clear Lake in 1976 to teach research methods and statistics in Behavioral Sciences. His background, however, included graduate degrees in sociology from Michigan State University with concentrations in social change, social problems, social movements, and organizational and political sociology. Bishop became the convener of the program almost from the outset as Fowles moved to establish a new program in Media Studies.
Asthe University became more disciplinary in the 1980s more of the courses fell to Dede, Markley, Kierstead and Bishop. Dede left in 1990 to join the faculty at George Mason University, and Kierstead withdrew shortly thereafter. Markley took a leave of absence around that time, and Jennifer Jarratt, a graduate of the program and a principal at Coates & Jarratt, a Washington DC futures research firm, took his place for a year. Ms. Jarratt began the first Futures Forum on the future of the Southwest, an annual event on different topics over the next five or six years.
Early in the 1990s, the faculty, some alumni and students created the Institute for Futures Research (IFR), an umbrella organization that allowed faculty, alumni and students to work on futures projects together. The first study in 1991 was a look into the future of world issues commissioned by the Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other notable clients were the NASA Johnson Space Center, General Motors, Lockheed, the Waitt Family Foundation and the Education Foundation of Harris County.
Staff changes in the 1990s allowed Wendy Schultz to join the faculty for four years. Schultz had studied under Jim Dator at the University of Hawaii receiving her degree in political science with a strong concentration in futures studies. Schultz’s dissertation was a review of facilitation techniques used in futures studies so she brought a wealth of research and consulting experience to the program.
The faculty instituted the Intensive Summer Program in 1995. As the only free-standing degree in futures studies in the U.S., many people wanted to pursue the degree although they could not relocate to Houston. In fact, many wanted the program to go online immediately, but the faculty judged that online resources, both in the market and at the university, were not mature enough to support an entire online degree. Instead, they invited students to Houston for six weeks in the summer. (Many joked that six weeks in the Houston summer was as bad as 40 weeks during the rest of the year!) Those who participated (faculty and students alike) found it a rich learning experience although completing the assignments during the rest of the year proved to be a definite challenge.
Markley retired in the late 1990s, and Schultz returned to her home in Oxford, England. Christopher Jones then joined the faculty for three years. Jones had studied with Dr. Schultz in Hawaii and taught political science at Eastern Oregon University before coming to UH-Clear Lake. During his first year, Jones was elected Secretary-General of the World Futures Studies Federation, making UH-Clear Lake the WFSF headquarters for the two years.
During this time, Bishop and Jones began offering futures courses online. The plan was to introduce one new online course each semester until Fall 2004. Jones left shortly after that, however, so the plan had to be extended to Fall 2005. As a result students have graduated with Master’s degrees from Austin TX, Knoxville TN, Wilmington DE, Phoenix AZ and other places.
The program hosted its first alumni reunion/retreat in May 2001 to celebrate its 25th anniversary and to involve alumni in preparing the program for the next 25 years. Jennifer Jarratt conducted an open space discussion about program issues over the two-day period. One of the groups discussed the possibility of establishing a real professional association for practicing futurists, an idea that had been discussed (to death!) for some time. Many of the graduates acted on the discussion forming the Association of Professional Futurists, an organization of over 200 professional futurists, provisional members and students from around the world.
The State of Texas suffered a major funding crisis in 2002-03 because of the decline in the U.S. economy. As a result, the university could not immediately replace Dr. Jones who left the university that year. As a result, Bishop picked up all the courses with help from adjunct faculty. In the end, Dean Bruce Palmer chose not to replace Jones. He preferred to use his faculty positions to teach in the larger and more lucrative programs of psychology and criminal justice, forcing Dr. Bishop to close the program as program with only one faculty member would not be sustainable.
Fortunately at the behest of Dr. Shirley Ezell from the Department of Human Development and Consumer Science, Dean William Fitzgibbon of the College of Technology at the University of Houston approached Dr. Bishop with the idea of re-establishing the program at the central campus. Bishop and the program alumni were thrilled with the idea, and the program began its transition immediately.
In preparation for full-scale operations, the Department hired Andy Hines, a program graduate with futures experience at Coates & Jarratt, the Kellogg Company and Dow Chemical in January 2005, and Bishop moved his appointment to UH in that fall. Together, Bishop and Hines began admitting students on a provisional basis and started teaching courses in Fall 2005.
The Department submitted the paperwork to have the degree moved from the Clear Lake to the UH Central campus. The administration determined, however, that this constituted a new degree, not just a move, which meant it had to go through the full faculty and administrative review process. The Programs Subcommittee of the Graduate Professional and Services Committee reviewed the proposal in Spring 2006 and turned it down by a vote of 3-2. The Department revised and re-submitted the proposal the following fall. It was later approved by the Committee in Spring 2007, and by the Texas Coordinating Board for Higher Education in October 2007.
Though the program underwent changes for approval—notably the addition of a statistics course and required domain electives, the core remained in tact. In fall 2008 the program once again began admitting students under the new curriculum.
The University of Houston celebrated its 35-year partnership with the futures field on 1 May 2009 as well as recognized Dr. Peter Bishop's 25 years of stewardship. The program held its second retreat on Saturday, 2 May.
Contact Dr. Bishop if you have questions or want to suggest changes to this page...
The University hired two faculty members to staff the program—Jib Fowles, the first chair of the program, and Christopher Dede. Fowles received his degree in communications and sociology from New York University. Dede graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in education and with a strong emphasis in futures studies and instructional technology. Faculty from other programs in the university also taught courses in the futures program – notably, Jim Bowman and Fred Kierstead from education and Jim Coomer from public administration.
The program was assigned to the Human Sciences component of HSH, but it was treated in the early years as more of a humanities program, in which the big issues of the day were studied and debated. One of the biggest debates centered on whether Houston should continue its meteoric growth of the 1970s or whether steps should be taken to control that growth. Most feeling was on the side of managing the growth. Ever the contrarian, however, Fowles became known as the advocate for the pro-growth/no-regulation side of the debate.
It became obvious, however, that a purely academic program would not be sustainable as enrollments began to dip at the end of the decade. As a result, the faculty recruited Oliver Markley from the Stanford Research Institute where he had done a number of futures studies under contract to the US Department of Education among others. Markley had an undergraduate degree in engineering and graduate degrees in experimental psychology from the University of Chicago. His task was to create a more professionally-oriented program that would still retain the diversity and interest of the original program.
Peter Bishop joined the faculty in 1983. Bishop had come to UH-Clear Lake in 1976 to teach research methods and statistics in Behavioral Sciences. His background, however, included graduate degrees in sociology from Michigan State University with concentrations in social change, social problems, social movements, and organizational and political sociology. Bishop became the convener of the program almost from the outset as Fowles moved to establish a new program in Media Studies.
Asthe University became more disciplinary in the 1980s more of the courses fell to Dede, Markley, Kierstead and Bishop. Dede left in 1990 to join the faculty at George Mason University, and Kierstead withdrew shortly thereafter. Markley took a leave of absence around that time, and Jennifer Jarratt, a graduate of the program and a principal at Coates & Jarratt, a Washington DC futures research firm, took his place for a year. Ms. Jarratt began the first Futures Forum on the future of the Southwest, an annual event on different topics over the next five or six years.
Early in the 1990s, the faculty, some alumni and students created the Institute for Futures Research (IFR), an umbrella organization that allowed faculty, alumni and students to work on futures projects together. The first study in 1991 was a look into the future of world issues commissioned by the Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other notable clients were the NASA Johnson Space Center, General Motors, Lockheed, the Waitt Family Foundation and the Education Foundation of Harris County.
Staff changes in the 1990s allowed Wendy Schultz to join the faculty for four years. Schultz had studied under Jim Dator at the University of Hawaii receiving her degree in political science with a strong concentration in futures studies. Schultz’s dissertation was a review of facilitation techniques used in futures studies so she brought a wealth of research and consulting experience to the program.
The faculty instituted the Intensive Summer Program in 1995. As the only free-standing degree in futures studies in the U.S., many people wanted to pursue the degree although they could not relocate to Houston. In fact, many wanted the program to go online immediately, but the faculty judged that online resources, both in the market and at the university, were not mature enough to support an entire online degree. Instead, they invited students to Houston for six weeks in the summer. (Many joked that six weeks in the Houston summer was as bad as 40 weeks during the rest of the year!) Those who participated (faculty and students alike) found it a rich learning experience although completing the assignments during the rest of the year proved to be a definite challenge.
Markley retired in the late 1990s, and Schultz returned to her home in Oxford, England. Christopher Jones then joined the faculty for three years. Jones had studied with Dr. Schultz in Hawaii and taught political science at Eastern Oregon University before coming to UH-Clear Lake. During his first year, Jones was elected Secretary-General of the World Futures Studies Federation, making UH-Clear Lake the WFSF headquarters for the two years.
During this time, Bishop and Jones began offering futures courses online. The plan was to introduce one new online course each semester until Fall 2004. Jones left shortly after that, however, so the plan had to be extended to Fall 2005. As a result students have graduated with Master’s degrees from Austin TX, Knoxville TN, Wilmington DE, Phoenix AZ and other places.
The program hosted its first alumni reunion/retreat in May 2001 to celebrate its 25th anniversary and to involve alumni in preparing the program for the next 25 years. Jennifer Jarratt conducted an open space discussion about program issues over the two-day period. One of the groups discussed the possibility of establishing a real professional association for practicing futurists, an idea that had been discussed (to death!) for some time. Many of the graduates acted on the discussion forming the Association of Professional Futurists, an organization of over 200 professional futurists, provisional members and students from around the world.
The State of Texas suffered a major funding crisis in 2002-03 because of the decline in the U.S. economy. As a result, the university could not immediately replace Dr. Jones who left the university that year. As a result, Bishop picked up all the courses with help from adjunct faculty. In the end, Dean Bruce Palmer chose not to replace Jones. He preferred to use his faculty positions to teach in the larger and more lucrative programs of psychology and criminal justice, forcing Dr. Bishop to close the program as program with only one faculty member would not be sustainable.
Fortunately at the behest of Dr. Shirley Ezell from the Department of Human Development and Consumer Science, Dean William Fitzgibbon of the College of Technology at the University of Houston approached Dr. Bishop with the idea of re-establishing the program at the central campus. Bishop and the program alumni were thrilled with the idea, and the program began its transition immediately.
In preparation for full-scale operations, the Department hired Andy Hines, a program graduate with futures experience at Coates & Jarratt, the Kellogg Company and Dow Chemical in January 2005, and Bishop moved his appointment to UH in that fall. Together, Bishop and Hines began admitting students on a provisional basis and started teaching courses in Fall 2005.
The Department submitted the paperwork to have the degree moved from the Clear Lake to the UH Central campus. The administration determined, however, that this constituted a new degree, not just a move, which meant it had to go through the full faculty and administrative review process. The Programs Subcommittee of the Graduate Professional and Services Committee reviewed the proposal in Spring 2006 and turned it down by a vote of 3-2. The Department revised and re-submitted the proposal the following fall. It was later approved by the Committee in Spring 2007, and by the Texas Coordinating Board for Higher Education in October 2007.
Though the program underwent changes for approval—notably the addition of a statistics course and required domain electives, the core remained in tact. In fall 2008 the program once again began admitting students under the new curriculum.
The University of Houston celebrated its 35-year partnership with the futures field on 1 May 2009 as well as recognized Dr. Peter Bishop's 25 years of stewardship. The program held its second retreat on Saturday, 2 May.
Contact Dr. Bishop if you have questions or want to suggest changes to this page...
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