coogs win big

Anonymous donor gifts historic $4 million grant to acclaimed University of Houston program

University of Houston central campus exterior Ezekiel Cullen building

UH's Creative Writing program just scored a historic gift.

Photo courtesy of University of Houston

Hollywood’s James Franco never revealed why he pulled out of the University of Houston’s Creative Writing program, but one wonders if the actor understands what he’s missing.

In major news, UH’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) announced that it has received a $4 million gift in support of its Creative Writing program on September 17 — courtesy of an anonymous donor.

The largest endowment in the history of the college, the gift will “fuel research activity in the humanities and social sciences and advance the college’s mission of transforming today’s students into tomorrow’s global leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and industry innovators,” according to a release.

“This gift matters because it provides support for key strategic initiatives in CLASS, surrounding student success, faculty success, and community engagement,” said Antonio D. Tillis, dean of the school, in a statement. “Numerous academic departments/programs, especially creative writing, will benefit from this generous gift.”

UH’s Creative Writing program is often ranked as a top-five program nationally, with heavy hitters such as Matthew Salesses (The Hundred-Year Flood) and Marisa de los Santos (The Precious One) among the distinguished alumni. Hundreds apply each year for between 15 and 20 class spots and a chance to be published in houses such as Harper Perennial, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Press, and St. Martin’s Press.

The massive donation comes nearly two months after UH received an anonymous $3 million gift meant for its inaugural medical school class. The contribution adds to the goal of raising $1 billion in the UH “Here, We Go” Campaign, the first major fundraising campaign in more than 25 years in support of University priorities, including the arts and social sciences.

So will Franco one day be swayed to sign up for UH’s coveted curriculum? Time will tell, but it’s clear that serious philanthropic players have their eyes on the Coogs’ house.

colleges charity

H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).