Growing HPU’s Family, Campus and Mission
This story is featured in the Spring 2019 edition of the HPU Magazine. Discover below how HPU’s continued growth and inspiring environment propel students into their futures.
When High Point University President Nido Qubein arrived in 2005, he knew the landscape of higher education was changing.
But as someone who migrated to America as a teenager with little knowledge of English, then went on to become a sought-after communicator, business consultant and leader, Qubein is a change embracer.
To some, the story seems to simply go like this: Qubein arrived in 2005, and the rest is history.
For Qubein and university leadership, though, the process of transforming the university meant strategic planning and decisions grounded in sound principles.
For the last 14 years, HPU leaders have partnered with students, parents, alumni and supporters to make thousands of important decisions.
Blessed with an abundance of growth and transformational leadership, High Point University’s story is one of strength and continued expansion.
That’s why the HPU of today has grown from just 90 acres to more than 460 acres, the student body has exploded from 1,450 students to 5,200 students, facilities have grown from 28 to 122, and the university has an incredibly healthy operating budget of $300 million.
And that’s why the HPU of tomorrow will be even stronger.
Education Focused on Life Skills
Throughout HPU’s transformational process, academics have remained at the forefront of growth and development.
HPU Provost Dr. Dennis Carroll and a task force of faculty continuously examine the curriculum from every angle. They ask themselves, “What are the most significant career occupations of the 21st Century?”
The answer to that question has produced new academic schools, majors and programs.
In fall 2018, the Webb School of Engineering was established as HPU’s 10th academic school overall and the sixth new academic school since the university’s growth began in 2005. The school honors Mark and Jerri Webb, successful business owners and strong HPU advocates. Mark Webb is a 1983 alumnus and native of High Point. He owns and operates Interstate Foam and Supply Inc. in Conover, North Carolina. The Webbs live in Charlotte, North Carolina, and their son, Connor Mosack, is a sophomore at HPU.
The founding dean, Dr. Michael Oudshoorn, is leading the school, in which students can now enroll and major in computer science with three concentrations within the degree: cybersecurity, software and systems, and visual computing.
Oudshoorn has more than three decades of teaching in higher education and is also working to develop additional majors and programs within the school.
Since 2004, he has been a member of ABET, the nongovernmental organization that accredits college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.
“Dr. Oudshoorn’s experience in the area of computer engineering and his recognized involvement with ABET will ensure a high quality program for our students,” says Carroll. “The creation of HPU’s School of Engineering reflects the university’s commitment to providing programs that prepare students for a changing world and a technologically advanced landscape.”
Oudshoorn knows the timing is right.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts steady growth in all engineering and computing disciplines for the foreseeable future, and the new programs will permit us to address these employment and societal needs,” he says.
Construction on the Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences continued taking shape with plans to be completed this fall. The facility is named in honor of Todd Wanek, the CEO of Ashley Furniture, and Karen Wanek, the president of Superior Fresh. This $65 million, 128,000-square-foot academic facility will be home to HPU’s flourishing science programs in biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry and neuroscience.
It is under construction next to the $120 million Congdon Hall, which opened in fall 2017 and has attracted nearly 500 new graduate students to become physical therapists, physician assistants and pharmacists.
The Caine Conservatory is under construction next to the Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences. The conservatory will provide 15,000 square feet of space for students and faculty to conduct botanical research and propagate plants for the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Gardens. A classroom, working greenhouse, new eatery and planting display space for the community at large will be housed in the facility.
Breaking Ground on the Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel
In addition to setting enrollment records, another milestone in HPU history took place in fall 2018.
Ground was officially broken for the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel during Fall Family Weekend. More than 2,000 HPU parents, students and community members gathered to mark the occasion.
“The HPU Board of Trustees unanimously voted to recognize HPU President Nido Qubein and HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein by naming this facility in their honor,” said Bob Brown, vice chairman of the HPU Board of Trustees, during the ceremony. “Naming this facility in their honor is a symbol of gratitude for their profound vision, leadership, service, philanthropy and love of this great university.”
The $120 million facility is now well underway on HPU’s main campus at the corner of Lexington Avenue and University Parkway. It will house the HPU men’s and women’s basketball programs, and it will be a venue for major events, speakers, concerts, entertainment, academic symposia and recreational activities.
The Qubein Arena will seat 4,500 spectators and include luxury suites, locker rooms, staff offices, concession stands, a merchandising area, media suite, film room, press conference room, weight room, athletic training room, hospitality area, high tech audio and video equipment, ticket office and practice gym.
The Conference Center will seat 2,500 visitors and will be a space for growing undergraduate and graduate programs, student groups and community organizations. It will have the ability to be subdivided into smaller venues with lighting, sound and video for state-of-the-art presentations. It will also support the event management major.
A small, executive hotel will be located adjacent to the conference center to support a proposed hospitality management program and accommodate a growing number of requests by organizations who specifically want to tour the campus and experience HPU’s unique educational environment and culture. The hotel will provide 30 to 40 residential rooms with dining facilities and meeting space.
Intramural fields that were relocated to make way for the Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel also received a complete makeover. Students now enjoy new intramural sport fields installed on the corner of Centennial Street and International Avenue. The fields are 96,000 square feet in size and feature stadium lighting for nighttime use.
Solid Strategies = Solid Success
Accolades have been collected along HPU’s journey of exponential growth. For example, the National Association of College and University Business Offices (NACUBO) conducted a study of universities that experienced the largest net asset growth from 2005 to 2015. HPU ranked second in the nation in this study with nearly 14 percent net asset growth.
HPU has also received impressive rankings from trusted higher education sources, such as the Princeton Review’s “Best 384 Colleges” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.” In U.S. News & World Report, HPU is named No. 1 Best Regional College in the South for the last seven years and Most Innovative for the last four years. The university received a perfect overall score of 100 in the ranking.
Supporters of HPU have jokingly remarked, “HPU has nowhere else to grow.”
But Qubein’s reply reminds them that HPU isn’t finished.
“How you change is how you succeed,” says Qubein. “But achieving your vision doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end of the line. It simply means that you’ve come to a new starting place. While we are proud of the recognition, our goal is not to achieve high rankings. Our goal is to positively impact the hearts and minds of the students who choose to attend HPU. By design, the university’s call to action — ‘Choose to be extraordinary’ — has no definitive conclusion. Excellence is to be pursued, not obtained.”
A new starting place, indeed — this year welcomed the largest group of new students in HPU’s history. More than 1,500 new students joined HPU in fall 2018.
The university has also grown to 5,200 total students, the largest total enrollment in history. HPU students hail from all 50 states and 56 countries.
With $2 billion invested since 2005, the HPU family continues to move forward with faithful courage. Today, students come for a long list of reasons. Impressive academics. Life skills. Values-based learning. A phenomenal environment. A family legacy.
The beautiful campus, the innovative programs and the state-of-the-art facilities are attention-grabbing; that’s true. 
But students and parents find more than that. The real reason thousands are flocking to HPU each year lies in the university’s mission and values — the core of HPU’s culture.
Myles Markel, from Attleboro, Massachusetts, discovered HPU on U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” list. By November of his senior year in high school, he had visited campus and committed to attending HPU.
“The academics are great here, as well as the campus,” said Markel, a neuroscience major. “I was sure I wanted to be here.”
His father, Glenn Markel, said the university’s transformation impressed the family.
“The academics are impressive, the campus is pristine and his neuroscience major seems like a very dynamic program,” Markel said. “We know HPU is constantly growing, and that’s important to us. We can’t wait to come back and see the new Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences when it’s complete.”
