title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: To effectively grasp the situation of his subordinates, Yongzheng utilized the "secret report" system which originated from the Shunzhi Era, which also suited his own tastes of having personal connection separately with each subordinate. The emperor recruited secret informants from the trusted subordinates who had the privileges to privately report to the Emperor whatever they felt suspicious. The components of secret informants was quite varied, including even some low-ranked officers, and was widely distributed all over the empire. To encourage the sincerity and eagerness of informants, their identity and the report's content was kept strictly confidential; even the informants did not know each others, and the procedures and writing style requirements was greatly simplified. Such "secret reporters" enable the emperor to maintain an extensive information network without a specialized internal espionage bureau. The secret informants also have no privileges beside the secret reports and the reports only had reference value with no legal authority, which prevented the authority abuse from the informant like the Ming internal esiponage agents. Also, to avoid false accusation and incorrect reports from informants, Yongzheng collected the information from various sources, and the accused person also had a chance to defend their actions and prove their innocence. Under a capable ruler, secret reports actually protected the innocent magistrates from wrong accusations, as the reports provide alternative information sources beside the official charges.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: During the massive population growth in the Qing dynasty and increasing demand from peasant and military populations for grain, the Yongzheng emperor launched a grain campaign in which he incentivized officials in local and provincial governments to compete in buying land meant specifically for farming. The Yongzheng emperor offered officials 5-10 year tax holidays in which they were free from paying taxes. This campaign led to more than one million new acres of farmable land. While these campaigns led to more food and land for the population to use for farming, it also led to officials lying about the amount of farmable land they were contributing in order to win the tax holidays. These tax holidays also pushed the burden of paying the taxes elsewhere.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Ethnicity in Qing China could vary depending on where one was from even locally in China. This ethnic separation along with the booming population led to reduced access to the Civil Service Examinations based on ethnicity and locality. The Yongzheng emperor, in an attempt to allow for as many people to take the Civil Service Examination as possible, set up special exams for people in rural China. These special exams were called Miao exams and were located in Yunnan. In the 1730s, landholding shed people such as the Hakka were still not allowed to take the exams, Yongzheng made it legal for these people to take the exams in an attempt to dispel anger at being excluded from the exams.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: A growing number of orphaned children or poor families came with the massive Qing population growth. The Yongzheng emperor sought to remedy this by mandating that orphanages (also called poor houses) be built in every county. These were funded not by local, provincial or high level government but privately funded and maintained. These orphanages existed less to help the local population get out of poverty and more to model how wealthy officials should act towards the impoverished populations.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: The Kangxi Emperor mandated that scholars that had passed the Civil Service Examination at any level were able to bypass punishments from the legal system depending on which level of the exams they had passed. Instead of legal repercussions for crimes, criminal officials were instead recommended to the county education commissioner for counseling. This led to corruption among officials who were no longer bound by law. In an attempt to stop this the Yongzheng emperor made it illegal to offer privileges to officials going through the legal system. This did not last long as the Qianlong Emperor reinstated legal privileges for officials that had passed the Civil Service Examination shortly after becoming emperor after Yongzheng.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: In the mid-1720s Qing empire, complex levels of tax hierarchies put in place by the Kangxi emperor existed to separate the population into different tax brackets. Households with government officials were in privileged tax brackets that brought with it tax exemptions for not only the immediate family in the household but also extended family members. The Yongzheng emperor removed these privileged tax brackets as he saw the local gentry as competition to the throne. Just like the legal privileges that passing the Civil Service Examination offered, soon after the end of the Yongzheng emperor's reign, the Qianlong emperor quickly reinstated the privileged tax brackets.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Growing distrust of Jesuit missionaries by the Kangxi emperor and later Yongzheng in the early 1720s led to prohibition and action against the Christian presence in China. The Kangxi emperor had banned foreign missions (outside of Beijing and Guangzhou), and Yongzheng took this one step further by removing all foreign priests from China. All Christian churches were shut down and repurposed as local public offices.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Chinese merchant houses belonging to Canton station were grouped together under a larger organization by Yongzheng called Cohong in 1725. This group was responsible for policing all trade within the Canton system.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: As silver became more widely used as a currency in Qing China, the validity and purity of the currency being exchanged had to be verified. Silver taels were sent to official appraisers to do the job of verification. During the appraisal some silver was lost in the process, this lost silver must be covered by the payer. This extra charge on the lost silver became known as a meltage fee. These meltage fees were a very important source of income for local governments. It became practice to bribe appraisers to avoid meltage fees. Yongzheng attempted to ban all bribing to avoid these fees and also officially mandated meltage fees as a source of local income. These mandates helped silver become a major part of the Qing economy.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Like his father, the Yongzheng Emperor used military force in order to preserve the Qing Empire's position in Outer Mongolia. When Tibet was torn by civil war in 1727–1728, he intervened. After withdrawing, he left a Qing Resident (the amban) and a military garrison to safeguard the dynasty's interests.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: On 1 November 1728, after the Qing reconquest of Lhasa in Tibet, several Tibetan rebels were sliced to death by Qing Manchu officers and officials. The Qing Manchu President of the Board of Civil Office, Jalangga, Mongol sub-chancellor Sen-ge and brigadier-general Manchu Mala ordered the Tibetan rebels Lum-pa-nas and Na-p'od-pa to be sliced to death. They ordered gZims-dpon C'os-ac'ad (Hsi-mu-pen ch'ui-cha-t'e), son of Lum-pa-nas and rNog Tarqan bsKal-bzajn-c'os-adar and dKon-mc'og-lha-sgrub (Kun-ch'u-k'o-la-ku-pu) and dGa'-ldan-p'un-ts'ogs (K'a-erh-tan-p'en-ch'u-k'o), sons of Na-p'od-pa to be beheaded. Byams-pa (Cha-mu-pa) and his brother Lhag-gsan (La-k'o-sang) and their brothers, younger and older, daughters, wives and mother were exiled after their father sByar-ra-nas was beheaded. The Manchus wrote that they "set an example" by forcing the Tibetans to publicly watch the executions of Tibetan rebels of slicing like Na-p'od-pa since they said it was the Tibetan's nature to be cruel. The exiled Tibetans were enslaved and given as slaves to soldiers in Ching-chou (Jingzhou), K'ang-zhou (Kangzhou) and Chiang-ning (Jiangning) in the marshall-residences there. The Tibetan rNam-rgyal-grva-ts'an college administrator (gner-adsin) and sKyor'lun Lama were tied together with Lum-pa-nas and Na-p'od-pa on 4 scaffolds (k'rims-sin) to be sliced. The Manchus used musket matchlocks to fire 3 salvoes and then the Manchus strangled the 2 Lamas while slacing (Lingchi) Lum-pa-nas and Na-p'od-pa to death while they beheaded the 13 other rebels leaders. The Tibetan population was depressed by the scene and the writer of MBTJ continued to feel sad as he described it 5 years later. All relatives of the Tibetan rebels including little children were executed by the Qing Manchus except the exiled and deported family of sByar-ra-ba which was condemned to be slaves and most exiles sentenced to deportation died in the process of deportation. The public executions spectacle worked on the Tibetans since they were "cowed into submission" by the Qing. Even the Tibetan collaborator with the Qing, Polhané Sönam Topgyé (P'o-lha-nas) felt sad at his fellow Tibetans being executed in this manner and he prayed for them. All of this was included in a report sent to the Qing emperor at the time, the Yongzheng Emperor. Qing Han Chinese general Yue Zhongqi interviewed the Tibetan collaborator with the Qing, Polhané Sönam Topgyé (P'o-lha-nas) concerning his involvement in crushing the Tibetan rebels and sent a report to the Qing Yongzheng emperor on 17 August 1728.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: For the Tibetan campaign, the Yongzheng Emperor sent an army of 230,000 led by Nian Gengyao against the Dzungars and their army of 80,000. Due to geography, the Qing army (although superior in numbers) was at first unable to engage their more mobile enemy. Eventually, they engaged the Dzungars and defeated them. This campaign cost the treasury at least eight million silver taels. Later in the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, he sent a small army of 10,000 to fight the Dzungars again. However, that army was annihilated and the Qing Empire faced the danger of losing control of Mongolia. A Khalkha ally of the Qing Empire would later defeat the Dzungars.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Following the reforms of 1729, the treasury's income increased from 32,622,421 taels in 1721 to about 60 million taels in 1730, surpassing the record set during the Kangxi Emperor's reign; but the pacification of the Qinghai area and the defence of border areas were heavy burdens on the treasury. Safeguarding the country's borders cost 100,000 taels per year. The total military budget came up to about 10 million taels a year. By the end of 1735, military spending had depleted half the treasury, leaving 33.95 million taels. It was because of the cost of war that the Yongzheng Emperor considered making peace with the Dzungars.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Since the Shunzhi Emperor's time, the Qing emperors had identified China and the Qing Empire as the same, and in treaties and diplomatic papers the Qing Empire called itself "China". During the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors' reigns, "China" ("Dulimbai Gurun" in Manchu) was used as the name of the Qing Empire in official Manchu language documents, identifying the Qing Empire and China as the same entity, with "Dulimbai Gurun" appearing in 160 official diplomatic papers between the Qing Empire and the Russian Empire. The term "China" was redefined by the Qing emperors to be a multi-ethnic entity which included non-Han Chinese ethnic groups and their territories. China and Qing were noticeably and increasingly equated with each other during the Qianlong Emperor's reign, with the Qianlong Emperor and the Qing government writing poems and documents using both the Chinese name "Zhongguo" and the Manchu name "Dulimbai Gurun". Compared to the reigns of previous Qing emperors such as the Yongzheng and Kangxi emperors, the use of China to refer to the Qing Empire appears most during the Qianlong Emperor's reign, according to scholars who examined documents on Sino-Russian relations.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: The Yongzheng Emperor spoke out against the claim by anti-Qing rebels that the Qing were only rulers of Manchus and not China, saying "The seditious rebels claim that we are the rulers of Manchus and only later penetrated central China to become its rulers. Their prejudices concerning the division of their and our country have caused many vitriolic falsehoods. What these rebels have not understood is the fact that it is for the Manchus the same as the birthplace is for the people of the central plain. Shun belonged to the Eastern Yi, and King Wen to the Western Yi. Does this fact diminish their virtues?" (


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Commoners throughout Qing China were extremely diverse and multi-ethnic because not every region underwent sinification under the Manchu's suzerain. In accordance to the Book of Rites, Manchus of Qing chose to respect the local's cultural heritage and decided not to force their subjects to acculturate and sinicize. Manchus of Qing acknowledged that each region has the prerogative to preserve their identity, heritage, and cultural tradition and their religious faith. Hence, each regions were allowed to keep their belief and way of worshipping the heavens. On the other hand, since the commoners preserved their ways, Qing, Yongzheng in particular, highly encourages that Manchu elites should also preserve their ethnic identity and their distinctive ways of worshipping the heaven as well. The Yongzheng Emperor stated: "The Lord of Heaven is Heaven itself... In the empire we have a temple for honouring Heaven and sacrificing to Him. We Manchus have Tiao Tchin. The first day of every year we burn incense and paper to honor Heaven. We Manchus have our own particular rites for honouring Heaven; the Mongols, Chinese, Russians, and Europeans also have their own particular rites for honouring Heaven. I have never said that he [Urcen, a son of Sunu] could not honour heaven but that everyone has his way of doing it. As a Manchu, Urcen should do it like us." Evidently, the Qing state practiced various religions, which was similar to the previous dynasty, the Ming. During the Ming, in the mid-1580s an Italian Jesuit, Matteo Ricci not only studied the Chinese language to understand the people and the Chinese culture, he also delved into the Confucian classics and adopted the scholar's official-literati robe during his stay near the Canton trading province. Introducing China to his religious faith was in Matteo Ricci's mission, and he successfully built a church in 1601 at Beijing, called Cathedral of Immaculate Conception. Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who was a German Jesuit, went to China in 1619, learned the Chinese language in 1623 in Macau, and was later appointed into the Imperial Astronomical Bureau in 1630 by the Ming, even after the fall of Ming to the rise of Qing, Schall's presence was welcomed by the Manchu of Qing and was appointed as the head of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. The accounts of Matteo establishing the institution of his Church during the Ming dynasty and Jesuits such as Schall who was able to acquire a bureaucratic position in the Qing's court was evident that China at one point did welcome things beyond its borders, such as religious faith that was brought by the missionaries, for instance. Even though the Catholic churches condemned the practice of the Chinese rites in 1645 throughout China, Catholic missionaries continued their practice until the Rites Controversy was concluded in 1742 CE.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: The Yongzheng Emperor was firmly against Christian converts among the Manchus. He warned them that the Manchus must follow only the Manchu way of worshipping Heaven since different peoples worshipped Heaven differently.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: In 1724, the Yongzheng Emperor issued a decree proscribing Catholicism. This was followed by the persecution of Chinese Christians that steadily increased during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor's son, the Qianlong Emperor.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Ancestral worship was understood as the Chinese customary tradition rather than a religious ritual. However, since the Catholic Churches condemns the Chinese rites and the decision by the "Church to ban the acceptance of the Chinese rites by the Jesuits" in Qing China, because the Church deemed the practice to be incompatible with the Catholic faith, led to the missionary banishment by Qianlong in 1742 CE as a response to the Catholic Church's decision.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: Jan Jakob Maria wrote "Nor did the Islamitic heretics escape the notice of this potentate. It has frequently been reported to me, he writes in a decree of the 7th of the fourth month (May 4) 1729 (Sh. h. 7), that these Mohammedans all follow one doctrine, that they use a peculiar language and dress, and constantly behave contrary to the laws, so that severe measures should be taken for their repression. But I desire that they shall be looked upon as my ordinary subjects, as “babes of the dynasty" (國家之赤子); for although they have their own mosques, and a peculiar language and religion handed down to them by their forefathers, they have the same manners and customs as the rest of the people; for their religion alone it would not do to prosecute them. There are, moreover, several state-servants among them, who are not without their good qualities. They muster strongest in Shensi, and there they are persecuted more than anywhere else, on account of their clubbing together to gamble, their secreting weapons, and for various other illegal acts. There they also unreservedly give expression to their wrath about the Imperial decrees forbidding the slaughter of horned cattle which are so indispensable to agriculture. They should therefore constantly be reminded to be kind and tolerant, not wantonly to oppress the weaker, nor by their greater intelligence to take in the ignorant, nor on the plea of their special religion to further their own interests, etc. Our will in this matter shall be proclaimed by the Viceroys and Governors throughout all the provinces."


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: The Yongzheng Emperor appointed the Manchu official Ortai who violently abolished hereditary ethnic minority states such as those belonging to ethnic minority Miao people across southwest China in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: The Yongzheng Emperor ruled the Qing Empire for 13 years before dying suddenly in 1735 at the age of 56. Legend holds that he was assassinated by Lü Siniang, a daughter or granddaughter of Lü Liuliang, whose family was executed for literary crimes against the Qing government. Another theory was that Lü Siniang was the Yongzheng Emperor's lover, and the real mother of the Qianlong Emperor, but he refused to let her become the empress.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: It is generally accepted that he died while reading court documents, and it is likely that his death was the result of elixir poisoning from an overdose of the elixir of immortality he was consuming in the belief that it would prolong his life. According to Zhang Tingyu, Yongzheng on his deathbed exhibited symptoms of poisoning, and in the wake of his death, his successor the Qianlong emperor evicted all Taoist priests from the palace, possibly as punishment for this incident.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: To prevent a succession crisis like he had faced, the Yongzheng Emperor was said to have ordered his third son Hongshi (an ally of Yinsi) to commit suicide. He also devised a system for his successors to choose their heirs in secret. He wrote his chosen successor's name on two scrolls, placed one scroll in a sealed box and had the box stored behind the stele in the Qianqing Palace. He kept the other copy with him or hid it. After his death, the officials would compare the scroll in the box with the copy he had kept. If they were deemed identical, the person whose name was on the paper would be the new emperor.


title: Yongzheng Emperor

text: The Yongzheng Emperor was interred in the Western Qing tombs southwest of Beijing, in the Tai (泰) mausoleum complex (known in Manchu as the "Elhe Munggan"). His fourth son Hongli, then still known as "Prince Bao (of the First Rank)", succeeded him as the Qianlong Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor rehabilitated many figures who had been purged during his father's reign, including restoring honours to many of his uncles who were formerly his father's rivals in the succession struggle.


title: Jim Walton

text: James Carr Walton (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, currently the heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. As of October 2022, Walton was the seventeenth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$61 billion according to "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". He is the youngest son of Sam Walton.


title: Jim Walton

text: Jim Walton was born in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, the third child of Walmart co-founder Sam Walton (1918–1992) and Helen Walton (1919–2007), with siblings Rob Walton, Alice Walton, and John Walton (1946 – 2005). After graduating from Bentonville High School in 1965 where he was president of his junior class, played football at all-state level and also learned to fly a plane, Walton received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1971, where he was also a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. In 1972, he joined Walmart and was involved in its real-estate dealings. After serving for four years, he moved to the family owned Walton Enterprises as president in 1975.


title: Jim Walton

text: On September 28, 2005, Walton replaced his deceased brother, John, on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors. He is currently on the Strategic Planning and Finance committees. He was CEO of his family owned Arvest Bank, until becoming Chairman of Arvest Bank, and Chairman of newspaper firm Community Publishers Inc. (CPI) owned by Jim Walton himself (but founded by his father Sam Walton after acquiring the local newspaper the Benton County Daily Record, both operating in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma). He has pledged about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation along with his siblings from 2008 to 2013.


title: Jim Walton

text: In September 2016, Walton was reported to own over 152 million of Walmart shares worth over $11 billion (US).


title: Jim Walton

text: He and his wife, Lynne McNabb Walton, have four children: Alice A. Proietti (born November 1979), Steuart Walton (born April 1981), Thomas L. Walton (born September 1983), and James M. Walton (born August 1987). The family resides in Bentonville, Arkansas.


title: Jim Walton

text: In 2014, he was ranked at #10 on the Forbes list of billionaires with a net worth of $34.7 billion that has increased by $3 billion. On the 2013 Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America he is ranked at #7. As of March 2019, he was ranked as the 16th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $45.7 billion.


title: Black Madonna

text: The term Black Madonna or Black Virgin tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found both in Catholic and Orthodox countries.


title: Black Madonna

text: The paintings are usually icons which are Byzantine in origin or style, some of which were produced in 13th- or 14th-century Italy. Other examples from the Middle East, Caucasus or Africa, mainly Egypt and Ethiopia, are even older. Statues are often made of wood but occasionally made of stone, painted, and up to tall. They fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures or seated figures on a throne. There are about 400–500 Black Madonnas in Europe, depending on how they are classified. There are at least 180 "Vierges Noires" in Southern France alone, and there are hundreds of non-medieval copies as well. Some are in museums, but most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by believers. Some are associated with miracles and attract substantial numbers of pilgrims.


title: Black Madonna

text: Black Madonnas come in different forms, and the speculations behind the reason for the dark hue of each individual icon or statue vary greatly and are not without controversy. Though some Madonnas were originally black or brown when they were made, others have simply turned darker due to factors like aging or candle smoke. Jungian scholar Ean Begg has conducted a study into the potential pagan origins of the cult of the black Madonna and child. Another speculated cause for the dark-skinned depiction is due to pre-Christian deities being re-envisioned as the Madonna and child.


title: Black Madonna

text: Research into the Black Madonna phenomenon is limited. Begg links the refrain from the Song of Solomon, ‘I am black, but I am beautiful’ to the Queen of Sheba. Recently, however, interest in this subject has gathered more momentum.


title: Black Madonna

text: Important early studies of dark-skinned holy images in France were by Camille Flammarion (1888), Marie Durand-Lefebvre (1937), Emile Saillens (1945), and Jacques Huynen (1972). The first notable study of the origin and meaning of the Black Madonnas in English appears to have been presented by Leonard Moss at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on December 28, 1952. Moss broke the images into three categories: (1) dark brown or black Madonnas with physiognomy and skin pigmentation matching that of the indigenous population; (2) various art forms that have turned black as a result of certain physical factors such as deterioration of lead-based pigments, accumulated smoke from the use of votive candles, and accumulation of grime over the ages, and (3) residual category with no ready explanation.


title: Black Madonna

text: In the cathedral at Chartres, there were two Black Madonnas: , a 1508 dark walnut copy of a 13th-century silver Madonna, standing atop a high pillar, surrounded by candles; and , a replica of an original destroyed during the French Revolution. Restoration work on the cathedral resulted in the painting of , to reflect an earlier 19th-century painted style, rendering the statue no longer a "Black Madonna".


title: Black Madonna

text: Some scholars chose to investigate the significance of the dark-skinned complexion to pilgrims and worshipers rather than focusing on whether this depiction was intentional. By virtue of their presence, many Black Madonnas turn the shrines in which they are housed into revered pilgrimage sites. Monique Scheer attributes the importance of the dark-skinned depiction to its connection with authenticity. The reason for this connection is the perceived age of the figures.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in southeast Houston, spans , with the inclusion of its Sugar Land and Katy sites. The university is classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity."


title: University of Houston

text: academic colleges and schools and an interdisciplinary Honors College - including programs leading to professional degrees in architecture, law, optometry, medicine and pharmacy. The institution spends $203 million annually in research, and operates more than 35 research centers and institutes on campus.


title: University of Houston

text: Interdisciplinary research includes superconductivity, space commercialization and exploration, biomedical sciences and engineering, energy and natural resources, and artificial intelligence. Awarding nearly 11,000 degrees annually, UH's alumni base exceeds 300,000. The economic impact of the university contributes over $6.4 billion annually to the Texas economy, while generating about 62,000 jobs. The Shell Energy Transition Institute was created in 2022, with a $10 million gift from Shell. In 2020, the university launched its College of Medicine to improve the overall health and health care resources of its city and state. In 2022, the College of Medicine received a $50 million donation from entrepreneur and University of Houston System Chairman, Tilman Fertitta, and was renamed the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston hosts a variety of theatrical performances, concerts, lectures, and events. It has more than 500 student organizations and 17 intercollegiate sports teams. Annual UH events and traditions include The Cat's Back, Homecoming, and Frontier Fiesta. The university's varsity athletic teams, known as the Houston Cougars, are members of the American Athletic Conference and compete in the NCAA Division I in all sports. In 2021, the university received and accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference. The football team regularly makes bowl game appearances, and the men's basketball team has made 23 appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament—including six Elite Eight and Final Four appearances. The men's golf team has won 16 national championships—the most in NCAA history. In 2022, UH's men's track and field team earned its seventh Indoor Conference Championship title, and its swimming and diving team defended its American Athletic Conference title for the sixth straight season.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston began as Houston Junior College (HJC). On March 7, 1927, trustees of the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) unanimously signed a charter founding the junior college. The junior college was operated and administered by HISD.


title: University of Houston

text: HJC was originally located on the San Jacinto High School campus and offered only night courses to train future teachers.


title: University of Houston

text: Its first class began June 5, 1927, with an enrollment of 232 students and 12 faculty recruited from Rice University, the University of Texas and Sam Houston State Teacher's College. The first session accepted no freshman students, and its purpose was to mainly educate future teachers about the college. In the fall semester, HJC opened enrolled to high school students. By then, the college had 230 students and eight faculty members holding evening classes at San Jacinto High School and day classes in area churches.


title: University of Houston

text: HJC's first president was Edison Ellsworth Oberholtzer, who was the dominant force in establishing the junior college.


title: University of Houston

text: The junior college became eligible to become a university in October 1933 when the governor of Texas, Miriam A. Ferguson, signed House Bill 194 into law. On September 11, 1933, Houston's Board of Education adopted a resolution to make HJC a four-year institution and changing its name to the University of Houston. Unanimously approved by the board, the formal charter of uh was passed April 30, 1934. Unanimously approved by the board, the formal charter of UH was passed April 30, 1934.


title: University of Houston

text: UH's first session as a four-year institution began June 4, 1934, at San Jacinto High School with an enrollment of 682. By the fall semester it had 909 students enrolled in classes taught by 39 faculty members in three colleges and schools - College of Arts and Sciences, College of Community Service and General College. In 1934, the first campus of the University of Houston was established at the Second Baptist Church at Milam and McGowen. The next fall, the campus was moved to the South Main Baptist Church on Main Street—between Richmond Avenue and Eagle Street—where it stayed for the next five years. In May 1935, the institution as a university held its first commencement at Miller Outdoor Theatre.


title: University of Houston

text: In the mission of finding UH a permanent home, heirs of philanthropists J. J. Settegast and Ben Taub donated to the university for use as a permanent location in 1936. At this time, there was no road that led to the land tract, but in 1937, the city added Saint Bernard Street, which was later renamed to Cullen Boulevard. It would become a major thoroughfare of the campus. As a project of the National Youth Administration, workers were paid fifty cents an hour to clear the land. In 1938, Hugh Roy Cullen donated $335,000 () for the first building to be built at the location. The Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial Building was dedicated on June 4, 1939, and opened for classes officially on Wednesday, September 20, 1939. The building was the first air-conditioned college building constructed on a U.S. campus.


title: University of Houston

text: A year after opening the new campus, the university had over 2,000 students. As World War II approached, enrollment decreased due to the draft and enlistments. The university was one of six colleges selected to train radio technicians in the V-12 Navy College Training Program. By the fall of 1943, there were only about 1,100 regular students at UH; thus, the 300 or so servicemen contributed in sustaining the faculty and facilities of the Engineering College. This training at UH continued until March 1945, with a total of 4,178 students.


title: University of Houston

text: On March 12, 1945, Senate Bill 207 was signed into law, removing the control of the University of Houston from HISD and placing it into the hands of a board of regents. In 1945, the university—which had grown too large and complex for the Houston school board to administer—became a private university.


title: University of Houston

text: In March 1947, the regents authorized creation of a law school at the university. In 1949, the M.D. Anderson Foundation made a $1.5 million gift to UH for the construction of a dedicated library building on the campus. By 1950, the educational plant at UH consisted of 12 permanent buildings. Enrollment was more than 14,000 with a full-time faculty of more than 300. KUHF, the university radio station, signed on in November. By 1951, UH had achieved the feat of being the second-largest university in the state of Texas.


title: University of Houston

text: In 1953, the university established KUHT—the first educational television station in the nation—after the four yearlong Federal Communications Commission's television licensing freeze ended. During this period, however, the university as a private institution was facing financial troubles. Tuition failed to cover rising costs, and in turn, tuition increases caused a drop in enrollment. That's when it was proposed that UH become a state-funded university.


title: University of Houston

text: After a lengthy battle between supporters of the University of Houston, led by school president A.D. Bruce, and forces from state universities, including the University of Texas, geared to block the change, Senate Bill 2 was passed on May 23, 1961, enabling the university to enter the state system in 1963.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston, initially reserved for white and non-black students, was racially desegregated circa the 1960s as part of the civil rights movements. A group of students called Afro-Americans for Black Liberation (AABL) advocated for desegregation in that period. Robinson Block, a UH undergraduate student writing for "Houston History Magazine", stated that as local businesses and student organization remained segregated by race, the first group of black students "had a hard time".


title: University of Houston

text: As the University of Houston celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Texas Legislature formally established the University of Houston System in 1977. Philip G. Hoffman resigned from his position as president of UH and became the first chancellor of the University of Houston System. The University of Houston became the oldest and largest member institution in the UH System with nearly 30,000 students.


title: University of Houston

text: On April 26, 1983, the university appended its official name to University of Houston–University Park; however, the name was changed back to University of Houston on August 26, 1991. This name change was an effort by the UH System to give its flagship institution a distinctive name that would eliminate confusion with the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), which is a separate and distinct degree-granting institution that is not part of the University of Houston.


title: University of Houston

text: In 1997, the administrations of the UH System and the University of Houston were combined under a single chief executive officer, with the dual title of chancellor of the UH System and president of the University of Houston. Arthur K. Smith became the first person to hold the combined position. Since 1997, the University of Houston System Administration has been located on campus in the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building.


title: University of Houston

text: On October 15, 2007, Renu Khator was selected for the position of UH System chancellor and UH president. On November 5, 2007, Khator was confirmed as the third person to hold the dual title of UH System chancellor and UH president concurrently, and took office in January 2008.


title: University of Houston

text: In January 2011, the University of Houston was classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a research university with very high research activity.


title: University of Houston

text: UH is in southeast Houston, with an official address of 4800 Calhoun Road. It was known as University of from 1983 to 1991. The campus spans and is roughly bisected by Cullen Boulevard—a thoroughfare that has become synonymous with the university. The Third Ward Redevelopment Council defines the University of Houston as being part of the Third Ward. Melissa Correa of KHOU also stated that the university is in the Third Ward.


title: University of Houston

text: The university campus includes numerous green spaces, fountains and sculptures, including a work by famed sculptor Jim Sanborn. Renowned architects César Pelli and Philip Johnson have designed buildings on the UH campus. Recent campus beautification projects have garnered awards from the Keep Houston Beautiful group for improvements made to the Cullen Boulevard corridor.


title: University of Houston

text: UH is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System (UH System). It has additional instructional sites located in Sugar Land and Katy. The university of (UHCL), the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), and the university of (UHV) are separate universities; they are not instructional sites of UH.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston's campus framework has identified the following five core districts: the Central District, the Arts District, the Professional District, the Residential District, and the Athletics District. In addition, the campus contains several outlying areas not identified among the five districts.


title: University of Houston

text: The Central Distinct contains the academic core of the university and consists of the M.D. Anderson Library, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the College of Technology and the Honors College. The interior of the campus has the original buildings: the Roy G. Cullen Building, the Old Science Building, and the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building. Academic and research facilities include the Cullen Performance Hall, the Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex, and Texas Center for Superconductivity and various other science and liberal arts buildings. This area of campus features the reflecting pool at Cullen Family Plaza, the Lynn Eusan Park, and various plazas and green spaces.


title: University of Houston

text: The Arts District is located in the northern part of campus and is home to the university's School of Art, the Moores School of Music, the School of Theatre and Dance, the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, and the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication. The district also has the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Performing Arts which houses the Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre, the main stage of the School of Theatre and Dance, and Moores Opera Center. Other facilities include the Dudley Recital Hall and the Organ Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Building, the Quintero Theatre in the School of Theatre and Dance, and the Moores Opera House and Choral Recital Hall in the Moores School of Music Building.


title: University of Houston

text: The Professional District is located northeast and east of the university campus. The district has facilities of the University of Houston Law Center, the Cullen College of Engineering and the C.T. Bauer College of Business. This area of campus is home to Calhoun Lofts, which is an upper-level and graduate housing facility. The East Parking Garage is located on the east end of the district. Adjacent to the district is the University Center (UC), the larger of two student unions on campus.


title: University of Houston

text: The Residential District is in the southern portion of the campus, along Wheeler Avenue and east of Martin Luther King Boulevard. This area has undergraduate dormitories, the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, now Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, and the College of Optometry. Dormitory facilities include the twin 18-story Moody Towers, Cougar Village, University Lofts, Cougar Place, and the recently demolished Quadrangle which had the following five separate halls: Oberholtzer, Bates, Taub, Settegast, and Law. The Quadrangle was rebuilt in 2020 and renamed The Quad, admitting sophomore level students and up. Adjacent to the Moody Towers and Lynn Eusan Park is the Hilton University of Houston Hotel.


title: University of Houston

text: The Athletics District covers the northwest and west part of campus. It includes athletic training facilities for UH sport teams and its stadiums. The western part of the district is home to TDECU Stadium, the football indoor practice facility and the Stadium Parking Garage. Across the parking garage, in the northwestern portion of the district, is the Hofheinz Pavilion. In 2018, the stadium was rebuilt and renamed to the Fertitta Center after UH received a $20 million donation from entrepreneur and UH System Board of Regents Chairman Tilman Fertitta. Facilities surrounding the stadium are Carl Lewis International Track & Field Complex, Cougar Field, Softball Stadium, the Alumni Center and the Athletic Center.


title: University of Houston

text: The university's Energy Research Park is a research park specializing in energy research, consisting of and of undeveloped land. Much of the physical property was originally developed in 1953 by the oilfield services company Schlumberger as its global headquarters. It was acquired by the university in 2009.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston Libraries is the library system of the university. It consists of the M.D. Anderson Library and three branch libraries: the Music Library, William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design & Art Library and the Health Sciences Library. In addition to the libraries administered by the UH Libraries, the university also has the O'Quinn Law Library and the Conrad N. Hilton Library.


title: University of Houston

text: The Cullen Performance Hall is a 1,612 seat proscenium theater which offers a variety of events sponsored by departments and organizations at the university in addition to contemporary music concerts, opera, modern dance, and theatrical performances put on by groups in and outside the Houston area. The Blaffer Art Museum, a contemporary art museum, exhibits the works of both international artists and those of students in the university's School of Art.


title: University of Houston

text: The Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, which is home to the nation's largest collegiate natatorium, was recognized by the National Intramural-Sports Association as an outstanding facility upon its completion in 2004.


title: University of Houston

text: The LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting houses the studios and offices of KUHT Houston PBS, the nation's first public television station; KUHF (88.7 FM), Houston's NPR station; the Center for Public Policy Polling; and television studio labs.


title: University of Houston

text: The Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) was designed by architect César Pelli's firm, Pelli, Clarke & Partners. It houses facilities for many interdisciplinary research programs at UH, including bionanotechnology.


title: University of Houston

text: The university has an on-campus Hilton hotel that is part of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. This hotel was established with a donation by the founder of Hilton Hotels, Conrad N. Hilton, and is staffed by students in the College of Global Hospitality Leadership


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston operates a branch campus in Sugar Land. The campus was founded in 1995 as a higher education "teaching center" of the University of Houston System. The branch campus has three buildings for exclusive use by the university: the Albert and Mamie George Building, Brazos Hall, and the College of Technology building. Additionally, the University Branch of the Fort Bend County Libraries system is located on the campus for use by students and the Sugar Land community.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston (UH) is one of four separate and distinct institutions in the University of Houston System, and was known as University of from 1983 to 1991. UH is the flagship institution of the UH System. It is a multi-campus university with a branch campus located in Sugar Land. The University of Houston–Clear Lake (UHCL), the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), and the University of Houston–Victoria (UHV) are stand-alone universities; they are not branch campuses of UH.


title: University of Houston

text: The organization and control of the UH is vested in the UH System Board of Regents. The board consists of nine members who are appointed by the governor for a six-year term and has all the rights, powers and duties that it has with respect to the organization and control of other institutions in the System; however, UH is maintained as a separate and distinct institution.


title: University of Houston

text: The president is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the University of Houston, and serves concurrently as chancellor of the UH System. The position is appointed by its board of regents. As of January 2008, Renu Khator has been president of the University of Houston and chancellor of the UH System.


title: University of Houston

text: The administrations of UH and the UH System are located on the university campus in the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building. From 1961 until 1977, the Weingarten House in Riverside Terrace housed the president of UH. Currently, the chancellor/president resides in the Wortham House in Broadacres Historic District, provided by the UH System Board of Regents as part of the chancellor/president's employment contract.


title: University of Houston

text: The university offers over 276 degree programs. With final approval of a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, and a Doctorate in Medicine, university offers 51 doctoral degrees including three professional doctorate degrees in law, optometry, medicine and pharmacy.


title: University of Houston

text: In 2022, UH System Board of Regents unanimously approved the addition of a new degree program of the Bachelor of Arts in Mexican American and Latino/a Applied Studies. Being located in a city with a large Hispanic/Latino population, the degree aims to focus on the experiences and contributions of the Latino community in the United States.


title: University of Houston

text: Awarding more than 9,000 degrees annually, UH's alumni base exceeds 260,000 and is the largest in the Houston area.


title: University of Houston

text: UH is one of four public universities in Texas with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. The University of Houston's faculty includes National Medal of Science recipient Paul Chu from the Physics Department, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams.


title: University of Houston

text: The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) has the Creative Writing Program which includes founders such as alumnus Donald Barthelme and offers degrees in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design is one of only 36 schools to have an accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board.


title: University of Houston

text: In August 2016, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the creation of the Hobby School of Public Affairs. The school, named in honor of former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, builds on the existing educational and research programs of the Center for Public Policy, which was founded at UH in 1981. The designation officially moves the Master of Public Policy Degree from the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to the Hobby School of Public Affairs and approves the addition of a Master of Public Policy degree as a dual degree with the Graduate College of Social Work's Master of Social Work.


title: University of Houston

text: In October 2018, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the creation of the College of Medicine. A site has been selected for the college's new building, and the inaugural class entered in 2020.


title: University of Houston

text: UH was ranked in the top 50 college for Social Mobility in U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges Rankings. The Princeton Review has listed UH as one of America's best colleges. The institution is among the Top 300 in the global Academic Ranking of World Universities.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston Law Center was ranked 58th among the nation's "Best Law Schools" in "U.S. News & World Report," 5th in the state of Texas and 58th in the nation in 2023.


title: University of Houston

text: "U.S. News & World Report" ranked the C.T. Bauer College of Business as the top Undergraduate Business Program in Houston, 5th among public universities in the state of Texas. The Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership ranked 8th in the nation for its Hospitality & Leisure Management program and 19th for Hospitality and Tourism Management. The University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work ranked 28th nationally by the "U.S. News & World Report" 2022 Best Schools for Social Work ranking. The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the C.T. Bauer College of Business undergraduate program for Entrepreneurship consistently ranks in the top 10 in the nation. The Princeton Review and "Entrepreneur" magazine ranked the program No. 1 in 2019, 2020 and 2021.


title: University of Houston

text: The Carnegie Foundation classifies UH as a doctoral degree-granting institution with "highest research activity." The designation recognizes it as one of only nine universities in Texas with the classification.


title: University of Houston

text: According to the National Science Foundation, UH spent $177 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 123rd in the nation. It operates more than 40 research centers and institutes on campus, and through these facilities, UH maintains partnerships with government, health care and private industry. Areas of interdisciplinary research include nanotechnology, superconductivity, space commercialization and exploration, biomedical sciences and engineering, energy and natural resources, and artificial intelligence.


title: University of Houston

text: The university has five institutional research thrusts to address several research challenges aimed at economic development and improving the quality of life. The five thrusts include: Cyber and Physical Security, Drug Discovery and Development, Sustainable Communities and Infrastructure, Energy Security and Transition, and Accessible Health Care.


title: University of Houston

text: In 2018, UH launched its 50in5 initiative. Led by the Provost Paula Short and Vice President for Research Amr Elnashai, the university is working to increase research by 50 percent in five years. This includes the doubling of UH's national centers from five to 10, thereby improving its position for the Association of American University's membership.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston is notable for its diverse student body, and "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the university as the second-most ethnically diverse research university in the United States. UH's Asian and Hispanic student population is among the highest in the state. Due to the high percentage of Hispanic students on campus, UH has been deemed a Hispanic-serving institution. Its international student population is primarily from Asia.


title: University of Houston

text: Located in the Fine Arts Building, Blaffer Art Museum is a contemporary art museum dedicated to emerging, mid-career, and underrepresented artists and bodies of work through exhibitions, publications, and public programs. Its educational programs include public lectures, artists' talks, docent tours, audio guides, and youth programs such as Studio Saturday, Summer Arts, and the Young Artist Apprenticeship Program.


title: University of Houston

text: The Cullen Performance Hall is a 1,612 seat proscenium theater located near Entrance 1. The hall offers a variety of events sponsored by departments and organizations at the university in addition to contemporary music concerts, opera, modern dance, and theatrical performances put on by groups in and outside the Houston area.


title: University of Houston

text: The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music presents concerts in various campus venues: Dudley Recital Hall and the Organ Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Building, and in the Moores Opera House and Choral Recital Hall in the music building. Musical events range from opera to jazz with performers including students, faculty, and guest artists.


title: University of Houston

text: The School of Theatre and Dance offers a subscription series of five plays each year. Works by classical and modern dramatists, as well as new musical collaborators, are seen in full productions or "gypsy runthroughs."


title: University of Houston

text: The School of Art exhibits young artists several times a year, including the Master of Fine Arts exhibition held traditionally near the end of the spring semester in the Blaffer Art Museum. The School of Art also hosts presentations by numerous visiting artists and art historians throughout the academic year.


title: University of Houston

text: UH has several on campus dormitories: Moody Towers, The Quad, Cougar Village I & II, Cougar Place, University Lofts, Bayou Oaks, Cullen Oaks, and Cambridge Oaks.


title: University of Houston

text: Moody Towers, frequently just called "Moody," is one of the tallest complexes on campus and the largest area of residence halls. Each of the two towers consists of eighteen stories and together house 1,100 students. The Towers feature a newly renovated dining hall. The rooms in Moody were renovated during the summer of 2011.


title: University of Houston

text: The Quad is the newest dorm on campus, having been completed in the Fall of 2020. Named after the former dorms, "The Quadrangle," there are laundry facilities on each floor, as well as a recreational facility, computer lab, and an outdoor courtyard. An extension of The Quad, the Townhouses are single-student dorms right across from The Quad. In total, The Quad and Townhouses combine for 7 buildings that house almost 1,200 students.


title: University of Houston

text: In August 2009, University Lofts—a university-owned and operated residential facility aimed at graduate and professional students—opened and includes retail stores, lecture halls, and recreation facilities.


title: University of Houston

text: Cougar Village I & II are a freshman, including first year Honors students, dorm which opened in August 2010 and August 2013, respectively. The dormitory features themed floors with kitchens and lounges, a tutoring center, computer labs, multi-purpose rooms, study areas, a convenience store, a laundry facility, and a fitness center. Cougar Village I & II are exclusive only to freshman and Honors College students.


title: University of Houston

text: In addition to traditional dormitories, Cougar Place was an apartment-style housing complex consisting of 400 units. Cougar Place has since been demolished and has been replaced with a new on-campus housing complex for sophomores. The university has privately owned apartment complexes on campus: Cullen Oaks, Bayou Oaks, and Cambridge Oaks.


title: University of Houston

text: In June 2017, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the university did not violate the Constitution's Due Process Clause or Title IX when it expelled both a student for committing a campus sexual assault in a dorm room then abandoning the nude victim in a dorm elevator, as well as his girlfriend, who had recorded the assault and shared the video on social media.


title: University of Houston

text: The official student newspaper is "The Cougar", formerly "The Daily Cougar", and has been published since 1927. Students also produce the "Houstonian" magazine, which is for graduating students; "Cooglife", a monthly lifestyle magazine; and "Transitions", a magazine for incoming students.


title: University of Houston

text: The seal of the University of Houston, officially adopted in 1938, is a stylized version of the coat-of-arms of General Sam Houston. The first official version was placed on the floor of the Roy Gustav Cullen Building.


title: University of Houston

text: UH's official colors are scarlet red and albino white. These were the colors of Sam Houston's ancestor, Sir Hugh, and were adopted by UH at the same time as the official seal. Scarlet red symbolizes courage or inner strength to face the unknown, and white symbolizes the goodness and purity of spirit embodied in helping one's fellow man.


title: University of Houston

text: Cougar Red Friday is part of the ongoing Keep Houston Red initiative at the University of Houston. Students and staff are encouraged to wear red shirts on Friday to show pride for the university.


title: University of Houston

text: The school's official mascot is a cougar, which was adopted in 1947 and later named Shasta. The university owned a series of female cougars, but this tradition ceased in 1989, upon the death of Shasta V. When a cougar cub was orphaned in Washington State and moved to the Houston Zoo in 2011, the university adopted it as its first live male cougar mascot.


title: University of Houston

text: The Frontiersmen - initially exclusive to members of the Sigma Chi fraternity, but later opened membership to the entire student body - is a group of students who participate in university events to drive school spirit. At football games, the Frontiersmen—donning cowboy hats, jeans and dusters for attire—run across the field with the university's flag and the Texas flag after each score.


title: University of Houston

text: The BLAZE is an oil field warning siren, operated by the Frontiersmen, that was chosen to represent the university's ties to the petroleum industry. The purchase of the siren was completed in 1991. The Sigma Chi Fraternity has overseen the siren and gave it the name "The BLAZE" in honor of its fallen brother, David Blazek.


title: University of Houston

text: Frontier Fiesta—a re-creation of a 19th-century Western town, with music, food and historical exhibits—is a major event on campus each spring semester. The student-led festival is a part of a long-standing tradition dating back to the 1940s established by Gan Bey which later became the Sigma Chi Fraternity's Epsilon Xi chapter at UH. Frontier Fiesta attained widespread notoriety when the Sigma Chi variety show performance known as "Bella Union" garnered national attention on the cover of Life magazine as "The Greatest College Show on Earth" and soon-after drew crowds numbered in the tens of thousands from all across the country to participate in the festivities.


title: University of Houston

text: Cougar First Impressions—a program headed by the UH Staff Council—takes place every year on the first two days of classes, when faculty and staff turn out to welcome new and returning students.


title: University of Houston

text: Weeks of Welcome is another program welcoming students to the university. Over the span of two weeks, departments and student organizations help students learn more about the university with a variety of events.


title: University of Houston

text: The Cougar Paw is a popular hand sign used by University of Houston students, faculty, alumni, and athletics fans to represent camaraderie and support. The Cougar Paw tradition was adopted through several athletics events between the University of Houston and the University of Texas.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston and the University of Texas played their first football game against one another in 1953. Since this was their first meeting, members of Alpha Phi Omega—the service fraternity in charge of taking care of Shasta I, the university's mascot—brought her to the game. During the trip, Shasta's front paw was caught in the car door and one toe was cut off. At the game, several Longhorn players saw what had happened and began taunting UH players by holding up their hands with the ring finger bent, suggesting the Cougars were invalids. Texas went on to win this game 28–7. UH students had been using the victory sign as a hand signal up to that time but they began using the bent-finger sign as a reminder that they would remember the taunts.


title: University of Houston

text: The Cougars did not play the Longhorns again until 1968. With UH fans holding up the new sign of Cougar pride, UH played UT to a 20–20 tie. They didn't meet again until 1976, the first year UH was a member of the Southwest Conference. In front of a record crowd at Texas' Memorial Stadium, UH defeated UT 30–0, a rout that signaled the beginning of the end for legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal. This solidified the use of the Cougar Paw as a tradition.


title: University of Houston

text: UH's 17-sport intercollegiate program is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Houston was previously a member of Conference USA, of which it was a member from the time the conference was formed in 1995 until 2013. During that time span, the Cougars won 33 C-USA titles. Prior to 1995, Houston was a member of the Southwest Conference.


title: University of Houston

text: After 61 years of athletics at UH, other notable achievements include 16 national titles in men's golf, 1 national title in Cross-Country, six NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four appearances, and two College World Series appearances.


title: University of Houston

text: More than 50 Olympic athletes have attended UH, bringing home 33 medals, including 19 gold. Former Olympian and UH alumnus Carl Lewis returned as the men's track and field head coach in 2022. In April 2014, Kelvin Sampson was named the eighth men's basketball head coach. Ronald Hughey is the current women's basketball coach. On January 1, 2019, Dana Holgorsen was named head coach of the Cougar football team.


title: University of Houston

text: UH has many recreational sport clubs, including rugby, NCWA wrestling, soccer, tennis, water polo, kendo, and gymnastics.


title: University of Houston

text: In addition to varsity sports, the University of Houston offers a variety of intramural sports programs.


title: University of Houston

text: The university has an intercollegiate sports program that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA's Division I sports at the University of Houston include baseball, basketball, cross country, American football, golf, and track and field for men; basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, and track and field for women.


title: University of Houston

text: The Houston Cougars football team has made 27 post-season bowl appearances and has to its credit several Southwest Conference championships and Cotton Bowl Classic appearances, as well as the 2006 Conference USA Championship and the 2015 American Athletic Conference championship. The 1989 Heisman Trophy winner, Andre Ware, was a Cougar.


title: University of Houston

text: The men's basketball team has made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, with six trips to the Final Four. See also Phi Slama Jama, the Cougars teams of the early 1980s that featured NBA legends Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.


title: University of Houston

text: Houston competes with other notable sports teams, such as the baseball team, which has made 21 NCAA Tournament appearances with two trips to the College World Series; the men's golf team, which has won 16 NCAA National Championships; the women's soccer team, which was rated as the top first-year women's program in the country in 1998; the swimming and diving teams, which have spawned multiple Olympians and All-Americans; the track and field team, which perennially ranks in the top 10 as an NCAA team; and the volleyball team, which had a streak of ten consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.


title: University of Houston

text: Awarding more than 9,000 degrees annually, UH's alumni base exceeds 276,000. The University of Houston has seen many notable persons pass through its halls.


title: University of Houston

text: Jack Valenti, long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America, creator of the MPAA film rating system, and a special assistant in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, received his B.B.A. from UH. Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel is also an alumnus.


title: University of Houston

text: Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., aka Lil Wayne, is a hip-hop artist from New Orleans. He enrolled in 2005 but dropped out shortly after.


title: University of Houston

text: Alice Sebold, a novelist known for "Lucky" and "The Lovely Bones", and Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress (the most popular, open-source blogging platform), also attended the university.


title: University of Houston

text: Notable athletes within the list include NFL players Wilson Whitley, Glenn Montgomery, Alfred Oglesby, Craig Veasey, Donnie Avery, David Klingler, Kevin Kolb, Billy Milner, Sebastian Vollmer, Case Keenum, and Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware; baseball stars Doug Drabek, Michael Bourn, and Brad Lincoln; golfers Fred Couples, Billy Ray Brown, Steve Elkington, and Fuzzy Zoeller; track and field legends Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell; NBA basketball players Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, Clyde "The Glide" Drexler and "The Big E" Elvin Hayes as well as Bo Outlaw, Don Chaney, Michael Young, Damon Jones, Carl Herrera and Otis Birdsong; and legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry. The owner of the San Diego Padres and noted philanthropist John Moores holds both undergraduate and law degrees. Wade Phillips, a former head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys, is a UH alumnus as well.


title: University of Houston

text: Elizabeth Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, a 2020 U.S. presidential candidate, and formerly a Harvard Law School faculty member and chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the U.S. banking bailout during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, received her B.S. from UH in 1970. Tom DeLay, a former member and majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, who represented Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006, also attended the University of Houston. Other politicians who attended UH include Gene Green, a Democratic politician and a U.S. congressman from the state of Texas representing that state's 29th congressional district, which includes most of eastern Houston, along with large portions of Houston's eastern suburbs; and Ted Poe, a Republican politician currently representing Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Poe's district includes most of northern Houston, as well as most of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area.


title: University of Houston

text: Other alumni include Jim Parsons, star of the television series "The Big Bang Theory", Brent Spiner of "", actors Robert Wuhl, Loretta Devine, Dennis Quaid, Randy Quaid, Brett Cullen, comedian Bill Hicks and former attorney and talk show host Star Jones, "Project Runway" contestants Chloe Dao and Laura Bennett, sportscasters Jim Nantz and Robert Flores, YouTuber Liza Koshy, singer and rapper Lizzo, and country music stars Larry Gatlin Owner of Yamanari mansion Musashi Yamanari and Kenny Rogers .


title: University of Houston

text: Crystle Stewart, Miss USA 2008 is a former student at the university, last attending in 2007. Jason Alkire, an artist and fashion designer, is a graduate as well.


title: University of Houston

text: Notable Texas politicians who are graduates of the UH Political Science program include Alfred H. Bennett, U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas; Carol Alvarado, Texas State senator for District 6; James White (Texas politician), State Representative Texas House District 19, Dylan Osborne, Harris County Treasurer; and Odus Evbagharu, Harris County Democratic Party Chair.


title: University of Houston

text: The University of Houston Alumni Association is the official alumni association of the University of Houston. Formed in 1940, it is a nonprofit organization with a Life Membership Program of over 5,000 members. The alumni association is headquartered at the University of Houston's on-campus Athletics/Alumni Center. It can be found on the web at www.houstonalumni.com. It was previously known as the "Ex-Students Association" and the "Houston Alumni Organization."


title: Twisted pair

text: Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring used for communications in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together for the purposes of improving electromagnetic compatibility. Compared to a single conductor or an untwisted balanced pair, a twisted pair reduces electromagnetic radiation from the pair and crosstalk between neighboring pairs and improves rejection of external electromagnetic interference. It was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.


title: Twisted pair

text: For additional noise immunity, twisted-pair cabling may be shielded. Cable with shielding is known as shielded twisted pair (STP) and without as unshielded twisted pair (UTP).


title: Twisted pair

text: A twisted pair can be used as a balanced line, which as part of a balanced circuit can greatly reduce the effect of noise currents induced on the line by coupling of electric or magnetic fields. The idea is that the currents induced in each of the two wires are very nearly equal. The twisting ensures that the two wires are on average the same distance from the interfering source and are affected equally. The noise thus produces a common-mode signal which can be cancelled at the receiver by detecting the difference signal only, the latter being the wanted signal.


title: Twisted pair

text: Common-mode rejection starts to fail on untwisted wires when the noise source is close to the signal wires; the closer wire will couple with the noise more strongly and the receiver will be unable to eliminate it. This problem is especially apparent in telecommunication cables where pairs in the same cable lie next to each other for many miles. Twisting the pairs counters this effect as on each half twist the wire nearest to the noise-source is exchanged. Provided the interfering source remains uniform, or nearly so, over the distance of a single twist, the induced noise will remain common-mode.


title: Twisted pair

text: The twist rate (also called "pitch" of the twist, usually defined in twists per metre) makes up part of the specification for a given type of cable. When nearby pairs have equal twist rates, the same conductors of the different pairs may repeatedly lie next to each other, partially undoing the benefits of twisting. For this reason it is commonly specified that, at least for cables containing small numbers of pairs, the twist rates must differ.


title: Twisted pair

text: In contrast to shielded or foiled twisted pair (typically S/FTP or F/UTP cable shielding), UTP cable is not surrounded by any shielding. UTP is the primary wire type for telephone usage and is very common for computer networking.


title: Twisted pair

text: The earliest telephones used telegraph lines which were single-wire earth return circuits. In the 1880s electric trams were installed in many cities, which induced noise into these circuits. In some countries, the tram companies were held responsible for disruption to existing telegraph lines and had to pay for remedial work. For new installations, however, it was necessary to protect against existing trams from the outset. Interference on telephone lines is even more disruptive than it is on telegraph lines. Telephone companies converted to balanced circuits, which had the incidental benefit of reducing attenuation, hence increasing range.


title: Twisted pair

text: As electrical power distribution became more commonplace, this measure proved inadequate. Two wires, strung on either side of cross bars on utility poles, shared the route with electrical power lines. Within a few years, the growing use of electricity again brought an increase of interference, so engineers devised a method called wire transposition, to cancel out the interference.


title: Twisted pair

text: In wire transposition, the wires exchange position once every several poles. In this way, the two wires would receive similar EMI from power lines. This represented an early implementation of twisting, with a twist rate of about four twists per kilometre, or six per mile. Such open-wire balanced lines with periodic transpositions still survive today in some rural areas.


title: Twisted pair

text: Twisted-pair cabling was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1881. By 1900, the entire American telephone network was either twisted pair or open wire with transposition to guard against interference. Today, most of the millions of kilometres of twisted pairs in the world are outdoor landlines, owned and maintained by telephone companies, used for voice service.


title: Twisted pair

text: Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables are found in many Ethernet networks and telephone systems. For indoor telephone applications, UTP is often grouped into sets of 25 pairs according to a standard 25-pair color code originally developed by AT&T Corporation. A typical subset of these colors (white/blue, blue/white, white/orange, orange/white) shows up in most UTP cables. The cables are typically made with copper wires measured at 22 or 24 American Wire Gauge (AWG), with the colored insulation typically made from an insulator such as polyethylene or FEP and the total package covered in a polyethylene jacket.


title: Twisted pair

text: For urban outdoor telephone cables containing hundreds or thousands of pairs, the cable is divided into small but identical bundles. Each bundle consists of twisted pairs that have different twist rates, as pairs having the same twist rate within the cable can still experience some degree of crosstalk. The bundles are in turn twisted together to make up the cable.


title: Twisted pair

text: UTP is also the most common cable used in computer networking. Modern Ethernet, the most common data networking standard, can use UTP cables, with increasing data rates requiring higher specification variants of the UTP cable. Twisted-pair cabling is often used in data networks for short and medium-length connections because of its relatively lower costs compared to optical fiber and coaxial cable.


title: Twisted pair

text: As UTP cable bandwidth has improved to match the baseband of television signals, UTP is now used in some video applications, primarily in security cameras. As UTP is a balanced transmission line, a balun is needed to connect to unbalanced equipment, for example any using BNC connectors and designed for coaxial cable.


title: Twisted pair

text: Twisted pair cables may incorporate shielding in an attempt to prevent electromagnetic interference. Shielding provides an electrically conductive barrier to attenuate electromagnetic waves external to the shield. The shield also provides a conduction path by which induced currents can be circulated and returned to the source via ground reference connection. Such shielding can be applied to individual pairs or to a collection of pairs. Shielding may be foil or braided wire.


title: Twisted pair

text: When shielding is applied to a collection of pairs, it is usually referred to as screening, but usage among vendors and authors in applying such words as "screening", "shielding", and "STP (shielded twisted pair)" can be subject to variability. ISO/IEC 11801:2002 (Annex E) attempts to internationally standardize the various designations for shielded cables by using combinations of three letters - U for unshielded, S for braided shielding (in outer layer only), and F for foil shielding - to explicitly indicate the type of screen for overall cable protection and for protecting individual pairs or quads, using a two-part abbreviation in the form of "x/xTP".


title: Twisted pair

text: Shielded Cat 5e, Cat 6/6A, and Cat 8/8.1 cables typically have F/UTP construction, while shielded Cat 7/7 and Cat 8.2 cables use S/FTP construction.


title: Twisted pair

text: Because the shielding is conductive, it may also serve as a path to ground. A foil-shielded, twisted pair cable may have an integrally incorporated grounding wire called a "drain wire" which makes electrical contact with the shield. The purpose of the drain wire is for easy connection to terminals which are usually designed for connection of round wires.


title: Twisted pair

text: An early example of shielded twisted-pair was IBM STP-A, which is a two-pair 150 ohm S/FTP cable defined in 1985 by the IBM Cabling System specifications, and used with Token Ring or FDDI networks.


title: Twisted pair

text: Before digital communication and Ethernet became widespread there was no international standard for telephone cable. Standards were set at a national level. For instance, in the UK the General Post Office specified CW1293 and CW1308 cables. CW1308 was a similar specification to the earlier CW1293 but with an improved color code. CW1293 used mostly solid colors on the cores making it difficult to identify the pair it was twisted with without stripping back a large amount of sheath. To solve this problem. CW1308 has narrow rings of the paired color printed over the base color. Both cables are a similar standard to category 3 cable.


title: Twisted pair

text: Prior to the common use of polyethylene and other plastics for insulation, telephone twisted pair cable was insulated with waxed paper or cotton with a wax coating applied to the copper. The overall sheath of this type of cable was usually lead. This style of cable came into use in the late 19th century shortly after the invention of the telephone. The cable termination in termination boxes were sealed with molten wax or a resin to prevent the ingress of moisture which would seriously degrade the insulating properties of the paper insulation. However, such seals made future maintenance and changes more difficult. These cables are no longer made but are still occasionally encountered in old buildings and in various external areas, commonly rural villages.


title: Twisted pair

text: A loaded twisted pair has intentionally added inductance and was formerly common practice on telecommunication lines. The added inductors are known as load coils and reduce attenuation for voiceband frequencies but increase it on higher frequencies. Load coils reduce distortion in voiceband on very long lines. In this context a line without load coils is referred to as an unloaded line.


title: Twisted pair

text: A bonded twisted pair is a construction variant in which the two wires of each pair are bonded together for the length of the cable. Pioneered by Belden, it is intended to help assure configuration consistency during and after installation. One key benefit is that the noise immunity performance of the cable can be protected despite potentially rough handling. The enhanced performance may be unnecessary and bonding reduces the flexibility of the cable and makes it prone to failure where it is flexed.


title: Twisted pair

text: A twisted ribbon cable is a variant of standard ribbon cable in which adjacent pairs of conductors are bonded and twisted together. The twisted pairs are then lightly bonded to each other in a ribbon format. Periodically along the ribbon, there are short sections with no twisting where connectors may be attached using the usual ribbon cable IDC techniques.


title: Twisted pair

text: A solid-core cable uses one solid wire per conductor and in a four-pair cable there would be a total of eight solid wires. Stranded cable uses multiple wires wrapped around each other in each conductor and in a four-pair with seven strands per conductor cable, there would be a total of 56 wires (2 per pair × 4 pairs × 7 strands).


title: Twisted pair

text: Solid core cable is intended for permanently installed runs (permanent link). It is less flexible than stranded cable and is more prone to failure if repeatedly flexed due to work hardening. Stranded cable is used at patch panels and for connections from wall-ports to end devices (patch cord or drop cable), as it resists cracking of the conductors.


title: Twisted pair

text: Connectors are designed differently for solid core than for stranded. Use of a connector with the wrong cable type can lead to unreliable cabling. Plugs designed for solid and stranded core are readily available, and some vendors even offer plugs designed for use with both types. The punch-down blocks on patch-panel and wall-port jacks are designed for use with solid core cable. These work via the insulation-displacement method, whereby the device pierces the sides of the insulation and "bites" into the copper conductor to form a connection. Punchdown blocks are used as patch panels or as breakout boxes, for twisted pair cable.


title: Serie C

text: The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.


title: Serie C

text: The unification of the Lega Pro Prima Divisione and the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione as Lega Pro Divisione Unica (often also abbreviated as "Lega Pro") in 2014 reintroduced the format of the original Serie C that existed between 1935 and 1978 (before the split into Serie C1 and Serie C2). On 25 May 2017 the Lega Pro assembly unanimously approved the return to the original name of the competition to Serie C.


title: Serie C

text: A third division above the regional leagues was first created in Italy in 1926, when fascist authorities decided to reform the major championships on a national basis, increasing the number of teams participating by promoting many regional teams from the Third Division (Terza Divisione) to the Second Division (Seconda Divisione).


title: Serie C

text: A new league running this Second Division, the "Direttorio Divisioni Inferiori Nord" (Northern Directory of Lower Divisions) was set up in Genoa, while football activity in the southern part of the country was run by the "Direttorio Divisioni Inferiori Sud" which later became the "Direttorio Meridionale" (Southern Directory). These leagues did not last long; after another reform they were disbanded between 1930 and 1931. Some bigger clubs who owned large pitches with dimensions of 100x60 metres were promoted to the First Division (Prima Divisione); a league defined and structured as the "National Championship".


title: Serie C

text: The Second Division had no relegations to regional leagues as most were reelected at the beginning of each new season. Once a critical threshold was reached the Italian federation decided to close the two leagues and move all teams to the "Direttori Regionali" (Regional Committees) so that the labour-intensive job of organisation was delegated to more efficient and organised regional staff.


title: Serie C

text: The most successful teams coming from the Second Divisions in 5 years (from 1926–27 to 1930–31) composed 6 ever-growing sections of the First Division (Prima Divisione) which at the beginning had just a few teams in just one section from southern Italy.


title: Serie C

text: This championship was organized by the same league governing Serie A and Serie B (the "Direttorio Divisioni Superiori"), even if, as opposed to the two higher divisions, it was structured in local groups with geographical criteria. The number of clubs belonging to the Prima Divisione continued to increase every year, until FIGC decided to rename it "Serie C" (at the beginning of the 1935–36 season) while a subsequent large reduction in 1948 led to the creation of a sole national division in 1952–53.


title: Serie C

text: The reform that created the actual league was decided by Bruno Zauli in 1959 as he built on the incomplete work started by the former president Ottorino Barassi to make professional football fully recognised and organised. While Lega Calcio had a stated mission of organising professional and national divisions, the new "Lega Nazionale Semiprofessionisti" based in Florence had to regulate the two semiprofessional and subnational divisions: "Serie C" and "Serie D", with the first one adopting a format of three groups of 20 teams each. In 1978 the semiprofessional sector was abolished; Serie D became an amateur section while Serie C was divided into two professional divisions ("Serie C1" and "Serie C2"), and the league changed its name to "Lega Professionisti Serie C". On 20 June 2008, the league was restructured and took its current name "Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico".


title: Serie C

text: After the league reform of 2014, the two previous divisions of Lega Pro Prima Divisione and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione were ultimately merged into a new league; the "Lega Pro Divisione Unica" or more informally addressed as just "Lega Pro". This is the league structure currently in operation; comprising 60 teams that are divided geographically in three groups of 20 each. At the end of each season, four teams are promoted to Serie B (three group winners, plus one coming from a promotion playoff involving the three group runners-up). Meanwhile, nine teams are relegated to Serie D: the last-placed team from each group go down directly, whereas teams between 16th and 19th from each group place play a relegation playoff (officially referred to as "play-out"), with the two losing teams from each group also relegated.


title: Serie C

text: In May 2017, the Lega Pro assembly unanimously approved the return to the original name Serie C. The 2017–18 Serie C season includes 19 teams in each of the three divisions after adjustments were made for excluded clubs.


title: Serie C

text: Serie C is composed of 60 teams divided equally into three groups split horizontally in geographical terms, from north to south (basically they are three leagues unbound from each other during regular season). The round-robin format is used, with the two halves of the season having exactly the same order of fixtures. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. At the end of the regular season one table per group is determined, based on points. If two or more teams are tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria apply:


title: Serie C

text: A total of 4 teams are promoted to Serie B and 9 teams are relegated to Serie D. The winner team of each group is directly promoted and qualifies for Supercoppa di Serie C. Teams which have finished in the bottom of the league are directly relegated. The other divisional changes are determined through a complex system of promotion and relegation play-offs.


title: Serie C

text: 28 teams compete to achieve the only available spot for Serie B. 27 of them are the teams which have finished in the 2nd to 10th positions (9 per group). The 28th team is the winner of Coppa Italia Serie C. There are a total of six rounds:


title: Serie C

text: "First round" and "Second round" consist in single-leg games and, if teams are tied after regular time, the higher-placed team advances. 6 teams (2 per group) advance to the next round.


title: Serie C

text: "Third round" and "Quarter-finals" consist in two-legged games, with seeded team playing at home for second leg, and, if teams are tied on aggregate, the seeded team advances.


title: Serie C

text: "Final four" fixtures are drawn, all games are two-legged and, if teams are tied on aggregate, the winner is decided by extra-time and a penalty shootout if required.


title: Serie C

text: Number of teams which play the so called "play-out" in the Italian football is variable. Usually, fixtures pair the 16th v 19th and 17th vs 18th-placed teams. Matches are two-legged, the higher-placed team plays at home for second leg and, if teams are tied on aggregate, the lower-placed team is relegated to Serie D. However, if the higher-placed team finishes 9 or more points ahead of the lower-placed team, "play-out" is canceled and team is relegated directly.


title: Serie C

text: To encourage the development of homegrown players, all Lega Pro clubs were capped to use no more than 16 players in their squads that were older than 23 years of age (in 2019–20 season, player born before 1 January 1997), plus two wildcard for long serving players of the clubs. The clubs could use an unlimited numbers of under-23 players.


title: Serie C

text: 9 teams from Lombardy, 4 team froms Veneto, 3 teams from Piedmont, 2 teams from Friuli Venezia Giulia, 1 team from Emilia-Romagna and 1 team from Trentino-South Tyrol.


title: Serie C

text: 6 teams from Tuscany, 5 teams from Emilia-Romagna, 4 teams from Marche, 2 team from Sardinia. 1 team from Liguria, 1 team from Piedmont and 1 team from Umbria.


title: Serie C

text: 6 teams from Apulia, 5 teams from Campania, 3 teams from Lazio, 2 teams from Basilicata, 2 teams from Calabria, 1 team from Abruzzo and 1 team from Sicily.


title: Serie C

text: This is the complete list of the clubs that took part in the 38 Serie C seasons played from the 1935–36 season until the 1977–78 season (participation in the editions of the 1945–46, 1946–47 and 1947–48 seasons, championships that due to World War II, are excluded from the list as they were divided into two completely independent leagues), the three Lega Pro seasons played from the 2014–15 season until the 2016–17 season, and from the 2017–18 season. The teams in bold competed in Serie C in the 2021–22 season.


title: Serie C

text: "For Serie C1 and Lega Pro Prima Divisione winners, see Lega Pro Prima Divisione and for Serie C2 and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione winners, see Lega Pro Seconda Divisione between 1978–79 and 2013–14"


title: Inna

text: Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (born 16 October 1986), known professionally as Inna (stylized in all caps), is a Romanian singer. Born in Mangalia and raised in Neptun, she studied political science at Ovidius University before meeting the Romanian trio Play & Win and pursuing a music career. She adopted the stage name "Alessandra" in 2008 and adopted a pop-rock style; later that year, she changed her stage name to "Inna" and began releasing house music. "Hot" (2008), her debut single, was a commercial success worldwide and topped the Romanian and "Billboard" Hot Dance Airplay chart, among others. Her debut studio album of the same name followed in August 2009 and was certified Gold and Platinum. It featured several other successful singles in Europe, including "Amazing" (2009), the singer's second number-one single in Romania.


title: Inna

text: Inna's second album, "I Am the Club Rocker" (2011), yielded global success for the single "Sun Is Up" (2010). The track won the Eurodanceweb Award, making Inna the first and only Romanian artist to win the award. In 2011, it was announced Inna was the highest-paid Romanian and Eastern European artist. Her follow-up studio album, "Party Never Ends" (2013), was nominated for two consecutive years for Best Album at the Romanian Music Awards and reached the top ten in Mexico. It featured "More than Friends", a moderate European hit in collaboration with Daddy Yankee. In 2014, Inna signed with Atlantic Records and released the commercially successful "Cola Song" with J Balvin, which was used to promote that year's FIFA World Cup.


title: Inna

text: Inna's fourth and eponymous studio album was released in October 2015 and included "Diggy Down", her third number-one single in Romania. Beginning in 2017, Inna has been a coach on the talent show "Vocea României Junior" alongside Andra and Marius Moga. In the same year, she also released her fifth album "Nirvana", whose singles found chart success in European countries such as Romania and Turkey. She signed a record deal with Roc Nation in 2018 to release her sixth studio album "Yo" in May 2019. Entirely envisioned by Inna, the Spanish-language effort marks a change in direction for her, as she approaches experimental and gypsy-influenced music styles. Her first single outside the "Yo" era, "Bebe", reached number one in Romania in March 2020. The singer also attained success in various Eastern European territories with "Flashbacks" (2021) and "Up" (2021), with the former being the lead single from her seventh studio album, "Heartbreaker", released in November 2020. Inna's eighth record, "Champagne Problems", followed as a two-part release in January and March 2022.


title: Inna

text: With global album sales of four million copies from her first three studio albums, Inna is the best-selling Romanian artist. She has received several awards and nominations, including the Balkan Music Awards, European Border Breakers Award, MTV Europe Music Awards and the Romanian Music Awards. Inna is a human rights activist, participating in campaigns against domestic violence and in support of children's rights.


title: Inna

text: Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu was born on 16 October 1986 in Mangalia, Romania, to Giorgic and Maria Apostoleanu. She was raised in Neptun, where her father worked as a sea rescuer and her mother as a dancer and singer. As a child, Inna competed as a swimmer and became interested in football and basketball as well as music. She listened to a variety of musical styles as a teenager, including electro house and europop, and to artists such as Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. Inna attended the sole, now dissolved, elementary school in Neptun. Following this, the singer enrolled at Colegiul Economic (Economy College) in Mangalia, later studying political science at Ovidius University in Constanța. She also took singing lessons and participated in music festivals. An early foray into the music industry was an unsuccessful audition for the Romanian band A.S.I.A.


title: Inna

text: When Inna worked in an office, her manager heard her singing and contacted the production team Play & Win with whom she recorded several songs. Adopting the stage name Alessandra in 2008, she entered "Goodbye" and "Sorry" to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008; neither was selected. The singer performed "Goodbye" live on the primetime TV show, "Teo!", her first televised appearance. Later that year, she changed her stage name to Inna since it was easy to memorize and was the name her grandfather called her when she was young. Early in her career, Inna released pop-rock songs, but switched to "commercial" minimal-infused house music after changing her stage name. In a "News of the World" interview, Inna cited Swedish House Mafia, The Black Eyed Peas and Jessie J as inspirations. Others include Pink, Houston and Dion.


title: Inna

text: Inna's debut single, "Hot", was sent to Romanian radio stations in August 2008. It topped the Romanian charts that winter, prompting her to be booked at Romanian nightclubs. The track was also commercially successful throughout Europe, and topped "Billboard" Hot Dance Airplay chart in early 2010. "Love" (2009) was released as Inna's second single, reaching number four in Romania. The singer received the first nominations of her career at the 2009 Eska Music Awards in Poland for "Hot". Her Romanian label, Roton, signed a contract with the American label Ultra Records in April 2009.


title: Inna

text: Inna collaborated with Romanian musician on her follow-up single, "Déjà Vu" (2009), which they released under pseudonyms (Bob Taylor and Anni) before revealing their true identities after a period of speculation. The single was as commercially successful as its predecessors. Inna had her second number-one hit in Romania with "Amazing", her fourth single, in 2009. The song was originally written by Play & Win for Romanian singer Anca Badiu, who later complained they had "stolen" it. Inna's debut studio album, "Hot", was released in August 2009 and also included the last single "10 Minutes" (2010). The record was commercially successful and was certified Gold in Romania and Platinum in France. As of December 2011, it had sold 500,000 copies worldwide. Inna was the Best Romanian Act at the 2009 and 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards, the first Romanian artist to win the award in two consecutive years. In 2010, she was also nominated for Best European Act.