Editor’s Corner
by Dr. Jerry Johnston
When you encourage your grandson, granddaughter, son or daughter to enroll at HBU, there is a distinct advantage. First, values, character and Christian convictions are compassionately taught and emulated by our outstanding faculty members in every course. This makes HBU unique in a corroding culture. Achieving a degree or postgraduate degree without maturing in your Christian faith is incomplete. Second, Houston may be the most dynamic city of opportunity in America. Earn a degree in an environment in which there is a plethora of available jobs and the promise of advancement. Pulitzer Prize writer, Lawrence Wright, in his recent book, “God Save Texas,” documents the singularity of Houston. Opportunity is waiting for you!
• The population of Texas is projected to double by 2050, to 54.4 million – almost as many people as California and New York combined.
• The GDP of Texas is $1.6 trillion dollars; as an independent country, its economy would settle in around 10th – eclipsing Canada and Australia.
• Texas exports nearly outrank those of California and New York combined. Texas also tops California in exporting technology.
• Between 2000 and 2016, job growth in Dallas and Houston expanded by 31 percent, which is three times the rate of job growth in Los Angeles.
• Houston has 70,000 energy-related jobs.
• Houston’s Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, has more than 100,000 workers in 59 institutions, occupying an area larger than Chicago’s Loop.
• Houston added more than 700,000 jobs between 2000 and 2014, almost twice the number of jobs created in New York City.
• The latest surveys show that 81 percent of people say life in Houston is excellent or good.
• Houston is now rated as one of the five best restaurant cities in the United States (Washington Post).
• Houston is the only major city in America without zoning laws. You can build pretty much anything you want anywhere you want, except in designated historical districts.
• According to City Journal, a publication of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Houston now has the highest standard of living of any large city in America, and among the highest standards in the world.
• Houston will soon bypass Chicago to become the United States’ third-largest metropolitan area behind New York City and Los Angeles.
• Houston is now the single most ethnically diverse metro area in the country; residents speak 142 languages.
• Nearly 40 percent of Houston’s population is under 24 years old. It is an incredibly youthful town, so education is a pressing issue.
Enroll at Houston Baptist University residentially or online today!
P.S. Pickups are as common as yellow cabs in Manhattan. One-fourth of all vehicle sales in Texas are pickups. Texas buys more than any other state – more than California, Florida and Oklahoma combined, and nearly every manufacturer has a special Texas edition!
Wright, Lawrence. “God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State.” New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018.
Visit HC.edu/Admissions or call 281.649.3211.