Holland Family Student Center
The Holland Family Student Center is the living room of the Jackson School of Geosciences: a place to study, meet with classmates, grab a coffee with a professor, or take a break between classes.
Just on the other side of the Holland Center’s floor-to-ceiling windows is the Munib and Angela Masri Family Courtyard, a large outdoor patio where it’s not uncommon to see faculty members and students together discussing everything from the carbon levels of the early Eocene to advances in remote sensing technology to the Longhorn volleyball team’s last game.
Together these spaces make up the heart of the Jackson School on UT central campus.
Events
Career events, guest speakers, resume workshops, first year seminars, and all kinds of student life activities take place here on a regular basis.
Local café
Lucky Lab Coffee Co. serves up delicious coffee, espresso drinks, tea, pastries, sandwiches and breakfast tacos for students and visitors.
Student study spaces
Pull up a chair in the Holland Center or duck into the Barrow Student Study room for a quieter place to hit the books.
Academic advising
Students can meet with their advisers to select classes, choose a major or minor, and get guidance on their overall academic journey.
Career services
Need help building a resume? Connecting with alumni? Searching for jobs and internships? Our career services team is here to help.
Scholarships and student organizations
There are endless opportunities for students to get involved in research, student groups, and leadership. We’re here to guide you.
Prospective students
Thinking of applying to the Jackson School of Geosciences? Our student advisers are here to help with your application process.
Kinetic art installation
The centerpiece of the Holland Center is a mesmerizing work by Bruce Shapiro, where a metal ball traces patterns through sand.
The Holland Center space was generously donated by lifelong Texans and philanthropists Jacque and Scotty Holland, a 1957 geology graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. Scotty was a lifetime member of the Jackson School of Geology Foundation Advisory Council and served as its 13th chairman. He was CEO of Pennzoil Exploration and Production Company and a group vice president of Pennzoil until his retirement in 1990. Jacque, whose family’s roots extend back to the Chisholm Trail, attended North Texas University and majored in music on a voice scholarship.
The center has received a LEED Commercial Interiors Gold Certification, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Building Certification Institute (USGBC). This prestigious certification is awarded to projects with high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work; are less costly to operate and maintain; and have a reduced environmental footprint.
Certification comes with the number of credits achieved in Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation and Regional Priority. Gold status would mean achieving between 60 and 79 points in the LEED rating system.