UHS - System Success Stories

UH System Success Stories

AUGUST 2006


	The Houston Alumni Organization, Houston Coca-Cola Bottling Company and H-E-B received the national Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Grand Gold Award in the alumni relations programs category for Operation School Supplies. They were the only recipient of a grand gold award out of 1,100 entries. They also were recognized by CASE District IV with the Outstanding Alumni Relations Program Award for this same community project. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine ranked the University of Houston 15th among the nation’s top 100 colleges and universities in the number of bachelor’s degrees and 14th in the number of doctoral degrees awarded to Hispanics. The College of Optometry placed second in the number of Hispanic students it graduates. The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture ranked fourth among architecture programs graduating Hispanic students. The College of Pharmacy came in 13th and the C.T. Bauer College of Business programs in business and marketing ranked fifth in graduating Hispanic students. Jerald W. Strickland, assistant vice chancellor for international studies and programs and professor of optometry, received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from The New England College of Optometry for his outstanding achievements and distinguished record of accomplishment. He also received the American Optometric Association Distinguished Service Award. Strickland serves as director of UH’s reaffirmation of accreditation for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He began his career at UH in 1979, holding such positions as interim senior vice chancellor and interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost and optometry dean. Alumni Mark V. Glorioso (’84, ’99), chief of the Engineering and Science Directorate’s Science and Technology Division at NASA Stennis Space Center, received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal. The medal recognizes a significant, specific accomplishment or contribution that improves operations, efficiency, savings, science or technology that contributes to the organization’s mission. Azim Karim (’06) received a two-year, $20,000 Merage Foundation for the American Dream Fellowship. Karim majored in biology and was a student in The Honors College. Hassan A. Khalil (’06) received a $5,000 Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship and Award of Excellence. Khalil majored in biomedical engineering and was a student in The Honors College. Ruth A. Taylor (’75), professor of marketing at Texas State University-San Marcos, was selected for a Fulbright Senior Specialist project at the University of Lima Department of Economics and Business Administration. The World Council of Optometry presented its International Optometrist of the Year Award to Jerry Vincent (’81, ’84) for his outstanding commitment and contribution to the profession and the community. Faculty Ira Colby, Graduate College of Social Work dean and professor, was elected president of the Council on Social Work Education. Colby will serve one year as president-elect and three years as president. Donald Fox, professor of optometry, was named a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. Xiaolian Gao, professor of biology and biochemistry and adjunct professor of chemistry and biomedical engineering, was named one of Houston’s top women in technology by the Houston chapter of the Association for Women in Computing. Howard Karger, professor of social work, received the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Award for “Shortchanged.” His book won in the category of finance/investment/economic. Karger also will participate in the Soros Foundation’s International Scholars Fellowship Program at the Mongolian State University of Education’s Department of Social Work. Rebecca Lee, assistant professor of health and human performance, accepted a position with the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review as a member of the Community-Level Health Promotion Study Section. Steven Mintz, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History, was named a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Monica Perales, assistant professor of history, received the Summerlee Foundation Fellowship from the Southern Methodist University William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies. Landon Storrs, associate professor of history, received an American Council of Learned Societies fellowship. Staff Jeff Fuller, associate director of admissions, was elected presidentelect of the Texas Association for College Admission Counseling. Houston Public Radio, KUHF-FM, 88.7 placed first in the Public Radio News Directors awards competition’s Division 1 continuing coverage category. The station was recognized for its story on Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The station’s staff members earned 18 awards for reporting excellence. The Harris County Medical Society and the Houston Academy of Medicine presented three Francis C. Moore M.D., Medical Journalism Awards to Jim Bell, morning news anchor, and one to reporter Ed Mayberry, who also received the Texas Medical Association Anson Jones M.D. Award. Bell and Laurie Johnson, reporter, received third-place awards for soft news and a news series, respectively, from the Houston Press Club. News director Paul Pendergraft received the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters (TAPB) second-place award for best production. Capella Tucker, assistant news director, won a Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) Edward R. Murrow Award for best hard news feature. She received honorable mention from TAPB for best general assignment story and earned a second-place award in sports reporting from the Houston Press Club. Jack Williams won a RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for best sports feature. In the TAPB competition, Williams also placed second for best sports stories and received honorable mention for best production. He earned four Houston Press Club awards. The station earned a TAPB first-place award for its Web site. Lisa Plank is the Web news developer for news content, and Alex Farinas is the Web master. Public service coordinator Rob Cahill won the 2006 Houston Press Club Public Relations Communicator of the Year Award. John David Powell, assistant to the chancellor/president for communication, received his sixth consecutive first-place Houston Press Club Lone Star Award for Internet opinion writing for his article “Death and Resurrection of a Marriage.” Staff members in the Office of Public Affairs received numerous awards. In the Houston Press Club competition, the Office of Creative Services, in collaboration with the Office of University Marketing, placed first in the public relations category for the 2005 President’s Report and in the magazine category for the fall 2005 edition of Collegium magazine. The offices also received two third-place awards — one in the magazine layout for the spring and fall 2005 editions of Collegium and the other in the magazine category for the spring 2005 Collegium. The offices received two gold awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Region IV (CASE) — one for visual design of the President’s Report and another for the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) 2004 Annual Report. CASE presented the offices with a silver award in the periodicals category for the President’s Report; a bronze award for the visual design of the Event brochure; and a pewter award in the periodicals category for the spring 2005 Collegium. Greg Holland, marketing manager in the Office of University Marketing, received a silver CASE award for his radio spot promoting the C.T. Bauer College of Business. Thomas Shea, photographer in the Office of Creative Services, received a pewter award for his classroom athletes photo series. In the Public Relations Society of America Houston Chapter’s (PRSA) Excalibur competition, the marketing and creative services offices won a gold award for the admissions counselor’s poster; two silver awards for HRM branding plans and market research; and two bronze awards for Collegium magazine and the “Learning. Leading.” billboard campaign. Lisa Merkl, senior science writer/editor in the Office of University Communication, won two gold awards and a bronze award for writing in the PRSA Excalibur competition and an award of merit for technical writing in the Texas Public Relations Association Best of Texas competition Students Bauer College of Business students received numerous honors. Noor Alnahhas and Rosario Romero placed third in TechKnowledge Point/EntrePoint.com’s entrepreneurship competition. This is the college’s 11th award in business plan competitions in the past four years —11 out of the past 14 competitions entered. Austin Brannon Kroll and Jason Wangler along with their three team members from Rochester and Carnegie Mellon universities placed second in the Finance Case Competition sponsored by Simon Consulting. Javier Lopez, Ryan Mendez and Michael Pettitte placed eighth in the National Collegiate Sales Competition. Pettitte took second place in the competition’s service category. This is the fifth time in six years that Bauer Professional Excellence in Selling students have placed in the top 10 in the competition. Student-athletes Katie Bush, Jennifer Dry, Sarah Fisher, Millicent Martin, Jonathan Stirneman, Josh Stirneman and Szintia Szanto received the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal for earning a cumulative 3.75 GPA or above during the academic year. Phuc Huynh, an electrical engineering student, received a $7,500 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Law students Charlie Lestage, Howard Marshall and Jim Nye won the John R. Brown Admiralty Law Moot Court Competition and the best brief award. Nye also was named best speaker. A second team consisting of Paxton Crew, Victor Leung and Shaden Yousef reached the semifinals. Adjunct professor Gus Schill and assistant clinical professor Tobi Tabor coached the team along with UH Law Center alumni Matt Kita, Bree Perrin, Carlyn Burton and Chad Newton. Keya Mitra, teaching assistant in the Department of English, received a Fulbright U.S. student scholarship to work in India. She plans to volunteer with the George Foundation in Bangalore, where she will teach creative writing to underprivileged children and work with women empowerment groups. Mitra also will lecture at the University of Calcutta. Richard Murad received a National Security Education Program’s David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarship to study at St. Petersburg State University’s Smolny Institute in Russia. Murad is majoring in Russian studies. Kenneth Norris, graduate student in health and human performance and graduate assistant in the Department of Campus Recreation, received the William N. Wasson Student Leadership and Academic Award from the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association

	Vien Lam, a sciences and technology junior, received the 2006 Best Student Paper Award for “UV-Polymerizable Systems Containing Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.” RadTech International North America, a nonprofit organization that promotes the advancement of ultraviolet and electron beam technology, presented the award. Lam conducts research in the UHD Center for Applied Polymer Science Research. Alumni John P. Trevino (’93) has been promoted to the Houston Police Department’s South Patrol command. Faculty Donald Bates, business dean, has been appointed to the Greater Houston Partnership Economic Development Advisory Committee. Jacqueline Baly Chaumette, adjunct professor in social sciences, was recognized as the Women’s Business Initiative’s Entrepreneur of the Year. She is president and chief executive officer of BalyProjects, a public affairs consulting firm. Staff Max Castillo, president, received the Royce Builders Foundation for Youth Award for Exemplary Educator and Leader in Education. David Fairbanks, associate vice president for planning and analysis, received the State Employee Charitable Campaign Star Coordinator Award. Students Michael Weaver, who is majoring in interdisciplinary studies, took second place for his position paper in the American Association of Professional Landmen competition.

	Former NASA administrator Aleck C. Bond donated 40 years worth of documents to the UHCL Alfred R. Neumann Library’s Johnson Space Center History Collection. Cynthia Howard, associate professor of biology and environmental science, received a $25,000 award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the Galveston Bay Watershed Academic Partnership. She also received a $41,556 award from the Texas Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for her proposal titled “Science-Based Monitoring of Created Wetlands and Restored Habitat.” Alumni Steven J. Allen (’93) was named Columbus Children’s Hospital chief executive officer. Robert Exley (’84) was appointed Parkland Community College president. The Mississippi Business Journal named Debbie Ferguson (’85) one of the state’s top 50 business women. Teresita “Tery” Hernandez (’80) was named a 2005 YWCA Outstanding Woman of Achievement. Sandy Johnson (’82) and Michael Landolt (’85) were recognized by Friends of Bay Area Turning Point as outstanding volunteers. Kirk Lewis (’83) was named Pasadena Independent School District superintendent. Kristi Piper (’03) received the Outstanding Educator in English Language Arts — High School Level Award from the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language. Faculty William T. Cummings, business dean, was elected president of the Southern Business Administration Association. Steven Egger, associate professor of criminology, was accepted as an American Academy of Forensic Sciences associate member. Thomas L. Harman, professor of computer engineering, wrote the book “Guide to the National Electrical Code ® 2005 Edition.” Darline Hunter, assistant professor of counseling, authored the book “How to Reach Defiant, Resistant, Disrespectful Students through Native American Teachings.” Lawrence Kajs, associate professor of educational leadership; Daniel McCollum, assistant professor of educational research; and Norma Minter, lecturer of multicultural education and educational foundations, received a Distinguished Research Award from the Allied Academies in the Academy of Educational Leadership for their manuscript “A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the School Administrator Efficacy Scale.” Christine Kovic, associate professor of anthropology, authored the book “Mayan Voices for Human Rights: Displaced Catholics in Highland Chiapas.” Kathryn I. Matthew, associate professor of reading and language arts, authored the book “Developing Better Readers and Writers Using Caldecott Books.” She also received a $45,000 National Writing Project award from the Greater Houston Area Writing Project. Keith Parsons, associate professor of philosophy, authored the book “Copernican Questions: A Concise Invitation to the Philosophy of Science.” Camille Peres, assistant professor of psychology, received a $51,869 one-year award from the National Science Foundation’s Small Grants for Exploratory Research program for her proposal titled “Efficient Strategy Selection-Predictors and Cognitive Mechanisms.” Deepa S. Reddy, assistant professor of anthropology, wrote the book “Religious Identity and Political Destiny: Hindutva in the Culture of Ethnicism.” Dennis Spuck, education dean, received the Texas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Leadership Award. Paul A. Wagner, professor of philosophy and educational foundations, was named one of the Top 100 Educators 2006 by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England. Andrew Yang, associate professor of computer science, received a $48,780 award from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Advanced Research Program for his proposal titled “SOCO —Secure and Optimized Communication & Organization for Target Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks.” Staff Debralynn Hoffman, police sergeant, and Tressa Shanley, Office of Academic Records senior secretary, received UHCL Support Staff Association scholarships. Andrew Reitberger, assistant director of student life, and Sameer Pande, assistant director of intercultural and international student services, received UHCL’s Extra Mile Award for efforts in evacuating students to Texas Women’s University during the preparations for Hurricane Rita. Students The university’s student-produced publications, the UHCLIDIAN and Bayousphere, received 20 awards at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association competition. UHCLIDIAN awards were presented to Kelly Beavers, Dana Harms, Kris Hopkins, Lindsay Humphrey, Dana Harms, James Masington, Diana North, Crystal Seay, Chris Travis and David Phillip Yates. Bayousphere awards went to Jaime Boehm, Foy Curley Jr., Terri Fiebich, Roberto Gonzales, Joe Huffman, Van Huy Le, Brandi Minchew and Lindsey Niemann. Gonzales and Gary Hamilton garnered two Columbia Scholastic Press Association awards for their writing in Bayousphere. UHCL’s Texas State Teachers’ Association Student Program’s Chapter President Leigh Anne Meeks was elected as the state association’s president. Kim Kissell, the group’s UHCL Student Government Association representative, was selected to serve as 2006-2007 Texas State Teachers’ Association-Student Programs District III president. The organization was recognized for outstanding local Web site and increased membership.

	UHV Letting Education Achieve Dreams received a $94,479 award from The Public Benefit Grant Program. After 17 years of service, Provost Don Smith is retiring. Smith played a key role in the university’s expansion. He served six years as academic affairs dean and, after a brief appointment at another university, returned to UHV in 1995 to fill the provost position. He also served as interim president three times. Alumni Hollinden, a firm founded by alumna Christine Hollinden (’85), received the Houston chapter of the American Marketing Association’s Crystal Award for a marketing campaign. Faculty Jeffrey Di Leo’s book “From Socrates to Cinema: An Introduction to Philosophy” has been published. Di Leo, assistant professor of English and philosophy and interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, also has been named an American Book Review co-editor. Texas State Reading Association elected Jane Fry, professor of education and reading, as the organization’s vice president for 2006-2007. Staff Staff writer Sarah Gardner had a collection of poems titled “How to Study Birds” published. Denise Prescott, payroll and benefits manager; Ramon Garcia, facilities maintenance technician; and Linda Syverson, senior accounting analyst, were named Employee of the Month for March, April and May, respectively. Students Outstanding students for the spring semester were Karen Pearce, outstanding undergraduate student, and Candice Melzow, outstanding graduate student, in the School of Arts and Sciences; Carol Suggs, outstanding undergraduate student, and Sara Tones, outstanding graduate student, in the School of Education and Human Development; Erin Canada, outstanding undergraduate student, and James Upchurch, outstanding graduate student, in the School of Business Administration.