| |
|
The Cullen College of Engineering received two
of the three top awards for research at the 2005 Keck Center for
Interdisciplinary Bioscience Training Annual Research Conference
poster competition. Chemical engineering graduate student Mariaclara
Añez and Associate Professor Michael Nikolaou
received second and third place, respectively, for their collaborative
research projects.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) named
UH as its newest member. UH is one of only five
UCAR members in Texas. UCAR’s mission includes expanding the
capabilities of universities regarding understanding the behavior
of atmospheric and related systems and fostering the transfer of
knowledge and technology among institutions for the betterment of
life on Earth.
 Claudia Rankine, associate professor
of English, is the recipient of the 2005 Academy of American Poets
Fellowship. The fellowship honors a poet for distinguished achievement
at mid-career and provides a $25,000 stipend. Rankine is the author
of four collections of poetry, including “Don’t Let
Me Be Lonely,”“PLOT” and “The End of the
Alphabet.” She is co-editor of the book “American Women
Poets in the Twenty-First Century.”
Alumni
Alonzo Cantu (’78), president and chief
executive officer of Cantu Construction Inc., received the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus Institute Medallion of Excellence for Community
Service.
Amilcar Shabazz (’96) received the T.R.Fehrenbach
Book Award for “Advancing Democracy: African Americans and
the Struggle for Access and Equity in Higher Education in Texas.”
This prize honors original research and publication of material
that preserves, records and recounts Texas prehistory and history.
Faculty/Staff
Lisa L.Alastuey, visiting assistant professor
of health and human performance, was elected Texas School Health
Association president.
Richard Alderman, Dwight Olds Chair in Law and
Consumer Law Center director, and Thomas Oldham,
John H. Freeman Professor of Law, represented the UH Law Center
at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) annual meeting.
Faculty members who spoke at the AALS annual meeting include Seth
Chandler and Bob Schuwerk, professors of law; Antonio
Gidi, assistant professor of law; Douglas Moll,
Beirne, Maynard & Parsons Law Center Professor; Michael
A. Olivas, William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law
and Institute of Higher Education Law & Governance director;
and Joseph Sanders, A.A. White Professor of Law.
Joan Krause, George Butler Research Professor
of Law and Health Law & Policy Institute co-director, served
as the human embryonic stem cell research program chair. Greg
Vetter, assistant professor of law, is the 2007 chair-elect
of the Law and Computers Section.
Joel Bloom, associate professor of health and
human performance, received the 2005 Recreation Professional of
the Year Award from the Texas Association for Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance.
John Castagna, Robert and Margaret Sheriff Chair
in Applied Geophysics, received the Society of Exploration Geophysicists’
Reginald Fessenden Award for his contribution to geophysics.
H Texas Online magazine named Paul Chu, professor
of physics and T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science, as one of Houston’s
leaders and legends. Chu also is executive director of the Texas
Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston and
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology president. Chu
also received the Chinese Professional Club Achievement Award.
Dick Dickerson, assistant librarian, will serve
on Mayor Bill White’s task force on Houston history.
George E. Fox, professor of biology and biochemistry
and professor of chemical engineering, received the 2005 Sigma
Xi Faculty Research Award. As the honoree, Fox delivered the Sigma
Xi Faculty Research Award Lecture.
Israel Gonzales, custodial equipment mechanic
1, received the Custodial Management Association of Texas Award
for Excellence.
Dan Luss,professor of chemical engineering,
received the 2005 Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions
to the Field of Chemical Engineering from the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers.
Charlie Matthew, Cullen Performance Hall technical
director, received the National Association for Campus Activities
Regional Larry Markley Award for his outstanding contributions
to the organization.
Lisa Penney, assistant professor of psychology,
and doctoral students Megan Tunstall and Emily
Hunter received the Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology John C. Flanagan Award for Best Student Contribution
for the paper “A Closer Look at Counterproductive Work Behaviors:
Emotions,Targets, and Outcomes.”
Under the leadership of Jim L. Query Jr., associate
professor of communication, the editorial board of Communication
Studies (CS) became the largest in North America and Europe. CS
is an academic journal published quarterly by the Central States
Communication Association.
Rives Taylor, Kirksey Chair for Sustainable
Design at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, received
the 2005 Synergy President’s Award from the Citizens’
Environmental Coalition. He was one of two individuals recognized
for work in advancing green building awareness.
Students
Olufemi Ebenezer Akanbi, geosciences graduate
student, received the 2005-2006 Book Award from the National Association
of Black Geologists & Geophysicists.
Four UH Law Center students were recognized by national and international
organizations. Travis Combs and Gainey
Johnson will compete in the final rounds of the American
Bar Association Section of Taxation Law 2005 Student Tax Challenge.
Combs is a visiting student from Tulane University. Jim
Lawrence and Katharine Sands won the
first International Commercial Mediation Competition sponsored
by the International Chamber of Commerce. UH alumni Jeff
Abrams and Kevin Hedges coached Lawrence
and Sands.
Clayton Lust, graduate history student, received
the best graduate student paper prize for “Confluence and
Conflict: Houston and the Camp Logan Riot, 1917” from the
Northern Great Plains Historical Conference.
|
|
Friends
and supporters joined the UH-Downtown community to break ground
for the $35 million-plus College of Business building
at North Main and Shea streets. The building will help accommodate
the university’s increasing enrollment, which has risen 27
percent over the past five years. UHD also has seen a 40-percent
increase in business graduates since 2000.
 Max
Castillo, UHD president, was recognized by the National
Hispanic Professionals Organization-Houston for his achievements
in education. He also received a special Anheuser-Busch Eagle Award
in honor of his dedication to education.
Alumni
René Garcia (’03) and Chau
Hoang (’02) are the founding officers for the new
College of Sciences and Technology Alumni Chapter.
Israel Salazar is the new UHD alumni coordinator
in the Office of University Advancement. Salazar will graduate
in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in professional writing.
Kindel VanCronkhite (’97) was honored
by “You Make A Difference,” a national contest sponsored
by Maybelline New York, People Magazine and Columbia Records that
pays tribute to women for contributions to their communities.
The award recognizes her efforts to create Courtney’s Crusade,
a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving people from fatal
heart attacks.
Faculty/Staff
Vicky Estrera received the YWCA Outstanding
Woman of Achievement in the Community Service Professional category
for her work with the UHD Scholars Academy. Estrera is a lecturer
in biology and director of the academy.
Robert Wilson, lecturer in music and director
of the UHD Civic Jazz Orchestra Program, has been appointed to
the Texas Commission on the Arts for a two-year term.Wilson will
serve on the Music and Dance Panel.
Students
Daniel Margolis, now 13, has been attending
UHD since 2003. Margolis received a $500 scholarship for the spring
semester.
UHD graduated its largest class during commencement
in December as 1,172 students received degrees. Among them was
the first class of six to graduate with a Master of Security Management
from the College of Public Service.
|
 |
|
Brenda Weiser, director of environmental education
for the Environmental Institute of Houston, received a $120,000
grant from The University of Texas at Austin Texas Regional Collaborative
for Excellence in Science Teaching research project.
Alumni
Dena Faust (’00) is the Santa Fe Independent
School District Teacher of the Year.
Joseph Haas (’92) was promoted to vice
president of Ameripath Anatomic Pathology Sales-West Region.
Bernard A. Harris Jr. (’99) was elected
to U.S. Physical Therapy Inc.’s board of directors.
Rachel Heffernan (’01), science lead teacher
and grade level chair at Houston Independent School District’s
Park Place Elementary, was named a 2005 Space Foundation Teacher
Liaison.
Faculty/Staff
Ken Black, professor of decision sciences, delivered
the university’s commencement address in December.
George Blanford, professor emeritus of physics
and astronomy; William Powers, adjunct instructor
in history; and Jonathan Zophy, professor of
European history, made presentations as part of UHCL’s Clear
Lake Association of Senior Programs “Visions in Our Midst”
Speaker Series.
Rodger Carr, executive director for university
computing and telecommunications; Glenn Houston,
associate vice president for information resources; Jerry
Jones, director of technical services; and Mike
Livingston, director of support center and infrastructure;
marked the opening of the University Computing and Telecommunications
Support Center with a reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Lee Folk, research administration accountant,
completed requirements for Certified Research Administrator.
George Guillen, Environmental Institute of Houston
executive director, received an $89,400 two-year subaward from
the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Clean Rivers Program
for a water-monitoring project.
Barbara Hales, assistant professor of history;
Angela Howard, professor of history; Sameer
Pande, coordinator of international and intercultural
student services; and Karen Wielhorski, executive
director of library and learning resources; received UHCL’s
2005 International Education Awards for outstanding service to
international initiatives at the university.
Margaret Hill, associate professor emerita of
reading and language arts, received the Texas State Reading Association
Golden Book Award for significant contributions to the development
of literacy.
Becky Huss-Keeler, associate professor of early
childhood education, was UHCL’s nominee for the Minnie Stevens
Piper Award, which recognizes college and university instructors
across Texas.
Lillian McEnery, assistant professor of reading
and language arts, and Nancy Wright, lecturer
of reading and language arts, presented “Building Bridges
of Understanding” to participants of the International Conference
on New Directions in the Humanities.
Students
The student chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma was
named a Premier/Exemplary Chapter for 2004-2005, allowing the
School of Business to award a $1,000 scholarship to a Beta Gamma
Sigma member for use in 2006-2007.
|
 |
The
university’s Letting Education Achieve Dreams
(LEAD) initiative received two grants totaling $51,000 from the
Alcoa Foundation. A $46,000 grant allows the student recruitment
division and LEAD to coordinate the annual Boys and Girls academies,
Math and Computer Science Awareness Day and ongoing mentoring programs.
A $5,000 grant supports the UHV Center for Nonprofit Leadership
Institute. LEAD also received a $5,000 grant from the Trull Foundation
for its programs that target the Palacios Independent School District.
The Office of Professional Development hosted
a Victoria Ethics Alliance presentation titled “Legal Aspects
of Advanced Directives.”
 June
Cernosek, senior secretary in the Office of Human Resources,
graduated summa cum laude from UHV. Employed at the university since
2003, Cernosek received a Bachelor of Business Administration in
accounting and was named Outstanding Undergraduate Student in the
School of Business Administration. She is working toward a Master
of Business Administration at UHV.
Alumni
Martha Matura (’05) was included in the
2004-2005 National Dean’s List in recognition of her academic
achievements.
Faculty/Staff
Elois Kraatz, international student coordinator;
Linda Parr, admissions coordinator; and Trudy
Wortham, registrar, attended the National Association
of Foreign Student Advisors Region II and III joint meeting.
Dennis Riedesel, associate professor of education,
made a presentation titled “TinHorn Gambler” to the
Victoria County Historical Commission.
Sandy Venneman, associate professor of psychology
and biology,was a guest speaker at the U.S. Dressage Federation
National Convention and Symposium, where she presented “Why
Does My Horse Do That? Learning Theory for the Equestrian.”
Venneman also presented “It May Not Be ADD, ADHD or Low
I.Q. It May Be Sleep Deprivation” at the Region III Education
Service Center Counselor Symposium and “Basics of Depression
(Genetic and Behavioral)” to the National Alliance on Mental
Illness Victoria chapter.
Students
The UHV chapter of Gamma Beta Phi, a national honor society,
inducted 22 students: Estrella Arnold, Daniel
Barrientos, Mancie Beck, Margaret
Brooks, Angela Bujnoch, Hao-Chih
Chen, Courtney Collins, Jamie
Dybala, Leslie Finster, Kathy
Foil, Anna Guerrero, Ellie Iraggi,
William Kilpatrick, Tara Koonce,
Danny Long, Patricia Luna, Erum Makkani,
Shabata Matthews, Sherron McGrew,
Barry Moore, Karen Pearce and
Vanessa Shepherd.
UHV named its outstanding students, which included Hari
Damodaran and Sandra Mims, School of
Arts and Sciences; Nina Thowsen and June
Cernosek, School of Business Administration; and Karen
Kindle and William David Bryant, School
of Education and Human Development.
|
|
