The UH-led Lone Star Wind Alliance has been named one of two finalists for the Department of Energy’s new large-scale wind turbine research and development facility.

The Quality Urban Education for Students and Teachers program received the Association of Teacher Educators 2007 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education.

The UH Law Center moved up 10 places in the latest ranking of top graduate schools compiled annually by U.S.News & World Report magazine. The Law Center tied with five other schools at No. 60.

UH presented honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to broadcast journalist Ray Miller and Houston businessman and former UH System Board of Regents chairman Leonard Rauch.

Eric R. Bittner, associate professor of chemistry, was selected as a 2007 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow for demonstrating exceptional capacity for productive scholarship. Bittner was one of only two chemists in the United States and Canada selected for a fellowship this year. The fellowship will support his visit to Cambridge University next academic year. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in Chemistry.

Alumni

Harkishin Aswani (’84), managing director of Tolaram Group, was appointed Singapore’s honorary consul-general to Nigeria.

The Texas Commission on the Arts appointed poet Larry D. Thomas (’70) as the 2008 Texas State Poet Laureate.

Xiuli Wang (’00) received a 2007 Asian American Engineer of the Year Award from the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA in cooperation with the National Engineers Week Foundation.

Faculty

UH recently recognized outstanding faculty. Fazle Hussain, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received the 2007 Esther Farfel Award, the university’s highest faculty honor.

Lois Parkinson Zamora, professor of English, and Randolph Thummel, professor of chemistry, were named John and Rebecca Moores Professors. An Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award was given to David J. Francis, professor and chair of psychology and the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics director. Rigoberto C. Advincula, associate professor of chemistry, and Steven Baldelli, assistant professor of chemistry, also are Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award recipients.

A Teaching Excellence Award was presented to Richard Alderman, UH Law Center associate dean for academic affairs, Dwight Olds Chair in Law, and Consumer Law Project director. Other Teaching Excellence Award recipients are Jim Johnson, associate professor in the School of Theatre and Dance; Kairn Klieman, associate professor of history; and Robert Ragazzo, UH Law Foundation Professor of Law.

Teaching Excellence Awards: Provost’s Core Awards were given to Peter Copeland, associate professor of geosciences, and Brian McFarlin, assistant professor of health and human performance. Michael Newman, visiting assistant professor of accountancy and taxation, received the Teaching Excellence Award for nontenure faculty. Newman also is the Bauer College of Business director of accounting programs.

Jaspal Subhlok, associate professor of computer science, received the Teaching Excellence Award for innovation in instructional technology. Teaching Excellence Awards for graduate teaching assistant were presented to Douglas Hughes and Ana-Maria Medina. Kenneth L. Brown, professor of anthropology, received the Faculty Award for Mentoring Undergraduate Research. The Provost Faculty Advising Award was bestowed upon Betty Barr, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Christine Agnew, assistant professor of law, was nominated to serve on the Council of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation.

Sidney Berger, director and John and Rebecca Moores Professor of the School of Theatre, received Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars 2007 Ruth Denney Award. The award recognizes the lifetime achievement of individuals who have played an instrumental role in shaping the lives of young artists.

Janok Bhattacharya, Robert E. Sheriff Professor in Sequence Stratigraphy, received the Grover E. Murray Memorial Distinguished Educator Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Rudy Casparius, senior lecturer in the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management and director of the Latin American Hotel and Hospitality Management programs, received the Angel of Merit medal from Mexico’s Cessa University. The award recognizes his lifetime contributions to the hospitality industry and to education.

Anthony R. Chase, associate professor of law, was reappointed to the Dallas Federal Reserve board of directors for a three-year term. Chase is the board’s deputy chair.

Gary Cheng, assistant professor of engineering technology and assistant professor of industrial engineering, received the 2007 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.

Fredell Lack, C.W. Moores Jr. Endowed Professor of Music, received the TexASTA Phyllis Young Outstanding Studio Teacher of the Year Award for 2007. The award recognizes excellence in private studio string teaching.

Aibing Li, assistant professor of geophysics, received a $450,000, five-year National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, which supports teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the mission of their organization.

Ioannis Pavlidis, Eckhard Pfeiffer Professor in the Department of Computer Science, and the Computational Physiology Lab received contracts totaling $1.7 million from the Department of Defense to research the psychophysiology of stress with emphasis on its facial manifestations.

Jeremy Pettit, assistant professor of psychology, received a $525,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study factors that predict depression in teenagers and the transmission of parental depression to children.

Augustina Reyes, professor of educational leadership and cultural studies, received a National Museum of Mexican Art Women of Achievement Award.

Lynn Simpson, clinical associate professor of pharmacy and executive vice chair of pharmacy practice, received the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists Outstanding Chapter Adviser Award.

Staff

Richard H. Dickerson, university archivist in the M.D. Anderson Library Special Collections, was appointed to the Houston History Association board of directors.

Sara Haynes, manager of donor and alumni records in the Division of University Advancement, was named president of the Texas Gulf Coast Affiliate of the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization board of directors.

Students

Gary Bryant, doctoral student in history, received a Mellon Research Fellowship to conduct research at the Virginia Historical Society. Bryant’s research focuses on the increase in wage labor among women in the Confederate South.

Kelly Love, graduate music student, placed second in the Texas Music Educators Association’s graduate division essay contest on music education. Her essay is titled “Concepts in Music Education.”

Julita Rincon, undergraduate student, received the National Museum of Mexican Art Young Visionary Award.

UH-Downtown and North Harris Montgomery Community College District have signed an agreement to offer a teacher education partnership between UHD and Kingwood College. Under the agreement, community college students can complete their Associate of Arts degree in teaching, then continue their studies toward teacher certification while completing their bachelor’s degree from UHD.

UH-Downtown received a $900,000 grant from the Brown Foundation Inc. of Houston to support the College of Sciences and Technology Scholars Academy. The academy is a nationally recognized program in science, technology, engineering and mathematics that focuses on providing undergraduate mentoring, tutoring, research and scholarships. The grant will fund program enhancements and assist in establishing a Poland international exchange program in geosciences and biotechnology. Vicky Estrera is the academy’s director and a lecturer in biology.

Alumni

Araceli Garcia (’05) is an intern in the Moreno/Rangel Legislative Leadership Program of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus.

Shannon Starkweather (’04)) graduated at the top of her class from the Houston Police Department Basic Academy. She received the Highest Accomplished Award for overall academics, driving and shooting — only the second time a woman has taken the honor.

Faculty

UH-Downtown presented its 2007 UHD Faculty Awards to Leigh Van Horn, associate professor of education, for excellence in teaching; Lisa Morano, assistant professor of biology, for excellence in scholarship/creativity; and Yvonne Kendall, associate professor of music, for excellence in professional/institutional service.

Robin Davidson, assistant professor of English, is a new board member for Writers in the Schools, a program engaging children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing.

Anisul Islam, professor of economics, was honored for his outstanding service as president of the Academy of International Business-U.S. Southwest Chapter. Islam also served as co-editor for the organization’s publication “Southwest Review of International Business Research.”

Chynette Nealy, assistant professor of business, received a UHD Image Award in honor of her dedication and meritorious service to the university and the community. Willie Mae Dawson, accounts payable technician 2, and Ashlynn Williams, accounts payable manager, also received image awards.

Students

This year’s Red Rose Scholars are David Adeyi, Michelle Aiello, Adolfo Aranzales, Damaris Chavez, Lauren Gracia, Maria G. Garcia, Emily De La Garza, Nicholaus Gaytan, Christopher Graves, Maria G. Hernandez, Nguyen Lam, Andrea Lewis, Sadia Lunsford, Jimmy Mai, Janna McKeehan, Megan Murray, Shafeeq Noorudeen, Nathaniel Nouri, Kristi Pennington, Alvin Pieper, Juan Razo, Angelia Sheppard, Nicolas Spampinato, Antonio Tito and Anabel Vallejo.

Jeff Watts, Brandy Hinojosa and Antonio Hernandez were elected national officers for the Criminal Justice Honor Society. They were elected president, secretary and treasurer, respectively.

Sadia Lunsford received the Women’s Professionals in Government Beverly Kaufman Scholarship.

 

Houston Endowment Inc. awarded a $190,000, two-year grant for UHCL’s Environmental Institute of Houston’s air quality monitoring programs in high schools.

UHCL was named one of the top five state agencies in 2006 for Historically Underutilized Business spending in the state.

Naveed Saleem, professor of management information systems, and alumna Marilyn Lunney (’93) received UHCL President’s Cabinet Leadership Awards. Alumna Kathy Tamer (’77) received a UHCL President’s Cabinet Philanthropy Award.

Adam Hodges, assistant professor of history, published multiple works in several publications, including a review in “The Journal of American History” of The Way We Worked exhibition. “Planning Perspectives: An International Journal of History, Planning and the Environment” printed Hodges’ article “Roping the Wild Jitney: The Jitney Bus Craze and the Rise of Urban Autobus Systems.” His entry on “Housework” appeared in the Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working Class History.


Alumni

Daniel Holt (’77, ’82) was named Blinn College vice president for business services.

Shibli Khan (’98, ’05) was appointed head of the Department of English at Bangladesh’s Presidency University.

Brazoria County Judge E.J. King (’77) was named a 2007 Alvin Community College Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni.

Michael McEachern (’86) was appointed president and chief executive officer of St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio.

James Houston Turner’s novel “The Identity Factor” was published recently. Turner graduated in 1976.

Faculty

UHCL recently presented top faculty honors. Vance Etnyre, associate professor of management, received the 2007 Distinguished Teaching Award. The 2007 Distinguished Research Award was presented to Gretchen Mieszkowski, professor of literature, and the 2007 Distinguished Service Award was given to Judith Marquez, associate professor of bilingual and multicultural education.

George Guillen, executive director of the Environmental Institute of Houston and associate professor of biology and environmental science, received a second-year award for about $30,000 from the Harris County Soil and Water Conservation District for the Greens Bayou Wetland Mitigation Bank Project.

Staff

Michelle Dotter, vice president for administration and
finance, was named E.A. Smith YMCA Volunteer of the Year.

David Rachita, assistant dean of student life, was named the American College Personnel Association’s chair-elect for the Commission for Student Involvement.

Students

UHCL students Tamarie Carmack, Kim Sherry Holmes, James R. Hood, Kimberly Marie Kissell and Madhumanti Mukherjee were inducted into the university’s chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, Atrium Circle.

UHCL undergraduate student Wendy Leleux and graduate student Glenda Nicholson received the Dr. Patricia Potter Wilson School of Education Outstanding Undergraduate and Graduate Student scholarships.

In the 2007 edition of its Best 282 Business Schools, the Princeton Review rated the School of Business Administration second overall among the nation’s 500 accredited business schools in terms of providing opportunities for minority students.

UH-Victoria, in partnership with the American Productivity and Quality Center, received a $3 million grant to develop a school leadership pilot program to assist principals in underperforming schools. The program will provide business and management training to school administrators. Charles Bullock (left), dean of the School of Business Administration, and John Stansell (right), dean of the School of Education and Human Development, will lead the program.

Alumni

Christine Hollinden (’85) received an American Marketing Association Houston chapter Crystal Award, given annually in recognition of innovative, effective marketing campaigns.

Theodore L. Whidden (’04) wrote the book “The Solomon Series: Great Pyramid Mystery Resolved.”

Faculty

UHV presented the Enron Teaching Excellence Award to Sandy Venneman, associate professor in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Research and Scholarly Activities Award to Harold Smith, professor in the School of Arts and Science. Hsin-Hui Lin, assistant professor in the School of Education and Human Development, received the Distinguished Service Award.

Dennis R. Riedesel, associate professor of education, was re-elected the Texas Computer Education Association Area 3 director.

Staff

UHV received several ADDY awards from the Victoria Advertising Federation. Staff members Sarah Gardner and Darin Kazmir won a silver ADDY for university’s annual report “Learn Local. Go Global.” Employees Eric Ramirez and Marci Wallace were awarded a bronze ADDY for the online newsletter “NewsWire.” Jane Mims received a bronze ADDY for the School of Business Administration’s Web site. Tammy Neeley received a bronze ADDY for the university’s nursing program recruitment postcard.

Mary Mahan, lead custodian in facility services, was recognized as UHV 2006 Employee of the Year.

Students

Miranda Medina, education student, received a Richard A. Brown Scholarship at the Texas Computer Education Association for her work with the integration of technology into the classroom curriculum.

Two students received ADDY awards from the Victoria Advertising Federation. Abraham Mendoza received a bronze ADDY for the promotional video “Latina Forum.” Melody Rivera received a silver ADDY and the Student Best of Show Award for a logo she designed for the Black History Steering Committee.