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The department of health and human performance placed No. 1 among
colleges and universities with health, physical education and recreation
programs surveyed by Academic Analytics’ Faculty Scholarly
Productivity Index. The index is an independent ranking of doctoral
programs in research universities across the country.
The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture received nearly $1
million in grants from the Houston Endowment and the Meadows Foundation
to support sustainable design programs.
The Texas Diesel Testing and Research Center
at the Cullen College of Engineering received an $8.8 million grant from the Texas Commission
on Environmental to purchase a portable emission testing system
and an engine dynamometer, a machine that tests an engine outside
of the vehicle.
The National Council for Black Studies presented its Sankore Award
to the African American Studies Program. The award is given annually
and recognizes the outstanding African American Studies program
of the year and its contributions to the field of Africana Studies.
 Vassiliy
Lubchenko, assistant professor of chemistry, has been named as
one of only 16 recipients of this year’s Beckman Young
Investigator Award, which includes a $300,000 grant. The award
is given to young faculty in the life sciences engaged in the
most innovative research – those with the potential to
achieve major advances in their fields. Lubchenko was among a
select group that included scientists from Columbia University,
the University of California at Berkeley and other renowned institutions.
Alumni
Photojournalist
Adrees Latif (’00) won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news
photography for his photograph of the fatal shooting of Japanese
videographer Kenji Nagai. Former Cougar Hakeem Olajuwon was selected
as an inductee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Julian Schnabel (’73), artist and screenwriter, was nominated
for the Achievement in Directing Award by the Academy for Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences for “The Diving Bell and the
Butterfly.”
Crystle Stewart, a former student, was crowned
Miss USA.
Faculty
UH recently
recognized outstanding faculty. David Francis, Hugh Roy and Lillie
Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in the department of psychology,
received the Esther Farfel Award, UH’s highest accolade
recognizing faculty excellence. Vincent
Donnelly, professor of
chemical and biomolecular engineering, and Thomas
O’Brien,
professor of history, were named John and Rebecca Moores professors.
Demetre J. Economou, professor of chemical engineering; Eric
R. Bittner, associate professor of chemistry; and Vincent
H. Tam, assistant professor of clinical sciences and administration
in the College of Pharmacy, were presented with the Excellence
in Research and Scholarship Award. Teaching Excellence Award
recipients are Ron Lazer, assistant professor of accountancy
and taxation; Sang-Hoon Lee, assistant professor of engineering
technology; Brian K. McFarlin, professor of health and human
performance; and Vern Paulsen, professor of mathematics.
Teaching Excellence Awards for the provost’s core were
given to James R. Benbrook, professor of physics, and William
R. Dupre, associate professor of geology. Virginia
Leigh Hollyer,
mathematics instructor, received the Teaching Excellence Award
for innovation in instructional technology. A Teaching Excellence
Award for graduate teaching assistant was presented to Alana
Lynes, graduate teaching assistant in biology and biochemistry.
Margot Gayle Backus, associate professor of English, received
the Faculty Award for Mentoring Undergraduate Research. The Provost
Faculty Advising Award was bestowed upon Simon
Bott, director
of undergraduate affairs and advising in the chemistry department.
The Houston American Advertising Federation presented its Silver
Medal award to Robert Culpepper, communication lecturer, for
his lifetime achievement in the Houston advertising industry.
Culpepper also was awarded with a Hall of Fame trophy for his “Luv
Ya Blue” campaign for the Houston Oilers. The federation
also awarded to the School of Communication’s student campaigns
class a Silver Addy and two Citations of Excellence for their
recent work on the Central Intelligence Agency campaign. Nathan
Hoang (’07) was the campaign’s creative director.
Olafs Daugulis, assistant professor of chemistry, was named
a 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow.
Chitra Divakaruni, professor of English, has received the South
Asian Literary Association 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award
for her contribution to South Asian literature.
Kwon Eun-Sook, associate professor of architecture, was named
the general director of the World Design Olympiad Seoul 2008.
Maria Gonzalez, assistant professor of English, has won this
year’s Michael Lynch Service Award from the Gay, Lesbian/
Queer Caucus of the Modern Language Association.
Creative writing
professor Tony Hoagland received the Jackson Poetry Prize by
Poets & Writers Inc. The honor is awarded to an American
poet of exceptional talent who has published at least one book
of recognized literary merit but has not yet received major national
acclaim.
Mat Johnson, professor of English, received the $50,000 James
Baldwin Fellow in Literature from the United States Artists.
Gino Lim, assistant professor of industrial engineering, received
the Moving Spirit Award from the Institute for Operations Research
and Management Science for outstanding service to his chapter.
Kishore Mohanty, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering,
will receive a 2008 Society of Petroleum Engineers Improved Oil
Recovery Pioneer Award.
Jerald W. Strickland, assistant vice chancellor for international
studies and programs, received the Doctor of Science honorary
degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He also gave
the keynote address at the college’s May commencement ceremony.
Jessica L. White, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy,
has been named one of the American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy 2007 Teachers of the Year.
Students
Michael S. Bryson, music student, won honorable mention in the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Voices of Change Young Composers Project
for his song “Sleepers on the Hill.”
Arman Jahangiri, biology student, was named a 2008 Merage American
Dream Fellow – one of only a dozen such students honored
nationwide. The nationwide scholarship competition recognizes
the most exceptional immigrant students with the greatest potential
to contribute to their new homeland. Jahangiri will receive a
$20,000 scholarship.
Moores School of Music students placed first in prestigious
competitions: Jessica Wei Zhu won in the Collegiate Young Artist
Piano Competition. Ashlyn Rust won in the Vocal Division and
the Grand Prize in the 24th Annual Young Texas Artist Music Competition
Concert of Finalists. In addition, the Halcyon
Saxophone Quartet,
under the direction of Karen Wylie, won in the Winds Division
at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition.
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The Nielsen Company, the world’s leading provider of marketing
information and audience measurement, awarded $7,500 to the Houston
PREP program. The prefreshman enrichment program enhances the academic
backgrounds of socially and economically disadvantaged and disabled
students at the middle and high school level to encourage them
into pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics
careers.
UH-Downtown and the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez received
a $161,825 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for
Paving the Road to Professorship for Female Students. The project
is part of the NSF funded Computing Alliance Hispanic Serving Institutions
of which the two universities are members. It focuses on female
computing engineering and computer science students.
 The
University of Houston-Downtown was named to the 2007 President’s Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll for the “support of innovative, effective
and exemplary community service programs.” The honor recognizes
UHD’s Family Literacy Project, which is associated with the
House of Tiny Treasures, a preprimary school for homeless children.
Chris Birchak, dean of University College, submitted the entry for
the community service award.
Alumni
Imi Mosaheb (’94) has been appointed Micro Devices country
manager for the Sub-Saharan region of South Africa. Liz
Lara-Carreño (’96) has joined the Carreño Group as president.
Faculty
UH-Downtown presented its 2008 UHD Faculty Awards to Aaron
Krochmal,
for excellence in teaching; Ryan Pepper for excellence in scholarship/creativity;
and Gene Preuss for excellence in professional/institutional
service.
Hank Roubicek, professor of communication studies, had published
the narrative text to the textbook “Public Speaking: Choices
for Effective Results.”
Aaron Gillette, assistant professor of history, recently had
published “Eugenics and the Nature-Nurture Debate in the
Twentieth Century.”
Elizabeth Walden, assistant professor of psychology, published
her work, “An Exploration of the Experience of Lesbians
with Chronic Illness,” in the Journal
of Homosexuality.
Dan Ghosh, lecturer in marketing, presented the paper “U.S.
Foreign Direct Investments in India: A Strategic Partnership” at
the International Academy of Business and Public Administration
Disciplines conference. The paper received a research award.
Ghosh was recognized for his service as a session chair for the
conference.
Staff
René Garcia, Scholars Academy (SA) program manager, Vicky
Estrera, SA director, and Mitsue Nakamura, lecturer in mathematics,
presented “Case Study: Innovative workshop for underrepresented
minority freshmen in STEM discipline,” at the 2008 Hawaii
International Conference on Education. They co-authored the paper
with Larry Spears, professor of chemistry.
Distance education advisers Reginald Jayne, Bill
O’Neil,
Rita Patel and Reyna
Romero presented “Illuminating Lives:
How Advisors Become Beacons to Non-Traditional Students Lost
in the Storms of Life by Using a Panoptic Approach to Advising,” at
the National Academic Advising Association conference.
Students
Adolfo Aranzales’ abstract “Tests with Concrete
Having Different Fly Ash Content” was accepted for poster
and oral presentations at the Texas-Section American Society
of Civil Engineers Conference. Jorge Tito-Izquierdo, visiting
professor of engineering, supervised Aranzales’ research.
Audrey Gonzalez, sophomore in biotechnology, and Betsy
Escobar,
sophomore in biology, have been accepted into the Joint Admission
Medical Program.
Christine Mastracchio will receive the Indo-American Chamber
of Commerce of Greater Houston Gopal Savjani Scholarship for
the 2008-2009 academic year.
Nicolas Spampinato received the Cohen Premedical Studies Scholarship.
Spampinato also was selected for the Junior Kaplan Achievement
Award.
Antonio Tito’s and An
Vo’s poster presentations
were accepted to the 22nd National Conference for Undergraduate
Research. Mian Jiang, assistant professor of chemistry, supervised
the students’ research.
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UH-Clear Lake recognized supporters for their contributions to
the university. The President’s Cabinet Leadership Award
went to librarian Frances Roppolo and her husband distinguished
alumnus and Barrios Technology owner and President Sandy
Johnson (’82) received a President’s Cabinet Philanthropy Award.
The School of Education received the Association of Teacher Educators’ Distinguished
Program in Teacher Education Award. The national award honors outstanding
teacher education programs that demonstrate strong, viable partnerships
between education agencies in the preparation of quality teachers.
 Dennis
Casserly, division chair of natural sciences and associate professor
of industrial hygiene and environmental science, was honored by
the American Industrial Hygiene Association with a Fellow Award
for his significant contributions to the field of industrial hygiene.
Alumni
UHCL hosted “Ten Grande Dames,” a photography exhibit
by distinguished alumna J. Pamela Culpepper (’80, ’83).
Stephanie Jones Hawley (’83) was appointed interim vice
president for academic affairs at Malcolm X College of Chicago.
Michael Kapp (’87, ’91) was named president of VT
Griffin and key management member of the board of directors for
VT Services Inc.
Rita Karl (’01) was named director of educational programs
at the Challenger Center for Space Science in Alexandria, Va.
Keith Parrott (’95) was named president of Princeton Baptist
Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala.
Faculty
UHCL recently presented top faculty honors. Edward
Waller, professor
of finance, received the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award. The
2008 Distinguished Research Award was presented to Terry
Feagin,
professor of computer science, and the 2008 Distinguished Service
Award was given to Grady Perdue, professor of finance.
Photography instructors Van Edwards and Leslie
Plaza Johnson exhibited the photographic essay “A New World Becoming” at
The Arts Alliance of Center at Clear Lake as part of FotoFest
2008.
Staff
George Guillen, executive director of the Environmental Institute
of Houston and associate professor of biology and environmental
science, received a $25,000, two-year continuation award from
the Harris County Flood Control District for his proposal “Comparison
on the Evaluation of Influence of Various Stream Substrates on
Aquatic Biota and the Evaluation of Pool and Riffle Complexes
(boulder) on Cowards Creek.
UHCL’s Educational Support Staff Association awarded the
distinction of Certified Educational Office Professional to Debbie
Brooner, School of Education administrative secretary; Alison
Cariker, School of Business senior secretary; Emilie
Chaney,
office of administration and finance senior business assistant;
Martha Douglas, office of the cashier account assistant; Rennell
Kirkendall, office of the provost senior business coordinator;
and Ruby “Winnie” Walker, office of admissions evaluator.
UHCL’s Support Staff Association awarded scholarships
to Marie Best, administrative secretary in the office of the
provost; Nicole Wheatley, secretary in the School of Human Sciences
and Humanities; and Anurag Nagar, programming technician in the
School of Education.
Students
Graduate student Sharon E. Karriker and undergraduate Melissa
Arias received the prestigious Dr. Patricia Potter Wilson School
of Education Outstanding Graduate and Undergraduate Student Scholarships.
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UHV is the new home for the Society for Critical Exchange, an
organization that works to create theoretical discussions on specific
topics by experts in a range of fields. The society was based at
Case Western Reserve University.
The master’s degree in economic development and
entrepreneurship degree program was one of two finalists for a national entrepreneurship
education award from the U.S. Association for Small Business and
Entrepreneurship.
 GetEducated.com
recently rated UHV’s Global
Master of Business Administration one of its top 30 “Best
Buys” for the first time, while the university’s Strategic
M.B.A. made the list for the third time. The School
of Business Administration’s Global M.B.A. was second on the list, and
its Strategic M.B.A. was 11th on the list of high-quality, low-cost
online M.B.A. programs offered nationally. Charles
Bullock is the
school’s dean.
Alumni
Patti Shafer (’85, ’93) will be the first principal
of the new WoodCreek Junior High School in Katy Independent School
District.
Van G. Garrett (’06) had his first book of poetry, “Songs
in Blue Negritude,” published.
Lily Monroe (’05) was named the 2007-2008 Teacher of the
Year at Houston’s Arizona Fleming Elementary School.
Faculty
UHV presented the Enron Teaching Excellence Award to Tim
Berkey,
assistant professor in the School of Education and Human Development,
and the Research and Scholarly Activities Award to Nagarajan
Ramamoorthy, associate professor in the School of Business Administration.
Barba Patton, assistant professor in the School of Education & Human
Development, received the Distinguished Service Award.
School of Arts & Sciences Dean Jeffrey
R. Di Leo co-edited
the book “Fiction’s Present: Situating Contemporary
Narrative Innovation.” Di Leo also had an opinion piece, “Public
Intellectuals, Inc.,” posted online at Inside Higher Ed.
Staff
UHV received a gold ADDY Award from the American Advertising
Federation District for advertising creative excellence for the
university’s 2006-2007 Stepping Up to the Plate annual
report. Ernest Amador, former communications coordinator, Darin
Kazmir, former employee, and Melody Vecera, graphic designer,
worked on the report.
President Tim Hudson was selected as one
of 50 leaders from across the country to participate in the U.S.
Department of Defense 75th Joint Civilian Orientation conference.
Jaguars baseball coach Terry Puhl took a leave of absence to
coach Team Canada to an Olympic berth. Former Houston Astros
manager Phil Garner coached the team in Puhl’s absence.
Stanley Lester, a network specialist in information technology,
was named the January Employee of the Month. The February Employee
of the Month was Holly Verhasselt, School of Business Administration
coordinator of constituent relations.
Students
Graduate students Ayowale B. Ogunye and Nagarajan
Ravishankar placed seventh for their return on equity in the final week of
a semester-long Business Strategy Game simulation game. The game
involved 2,018 teams representing 162 institutions worldwide.
Patti Goehring made a presentation about a new way to use a
database to determine how well a medical facility is working
at the American Nursing Association National Database of Nursing
Quality Indicators conference.
A team of students competed against seven other universities
on the “Know Your Heritage: Hispanic College Quiz,” a
nationally televised show. Team members were Nicole
Marie Garcia,
Elizabeth Michelle Martinez, Juan
Diego Martinez and Luis Silvestre
Torres. The assistant coach and alternate was Daniel
Ochoa, director
of Letting Education Achieve Dreams. The team was coached by
Vic Padelford, director of international programs.
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