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The Center for Drug and Social Policy Research has been awarded
a $2.4 million grant by the National Institutes for Health to study
the long-term consequences of adolescent gang membership among
Mexican-Americans. The funds will be awarded over the next four
years. Avelardo Valdez is the principal investigator and director
of the center.
HoustonPBS received a My Source Community Impact Award from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The award recognizes the station’s
commitment to education through its Ready to Learn Family Literacy
workshops.
Carlos
Ordóñez, associate professor of physics, received
the American Physical Society 2009 John Wheatley Award, which recognizes
physicists who have contributed to the development of science in
Th ird World countries. Ordóñez recruits up-and-coming
scientists from Mexico, Peru, Cuba, Brazil and other countries,
matching them with UH’s top researchers in biology, chemistry
and physics for postdoctoral fellowships.
Alumni
Lydia Aguilera (’80), who recently received a Ph.D. from
the University of Florida in the Gainesville College of Pharmacy,
was honored with the university’s Outstanding Student Leadership
Award.
Bruce Biundo (’61) was appointed to the Texas Pharmacy
Association board of directors as the Academy of Compounding
Pharmacists representative.
Christie McWilliams, Cy-Fair High School teacher, and David
Stroup, principal investigator graduate assistant for the Supporting
Urban Science and MaTheducators grant at UH, have been selected
as 2008-2009 Phi Delta Kappa International Emerging Leaders.
Shelia Redmon-Jones (’96) was one of 37 recipients honored
as a 2008 Woman of Excellence by the Federation of Houston Professional
Women.
Alex C. Varkey (’05) was elected to the new practitioner
position on the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Pharmacy
Practice and Management’s Hospital and Institutional Practice
section.
Faculty
Geoffrey Brune and Donna
Kacmar, associate professors of architecture,
have been elevated to the American Institute of Architects College
of Fellows, one of the highest honors the organization can bestow
upon a member.
Ji Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering,
has been named a distinguished lecturer by the Electromagnetic
Compatibility Society, a division of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers. He is among two nationwide chosen
to hold the post until the end of 2010.
Sandra Guerra Thompson, Law Foundation Professor of Law and
Criminal Justice Institute director, has been selected as one
of the Hispanic Business Magazine’s 25 Elite Women for
2009.
Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, associate professor of
economics, received the European Central Bank 2008 Wim Duisenberg
Research Fellow. The honor recognizes leading economists in academia,
central banks and top research institutions who are international
experts in their field. Kalemli-Ozcan also was given the Marie
Curie Reintegration Award from the European Commission. The award
is designed to attract top-class researchers who work outside
Europe to undertake research in the continent.
Nicolás Kanellos, Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic
Literature, was recently inducted as a member of Real Academia
Hispanoamerica, the Spanish American Royal Academy for Literature,
Arts and Sciences.
Sanja Korman, lecturer in health and human performance, won
the title of the National Dance Association 2008 K-12 National
Dance Educator of the Year.
Michael Olivas, William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law
and director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance,
received Stetson University College of Law inaugural William
A. Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy
Scholarship.
Gordon L. Paul, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished
Professor of Psychology, won the 2007 Trailblazer Award from
the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy for his lifetime
achievements in schizophrenia and severe mental illness.
Howard Pollack’s most recent book, “George Gershwin:
His Life and Work,” has won a 2008 Deems Taylor Award from
the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for
outstanding book in the Pop Music category. Pollack is the John
and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music.
Tyler Priest, professor and director of Global Studies at Bauer
College of Business, received the Alice Hamilton Prize for Best
Article Outside Environmental History for 2007. The award is
one of four granted each year by the American Society for Environmental
History (ASEH) and recognizes Priest’s article “Extraction
Not Creation: The History of Off shore Petroleum in the Gulf
of Mexico” as the best article on environmental history
published in a scholarly journal other than ASEH’s Environmental
History.
Pradeep Sharma, Bill D. Cook Chair Associate
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the
2009 Thomas J.R. Hughes Young Investigator Award from the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Three optometry faculty members were presented with several
Texas Optometric Association’s awards. The college’s
dean, Dr. Earl L. Smith III, was named the state’s top
optometrist of the year. Dr. Kevin Gee, who heads up UH’s
Sports Vision Performance Center, was named the young optometrist
of the year. Dr. Marcus Gonzales was named the state’s
best educator.
Students
Geology students Tim Brown, Elysse
Greenberg, Joe Larson, Denet
Pernia and Omar Zaman were among the recipients of the first
scholarships given by the British American Foundation of Texas.
Each received a $5,000 scholarship.
Dan Neely won the Government and Nonprofi t
Section 2008 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American
Accounting Association for his dissertation, “The Effectiveness
of Governance Regulation in the Tax-Exempt Sector: Evidence from
the Nonprofi t Integrity Act of 2004.”
Music student Jessica Wei Zhu received the prestigious Marshall
Scholar Award, enabling her to pursue graduate studies at the
Guildhall School of Music in London.
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Beginning this fall, international students can
seek joint admissions to UHD and Houston Community College. The
two institutions created a partnership to help address travel and
visa regulations that international students sometimes encounter
when transferring to UHD after completing an associate degree at
HCC.
This
fall, the University of Houston-Downtown plans to offer a bachelor’s
degree in insurance and risk management that will prepare students
to pursue careers in the insurance and risk management industry.
The College of Business developed the degree program with input
from industry professionals. Don Bates is the business dean.
Alumni
Amy Buck (’89) was honored by Wells Fargo
for ranking No. 1 in profits among all 86 Wells Fargo business
development officers in the country last year. Buck, vice
president and business development officer, garnered $1.8
million in profit revenues and introduced 52 new client relationships
for the company in 2008.
Faculty
Anisul Islam, professor of economics, has won the Educator of
the Year Award from the Academy of International Business U.S.
Southwest Chapter. The selection committee chose Islam for his
professional contributions to the industry, research in the area
of U.S. international economic relations and his talent for connecting
with UHD business students.
Erin Hodgess, associate professor of mathematical
sciences, will participate in Faculty and Student Teams (FaST)
program at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. UHD
students LaToya Green and Melina Chin will join
Hodgess in the research program. They will use grid computers
and statistical software to analyze bio informatics. FaST is
a cooperative effort between the Department of Energy Office
of Science and the National Science Foundation.
Lorenza Thomas, a late UHD professor of English,
has been honored posthumously for literary achievements. The
Before Columbus Foundation honored Thomas with its 2008 American
Book Award for his book, “Don’t
Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition.”
Students
Leaders at the Paris International Model United Nations conference
recognized Eduardo Landaeta and Omar
Vargas. Landaeta and Vargas
are members of the UHD Model United Nations, a group sponsored
by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Scholars Academy members Ali Abedi, Tung
Bui, Marsida Lisi,
Audrey Gonzalez, Yvonne
Hernandez, Pantea Mohammadi and Nida
Rizvi presented research posters at the Mathematical Association
of America 2009 Joint Mathematics meetings undergraduate student
poster session in Washington, D.C. The research is a result of
their participation in the UHD Interdisciplinary Training for
Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences program.
Academy members Tia Pilaroscia and Lauren
Bernelle also attended.
Vicky Estrera, lecturer in biology, is director of the UHD Scholars
Academy
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Distinguished
alumna and emeritus associate professor of learning resources Pat
Potter Wilson and her husband, Wendell, received the President’s
Cabinet Philanthropy Award for their continuous support of UHCL,
including the establishment of the Dr. Patricia Potter Wilson School
of Education Outstanding Students Scholarship Endowment.
UHCL is one of only 119 schools recognized by
the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. UHCL received
the prestigious Community Engagement Classification for building
partnerships within the community and for offering academic programs
that involve students and faculty in community issues.
The Office of International Initiatives presented its Jerry Rhodeback
International Education Awards to Maria Curtis, assistant professor
of anthropology and cross-cultural studies, Joseph
Giarratano,
associate professor of computer science and computer information
systems, Ingeborg Hayes, international and cultural program director,
and Michele Kahn, assistant professor of multicultural education.
UHCL and NASA Johnson Space
Center signed an agreement to provide
new opportunities for collaborative events, programs and activities
that build awareness of space exploration, the value of creativity
in arts and science and career opportunities.
The Celebrating Our Elders scholarship program received a $25,000
grant from the Greater Texas Foundation.
UHCL signed an agreement
with Vietnam National University- Ho Chi Minh City/Center for International
Education to develop an online bachelor’s program for students
in Vietnam.
Richard
Puzdrowski, associate professor of biology, environmental sciences
and biotechnology, received the UHCL Alumni Association 2008 Outstanding
Professor Award. Puzdrowski has had 11 publications in peer-reviewed
journals and served as research adviser for 36 independent study
projects. He designed the university’s prehealth/physiology
specialization for the Bachelor of Science in biology, the prehealth
specialization for the Master of Science in biology and the Biology
Scholars program.
Alumni
The alumni association presented its 2008 Distinguished Alumni
Awards to the late Russell P. Austin (’80), Dilhar
De Silva (’91), Preston
Johnson Jr. (’83), Michael
L. Landolt (’85) and Katherine
K. Reeves (’98).
Sandra Mossman (’87, ’03) has been recognized by
Clear Creek Independent School District with the naming of an
elementary school in her honor.
Jeffrey Murrah (’81, ’84) received the 2007 Presidio
La Bahia Award from the Sons of the Republic of Texas for the
best published book on early Texas history for his second book, “Texans
Always Move Them: A True History of Texas.”
Joyce Delores Taylor (’04, ’06, ’08) was appointed
by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Workforce Investment Council.
Taylor is a human resource specialist with the city of Houston
E.B. Cape Center Corporate University.
Vicki Thomas (’83) was named superintendent of the Fayetteville
School District in Arkansas.
Charles Wiley (’83) has been named the
city of Galveston chief of police.
Faculty
James Dabney, associate professor of systems engineering, received
a $5,000 award from the National Science Foundation for his proposal “Student
Travel Grant Program for the 2008 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control
Conference.”
The Center for Autism and Developmental
Disabilities, headed
by professor of psychology Dorothea Lerman, received a $10,000
grant from the George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation
and a $16,388 grant from the Simmons Foundation.
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Carl
A. Stockton was selected to receive a Southern District
Honor Award from the Southern District Association of the American
Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Paul Wagner, professor of philosophy and educational foundations,
served as chair of the planning committee for Houston’s
Economics Day conference.
Brenda Weiser, lecturer in curriculum
and instruction, received the Texas Association for Environmental
Education Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award.
Students
Graduate student Ace Filipp and undergraduate Candace
Harrison received the Dr. Patricia Potter Wilson School of Education Outstanding
Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarships. A team of students won
the National Association of Health Service Executives’ annual
Everett V. Fox Student Case Competition. Student team members
Zachary C. Budd, C. Nicole
Lansing and Alistair Samba Machoka were recognized for their analytical and presentation skills.
Graduate student Brandon Wheeler and alumnus Afshana
Haque (’07)
were selected to receive Student Achievement Awards by the Texas
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
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Farhang
Niroomand was named the dean of the UHV School of Business Administration,
eff ective July 1. He is a professor at the University of Southern
Mississippi. Niroomand previously was associate dean and graduate
program director for the University of Southern Mississippi’s
internationally accredited College of Business and chairman of the
college’s department of economics and international business.
Alumni
Mitzi McAfee (’80, ’91) is serving as president
of the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association.
She also is the principal of Jackson-Roosevelt Elementary School
in Port Lavaca.
Katrina “Kat” Jaso Alvarado (’96)
was named Mrs. Fort Bend County 2009. She is chairman of the
UHV President’s Regional Advisory Board.
The School of Nursing received two grants from diff erent foundations.
The M.G. and Lillie A. Johnson Foundation in Victoria gave $205,000
to fund scholarships and purchase state-of-the-art training equipment.
The Fred and Mabel R. Parks Foundation of Sugar Land awarded
the school $10,000 to help students study with the best lab equipment
available.
The Princeton Review rated the School of
Business Administration as an outstanding business school for the third year in a row.
The school is listed in the 2009 edition of “Best 296 Business
Schools” as being one of the greatest opportunities for
minority students and the most family friendly.
UHV received two grants to support the American Book Review,
an international literary publication housed at the university
that champions works published by small presses. The National
Endowment for the Arts gave the university $10,000 to support
2009 operations of the publication and the reading series the
publication staff organizes. The Texas Commission on the Arts
awarded a $1,594 grant to UHV to fund the 2008- 2009 UHV/ABR
Reading Series and related outreach activities.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized
UHV as a 2007-2008 Champions of Character Institution for actively
instilling high standards of virtue in its student-athletes.
Faculty
Mel Damodaran, a professor of math and computer science, traveled
to Linz, Austria, to present a paper at the International Conference
on Information Integration and Web-Based Application Services.
Damodaran co-wrote the paper with computer information systems
graduate student Adam Noureddine.
Harold L. Smith, professor of history and humanities, wrote
the chapter “British Feminism in the Second World War” for
the book “Gender, Labour, War and Empire: Essays on Modern
Britain.”
An article co-authored by marketing instructor Tanawat
Hirunyawipada was published in the
Journal of Marketing, the official scholarly publication of
the American Marketing Association. The article is titled “Cross-Functional
Integration and New Product Success: An Empirical Investigation
of the Findings.”
Staff
At the annual Employee Recognition Luncheon, network specialist
Stanley Lester was named UHV’s 2008 Employee of the Year.
Chief of staff Margaret Rice was recognized for her tireless
work toward the eff ort to expand UHV to a four-year university.
UHV earned 10 prestigious ADDY awards for advertising
creative excellence from the American Advertising Federation-
Victoria ADDY. Members of the UHV marketing team who worked on
the projects are director John Ellis, creative
services manager Steven
Nickel,
communications manager Paula Cobler, graphic
designer Melody
Vecera, communications specialist Thomas
Doyle, administrative
secretary Jeanelle Gillit and student employee Ashley
Falco.
Yvonne Garcia, admissions analyst in Admissions and Records,
Matthew Hindmarch, lab technician for the School of Arts & Sciences,
Lynn Silkey, senior administrative secretary in Student Services,
Tracey Fox, senior student recruitment coordinator in the School
of Arts & Sciences, and Loraine Scattergood, administrative
secretary in the School of Arts & Sciences, were selected
as employees of the month for September, October, November, December
and January, respectively.
Students
Outstanding undergraduate students for the fall were Marcus
Taylor, School of Arts & Sciences, Hong
Du, School of Business
Administration, Nikki Garcia and Sara
Madrazo, School of Education & Human
Development and Patti Goehring and William
Johnson, School of
Nursing. Outstanding graduate students were Siddiqua
Hussain,
School of Arts & Sciences, Nagarajan
Ravishankar, School
of Business Administration and Kisha Smith, School of Education & Human
Development.
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) recognized
six members of the 2007-2008 softball team for their excellence
in the classroom. Kristen Lindley, Lindsey
Ferguson, Ashley Falco,
Brittany Faas, Whitney
Damborsky and Samantha Campagna were named
NFCA All-American Scholar-Athletes for achieving a 3.5 grade-point
average or better for the school year.
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