UH System Success Stories APRIL 2009 


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 OrdóñezCarlos 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.

 

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.

Don BatesThis 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

 

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 PuzdrowskiRichard 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.

 


Farhang NiroomandFarhang 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.