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UH System Regent Nelda Blair and UH President and UH System Chancellor
Renu Khator were recognized by the Greater Houston Women’s
Chamber of Commerce for their contributions to education and community
service. The chamber presented Khator with the Education Excellence
Award. Blair received Citizen of the Year honors.
The Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH will receive a $3.5
million Research Superiority Award from the Texas Emerging Technology
Fund over a five-year period to help establish the center’s
Applied Research Hub, and recruit stellar scientists and researchers
in superconductivity and related materials.
UH Wellness received the 2009 National Exemplary Award for Innovative
Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices and Policies from
the National Association of State and Drug Abuse Directors. The
award recognizes UH’s Intent and Motivation: Alcohol Group
Exercise program.
 Blaffer
Gallery received a Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for its Young Artist Apprenticeship
Program (YAPP). YAPP is a six-week, comprehensive art-making workshop
for teenagers from neighboring Houston Independent School District
high schools. In a ceremony at the White House, First Lady Michelle
Obama presented a plaque to Blaffer curator of education Katherine
Veneman (left) and former YAAP participant Jessica
Flores. The
gallery also received $10,000 to support the program.
Alumni
Nizar Aouni (’09) received a Humboldt Research Fellowship
for mechanical engineering to conduct research at the Leibniz
University Institute of Continuum Mechanics in Hanover, Germany.
Cristina Rivera-Garza (’95), professor of creative writing
at the University of California, San Diego, is the recipient
of the Sor Juan Inés de la Cruz (Sister Juan Inés
de la Cruz) National Book Award for her novel “La muerte
me da” (“Death Gives Me”). This is the second
time she has received the prize, which is given to Mexico’s
woman writer of the year.
Faculty
Paul Ching-Wu Chu, executive director of the Texas Center for
Superconductivity at UH, T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science and professor
of physics, received a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Air Force
Office of Scientific Research for his ongoing efforts to search
for novel materials that become superconducting at higher temperatures.
Vincent Donnelly and Demetre
Economou, professors of chemical
and biomolecular engineering, received $1 million as part of
the five-year, $10 million Department of Energy grant to support
the Center on Plasma Science, led by researchers at the University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Economou and Donnelly will join scientists
from universities and national laboratories across the country
to research the science behind plasmas to make them more efficient.
Marie-Theresa Hernández, professor of world cultures
and literatures, has been named the first participant in the
UH Presidential Fellows Program. The 12-month program aims to
groom diverse faculty for leadership opportunities in higher
education.
Richard Olenchak, education professor, received the Texas Association
for the Gifted and Talented 2009 Legacy Book Award for co-authoring “Social-Emotional
Curriculum with Gifted and Talented Students.”
Carlos Ordonez, associate professor of physics, has been elected
a fellow of the American Physical Society for contributions to
the effective chiral langrangian theory of the nucleon-nucleon
interaction and to conformal quantum mechanics and its applications,
and for extensive efforts toward developing science in Latin
America.
Antonya Nelson, Cullen Chair in UH’s Creative Writing
Program, is a recipient of the United States Artists (USA) annual
fellowship. Each year, USA provides 50 artists with fellowships
of $50,000.
Venkat Selvamanickam, M.D. Anderson Professor
of Mechanical Engineering, received a 2009 Wire & Cable Technology
International Technical Achievement Award for contributions to
the development and commercialization of second-generation, high-temperature
superconducting wire.
Staff
Dean Ruck, a senior project manager in Facilities Planning and
Construction, was honored with the 2009 Artist of the Year Award
by Houston magazine.
Students
Numerous creative writing students have received recognition.
Samuel Amadon won the Iowa Poetry Prize for his manuscript “Like
a Sea.” Eric Ekstrand won a 2009 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship
awarded by the Poetry Foundation. Farnoosh
Fathi received a U.S.
Student Fulbright Fellowship in creative writing in Brazil to
complete a book of poems. Matthew Siegel received Stanford University’s
Wallace Stegner Fellowship.
Stephanie Chan was the recipient of a 2009 Piano Division Award
at the Eastern Music Festival.
Lana Flores won first place for her display ad designed for
UH Dining Services in the Associated Collegiate Press 2009 Advertising
Award competition. The ad was published in the spring 2009 edition
of The Daily Cougar’s Green Guide special section.
Rob Jackson and Tesha
Robaszkiewicz took top honors in the 2009
Hippard Open Mock Trial competition.
Marcus Maroney placed first prize in the inaugural College Orchestra
Director’s Association Composition competition.
Geraldine Ong placed first in the Young Artist Piano division
of the Texas Music Teacher’s National Association competition.
Clayton Roberts won second prize in the Young
Professionals Division of the Albert Schweitzer National Organ
Playing competition.
UH’s student chapter of AITP (Association
of IT Professionals) received numerous honors at the organization’s
regional student conference. First-place awards were given to
Chris McGuire and David
Norelid for systems analysis and design;
William Zolandz for PC troubleshooting. McGuire also placed first
for Microsoft Office Solutions. Second-place awards were presented
to Monica Haaksma for systems analysis and design; Ronny
Brehm for PC troubleshooting; and to the team of Norelid and Alan
Walters for database design.
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The
Insurance and Risk Management Center received a $20,000 award from
the Houston Chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society
to help fund course materials and textbooks.
The U.S. Department of Education has granted $288,000 to the university
to expand its Master of Arts in Teaching program.
 The
book “West Indian Slavery and British Abolition, 1783-1807” written
by David Ryden, associate professor of history, was selected by
the Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries as one of its
outstanding academic titles for 2009.
Alumni
Alumna Tonya Chissell-Williams (’09) and junior Eduardo
Sanchez, political science student, were selected to be 2010
Mickey Leland congressional interns by UH’s Center for
Public Policy.
Ed Gonzalez (’00) was appointed by Houston City Council
to serve as the next vice mayor pro tem.
Faculty
Carrie Allen, instructor of music, was selected to present her
research paper, “I Got That Something That Makes Me Want
to Shout: James Brown’s Return to Sacred Song and Religious
Community,” at the annual meeting of the Society of American
Music in Ottawa, Canada.
Ronald Beebe, assistant professor of education, received the
2010 Claudia A. Balach Teacher Research Award from the Professional
Development School Research Special Interest Group of the American
Educational Research Association. Beebe was recognized for the
study “Professional Development School and University Faculty
Collaborative Classroom-based Teacher Research.”
Jean DeWitt, associate professor of communication studies, has
been selected by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary Education to serve as a primary
reviewer for its Innovate Strategies in Community Colleges for
Working Adults and Displaced Workers grant application.
Azar Rejaie’s article “Recognizing Vasari’s
Legacy on the Study of Self-Portraiture” appeared in “Word
and Image.” Rejaie is assistant professor of art history.
The artwork of Beth Secor, adjunct professor of art, was featured
in the 84th edition of New American Painting Juried Exhibitions-in-Print.
Assistant professor of communication studies Thomas
Workman has been appointed as a fellow of the U.S. Department of Education
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and
Violence Prevention.
Staff
Po-Chu Leung, director of testing services, received the Cathy
Erwin Humanitarian Award from the Texas Education Agency for
outstanding work in administering general educational development
tests to thousands of local residents each year.
Michele J. Sabino, special assistant to the president for strategic
partnerships, was appointed to the city of Houston board of directors
of reinvestment zone number three.
Students
Haydee Balderas and Kari
Bustos were awarded second place for
their research project, “Transportation-Caused Air Pollution
in Mexico City: A Drastic Public Policy Plan,” at the Association
for Computer Educators in Texas 2009 conference.
Cadets in Class Numbers 241 and 242 of UHD’s Criminal
Justice Training Center had 100 percent pass rate on their first
attempt of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards
and Education certification exam.
Abdul Jangda received a Superior Medal Place Award for his research
on metal ions and conducting polymers at the Sigma Xi Annual
Meeting & International Research conference. Mian
Jiang,
assistant professor of chemistry, is Jangda’s research
mentor. Scholars Academy members Nameera
Baig, Melissa Chan,
Preeti Choudhary, Abdul
Jangda, Jarrett Kitchen, Julio
LaTorre,
Mustafa Mehmood, Christine
Varghese and Desiree Wilson presented
research posters at the conference and received certificates
of recognition. Sigma Xi is the international, multidisciplinary
honor society of research scientists and engineers.
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UHCL was named sole recipient of the 2009 Christa McAuliffe Award
for Excellence in Teacher Education by the American Association
of State Colleges and Universities.
 Dorothea
Lerman, professor of psychology and director of the Center for
Autism and Developmental Disabilities, has been selected to serve
as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied
Behavior Analysis for a three-year appointment.
Alumni
Jill Hickman (’95) was elected to serve as the 2009-2010
president of the Institute of Management Consultants, Houston
chapter.
Quinn Letan (’00) was named Elementary Principal of the
Year by Nobel Learning Communities Inc.
Sarah Mangione (’08) received the New Teacher of the Year
Award at the Santa Fe Independent School District’s R.J.
Wollam Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten.
Charles McClelland (’00, ’05) was named interim
chief of the Houston Police Department.
Faculty
Kim Case, assistant professor of women’s studies and psychology,
received the 2009 Michele Alexander Early Career Award for Scholarship
and Service from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social
Issues.
Daniel Silvermintz, assistant professor of humanities, received
the Jerry G. Gaff Faculty Award from the Association for General
and Liberal Studies for his demonstrated leadership, teaching
and achievement in general and liberal education.
Mary Stafford, associate professor of psychology, was presented
with the 2009 Award for Distinguished Services from the International
School Psychology Association for her dedicated service to the
association and the profession.
Brenda Weiser, associate professor of science education, received
the Jeske Award from the North American Association for Environmental
Education for her outstanding service to the association and
leadership within the profession.
Staff
Yvette Bendeck, associate vice president for enrollment management,
received a $147,600 award from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board for the College Access Challenge Grant (College Connection
2+2+2) program.
Linda Bullock, assistant dean of student diversity, was given
the Mid-level Student Affairs Professional Award from the Texas
Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators
(TACUSPA) in recognition of her significant contributions to
the profession and to TACUSPA.
Neeta Jambhekar, reference and instruction librarian, presented “The
Library Liaison Program at Neumann Library, University of Houston-Clear
Lake” at the International Conference on Academic Libraries
in New Delhi, India.
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The School of Business Administration was named a No. 1 Greatest
Opportunity for Minority Students by The Princeton Review.
The School of Nursing received a $100,000 grant from the M.G. & Lillie
A. Johnson Foundation for student scholarships.
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association recognized the Jaguars
softball team as a 2008-2009 All-Academic Team for success in the
classroom. The team’s 3.28 grade-point average was the 15th
highest among participating teams in the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics.
UHV was recognized for the second time by the National Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics as a Champions of Charter Institution
for actively instilling high standards and virtues in its student-athletes.
 The
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education fully accredited the
School of Nursing’s undergraduate and graduate programs for
the next five years. This was the school’s first attempt
at national accreditation and less than two years after the state
gave approval for the school’s creation. The school is led
by founding dean Kathryn Tart.
Alumni
Victoria realtor LuAnn O’Connor (’84) received the
Distinguished Alumni Award, and Anjabeen
Ashraf (’09) received
the Student Leadership Award from the university.
Josie Rivera (’83, ’85, ’95), senior program
development coordinator for UHV’s Letting Education Achieve
Dreams initiative, and President Tim Hudson were honored by the
Greater Victoria Civic Coalition for their work inspiring school
children to continue their education.
Faculty
Thomas Cox, assistant professor in the School of Education & Human
Development, was elected as the secretary/treasurer of the American
Association of Adult and Continuing Education Commission on Professors
of Adult Education. Cox also is the school’s adult and
higher education program coordinator.
Linda Dune, assistant professor of nursing, lectured to nurse
practitioners at Texas Tech University about Tui Na, an ancient
Chinese massage technique.
Mary Mayorga, a counseling faculty member in the School of Education & Human
Development, was selected to be on the Texas Counseling Association
Counselor Wellness Committee to develop a wellness program for
counselors across the state.
Siva Somasundaram, associate professor of biology, was awarded
a $25,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to continue research
on how a chemical found in citrus fruit can slow down cancer
growth.
Staff
Wayne Beran, vice president for administration and finance,
was named president of the Victoria Adult Literacy Council.
Communications manager Paula Cobler received an Award of Excellence
in the Colorado State University Alumni Media Festival for her
article “The Nursing Shortage: Local school trains Sugar
Land nurses” published in the Sugar Land Magazine.
Suzanne LaBrecque, provost and vice president for academic affairs,
was elected treasurer of the Texas Chief Academic Officers.
John Meade, senior maintenance technician in facilities; Eunice
Mesa, career services coordinator; and Steven
Nickel, creative
services manager; were selected as the Employee of the Month
for September, October and November, respectively.
Students
Outstanding undergraduates for the fall were Elizabeth
Garcia, School of Education & Human Development; Catherine
Hopping, School of Business Administration; Ronald
Petrusek,
School of Arts & Sciences; and Kristin
Peterson-Senf, School
of Nursing. Outstanding graduate students were Asif
Kaba, School
of Business Administration; Vaishali Kumar, School of Arts & Sciences;
Kabrina Johnson, School of Education & Human Development;
and Lance Neill, School of Nursing.
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