Faculty

Nominations for first Ross M. Lence Teaching Excellence Awards

Students

Year of the Rat in Cougarland

Academics

African American Studies at UH

Alumni

Do you know this alumnus?

Discovery

Research through the Arts

You Can Help

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Around CLASS and Campus

We Want To Hear From You!

To Bear Fruit for Our Race: A History of African American Physicians in Houston

The University of Houston Center for Public History and the Houston Medical Forum, have provided an important and compelling site that tells the stories of African American professionals and physicians who cared for Houstonians in the twentieth century. UH students and faculty direct or work on projects with local and regional institutions, such as the Houston Medical Forum. Various UH graduate students completed this Web site under the supervision of the CPH’s Associate Director Kathleen A. Brosnan.

Here’s an example of some of the stories you’ll see and read in the web site To Bear Fruit for Our Race: A History of African American Physicians in Houston:

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Faculty

Nominations for first Ross M. Lence Teaching Excellence Awards

Dean Antel invits all CLASS faculty, students, alumni and friends to nominate a CLASS faculty member for the 2008 Ross M. Lence Awards for Teaching Excellence.  Deadline is 5 p.m., March 26.

The award is named in memory of our former colleague and one of the University of Houston’s best teachers.  This year, three CLASS faculty members will receive the teaching awards, one each in Visual/Performing Arts; Social Sciences; and Humanities.

The category is NOT based on the nominee’s department.  Nominees must indicate the teaching category based on the kind of teaching they do.  Nominations are valid for two years for those not selected in the first year of their nomination.  Faculty nominated in the spring of 2006 may update their files, or withdraw their names from consideration by notifying Dean Antel.

Winners will receive a $3,000 award. The eligibility criteria for this year's award are:

1. The recipient must be in at least the third year of full-time faculty service in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
2. The award is for undergraduate and/or graduate teaching excellence over a period of
   years and not for one year's performance alone.
3. Previous winners, members of the selection committee, and deans are ineligible.

Anyone may nominate a CLASS faculty member for the award.  Nomination forms are available in the Dean’s office in Room 402 of Agnes Arnold Hall, the administrative offices of all departments, schools, and programs in the college and on the CLASS web site. The nomination form and supporting materials must be turned in to the Dean’s office no later than 5 p.m., March 26, 2008.

The nomination must include the following materials assembled in a 1-inch ring binder:

1. Nomination form.
2. Cover Sheet from the nominee indicating the teaching category.  This sheet must be signed by the nominee’s Chair or Director.
3. Nominee's current vita.
4. A personal essay on teaching (no more than three pages) from the nominee, along with any related supporting material (list of courses taught, course syllabi, any special projects or activities).
5. At least three but no more than five letters of recommendation from students, colleagues, alumni-- no more than two from any one group.
6. Student teaching evaluations from the last two years.

The selection committee will evaluate the teaching excellence of each nominee as demonstrated by these materials and determine the recipients of this year's award.  Its decision is final.

Ross Lence passed away in 2006, after being with the University since 1971.  During that time, he received numerous teaching awards, including the 1987 Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation award for teaching excellence in the state of Texas, and the 2002 George Magner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising at the University of Houston.

In 1988, he was named a John and Rebecca Moores Professor, and then in 2001, he was appointed to the Ross M. Lence Distinguished University Chair, made possible through the contributions of hundreds of his former students.

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Students

Year of the Rat in Cougarland

Dragon: (Head) Martial Tam, senior, Media Production and (Body) Christopher Lu.

Liang Ren (TA), Marshall McArthur (Clinical Faculty), Xiaohong Sharon Wen (Director, the Chinese Program), Xiaoping Cong (Associate Prof. History), Jing Zhang (Clinical Faculty)

Mohammed Kabir, junior, Chinese Studies, Sharon Wen

Butterfly: Joyce Jia Hu, senior, Public Relations. She is also Miss China Town in 2007.

Chinese rock: David Davila, sophomore, Chinese Studies, Mohammed Kabir

Whether you say the Mandarin Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year) or the Cantonese Gung Hay Fat Choy (May Prosperity Be With You), the message is the same. More than 70 Chinese Studies faculty and students celebrated the Year of the Rat on Feb. 8 with traditional decorations, entertainment, and food. The event also promoted the program’s study abroad trip to Beijing this summer, July 7 – Aug. 10, during the Summer Olympic Games.

The Daily Cougar photographer Mayra Cruz, a journalism and history senior, was on hand to take the photos in the viewer to the right.

Full Scholarship to China Awarded

We’ve said it before, but it’s always worth a reminder: many times the success or failure of our students depends on their financial ability to stay in school. At the beginning of the fall semester, CLASS students received about $18 million in financial assistance, whether in loans, grants, scholarships, work-study, or a combination of one or more of those categories.

One of our students received some great news in the form of scholarship from the Chinese Ministry of Education via the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China. Xiaohong Sharon Wen, the Director of Chinese Studies, tells us that the Chinese Scholarship Committee at UH selected Allan Solomon to receive a full scholarship for studies in China.

Chinese Studies also announces the creation of two, $500 undergraduate scholarships for students focusing on the languages, cultures, or histories of East Asia or South Asia. You can find more information on the Chinese Studies web page, or by calling 713-743-3007.

Fulbright-mtvU Fellowships

We’ve also been asked to pass along information about the Fulbright-mtvU Fellowships, which have extended their application deadline to March 1. Any U.S. student can apply for the fellowships to conduct research abroad for one year. The Institute of International Education awards up to four fellowships per year.

More information is available at the MtvU web site.

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Academics

African American Studies at UH

African American Studies at the University of Houston provides academic and cultural opportunities for the university and community to develop an understanding of people of African descent in America.  African American Studies, under the leadership of Dr. James Conyers, focuses on the cultural and historical heritage of Africans in America and their contributions to the world’s history and civilizations.

AAS is happy to announce that Beth Johnson, the founder of FOCUS, the Forum on Cultural Sites, and an architectural historian, will present a program on the Binga Bank and the Development of Bronzeville, March 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in AAS Room 628 in Agnes Arnold Hall.

You can learn more about African American Studies, its faculty, students, and programs by visiting the AAS web site.

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Alumni

Do you know this alumnus? He’s an artist and one of the nation’s top scholars.

Michael Ray Charles has been a lot of places since his birth in Lafayette, La., in 1967, and since receiving his MFA from the University of Houston in 1993, his paintings have been exhibited in Houston, New York City, Santa Fe, Miami, Paris, and elsewhere. He also is among seven contemporary artists and seven emerging artists whose works are on display at The Gallery at the University of Texas at Arlington through March 4.

An Associate Professor of Art at the University of Texas at Austin, Charles was among 10 scholars profiled in the January 2003 edition of Black Issues In Higher Education for doing innovative research in their field of study, reaching out to shape the next generation of scholars, or committing themselves to working with communities and students of color.

He also was in the first group of artists showcased in the 2001 PBS series Art:21, which highlighted top artists of the new century. You can watch a clip from that series (click the video player of your choice in the gray bar when you get there), and see more of his work and other clips at the Art:21 web site.

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Discovery

Research through the Arts

Here are some CLASS numbers for you.

• $20.4 million: Current research funding by CLASS faculty
• $43.3 million: Funding received by Prof. David Francis and the Texas Institute for Management, Evaluation, and Statistics since its founding in 2001
• 17 CLASS students taking part in 2007 UH Undergraduate Research Day

At UH, only the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics receives more research funding than our College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.  Pretty impressive, huh?

That’s why we were delighted that Don Birx, the Vice Chancellor/Vice President for Research, chose to highlight some of our research during a presentation to UH System Board of Regents this month. View a portion of his presentation.

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Around CLASS and Campus

Go Red! Go Coogs!

A few years back, students in Julie Fix’s Public Relations Campaign classes in the School of Communication came up with some ideas to promote the “Go Red for Women” campaign of the Houston/Gulf Coast Division of the American Heart Association. Well, the Heart Association folks used some of their ideas, specifically participation of UH students in creating a visual event on campus.

The original plan this year was to hold the kick-off news conference Jan. 31 in Robertson Stadium, with the Spirit of Houston Marching Band and other participants forming a big, red heart on the football field.  A big storm blew through, however, and forced the event to move into the Athletics/Alumni Center.

No problem, the big red heard just wasn’t as big, but the message was the same: heart disease is the number one killer of women in this country, and it’s a good idea to get your blood pressure checked and keep it monitored.

If you missed the event, attended by President Renu Khator, we’ve provided a selection of photos taken by Pathik Shah here at UH.

The Good Woman of Setzuan

The School of Theatre and Dance presents Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan Feb. 15, 16, 22, and 23 at 8:00 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m. at the Wortham Theatre.

The play tells the tale of three gods who come to earth in search of one good person. They find her in Shen Te, a prostitute with a heart of gold. In the constant conflict between morality and economics, Brecht doesn’t give us any easy answers. Support of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, helped us present Two Star Symphony performing an original composition, commissioned specifically for this production.

Kim Weild directs our production. Weild, a director, performer, and teacher is a Kennedy Center Directing Fellow. She also is the recipient of the Shubert Fellowship, the Bill Foeller Fellowship at Williamstown Theater Festival, and a Columbia University Theatre Fellowship. She has held the David Parsons Chair at LACHSA, and she is a member of The Women’s Project Directors Lab. She comes to UH directly from Broadway, where she is the Associate Director for Michael Blakemore on the world premiere of Mark Twain’s Is He Dead?.

For tickets call 713-743-2929.

Sultan Leaving Blaffer

Terrie Sultan, Director of Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, is leaving us. Terrie announced last month that, after seven years of guiding Blaffer, she will leave in April to take the directorship of the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, N.Y.

Terrie has led the Blaffer since 2000, initiating efforts to double the operating budget and staff while the museum has showcased notable exhibitions of contemporary art, including Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration in 2003, Jessica Stockholder: Kissing the Wall in 2004, James Surls: the Splendora Years in 2005, and Chantal Akerman: Moving through Time and Space, now at the gallery before touring nationally.

“Personally, my time in Houston has been extremely rewarding,” Terrie says, “and the community has been welcoming and generous.  The state of the museum is strong.  We have established a world-class exhibition and educational outreach program.  I’m confident the Blaffer will continue as a jewel in the city’s cultural community.”
 
 “During Terrie’s tenure, Blaffer Gallery has become a benchmark for what a non-collecting university art museum can achieve and contribute regionally, nationally and internationally,” says Dean Antel.  “She has made significant contributions to the University of Houston and the city at large. We wish her the best in her new post.”

The museum will form a committee, led by Dean Antel and Russell Sherrill, the Blaffer Gallery advisory board chair, to conduct a national search for Terrie’s replacement.  “We seek creative leadership to guide the museum in the ambitious plans already embraced by the advisory board and the university,” Sherrill says. “Today, Blaffer Gallery is at the best in its 35-year history, and its contributions to the arts and our community only will increase in the coming years.”

Graffit-e and CLASS now on iTunes

We learned this month from Jennifer Lazzaro, an Instructional Designer for our Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) department, that she and her team, led by IDT director Linda Davis, has added content from Grafitt-e to the UH iTunes site.

If you have the iTunes software installed, you can see what CLASS offers, thanks to IDT. Just go to the iTunes U launch page and click on the “Launch iTunes U” button. It doesn’t cost anything to download the software to your computer.

Also, on Feb. 8, IDT, Educational Technology and University Outreach (ETUO) and the instructional designers held the 2008 UH Faculty Showcase. The event showcased faculty members from across disciplines and colleges as they presented innovations and enhancements implemented in their courses.

Meet the Regents

On Feb. 5, four individuals took the oath of office to become members of the University of Houston System Board of Regents.

The Honorable Nelda Blair is the president and owner of the Blair Law Firm, PC, chair of the Board of Directors of The Woodlands Township, and past chair of the board of South Montgomery County/Woodlands Chamber of Commerce.   She also served as chair of the State Bar District 3B Grievance Committee, and is a past member of the Board of Trustees for the Center for the Performing Arts at The Woodlands.  Regent Blair frequently appears as a legal commentator for CNN, CBS News, MSNBC, Court TV, and FOXNews.  She received a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

The Honorable Jacob Monty is the managing partner for Monty Partners LLP, a labor and employment law firm.  He is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  Regent Monty was appointed by President George W. Bush to the boards of directors for North American Development Bank and the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission.  He also serves on the board of Hispanic Alliance for Progress, and is the general counsel to the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans.  He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington and received a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

The Honorable Mica Mosbacher is a civic leader and former journalist.  She is a board member of Strake Jesuit Preparatory School and American Hospital of Paris, and serves as a trustee of Houston Ballet.   Regent Mosbacher has been active in fundraising for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, the Houston Area Women’s Center, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.  She also serves on the national council of Best Friends, Best Men.   Regent Mosbacher is spearheading the effort to build a public art piece in Houston on tolerance. She attended Hollins University and the University of Texas at Austin.

The Honorable Carroll Robertson Ray is an attorney with Andrews and Kurth, LLP. Named as a Texas Rising Star in Texas Monthly magazine in 2004 and 2006, Regent Ray is a member and former officer of the Junior League of Houston, and was the first woman to serve as chair of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  She serves as secretary of the Cullen Trust for Performing Arts and as a board member of the Houston Ballet, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Neuhaus Center and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.   Regent Ray received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

The students, faculty, and staff congratulate our new regents on their appointments by Gov. Rick Perry, and we look forward to working with them.

More at CLASS

For more information about what’s going on at CLASS, please visit our News & Events page.

Make sure you visit the CLASS home page for more information about our programs, students, faculty, and staff.  Missed an issue of Graffit-e?  Catch up by visiting the online archive.

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