Success Ain’t Misbehavin’for UHD’s First Musical

New HorizonsWINTER 2009

U N I V E R S I T Y O F H O U S T O N - D O W N T O W N

See article, Page 2

UHD’s first musical production, “Ain’t Misbehavin’,”was a hit with audiences, and director Tony Gloverwas at home after the show’s last performance whena cast member called.

“(The caller) said, ‘Mr. Glover, I just wanted to thankyou for believing in me when I didn’t believe inmyself’….Things like that make you go ‘Wow!’”Glover said.

Glover understands the sentiment as a student and asa teacher. A few years ago, he was a UHD student onthe same stage before a theater scholarship took himto New York. He has since performed at the Alley The-ater, Theater Under the Stars, Houston Grand Operaand the Ensemble Theater. “I think I’ve been onevery stage in Houston,” Glover said.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” had a successful two-week runat the O’Kane Theatre. The classic musical featuresthe songs of American jazz pianist and composer,Thomas "Fats" Waller, including "HoneysuckleRose," "The Joint is Jumpin'" and "Ain't Misbe-havin'". Ticket sales benefited the University'sendowed drama scholarship fund.

“It was so much fun. I was so honored to be asked tocome back. It’s where I got my start,” Glover said.

Thomas J. Lyttle, drama professor and theater direc-tor, said he has waited more than 30 years to stage amusical at UHD. He held auditions for a musicalsome years ago and seven students showed up - onlyone of whom could really act, sing and dance, TonyGlover. The low turnout combined with the cast'smusical ability required a quick program change,and the group staged the non-musical "Waiting forGodot" instead.

However, UHD's student body has changed andgrown. "UHD has reached the size (nearly 13,000students) that we can draw multi-talented students,and this show demonstrated their outstanding abili-ties," Lyttle said. Nearly 100 students turned out this

time to audition for the musical and the theater'sone-act plays.

"What I really love is that the cast is non-traditionalbecause UHD and the UHD theater are non-tradi-tional,” Glover said. The musical is typically castwith African Americans. UHD is diverse, and it is edu-cational theater. “It was wonderful. A variety of peo-ple came in and auditioned, got cast and they did theshow well,” Glover said. “We created a show whereeveryone in the cast is a star."

The cast had some challenges. The show really is aperiod musical with only 10 to 12 spoken lines. Castmembers had to do some research. The ensemblecast of eight included UHD students Lindsey Ball,Josh Jackson, Emil G. Niz, Martina Sandoval-Murphy,Michael Schultz and Samantha West. UHD studentsOrnella Ashcraft and Ashley White played clubpatrons. Phillip Hall was the musical director.

“One of the first things I told them (the cast) wasthat ‘can’t’ couldn’t be in their vocabulary,” Gloversaid. “They were very teachable. Joshua Jackson is anamazing talent. He’d never done a show before in hislife. He’s a football player from Bellville who knockedthe socks off of everybody.”

Lyttle said the production showed the cast membersat their best. “They realized how hard it is to be inthe entertainment business,” he said. The studentswere still taking classes and had papers and projectsdue. Some had jobs and family obligations as well aseight performances a week. “I think some of themwere burning the candle at three ends. They handledit amazingly well,” Lyttle said.

Glover said he talked with Lyttle a year ago aboutdirecting and the value of having someone from out-side the university with experience in the entertain-ment industry provide the students with insights intoperforming.

“My whole idea was to make sure they were preparedand had some idea what it islike in the real world,” Gloversaid. He enjoyed the opportu-nity to direct at UHD and workwith the students.

“It’s a challenge and a gift. Itreasure every opportunitybecause people did it for me,”he said.

FEATURES

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New Horizons is published quarterly by the Universityof Houston-Downtown. UHD’s Division of Public Affairs, headedby Executive Director Sue Davis, would like to hear from readerswith comments, suggestions and story ideas. Send addresschanges to New Horizons, Public Affairs, One Main Street,Suite 990S, Houston, TX 77002. Call 713-221-8010 for moreinformation or e-mail Randy Cypret at cypretr@uhd.edu. © 2009 University of Houston-Downtown

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Randy CypretCreative Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe WynneGraphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meghan SellersContributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Becky Van Meter, Patti Muck, Celeste Zamora

4 Veterans Services Coordinator,veterans organization help vetssucceed

6 Safe Zone provides support tohidden community

7 NSF grant helps UHD train futurehigh school science teachers

9 Elementary students reach newheights with Urban Educationpartnership

12 Grant funds study of why womenleave science, technology,engineering and math careers

13 Testing director receives stateaward for commitment tostudents, UHD

15 Alumni Notes

UHD staged its first musical ever during fall semester2009. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a classic musical and fea-tures the songs of American jazz pianist and composer,Thomas "Fats" Waller. The eight-member cast included,back row from left, Lindsey Ball, Emil G. Niz, MichaelSchultz and Ornella Ashcraft. Front row, from left, Ash-ley White, Martina Sandoval-Murphy, Samantha West,and Josh Jackson. Tony Glover was director. Phillip Hallwas the musical director.

ABOUT THE COVER UHD Cast Creates First Musical Success; Former Student Directs ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’

Director and former UHDstudent Tony Gloverdemonstrates a dance moveto women cast membersduring a rehearsal. Gloverwas adept at showing castmembers, male and female,the moves and expressions toget maximum effect on stage.

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UHDPresident Bill Flores hasbeen named to the

national Hispanic Business 100 Influ-entials 2009 list.

“I am honored to be selected as part ofthis very impressive group and for therecognition that it brings to the Univer-sity of Houston-Downtown,” Flores said.“We are working to make this Univer-sity the best place for Hispanics and allHoustonians.”

Flores is one of eight individuals hon-ored in the magazine’s education sec-tor. Others honored in this year’s listinginclude Supreme Court Justice SoniaSotomayor, Anchor of CBS’s “The EarlyShow” Maggie Rodriguez, St. Louis Car-dinals 1st Baseman Albert Pujols andPresident and CEO of the HispanicScholarship Fund Frank Alvarez.

Honorees are selected from various pro-fessional areas. To view this year’s hon-orees, point your Internet browser tohttp://www.hispanicbusiness.com/rank-ings/. To see the honorees in education,go to http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/top100influentials/?cat=Education.

When recommending Dr. Flores asUHD’s president, UH Chancellor RenuKhator said, “We are very fortunate tohave found a leader of Dr. Flores’ cal-iber who is an excellent fit with thevision and mission of UHD. He has adepth of experience in every category ofspecific interest for us.”

Prior to joining UHD, Dr. Flores servedas Deputy Secretary for the New MexicoHigher Education Department. He wasappointed to the post by New MexicoGovernor Bill Richardson in May of2007. He became Interim Cabinet Sec-retary there in April 2009. Gov. Richard-son has described Dr. Flores as “one ofthe great educators not just in NewMexico but around the country.”

From 2001 to 2007, Dr. Flores served asExecutive Vice President and Provost ofNew Mexico State University. In 2003,he served as Interim President for one

UHD’s President Named to Hispanic

Business Magazine's Top100 Influentials List

year. During Dr. Flores’ tenure asprovost, the university increased studentenrollment; expanded distance educa-tion programs, including onlinedegrees; opened a center in Albu-querque; and dramatically increasedfundraising. He served as Dean of theCollege of Social and Behavioral Sci-ences at Cal State Northridge and, ear-lier, as associate dean of the School ofSocial Sciences at Fresno State. Dr. Flo-res taught at Cal State Fresno, SantaClara University and Stanford Universitywhere he also served as Associate Direc-tor of the Inter-University Program forLatino Research. He has extensive serv-ice in community-based agencies,including as Executive Director of theGardner Community Health Center inSan Jose. He has conducted researchprojects in voting rights, community

empowerment, higher education policyand violence prevention. He co-editedthe book, Latino Cultural Citizenship.

Born in San Diego, Dr. Flores attendedthe University of California in Los Ange-les where he graduated with a Bachelorof Arts in Political Science in 1970. Hereceived his Master of Arts in Political

Science fromStanford Uni-versity in 1971and his Ph.D. in1987 also fromStanford Uni-versity in SocialTheory andPublic Policy,with a focus inorganizationalbehavior andhealth care

policy. He has been a Ford Foundationfellow, a Compton-Danforth fellow anda Rockefeller senior fellow in theHumanities.

Dr. Flores may be contacted at UHD at 713-221-8001 or emailed at presi-dent@uhd.edu.

UHD has increased itspresence on social net-working sites includingLinkedIn and haslaunched an official Face-book page which can beaccessed at www.face-book.com/uhdowntown.

Odds are you have someknowledge of Facebookor similar web-basedsites. Facebook enablesindividuals, groups, organ-izations, businesses anduniversities to create net-works of contacts to shareinformation. Facebookhas its origins at a univer-sity and takes its name from the slang term students used to describe thedirectory with photos, the “facebook,” students received to help them iden-tify their classmates.

The idea of interactive communication or social networking has becomeextremely popular. Originally limited to students at one college, Facebookhas expanded to allow anyone over the age of 13 who observes the site’srules of conduct. During its growth, it has been banned in some countries,and it has been the subject of privacy and intellectual property lawsuits.Nonetheless, Facebook now has more than 300 million users throughoutthe world.

“Our president, Dr. Bill Flores, is on the forefront of using socialmedia for educational communication,” said Sue Davis, executivedirector of UHD Public Affairs. “He is extremely tech savvy, and hesees social media playing an important role in UHD’s future. Weencourage everyone with an interest in the University community to visit UHD’s Facebook page and become fans.”

Dr. Flores maintains a presence on the social media sites at the following web addresses:

'View from the Bayou' Blogpost: http://uhdprez.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://profile.to/williamvflores/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wlliamvflores

Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamvflores

The University also has a presence on LinkedIn, a site devoted to creating and expanding business contacts or connections. The site isespecially helpful for people researching companies, seeking employ-ment or employees or creating a group of connections with similarbackgrounds or interests. UHD’s Career Services Office and alumnihave created groups. Register as an individual at www.linkedin.comand search on UHD for connections.

The UHD Public Affairs Office is committed to delivering the univer-sity’s messages regarding the quality, educational opportunities avail-able at UHD and the outstanding accomplishments of our students,alumni, faculty and staff. The Public Affairs Office will use all theavailable tools to effectively communicate the University’s messages.Social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are importantmeans of reaching out to the community.

UHD Invites Facebook Friends, LinkedIn Connections

UHD Freshman Josh Brown felt out ofplace when he returned to the classroomlast fall for the first time in years. Tradingthe Iraqi desert and its 130-degree warzone for an air-conditioned classroom wasdisorienting to the 25-year-old U.S. Armyveteran. Adding to his anxiety was hisfailed attempt at college earlier in his life.

“I was intimidated in the beginning,”Brown said. “I knew absolutely nobody.”

Veterans Services

The first thing he looked for on campuswas a veterans office, and people pointedhim to Mike Records, UHD’s first Coordi-nator of Veterans Services. Opened in theRegistrar’s office at the beginning of thefall 2009 semester, Veterans Services isUHD’s headquarters for some 300 studentmilitary veterans eligible to receive GIbenefits.

“Having the office here on campus isgreat,” Brown said. “Mike and I got my GIBill paperwork started, and everything wasexplained.” Before he knew it, Brown hadjoined the SVO – Student Veterans Organi-zation – and become an officer in the 30-member group.

Records, himself a summer 2009 UHDcriminal justice graduate, is the first tohold the newly created position and feelslucky that it fell in his lap at the righttime in his life. The Army Ranger veteranknows how tough it can be to navigate thevarious GI bills and receive the benefitsdue following service in the U.S. military.Last year when he was a senior, he startedthe SVO. Today he’s a UHD staff adviser forthe group.

“I was older and had a hard time findingcommon ground when I first came backfrom Iraq,” Records said. He had to figure

things out for himself when he was a stu-dent, and he recognized the need to havesome kind of hub where veterans couldfind answers.

“I try to steer them to the right place,”Records said. “From my experience, themajority of vets have a disability of somesort, most of them unseen.” While his

office doesnot deter-mine eligibil-ity for GIbenefits,Recordsknows whatit takes tofind out andthen submitall the rightpaperwork atthe rightdeadlines. Herefers studentvets who needhelp withthings likemedical eval-uations andeligibility

issues to Veterans Affairs or agencies thatoffer help and support.

“I let them know I went to Iraq andreceive compensation for my injuries fromthe VA,” Records said. “I know and havean idea of what they’re going through.Some go to school full time but manyhave family and kids. I try to make themaware of everything they’re not only eligi-ble for but also deserve.”

G.I Bill

Since the August passage of the Post 9/11GI Bill, more veterans can afford to pursuehigher education after leaving the mili-tary. The bill provides money to pursueundergraduate degrees and vocationaland technical training, and unlike previ-ous benefits, it provides living expensesregardless of the hours pursued, Recordssaid. With the depressed economy, thenew bill makes a college degree evenmore attractive to returning veterans.

Already the new bill has spurred a lengthywaiting list as anxious veterans wait forgovernment checks that have yet toarrive. One UHD student veteran was pre-vented from registering for the spring2010 semester because of overdue govern-ment funds, Records said.

“It’s still backlogged,” he said. “Studentsare still expecting money from the govern-ment and the university is still expectingmoney from the government.” He said

Student Accounting has been helpful intrying to work out individual paymentissues.

Emergency Checks

December 2009 UHD sociology graduateand U.S. Army veteran Sandy Reyes, alsoan SVO officer, said he first heard of thegovernment’s issuance of emergencychecks to stem the backlog through a UHDe-mail from Records. It was full of up-to-date and accurate information and calmedthe financial fears he and other UHD vetswere feeling. “Mike is very active in help-ing us out and letting us know what’sgoing on. It’s really critical to have himhere and know that he is a veteran andknows the system. He’s holding the sameleadership capacity as he did in the mili-tary, but now he’s out of uniform. He’slooking out for the rest of us.”

Veteran enrollment is expected to continueto increase each semester as awareness ofthe revised education benefits grows.

Registrar Cynthia Santos saw the need forUHD to have someone dedicated to studentveterans full time and proposed the coordi-nator position after news of the new GI Billfiltered out earlier this year. Recordsalready worked for her office in a studentcapacity, but she knew he had career goalsin the criminal justice field. “I didn’t imagine he would stay in highereducation,” she said. “To me, all the stars aligned.”

Records considers the coordinator’s post aservice-related job and loves the diversity ofhis duties and his ability to move fellowveterans in the right direction. VeteransServices recently organized a Veterans Dayluncheon with speakers from the Texas Vet-erans Land Board and the Houston Officeof Veterans Affairs. He plans to bring moreveterans organizations to campus next

semester, and he and Santos ultimatelywould like to establish a veterans loungearea.

“From my own experience, I had a hardtime going into crowded spaces when Icame back,” Records said. His reconnais-sance/surveillance unit was attacked inIraq, and Records’ back was broken forthe second time. He suffered shrapnelwounds, nerve damage and traumaticbrain injury (TBI) – injuries that con-tinue to bother him. “You just deal withit,” he said.

Disabilities

Records made the transition from battle-field to classroom successfully, and nowhis goal is to be there for other vets facingthe same challenges. His efforts alreadyare paying off. Membership in the SVOcontinues to build as the student groupsponsors academic mentorship programs,veteran support funds and flexible meet-ings that cater to students from a wide range of backgrounds, ages and life situations.

For students like Brown, Veterans Servicesand the SVO provide a solid backup teamto a new goal – earning a college degree.Brown now embraces the classroom andthe learning. He’s glad of his militaryexperience, but his job now is less haz-ardous and more rewarding. “You don’thave to worry about a mortar or aboutanything other than taking notes so youcan pass the next test,” Brown said.“Being in that environment (in Iraq) andcoming to this environment is heavenly. Ireally appreciate going to college.”

Veterans Services can be found within the UHDRegistrar’s Office (N-330D), One Main Buildi-ing. Its Web site is www.uhd.edu/veterans.Call 713-221-8622 for more information.

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Student Veterans Find Home, Help from New Veterans Services Coordinator

UHD’s Student Veterans Organization members took advantage of the fall weatherto meet on the South Deck. Membership is open to all veterans. From left, seniorand SVO webmaster Mindy Brown, sophomore and new member LatashiaSeward, alumnus and UHD Veterans Services Coordinator Mike Records and SVO media relations officer Josh Brown (no relation to Mindy Brown).

Student Veterans Organization officers Joe Williams, from left,and Itzel Nunez watch UHD Veterans Services Coordinator MikeRecords check out the group’s cotton candy machine before theuniversity’s Crossroads Festival.

Fall Family FestivalThe Office of Student Activities and Events drewthe largest crowd yet to its fourth annual FallFamily Festival for a sunny Saturday on UHD’sSouth Deck. Designed for students, theirfamilies and children, the event included akids’ costume contest, raffles, a hot dogeating contest, food, an arts and crafts show,a magician, music and a popular sumowrestling booth sponsored by the UHDpolice department.

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In the next 50 years, universities willchange dramatically to meet thedemands of a changing student bodyand a changing society, and UHD Presi-dent Bill Flores says UHD is uniquelypoised to succeed in serving the needs ofHouston and its students.

During the fall convocation in Septem-ber, Flores said, “We can all worktogether so that UHD becomes a univer-sity that students apply to as their firstchoice, one that counselors suggestfirst, one that parents urge their chil-dren to attend and one that employerschoose when they encourage theiremployees to obtain a degree.”

In the past few months, Flores, whobecame UHD’s fifth president in August,has continued to share that vision whileworking with faculty, staff and studentsto chart UHD’s future. His speech, givenSept. 3 during the week when the Inter-net turned 40, looked at future trends.

Those trends show that Houston willbecome the nation’s third largest city inthe next decade, surpassing Chicago.That growth will create a greaterdemand for higher education in Houston, he said.

Right now, Houston has only 10 institu-tions of higher learning compared tomore than 40 in Chicago.

Flores: UHD Uniquely Poised to Meet Houston’s Educational NeedsThey also show that by 2020, 60 percentof all college students will take coursesonline and half will complete theirdegrees online.

“UHD has unparalleled potential,” hesaid. “We will grow in size and we willexpand to other areas through learningcenters. We will expand dual-creditofferings to high school studentsthroughout the city and we will developmore fully online degrees. And we willadd more master’s degrees.”

Flores has engaged the University’sleadership in a conversation based onthe book, “Good to Great,” by JimCollins. Groups are working to consider

what UHD can be best at and how thosechoices will define and build an institu-tion that is responsive to the GreaterHouston Community.

“Let us undertake a campaign forgreatness so that we can all say, “Yes, atUHD, we are making a name for our-selves,” he concluded.

To view the convocation address on theWeb, go to http://www.uhd.edu/presi-dentsoffice/videoconvocation09.html

Information on the Web site will helpviewers make sure they have an Internetconnection that will support the feedand that their computer has therequired programs and settings.

UHD Will Show December Commencement Live

on the Web

The University of Houston-Down-town will welcome families to itsfall semester commencement cere-mony at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20,in Minute Maid Park, home of theHouston Astros.

UHD President Bill Flores will conferdegrees on more than 1,500 stu-dents who will receive bachelor’sand master’s degrees. Many gradu-ates will be the first in their familiesto earn college degrees. The Uni-versity expects more than 15,000to attend.

As a service to students with friendsand family members who may notbe able to attend in person, UHDwill air a live Webcast of the eventat http://www.uhd.edu/comput-ing/ttlc/itv/uhdtv/commence-ment.html.

People planning to view the cere-mony online should visit the Website before the event to make suretheir Internet connection speed isfast enough to view the event andto make sure their computer isequipped to receive the feed.

UHD has more than 25,000 alumni and now enrolls nearly13,000 students.

SustainabilityUHD’s Sustainability Council sponsored a series of sustainability-oriented eventsincluding crocheting classes, a soap-making demonstration and a SustainabilityDay with a water education booth, afarmer’s/craftsmen’s market and paneldiscussion. The council also hosted a brown bag lunch series featuring films on environmental issues.

Moving from the traditionallyconservative Midwest to acampus in the heart of the

fourth largest city in the nation, UHD’sJohn Hudson expected to find well-established organizations to representthe estimated 1 in 10 people who con-sider themselves lesbian, gay, bisexualor transgender (LGBT).

His former campus has an office forLGBT students, and discourse on sexu-ality issues is frequent and not unusual.At UHD, the silence was frightening, he said.

“I realized we had to do something toaddress the terrible silence as far asLGBT issues, because an atmosphere ofsilence harms students. One of ourchallenges is the fact that we’re knownas a commuter campus. People comehere and there’s not a sense of commu-nity,” said Hudson, assistant professor ofEnglish. “I worked with some studentsmy first year here (2007) and got a for-mer LGBT group going again, but theyall graduated.”

Hudson talked with faculty and staffabout forming a UHD Safe Zone to pro-vide a comfortable environment whereindividuals of any sexual orientationcould find support, a listening ear and a

UHD Safe Zone Provides Support,Gives Voice to Hidden Community

non-judgmental haven. Modeled afterSafe Zone Foundation programs oncampuses nationwide, the UHD SafeZone trains faculty and staff to supportLGBT students and to confront “igno-rance, hatred and apathy.” Most cam-puses around the nation started theirSafe Zones through Student Affairs viaresidential and dormitory programs,but UHD doesn’t have dorms.

“We’re late getting started, but we havegood momentum,” said UHD’s DougteDuits, assistant vice president ofemployee training and campus rela-tions/affirmative action officer. He andHudson conducted two-hour Safe Zonetraining sessions in August and Octoberand more are planned. So far, about 50UHD faculty and staff completed SafeZone training, and they identify theirSafe Zone support for LGBT studentswith colorful block letter stickers ontheir doors. A leadership committee ofSafe Zone allies continues working onideas to ultimately get more studentinvolvement.

Help and Support

“We’re all here to offer help and sup-port and to let people know they’re notalone,” teDuits said.

“The Safe Zone gives these students anetwork of people – if they need to talkto somebody there will be somebodywilling to listen,” Hudson said. “Withthese stickers, we send a message thathomophobia and heterosexism are notwelcome on campus.”

Hudson and teDuits drafted a 25-pagemanual that includes definitions ofterms, campus and city resource con-tacts and a host of information for any-one wanting to learn more about whathe calls an invisible population. Themanual and stickers use the longeracronym of LGBTQ, with the ‘Q’ stand-ing for queer, a word once consideredoffensive but used in this context as oneof power and strength. For Hudson, the‘Q’ means questioning.

“Our society pushes people to decideand declare that you’re straight or gay,”

Hudson said. “The reality is, throughoutone’s life, people may have thoughts orideas that make it hard for them toknow.” The Safe Zone manual says het-erosexism is the assumption that every-one is heterosexual or should be.Homophobia is the strong and irrationalfear of same-sex relationships, the kind offear that can lead to harassment, dis-crimination and even violence againstthose believed to be LGBTQ.

Hudson says the stickers themselves areopening up lines of communication withstudents, who ask, “What’s a Safe Zone?What does LGBTQ mean?” He’s aware ofstudent curiosity from the two courseshe’s taught at UHD with LGBTQ themes.In English 4390 Studies in Language andLiterature, Hudson’s class looked atLGBTQ representation in America. Stu-dents first laughed when they watched a1962 boys’ health education film called“Boys Beware.”

Stereotypes

“The stereotypes were so outrageous,”Hudson said. After some discussion, theclass watched the same film again anddidn’t laugh. “In spite of our assumptionwe’ve made progress – and we have – butthose same stereotypes they laughed at asarchaic and ‘aren’t we a better society,’many of those same stereotypes are stillwith us today.”

Hudson says his efforts to launch theUHD Safe Zone and engage faculty andstaff in discussion have received nothingbut support throughout the universitycommunity. From UHD President Bill Flores, already familiar with SafeZone programs on other campuses, toUHD police who sent a representative tothe first meeting, Hudson has foundinterest and open minds.

It gives him hope that lesbian, gay, bisex-ual and transgender students ultimatelywill take the initiative and develop theirown peer Safe Zone program and becomea visible and active population at UHD.

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High schools nationwide face a dwin-dling pool of well-trained and committedscience teachers, and the shortage isespecially acute in Texas.

However, the Texas Higher EducationCoordinating Board has a plan toincrease high school math and scienceteachers certified through higher educa-tion programs, and UHD has received an$889,010 National Science Foundationgrant to fulfill that mission.

The funds will provide scholarships forabout 30 undergraduate students in theUHD Scholars Academy to completedegrees in the sciences along with course-work required to earn Texas certificationfor secondary school teachers. Named thenational Robert Noyce Teacher Scholar-ship Program for the co-founder of Inteland inventor of the integrated circuit, it isdesigned to attract the next generation ofscience teachers across the country.

“This is a unique career opportunity inscience education,” said UHD Professor ofNatural Science Larry Spears, the princi-pal investigator for the grant. “Our Col-lege of Sciences and Technology (homeof the Scholars Academy) will now alsoprepare students for teaching science.This will help to answer a critical need inour state and our nation.”

Scholarship recipients must commit totwo years of teaching science in a high-need school in either Aldine IndependentSchool District or the Harmony School ofScience in Houston after graduation. Inreturn, the students will receive annual,$8,000 scholarships. Stipends for train-ing during the academic year and sum-mer carry the potential to increase totalfinancial assistance to $10,000.

“The success of these Noyce scholarshiprecipients in their new careers will ulti-mately result in more students beingmotivated by their middle or high schoolscience courses to pursue universitydegrees and careers that are sciencebased,” Spears said.

Scholarship winners get to work withUHD faculty from the Departments ofNatural Sciences and Urban Educationand a high school science teacher. Theprogram is also linked to the HoustonUrban Network for Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics that isbased at UHD.

The students will continue to work ontheir regular degree programs, butthey’ll also take education courses thatapply to state certification, includingclassroom observation and real workexperience. Educators hope field-basedprograms like these will more adequatelyprepare students for what to expect in ateaching career.

Junior-level undergraduates and post-baccalaureates are encouraged to applyfor the Noyce scholarship program.

“The students that participate and finishwill definitely be serious students moti-vated to be classroom science teachers,”Spears said. “By the time they finish,they’ve had ample contact with studentsand teaching that they will knowwhether they want to be in a classroom.”

UHD Awarded Nearly $1 millionfor Program to Train Future HighSchool Science Teachers

University Calendar of Events

January 18Martin Luther King HolidayUniversity closed

January 19Spring classes begin

February 1-April 1O’Kane GalleryDrawing LessonsEarly Academic Drawings fromThe Art Students League of New York

Early MarchInvestiture Week Activities

March 11-13Science and Engineering Fairof Houston

March 15-20UHD Spring Break

March 27Spring Open HouseDestination Downtown

April 1UHD Gender Studies Conference“Gender Across the Disciplines”All day

April 2O’Kane Theatre8 p.m.As You Like It (opening night)Runs through April 10 (matinee performances April 4, 7 and 9)

April 302010 Annual UHD Student Research ConferenceAll day

April 30One Main EventStudent Awards Gala7 p.m.Hilton America – Houston

May 1748th Commencement6 p.m. Minute Maid Park

May 31Memorial DayUniversity closed

calendar.uhd.edu

The exhibit, “Drawing Lessons,” will beon display at the O’Kane Gallery in UHD’sOne Main Building Feb. 4 to April 1.

“Drawing Lessons” presents early aca-demic drawings from the Permanent Col-lection of the Art Students League of NewYork. Included in the O’Kane Galleryexhibition will be more than 30 life draw-ings by students of Kenyon Cox, H.S.Mowbray, Frank Vincent Dumond, GeorgeBridgeman and others.

The students who founded the Art Stu-

O’Kane Gallery Presents 19th Century ‘Drawing Lessons’

Student Leadership ConferenceSustainability activist and award-winning journalist SimranSethi, left, was the keynote speaker at the fall StudentLeadership Conference and addressed sustainability, socialjustice and leadership. The associate professor at the Universityof Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications iswriting a book on eco-elitism. With Sethi is Carmen Allen fromUHD’s Sustainability Council.

dents League in 1875 had the primarygoal of creating more opportunities todraw the live model. Life Drawing wasan essential study for those interestedin mural design, portraiture or illustra-tion – all expanding fields in late 19th-century America.

Modeled on the French academies, theLeague’s life classes required weeklyfull-length figure drawings, calledacadémies. The very best of these exer-cises entered the League’s collection in

exchange for scholarships and awards.Displayed on studio walls, the drawingsinspired generations of students andreflected a desire to establish a school ofnational stature. These attempts to por-tray the human body - that universalartistic vehicle – say much about theardor and diligence artists bring to theireducation.

The O’Kane exhibit is funded in part bygrants from the City of Houstonthrough the Houston Arts Alliance.

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The Hogg Foundation for MentalHealth has awarded University ofHouston-Downtown alumnus

Jorge I. Ruiz a 2009 scholarship forbilingual graduate students pursuingcareers in mental health in Texas.

“I was very happy to receive the scholar-ship, which will pay for tuition andfees,” said Ruiz. “I chose social work asa career because I felt there was more Icould do to help my community. Withan advanced degree, I can understandthe needs and concerns of the commu-nity by applying ethical and evidence-based practices.”

Ruiz was born in Weslaco, a city on theTexas-Mexico border, and grew up inboth countries, settling in Pasadena as ateenager. After graduating from an alter-native high school and serving threeyears in the army, Ruiz set his sights ongetting a college education.

He chose UHD because of its flexiblecourse schedule, diverse student popula-tion and social science curriculum. Hewanted a career that would allow him towork with young people while setting agood example.

When he walked across the stage toreceive his bachelor’s degree in sociologyfrom UHD in 2008, he became the firstin his family to earn a college degree.Ruiz now attends the University of Hous-ton’s Graduate School of Social Workand is working on a master’s degree withplans to also earn a doctorate.

“The scholarship’s goal is to elevate theawareness of the need for more culturaland linguistic diversity in Texas’ mentalhealth workforce, and to address thatneed,” said Ruiz. “It will add qualifiedSpanish-speakers to the field, and willbenefit those we serve.”

He is convinced that the attention andeducation he received at UHD are

When UHD junior Vanessa Pinon and her salsa dance team competed in Japan,they won a coveted spot at this year’s fourth annual World Salsa Championships inFlorida, but Pinon first checked her UHD final exam schedule to make sure shecould go to the December event.

“My final ends at 2 p.m. and I’llhave 45 minutes to get to the air-port,” Pinon said. “I tell ouryounger dancers, you can’t justdance – you have to get a degree.”

The 21-year-old business majorattends UHD full time and also runsthe reKreation Dance team, trainingyoung dancers in the dynamic salsaroutines that will send Pinon, part-ner Lauro Lopez, 22, and severalother team members to Hollywood,Florida, this month to compete withthe best salsa teams from aroundthe world. Many of the perform-ances will be televised on ESPN.

“We had three standing ovations inJapan, and we have a really good chance in Florida,” Pinon said. The dancers hopetheir success in Japan will help the team earn sponsorships and funding. It’s a hec-tic schedule, but Pinon is committed to succeeding at both – college and salsa.

The dance troupe practices Friday through Sunday in a rented studio in northwestHouston. Competitions generally take place on weekends. Pinon takes her books onthe road, using every spare minute to study, and she applies the business principlesshe is learning to the dance team’s operation, especially principles in organiza-tional management.

“It took a lot of hard work, with studying, practicing and managing the team,”Pinon said. “Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. But I stay focused and try tomanage my time.”

She also offers an exemplary role model to the younger dancers in reKreation, whorange in age from 9 to 22. Dancers’ careers can be fleeting, and by their late 20s,injuries and life outside dance often interfere. Pinon hopes her studies and deter-mination to earn her business degree at UHD influence the young members of hergroup to pursue higher learning.

UHD Alumnus Earns Hogg Foundation Scholarship for Graduate Studies

UHD Business Major Dances Way toWorld Salsa Championships on ESPN

Vanessa Pinon, a UHD junior majoring in business, and her dance partner, Lauro Lopez.

A Day of Russian CultureUHD’s Cultural Enrichment Center sponsored "A Day of Russian Culture" inNovember featuring presentations, films, music, food and Russian souvenirs.On hand for the event were, from left, Vladimir Titarenko, deputy consulgeneral, Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston; SophyaTabarovskaya of the Russian Cross-Cultural Network; Nikolay Y. Babich,Consul General, Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston;Natalia Matveeva, UHD assistant professor; and Amy Ninetto, Rice Universityassistant professor.

Jorge I. Ruiz

primary reasons he was selected for the scholarship that covers full tuitionand fees for his entire graduate studenteducation as long as he meets estab-lished academic requirements. Stu-dents must attend a graduate socialwork program accredited (or in candi-dacy) by the national council, be flu-ent in Spanish and English, and agreeto work in Texas after graduation pro-viding mental health services for aperiod equal to the timeframe of thescholarship.

The foundation initiated the scholar-ship program in 2008 to draw atten-

tion to the need for cultural and lin-guistic diversity in the state’s mentalhealth workforce, and to build cul-tural competence and diversity inhigher education programs for men-tal health professionals. The founda-tion was established in 1940 by thechildren of Governor James Hogg topromote improved mental health forthe people of Texas. The foundation’sgrants and programs support mentalhealth services, policy, research andeducation in Texas. For more infor-mation, visit www.hogg.utexas.edu.

9

University of Houston-Downtown tutorshelped Crockett Elementary School reachthe highest state standard in accountabilityas an “Exemplary School” this yearthrough a tutoring partnership that pairs UHD students with elementary school students.

“We could not have achieved this withoutUHD and the impact the tutors havemade,” said Crockett Elementary SchoolPrincipal Elida Troutman. “UHD studentsinspire everyone at the school, especiallythe children they work with. They serve asrole models on the importance of a collegeeducation as the children see them pursuetheir own college programs and careers.”

Crockett Elementary School, a fine artsinternal charter school in Houston Inde-pendent School District, is located neardowntown Houston, minutes away fromUHD. The Texas Education Agency rankedit as “Exemplary” for 2009, but just threeyears ago it was two steps below with an“academically acceptable” designation.

Work-study

UHD students participating in a federalwork-study program and students enrolledin UHD’s pre-service bilingual educationteaching program team up to visit the

school several times a week, working withstudents who need extra help. The goal of the program is to build student skillsand knowledge.

UHD Associate Professor of EducationMaria Bhattacharjee, who oversees theoutreach, says the individual attentionthat students receive has made a distinctdifference.

“It is really a win-win situation,” saidBhattacharjee, who works with UHD’sdegree program to develop bilingualteachers.

Bhattacharjee started the partnership inthe late 1990s and today it’s an importantoutreach component in the University’sCollege of Public Service. It helps studentsworking on degrees in bilingual educationfulfill course credits while gaining field experience.

About 15 aspiring teachers work individu-ally with students in Spanish languagearts and reading and the program hasexpanded to include 22 UHD students whotutor in reading, mathematics and sciencethrough a federal work-study initiativethat pays students for community service.

Vera Munfro, Crockett ElementarySchool’s testing coordinator, and Bhat-

tacharjee developed a strategy to addressthe school’s weaknesses.

“The results of the program have beenamazing,” said Munfro. “We set a highgoal for the school and made sure every-one knew the objectives. We review theobjectives and assess our progressweekly.”

Tutoring

Veronica Elizondo, a UHD student major-ing in general business, helps students inJeyakara Thomas’ fifth grade class withreading, research projects and computerskills. “Working at Crocket Elementarydoesn’t feel like a real job,” she said.“Working with the kids helps put my ownschool challenges into perspective. Thebest reward is when a parent expresseshow thankful they are that you helpedtheir child.”

UHD senior Jimmy Gonzalez, a UHD stu-dent majoring in psychology, has beenwith the program for 2 ½ years. He hasbecome the “go to” tutor for math andscience, especially when the annual

UHD Partnership Helps Elementary School, Students Reach New Heights, Exemplary Status

CNN’s Latino in AmericaUHD hosted a preview of CNN’s television special“Latino in America” that focused on issues impactingLatinos throughout the United States. The previewfestivities included a panel discussion on Latino issuesin Houston that included UHD President Bill Flores,third from left.

science fair comes around and whenstudents are interested in robotics. Hesays the work is very satisfying.

“I was working with a student whostarted out with bad behavior and oftentalked out-of-turn,” he said. “I told himabout my own behavior in elementaryschool and spoke to him in soft tones topoint out the consequences of hisactions. We found common ground andbecame good friends. He became inter-ested in the projects and started partici-pating like everyone else.”

Gonzalez says his work at Crocketthelped him decide to earn an alternativeteaching certificate at UHD, and eventu-ally he hopes to be a school counselor.

“The kids learn a lot from the tutors,but we also learn a lot from them,” said Gonzalez.

Crockett Elementary School’s curricu-lum focuses on reading, writing, math,science, social studies, fine arts andtechnology.

University of Houston-Downtown students who serve as tutors at CrockettElementary School watch a third grade student play a Beethoven selection. The UHD/Crockett Elementary tutoring partnership helped the school attain an “Exemplary School” rating from the Texas Education Agency this year.

University of Houston-Downtown student Veronica Elizondo reads with fifthgraders in Jeyakara Thomas’ fifth grade classroom at Crocket Elementary Schoolin Houston.

10

UHD’s Linda Okoro chalked up, grabbedthe bar for a deadlift, and when theweights hit the mat she’d won all theawards in her 148-pound weight class aswell as Best Lifter, Junior Women at theWorld Association of Benchers and Dead-lifters (WABDL) World Bench Press andDeadlift Championships in Reno, Nev.,Oct. 30 - Nov. 1.

Okoro, a sophomore pursuing a market-ing degree, lifted 402.2 pounds or roughlythe weight of the average refrigerator.John Hudson, assistant professor of Eng-

lish and UHD Club Powerlifting Teamhead coach, said the feat is akin to himlifting 800 pounds.

“I’ve done 727, which is impressive, butnot otherworldly,” Hudson said. “To put itbetter, Linda lifting 402 at 148 is like a148 junior male lifting 600 or more. Noneof the men achieved that mark.”

Okoro, 24 teammates and Hudson com-peted in the world championships for thefirst time and finished eighth against jun-ior and adult competitors from through-out the world. The eighth place finish is a

good result for a collegiate team, which by definition is limited to fielding lifters in two divisions: Teen and Junior, Hudsonsaid. Other teams are free to field lifters inall divisions, increasing their possibilitiesfor high individual placings which resultin maximum team points. This tourna-ment adds to the team’s growing list ofachievements. The two-year-old UHD pro-gram has built a reputation for excellencewith teams winning two consecutivenational collegiate club team titles.

"The UHD lifters were truly outstandingambassadors of UHD," Hudson said. Fortheir first trip to the world stage, hereceived many compliments throughoutthe event on the conduct, class and teamspirit of the UHD lifters. Other lifters, fansand officials described the UHD lifters aspolite, respectful and enthusiastic, Hudsonsaid. The meet was successful in terms ofchampionships won and records broken.

Many high school and community collegelifters and their parents were interested inwhat UHD has to offer, athletically andacademically, Hudson said. One especiallyinterested lifter is a community collegestudent in Hawaii who has been lookingfor a four-year university with a successfulpowerlifting program. The student and hisfather are planning to visit UHD as theyconsider the possibility of his transfer herefor fall 2010.

"UHD Powerlifting is becoming a powerfulrecruitment tool in attracting students toour campus," Hudson said. He fielded somany requests for information that hewould like to have a representative fromthe UHD Admissions Office accompany theteam to its next major event.

Team Accomplishments:

• Individual World Championships - 15 (Bench Pressand Deadlift are separate events, so one lifter com-peting in both events can win two separate champi-onships.)

Individual Runner-up Finishes - 9

• State Records - 27

• National Records - 13

• Mexican National Records - 8

• Overall Best Lifter Trophies - 1: Linda Okoro (BestLifter trophies are awarded to the lifter in a divisionwho lifts the most according to a bodyweight for-mula. Linda was the Best Lifter for all JuniorWomen. The Junior Division is for lifters ages 20through 25.)

• 8th in the Team Standings

Individual Results:

• Head Coach Hudson successfully defended his WorldChampionship in Bench Press for the 308 weightclass of the Master 40-46 Division with a 639.2Bench Press. He placed 3rd in the Open Division.His Bench Press was a new Texas State Master 40-46 Record.

• Rocio Ruiz, lifting in the 132 weight class of the Jun-ior Division, placed 3rd in the Bench Press with 77.0and 3rd in the Deadlift with 198.2.

• Linda Okoro, lifting in the 148 weight class of theJunior Division, placed 1st in the Bench Press with138.8 and 1st in the Deadlift with 402.2 (this isconsidered an incredible weight for her bodyweight,Hudson said).

• Olga Hernandez, lifting in the 198 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 3rd in the Bench Presswith 126.7 and 3rd in the Deadlift with 253.5.

• Jesus Sanchez, lifting in the 114 weight class of theTeen Division, placed 1st in the Bench Press with215.8 and 1st in the Deadlift with 330.5.

• Tomy Le, lifting in the 123 weight class of the TeenDivision, placed 1st in the Bench Press with 137.7and 1st in the Deadlift with 270.0.

• Ilian Rojas, lifting in the 181 weight class of theTeen Division, placed 3rd in the Bench Press with314.0 and 2nd in the Deadlift with 429.7.

UHD PowerliftingClub Team Finishes Eighth at World Tournament

UHD’s powerlifting club team received a loud send-off at a pep rally sponsored by the Sports and Fitness Center thatincluded the UHD Gator and cheerleaders. The team finished eighth overall at the World Association of Benchers andDeadlifters World Bench Press and Deadlift Championships. The men and women also won individual medals and setrecords in their first trip to the world championship.

The Sports and Fitness Center sponsored a pep rally to send the powerliftingand soccer teams off to competitions. Team members received individualintroductions and cheers from UHD’s new cheerleading squad and Gatormascot.

11

Gators Men’s Club Soccer TeamWins Houston Club Sports TitleThe UHD men's club soccer team has won the Houston Club Sports Conferencechampionship two years in a row and made its second consecutive appearance inthe National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) regional tourna-ment in San Antonio.

The team lost to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State University inthe double elimination format. Last year the team advanced to the quarter finals.Despite the NIRSA outcome, the UHD soccer men completed the most successfulsoccer season in school history. The team won a second consecutive HCSC title andset team records for wins in a season. The Gators own a team record 11-game HCSCunbeaten streak and are unbeaten in 15 of their last 16 conference games. Theteam will go for a HCSC "three-peat" in fall 2010. Josh Rivas is the Gators' coach.

The UHD men’s club soccer team won the Houston Club Sports Conference Championship for the second year in a row.With that finish, the team also earned its second appearance at the National Intramural Recreational Sports Associationregional tournament in San Antonio. The team did not advance, but set win records for the season.

UHD's Erik Zuniga, left, battles a Texas State player for theball in the team's final game of the season in San Antonio.

• Enrique Lopez, lifting in the 181 weight class ofthe Teen Division, placed 2nd in the Bench Presswith 330.5.

• Halit Dilber, lifting in the 259 weight class of theTeen Division, placed 2nd in the Bench Press with418.7.

• Jose Martinez, lifting in the 123 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 1st in the Bench Presswith 159.7 and 1st in the Deadlift with 303.0.

• Robert Nguyen, lifting in the 132 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 3rd in the Bench Presswith 248.0 and 2nd in the Deadlift with 396.7.

• Antonio Moreno, lifting in the 132 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 2nd in the Bench Presswith 259.0 and 1st in the Deadlift with 413.2.

• Humberto Trejo, lifting in the 165 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 4th in the Bench Presswith 225.7 and 3rd in the Deadlift with 352.5.

• Carlos Mata, lifting in the 181 weight class of theJunior Division, placed 3rd in the Bench Press with330.5 and 2nd in the Deadlift with 512.5.

• Waldo Villarreal, lifting in the 220 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 1st in the Bench Presswith 396.7.

• Jose Trejo, lifting in the 242 weight class of theJunior Division, placed 1st in the Bench Press with418.7 and 2nd in the Deadlift with 468.2.

• Joshua Friedman, lifting in the 114 weight class ofthe Open Division, placed 1st in the Deadlift with264.5.

• Ivan Gamboa, lifting in the 198 weight class ofthe Open Division, placed 8th in the Deadlift with369.2.

• Wilson Marinero, lifting in the 165 weight class ofthe Teen Division, placed 3rd in the Deadlift with264.5.

• Stephen Trieu, lifting in the 220 weight class ofthe Teen Division, placed 3rd in the Deadlift with402.2.

• Robert Ramos, lifting in the 242 weight class ofthe Teen Division, placed 1st in the Deadlift with374.7.

• Raymundo Sanchez, lifting in the 275 weight classof the Teen Division, placed 1st in the Deadlift with501.5.

• Aurelio Garcia, lifting in the 132 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 3rd in the Deadlift with352.5.

• Waldo Cardenas, lifting in the 148 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 2nd in the Deadlift with468.2.

• Raul Hernandez, lifting in the 165 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 2nd in the Deadlift with380.2.

• Marvin Fuentes, lifting in the 181 weight class ofthe Junior Division, placed 4th in the Deadlift with413.2.

For information about the UHD Powerlifting ClubTeam, contact Hudson at hudsonj@uhd.edu.

Linda Okoro was named Best Lifter, Junior Women at the World Bench Pressand Deadlift Championships.

12

As a college undergraduate mathmajor, Anne Rinn often feltuncomfortable in class. Even

though she had a 4.0 average and wasgood in the subject, she was surroundedby male students and male professors.When classes broke up for group work,she seldom found a woman partner.

“I was outnumbered,” Rinn said.“Nobody was mean or sexist – I justdidn’t feel comfortable.”

She dropped math. Now the UHD assis-tant professor of psychology has won anearly $500,000 National Science Foun-dation grant to research why manywomen like herself leave science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathematics(STEM) degree programs and careers.She will share the research project withher best friend, Kathi Miner-Rubino,assistant professor of psychology at TexasA&M University.

The joint Texas A&M – UHD project willinclude research on students from eachinstitution. They are two very differentuniversities; the former is a predomi-nately white, research university and thelatter is a minority-serving, predomi-nately undergraduate university. Rinnand Miner-Rubino believe a comparativeevaluation of how educational climateaffects women in these different educa-tional environments will add value totheir research.

Looking at Barriers“We are looking at barriers that shouldnot exist in this century,” Rinn said.“Women professionals can have a majorimpact on STEM fields, and we want tosee why they are leaving.”

Next semester, four UHD undergraduatestudents in psychology will collect dataand assist with the research for the grantas part of a special projects course.Besides gathering, analyzing and record-

ing data, the studentsalso will presentreports at UHD’sannual StudentResearch Conferencenext semester, and atleast two of the stu-dents will submitresults for publica-tion.

Besides her own exo-dus from mathemat-ics, Rinn was inspiredto apply for the grantsoon after she joinedUHD’s College ofHumanities andSocial Sciences twoyears ago. “There areso many talented youngwomen at UHD, most of them majoringin traditionally feminine fields like edu-cation and psychology. I started to wonderwhy these bright women weren’t major-ing in male-dominated fields.”

The study, called “The Influence of Edu-cational Climate on College Women’sAttrition from STEM Fields,” will exam-ine how educational climates, percep-tions, aspirations, performance,demographics and resources affect theunderrepresentation of women in theseprofessions. Miner-Rubino is principal

Senior accounting major Dung“Diane” To already knows topexecutives from many of Houston’s

biggest CPA firms. Classmate Debora Cer-vantes, also a senior accounting major, isworking toward her second auditinginternship with a respected local CPA firmand has contacts throughout the industry.

The seniors are part of a long tradition ofUHD students who have served leadershippositions with the Student Auxiliary of theHouston CPA Society, a chapter of theTexas Society of CPAs (TSCPA). To is vicepresident until August 2010, and Cer-vantes’ one-year term as president endedin May. They see the networking andleadership opportunities they’ve gained ascrucial steps in the transition from class-room to corporate America.

“It’s a great learning opportunity,” Tosaid. “Not only do you learn aboutaccounting, but you learn about businessin general and practice your networkingskills.”

Scholarships“There are scholarship opportunities anda mentorship program,” Cervantes said.“When I was first introduced to the soci-ety, I wanted to tell every single account-

ing student at UHD about it.”

In the past five years, several UHD studentshave been elected to officer positions on theStudent Auxiliary, and many have gone onto promising jobs in the accounting field.One UHD past president of the auxiliary,alumnus Sarah Garcia (BBA in account-ing, ’05), now works at Ernst and Youngand recently spoke to UHD’s P.A.S. (Profes-sional Accounting Society) student organi-zation.

Business Contacts“We have a good participation rate fromUHD,” said Robin Jarrow, membershipmarketing manager for the Houston CPASociety. “A majority of students know aboutus and we participate in all the career fairs.They do a good job informing other stu-dents and getting their classmatesinvolved.”

Mike Spartalis, a CPA and recruiting con-sultant, heads the Accounting Career Edu-cation committee for the Houston CPASociety, and he’s helped several UHD stu-dents land accounting jobs in Houston.“Networking is such a key thing,” Spartalissaid. “Most students have no idea whatthey want to do in accounting. Anywhereyou go in business, you need as much

Anne Rinn, assistant professor of psychology

Best Friends from UHD andTexas A&M ShareNational ScienceFoundation Grantto Study WhyWomen Leave the Sciences

investigator and Rinn is co-principalinvestigator for the three-year study.

Educational ClimateThe National Science Foundationreported in 2004 research that despite anincrease of women earning STEMdegrees, the number of women practicingin the fields was still relatively small – 21to 35 percent. A separate 2004 report byUniversity of Minnesota Professor in His-tory of Science and Technology Sally Gregory Kohlstedt found that women,especially women of color, leave STEM

UHD Accounting Majors Have Strong Presence in Houston CPA Societyaccounting as possible. It’s the languageof business.”

Linking students with contacts in theirfields – whether in accounting or any ofUHD’s degree programs – is an importantpart of keeping them focused on careergoals, said UHD’s Stephen Markert, direc-tor of career services. His team is collect-ing information on professionalorganizations to expand UHD’s reachthroughout Houston and the surroundingcommunities.

Student participants say the experiencesgained in talking with and learning fromprofessionals in their fields is invaluableand augments what they take from theclassroom.

Accounting major Cristina Castilleja,treasurer of the Student Auxiliary of theHouston CPA Society, has collected ahandful of business cards and already ischecking out job prospects for the spring.The full-time account manager and full-time student said her participation in aprofessional organization has given her amuch clearer understanding of the careeropportunities available in accounting.“I’d like to go into financial reporting andwork as an oil and gas accountant.”

fields at a significantly higher rate than men.

NSF’s Research on Gender in Science andEngineering program supports efforts tounderstand and address gender-based dif-ferences in STEM education and work-force participation through research, thediffusion of research-based innovations,and extension services in education thatwill lead to a larger and more diversedomestic science and engineering work-force.

Once Rinn and Miner-Rubino begin col-lecting research results, they hope tocome up with specific ways to encourageand promote women in STEM programsand careers. Working with universityadministrators to provide seminars andspecial opportunities like scholarships ormentoring programs would be a fewfairly quick ways to perhaps start chang-ing the statistics one woman at a time.

“Once we finish this, we’d like to look atthe transition from undergraduate tograduate school,” Rinn said. “What pre-vents women from going into graduateschool or makes them become mathteachers rather than mathematicians?”They hope to study women with doctoratedegrees in STEM fields to track the sup-port, resources and facilities that helpedpush them to the next level.

When Po-Chu Anges Leungmoved to the United Statesfrom her native Hong Kong

in 1982, she could not speak English. Sheenrolled in UHD’s English Language Insti-tute to learn the language, and she alsoearned her General Educational Develop-ment (GED) certificate so she could attendcollege here.

Leung eventually became UHD’s directorof testing services and now, nearly 30 yearslater UHD is like family to her.

In September 2009 she became only thesixth person in the state to earn “TheCathy Erwin Humanitarian Award” pre-sented by the Texas Education Agency(TEA) GED Unit and The UT Scoring Cen-ter, a state honor recognizing someonewho has gone above and beyond on thejob, often in the face of personal struggle.

Leung Met ErwinThe award is named for Erwin, a longtimeTEA employee who helped centralize GEDscoring and establish a state database.Before her death, she had personally pre-sented Leung with the Outstanding GEDChief Examiner award in 1996.

“For her to get this humanitarian awardin Cathy’s honor is something Cathywould have wanted,” said Paris Ealy, GEDState Program Administrator. When Leungwas on medical leave for a chronic kidneycondition, even after surgery and bloodtransfusions, Leung insisted on taking thestate’s annual training to keep UHD’sTesting Services up to date, prepared forrecertification and in compliance withany state changes. When she was too ill totravel to the annual training conferenceand when Hurricane Ike intervened, Ealydelivered the training to Leung’s home.

“She put her job, the students she serves,the people she tests and her staff as hermain goal, even with personal struggles,”Ealy said. “It was overwhelming to me.”

More than 800 GED chief examiners andexaminers throughout Texas are eligiblefor the award Leung received for her com-mitment to UHD and its students.

“I was so shocked,” Leung said modestly.“I had tears – I didn’t know how torespond.”

She was thrilled for the recognition thestate’s highest GED honor brought toUHD.

“It shows my work is being recognized butalso that people know the UH-DowntownTesting Center is an excellent one,” she

Testing Director Receives State Award for Commitment to UHD, Students

said. Each year the Testing Center admin-isters several different tests, over 20,000subjects and units, to people from all overHouston. It is also one of the top 100 testcenters in the country administering themost College-Level Examination Pro-gram® (CLEP) exams. Many regionalGED preparation schools specifically sendtheir students to UHD to take the testbecause of its professionalism, reliabilityand basic human kindness.

“My belief is to serve people who are will-ing to be served,” Leung said. “Everybodydeserves a chance like I had. I like to moti-vate people and also want people to knowthey should not be treated as second-classcitizens.”

She often shows the UHD students whowork for Testing Services the milestones onher office wall. Her framed GED certificate“is my foundation, my stepping stone,”she said.

Even though she graduated from highschool in Hong Kong, that diploma did notcount toward university enrollment in theUnited States. After getting her GED, Leungearned her undergraduate degree fromUHD in applied mathematics with a minorin piping design. She won the prestigiousRed Rose Scholarship three times andgraduated cum laude. Later she earned hermaster’s in organizational managementonline from the University of Phoenix.

Testing MilestonesIt took Leung seven years to complete her

undergraduate degree, and she had to taketime off after she was diagnosed with abrain tumor in 1987.

Throughout those years, Leung said herUHD family helped and supported her atevery turn. She could always count on peo-ple like UHD’s Susan Ahern, MicheleSabino, Gail Kellersberger, Lloyd Matzner,Gary Greer and a host of others at UHD.

From the moment she started takingclasses here and became a student worker,she said she was treated like family. Whenshe couldn’t speak or understand Englishwell, people treated her with kindness. Sheremembers UHD’s Thomas Lyttle askingher for a rubber band, and she didn’t knowwhat it was. He patiently found a rubberband and taught her. “Everybody was verypatient to guide me – everybody was sonice to me.

“I guess that’s why I love this university somuch – I always told myself I had to giveback,” Leung said.

The cadets in Class No. 240 of UHD’s CriminalJustice Training Center upheld a growing tradi-tion of outstanding passing rates on state peaceofficer exams. Just as UHD’s academy cele-brated 32 years of operation, one of its latestclasses aced the Texas Commission on LawEnforcement Officer Standards and Education(TCLEOSE) State Peace Officer License Examwith a 98 percent passing rate.

“Our current pass ratios are above that forHouston, Harris County and most of the othercollege-based academies in the area,” said RexWhite, director of the Criminal Justice TrainingCenter and 22-year UHD employee. “We workvery hard with each class to make sure every bitof the required learning objectives are covered,and we also require higher standards from ourcadets.” TCLEOSE lists more than 105 licensedlaw enforcement academies statewide.

In UHD’s Criminal Justice Training Center, any-thing under 80 is considered a failing grade onwritten tests; cadets wear uniforms in the class-

Social Work Advisory Board Discusses New Degree ProgramUHD Bachelor of Social Work Advisory Board members met with UHDadministrators in October to review the new program’s progress toward Councilon Social Work Education accreditation. Participants included from leftstanding, Susan Ahern, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences;Scott Dixon, director of Houston’s Child Protective Services; UHD President BillFlores; Karen Burist-Simon, CEO of Capital Management Group; UHD alumnaMitzi Coleman, grant writer and University of Houston Graduate School ofSocial Work student; James Booker, Regional Director for Houston’s AdultProtective Services; and Adolfo Santos, chair of the UHD Department of SocialSciences. Seated are degree organizers Jo Daugherty Bailey, UHD associateprofessor of sociology and social work, and Dawn McCarty, assistant professorof social work. UHD is offering courses toward the new degree to help fill thegrowing need for social workers in the Houston area.

Po-Chu Anges Leung, UHD director of testing services, received the Cathy ErwinHumanitarian Award from the Texas Education Agency GED Unit for goingabove and beyond on the job while facing a personal struggle.

13

room, undergo daily physical training andmust meet physical training standards to passthe academy. The Training Center’s passingrate averaged 98.5 percent for 2009 and97.5 percent for 2008. The November 2009test was the first in fiscal year 2010.

Many of UHD’s Training Center graduates –UHD offers seven academies every year –obtain law enforcement jobs in the more than220 law enforcement agencies in the TexasGulf Coast region. But White said out-of-staterecruiters also snap up UHD academy grads“from here to Alaska to Washington, D.C.”Cadets were scheduled to take the TCLEOSEtest Dec. 8 and 9, and two new classes begin Jan. 4.

“If we do our job right, the concept here iswe will have motivated the person to want toachieve,” White said. “That’s usually whatwe find in our cadets – they get so moti-vated, they go above and beyond. They want to excel.”

CJ Cadets Post Outstanding Passing Rate

Alumni News

14

As a young boy, senior account-ing major Paul Ferree remem-bers watching his father work

day and night to earn a college degree atthe University of Houston-Downtownand support his family.

“He was getting about four hours ofsleep, working all the time and going toschool,” Paul said. “He didn’t reallyhave a day off the entire time he wasthere.”

Paul’s father, Scott Ferree, turned toUHD for smaller classes, close workingrelationships with professors and prepa-ration for landing the job of his dreams.Today, son Paul is following his dad’slead and working toward an accountingdegree at UHD after transferring fromthe University of Houston. Paul said hisdad was his biggest influence inenrolling at UHD.

“I was just kind of treading waterbefore,” Paul said. “My dad reallyencouraged me to come here.” Paulmade the UHD dean’s list following hisfirst semester here in spring 2009. “Forme, it really is the smaller class size, andmy teachers know who I am.”

When he graduates in the summer orfall of 2010, Paul hopes to land a job

with an accounting firm or continue inthe accounting field with his currentemployer, Pappas Restaurants, wherehe now works about 30 hours a weekwhile taking a full courseload.

He calls his dad “the No. 1 role modelin my life.”

“Paul has really enjoyed it,” Scott saidof his son’s UHD career. “I talked tohim about the small classroom envi-ronment, and he felt like he could havemore success at UHD.”

Father Scott was 32 years old and strug-gling to raise his young family when hefirst entered UHD. He wanted to work inthe refining and petrochemical indus-try, so he enrolled in industrial chem-istry in 1992, while continuing to workfull time. He graduated three years laterin the class of 1995 with honors. Henow works for Nalco Chemical Com-pany, where he is recognized as anindustry expert in wastewater treatmentand in addressing difficult water systemreliability and communication issues.

“The education that I received at UHDwas the catalyst for everything that Ihave accomplished since,” Scott said.Professors like Byron Christmas, JamesDriy, Larry Spears and Tyra Mont-gomery stand out in his memory.

By day, UHD alumnus Billy S. Cox III is abusiness analyst at The University ofTexas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In hisspare time, the screenwriter/director isworking on his third movie and promot-ing the second one.

Despite some success and a best dramaaward from Cleveland’s Indie GatheringFilm Festival last year, Cox said begin-ning moviemakers like himself shouldsurely keep their day jobs.

“I’ve been here (MD Anderson) for sixyears, and I like it a lot,” Cox said. “Iworked as an intern while I was in schoolat UHD, and they kept me on.” The 2003Computer Information Systems (CIS)graduate learned how to write a screen-play, borrowed an old Canon, and with-out a budget, filmed his first flick,“Destitution,” about two years ago.

His movies aren’t easy to watch, Cox said,because they imitate life and are notpolitically correct. “All the films I’vemade I’ve tried to base on real life,” Coxsaid. “It’s a gut check.” Hence the nameof his company, Gut Check Productions,formed with Producer Rodney Acevedo.

His newest film, “Mindsight,” tracks thestory of a young couple whose son iskilled by a drunken driver. The maincharacter starts to see his life play outbefore him, the “mindsight” of the title.He stops differentiating between realityand mindsight. The trailer and synopsisare enough to attract the curious,although the plot is not necessarily

pleasant to read or watch.

Cox raised money from family, friendsand investors to get the $70,000 cost ofmaking “Mindsight.” It was filmed with aRed Digital Cinema Camera, a relativelynew technology that bypasses film pro-cessing and scanning negatives.

What motivates a 31-year-old collegegraduate with a good job to take to thestreets with a camera and a story? “Out ofboredom, and I met a guy from Dallaswho taught me how to write a screen-play,” Cox said. “I started writing and fellin love with it. I like dramas, and I like tothink about how life really is.”

“Mindsight” is on Netflix now, and GutCheck Productions plans to start filmingits third offering, “H,” in Houston nextspring. Cox said he always loved UHDbecause of its location and the faculty.“Once I arrived, I learned that the schoolwas growing and constantly working toimprove,” he said. He most appreciatesthe professors who pushed him to tryharder and believes that people todayoften expect to coast along without realeffort. UHD Associate Professor CharlesStrain was one whom other studentswarned him about as “tough,” but Coxfound he had just the right classroommix to challenge him to work to thefullest. “It makes you a better person tobe challenged,” Cox said.

A trailer, synopsis and description of thetechnology used to film “Mindsight” canbe found at www.mindsightmovie.com.

ExxonMobil AlumniPresident Bill Flores along with Career Services and College of Businessrepresentatives hosted a breakfast for a group of UHD alumni who work forExxonMobil. Dr. Flores, far right, shared his vision for the university and listenedto comments from alumni about their UHD experience. A large number of UHDalumni are employed at ExxonMobil and the company representatives havebeen active in Career Services’ Career Expo interviewing students andproviding internships.

Like Father, Like Son as UHD Students

Some of the courses they taught gavehim an edge, he said. “Where the chemi-cal engineer will troubleshoot water-sideissues by examining the process, I canapproach the issues at the molecularlevel, which allows me to clearly see theroot causes and develop correctiveactions,” he said.

Keeping His Day Job, Alum Writesand Directs Independent Films

Scott has spent the last 15 years workingwith major companies’ downstream divi-sions across the Texas/Louisiana GulfCoast. He currently works as districtaccount manager and site lead of one ofNalco’s largest U.S. accounts, Shell Refin-ing in Deer Park.

Paul FerreeScott Ferree

What’s new? Send us a note!

Send us your email address!Update your former UHD classmates about what’s going on in your life. Let us know about your professional news (jobchanges and promotions, business launches, awards andaccomplishments), personal milestones (marriages, births,relocations) or academic achievements (advanced degrees,enrollment in graduate school). Email your information tonewhorizons@uhd.edu or alumni@uhd.edu.Email provides a direct way for us to keep you up to date onhappenings at UHD and to alert you about activities just foralumni. Help us build our email list and alumni association. Theassociation is a great benefit and membership is free. Visit theUHD Web site at www.uhd.edu and check out the alumni pages.Please send your email address to alumni@uhd.edu along withbasic information about yourself. Sarah Crawford is UHD’sDirector of Alumni Relations.

— ALUMNI NOTES —

15

Two UHD graduates wrote to the UHDAlumni LinkedIn site recently afterthe university won a nearly $500,000

National Science Foundation grant tostudy why females leave STEM (science,technology, engineering and mathematics)careers and programs. CynthiaBuchanan, a 1988 UHD graduate with anapplied mathematics degree with computerscience, said she routinely attended mathclasses with few or no other women. “Itwas difficult to avoid the ‘you’re a woman,you should teach’ pitfall,” Buchananwrote. But she stuck with it and now worksas a senior IT project manager at Technipin a mainly male data center work envi-ronment. “UHD was one of the few placesthat encouraged me to stay with theapplied mathematics degree program,although the student climate was tough.My professors at UHD taught me to disre-gard the gender and give my all to everyassignment.” Another graduate, JulieWilcox, graduated in 1987 with a seconddegree in applied mathematics and com-puter science. She wrote that at the timeshe received her undergraduate degree,“Going on to a graduate or doctorate in mydiscipline was not financially attractive.”(see related STEM story, page 12)

Alumnus Phillip Ellison (‘94 ) washired as director of supply chain servicesfor the Spring Independent School Districtin July. His areas of responsibility includecontracts, purchasing, distribution servicesand textbook warehousing and distribu-tion. He also oversees the inventory distri-bution center, print shop and recordsmanagement. Ellison majored in

purchasing and materials managementat UHD (now supply chain manage-ment), later earning his MBA from theUniversity of Houston’s Bauer College ofBusiness in 2006. He is a Certified Pur-chasing Manager (C.P.M.) through theInstitute for Supply Management.

Alumna Sandra Puente (‘09) served asHouston City Councilmember EdwardGonzalez’s (’00) campaign manager.She also is the statewide field director forTexas ACORN.

Victor H. Loredo ('98), graduate witha BBA in Accounting, and DeyaniraZamora Loredo ('99 & '04), graduatewith a BS & MS in Criminal Justice, wel-comed a precious baby girl named Victoria Susana Loredo on May 12, 2009.

She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 19inches long.

Orlando Zambrano was a UHD politi-cal science major and finished in theSummer II session 2008. He has beenaccepted to Baylor Law School and willstart in February. “Thank you for wantingto add me in the New Horizons, it’s veryexciting. I have not yet begun law schoolas I decided to go to Baylor Law Schooland they accepted me in the spring quar-ter….Since graduation I have self-pre-pared for and taken the LSAT, applied toseveral schools and am getting ready tomake the move to Waco. I was a volun-teer for the Clintons (Bill and Hillary)and served as a driver in both of theirmotorcades. I also volunteered for Coun-

cilman James Rodriguez and was an intern for the Mayor's Office of Boards and Commissions.”

Theresa Bailey Feldmann (’88)reports she finished medical school, hasbeen married for 10 years, has three chil-dren and resides on 14 acres in southeastNew Hampshire, not far from Boston. Sheand her husband built a house for theirfamily and both of their moms. “Person-ally, I miss Texas weather and the friendli-ness of the people,” she said. “Once myyoungest starts first grade, it’s back to workfor me.” Her family also includes threedogs, three cats and one hermit crab.

Help Support UHD Scholarships,Programs with End-of-Year GiftAlumni and special friends of the university give selflessly to UHD’s annual fundeach year to help provide student scholarships and other UHD needs. You can helpUHD carry on its mission of access and education by sending an end-of-the-yeardonation. Gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. There are severalways to make your gift to UHD:

You can give by phone or by mail.

You can give cash contributions online.

UHD faculty and staff can give via payroll deduction.

You can make a gift of cash using your credit card by giving online at https://giv-ing.uh.edu/uhdowntown/ via our secure server or by calling 713-221-8045. YourUHD family appreciates your generosity. Even though the University is closedbetween Christmas and New Year’s, UHD staff will be available to assist you at thephone number listed above. Thank you.

Many UHD graduates have made public service contributions. Alumni RelationsDirector Sarah Crawford, from left, participated in a tour with alumnus and nowHouston City Councilmember Edward Gonzalez, President Bill Flores, alumnaand statewide field director for ACORN Sandra Puente and Adolpho Santos,Social Sciences department chair and associate professor.

Alumnus Orlando Zambranovolunteered for former President BillClinton, top, and Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, below.

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New HorizonsDivision of Public AffairsOne Main StreetSuite 990-SouthHouston, Texas 77002-1001

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www.UHD.edu

Beginning this summer, UHD will launch an ambitious schedule to bring degree pro-grams to residents of northwest Houston ata new multi-university site that will open atState Highway 249 and Louetta.

More than 2 million residents are expectedto move into northwest Houston in the nextdecade, and UHD is designing its center atUniversity Park within the former Hewlett-Packard complex with an eye on providingdegree programs to area residents that willlet them avoid long commutes. UHD willfocus on providing convenient evening andweekend classes as well as day classes.

UHD held a campus forum Nov. 13 andformally launched an ongoing campusdiscussion that focuses on how admissionscriteria are linked to student success at UHD.

“UHD will remain Houston’s university ofaccess and opportunity. If we adopt admis-sions standards it will not be to excludestudents, but to better develop plans to helpat-risk students succeed,” UHD PresidentBill Flores said.

Automatic admissions standards offer students several ways to be guaranteedadmittance to UHD. Students would auto-matically be admitted to UHD who gradu-ate in the top half of their graduating classor have a designated grade-point averageor score a designated score on the SAT, ACTor a test that evaluates college prepared-ness (Accuplacer). Students who do notmeet the automatic standards could still beadmitted under individual approval withspecific plans to help them succeed such asremediation courses, summer courses atUHD or courses at a community college.

Greater Houston Partnership welcomes Dr. FloresThe Greater Houston Partnership welcomed UHD’s new President Bill Flores tothe city with a reception in November. University of Houston System Board ofRegents Chair Welcome Wilson, from left, talks with Flores and Jeff Moseley,president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. The reception was anopportunity for Flores to meet and discuss his vision for UHD with GHP and city leaders.

Offerings will include face-to-face instructionand popular hybrid classes which blend face-to-face and online instruction.

UHD will open at the University Park sitewith bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice(the bachelor’s of science and the bache-lor’s of arts in applied science), the bache-lor’s of arts degree in interdisciplinarystudies that is tied to teaching generalist cer-tification for early childhood through gradesix (regular and bilingual) and a bachelor’sdegree in general business.

Beginning this fall, UHD will debut 10 addi-

UHD Explores Setting AdmissionsStandards for Fall Semester 2011

Standards also help students manage thecost of a degree. Many students will chooseto save money and will take remedialcoursework at a less expensive communitycollege before they apply to UHD. Studentleaders at UHD have been very supportive of beginning to establish baselines for auto-matic admissions and individual approvalstandards, Flores said.

UHD and the University of Texas atBrownsville are the only two public, four-year universities in the state that admit students solely on the basis of holding ahigh school diploma or GED.

Flores said making the change wouldimprove UHD’s six-year graduation ratesthat now stand about 20 percent. Suchstandards for first-time freshmen would not affect about two-thirds of UHD studentswho transfer from other universities andcommunity colleges.

“We want to remain an institution knownfor access, while becoming an institutionthat is more successful in graduating firsttime freshmen,” Flores said.

tional bachelor’s degrees at the site alongwith a master’s of arts in teaching degree.

Bachelor’s degrees coming to the site this fall include:

• interdisciplinary studies that leads to teaching generalist certification for grades four through eight;

• safety management;

• mathematics with secondary-level teacher certification;

• biological sciences with secondary-level teacher certification;

• humanities;

• social sciences;

• management;

• accounting;

• finance; and

• computer information systems.

Students can apply for admissions now for summer semester and registration forclasses will begin in April. For more informa-tion, contact Louis Evans atevansl@uhd.edu or 713-221-2766.

UHD Serves NW Houston with 10 Degree Programs at New Highway 249 Location

Coming in early March at UHDThe Investiture

OfWilliam R. Flores

AsFifth President

Of theUniversity of Houston-Downtown

In early March, UHD will install its fifth president, William R. Flores, during a traditionalacademic ceremony marking a new chapter in the University’s 35-year history. Academicinvestiture ceremonies mark the beginning of a presidency at a college or university;they evolved from similar ceremonies held in the Middle Ages when heads of monarchiesand churches came into power.

In addition to the formal ceremony, we are planning many festive activities with you inmind. We know that you may not have visited campus for many years, and we hopeyou will come back to enjoy this very special time at UHD.

Visit our Web site at investiture.uhd.edu for more details as they become available.

Changing Lives, Building Futures