Congratulations to 30th annual UTEC graduates

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The division of educational research and development of the academic informatics services department is proud to announce the graduates of the 30th annual UTHSCSA Teaching Excellence Course (UTEC). This 26-hour professional development program is a tradition at the Health Science Center. Almost 1,000 faculty, fellows and residents have completed the UTEC since 1976.

Seated (left to right) are: Peter Lopez, M.D., assistant professor of surgery; Judith Colver, assistant professor and associate chair of physician assistant studies; Sylvia Leal-Castanon, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics; Jeanette S. Ross, M.D., of family and community medicine; Lynn A. Smiley, clinical instructor of dental hygiene, and Lisa J. Rodriguez, research nurse in the surgery department.

Standing (left to right) are: Donald Allison, assistant professor of physician assistant studies; Barbara “Prema” Strecker, dental hygiene student; Sandra Adams, M.D., assistant professor of medicine; Krista Bowers, M.D., assistant professor of medicine; Cindy Stone, family and community medicine resident; Jean Petershack, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics; Katherine F. O'Donnell-Rose, faculty associate of general surgery; Mickey Parsons, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of acute nursing; Ratna K. Vadlamudi, of obstetrics and gynecology, and V. Seenu Reddy, M.D., assistant professor of surgery.

Not pictured are: Ahmad A. Abdelkarim, teaching assistant of dental diagnostic sciences; Lizette R. Gomez, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics; Asma Khan, postdoctoral fellow of endodontics; Merry L. Lindsey, M.D., assistant professor of medicine; K. Christopher McMains, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology; Betty J. Ramos, clinical instructor of physician assistant studies, and Kristine S. Vogel, Ph.D., assistant professor of cellular and structural biology.



VP for research Town Hall meeting set for Dec. 7

The office of the vice president for research will host a Town Hall meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in Room 409L of the School of Medicine building. The meeting will be an update of the Sept. 12 meeting, featuring discussions about the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, and the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS). The meeting will also address topics involving the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

“Excitement is building as things begin to fall into place for the Jan. 17 National Institutes of Health deadline for submission of the Clinical and Translational Science Award proposal,” said Robert Clark, M.D., assistant vice president for clinical research. Dr. Clark and Brian Herman, Ph.D., vice president for research, will discuss IIMS topics as well. “Excellent progress is being made by our hard-working leadership group as well as the teams assigned to each of the CTSA key function areas. The Town Hall meeting will be an opportunity to showcase our progress and update the faculty and staff on this major new research initiative.”

Jenice Longfield, M.D., M.P.H., assistant vice president for research operations, and Joseph Schmelz, Ph.D., director of the IRB, will present current topics related to the IRB.

The meeting will be telecast to the Texas Research Park, Harlingen, Edinburg and Laredo campuses. It can also be viewed by clicking on the following link: 129.111.156.214/sonicfoundry/viewer/?peid=38a29865-b823-4cf2-93f5-aa65bc02b855.

For more information, contact Linda Knieriem, research coordinator in the office of the vice president for research, (210) 567-0704 or knieriem@uthscsa.edu.



View the Faculty Senate bullets from Nov. 8 meeting

The Faculty Senate met on Nov. 8. Below are bullets from the meeting. The complete minutes of the November meeting, as well as those from previous meetings, can be found at: www.uthscsa.edu/facultygovt/.

University Updates

Theresa Chiang, Ed.D., vice president for academic administration, provided updates on a number of campus activities, including the following:
• Promotion and Tenure Workshops - Plans for the 2007 Faculty Promotion and Tenure workshops are nearly complete. Announcements will be sent out soon. Information can be obtained from Connie Hamilton-Morris, assistant to the vice president for academic administration, HAMILTONC@uthscsa.edu.
• New Student Health Center - Student health services are currently offered in the temporary quarters of the Student Health Center in the old School of Nursing building. In the next few months, new permanent quarters for the center will open in the new building of the School of Nursing.
• Congratulations – Honors have been bestowed on some of our faculty colleagues, including John Hart, Ph.D., professor in the department of biochemistry, who has been awarded the Ewing Halsell President’s Council Distinguished Chair in Biochemistry; and two nursing faculty from the department of family nursing care, Norma Martinez Rogers, Ph.D, R.N., associate professor, and Jane Dimmit Champion, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor and director of the Center for Community-based Health Promotion in Women and Children, who will be inducted into the American Academy of Nursing.
• Tenure question - Dr. Chiang addressed a question that was recently raised by the Faculty Senate concerning policy involving the tenure status of a full-time faculty member, usually someone nearing retirement, who chooses to work part time. Certain ambiguities in the language in The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP), Regent’s Rules, and certain documents provided by the UT System, have resulted in some confusion over this matter. The UT System general council’s office has been consulted for clarification of International SOS. The UT System has joined an international emergency service, called International SOS, which aids UT employees traveling on business in foreign countries.

Information Security Update

Jerry York, vice president and chief information officer, visited the Faculty Senate to offer clarification concerning current and future efforts to respond to UT System requirements related to the protection of sensitive information on our electronic devices. This was triggered by the well-publicized security problems at the UT Austin campus, as well as others around the System. York advised that Lewis Watkins, a long-time member of the UT System Information Technology Strategic Leadership Council, has been named as Chief Security Officer for the UT System, and that he will lead efforts to create a system-wide Security Action Plan that will affect all UT campuses, including our own.

Overview: Oct. 12-13 Meeting of the UT-System Faculty Advisory Council (FAC)

Deborah Baruch-Bienen, M.D., chair of the Faculty Senate, described some of the discussion at the recent meeting of the UT-FAC. Minutes of this and past meetings of the FAC, as well as other useful information, can be found on the UT-FAC Web site: www.utsystem.edu/utfac/.

Committee Report: Faculty Governance

Mickey Parsons, Ph.D., R.N., chair of the Faculty Governance Committee, reported that her committee would be engaged in the evaluation of mechanisms available to the Senate for providing input into HOP policies of importance to the faculty.