Skyline News - Online Advisory Straw Poll available

A Publication of UHD Public Affairs

May 6, 2010

Submit news items to skylinenews@uhd.edu.

Academic Assessment offers AIM Reviewer training today and May 7.

Participate in UHD's online Advisory Straw Poll on proposed new names.

Final CPR certification classes this semester today and May 7.

Deadline extended to May 7 for seniors to volunteer for online tests and a chance to win up to $250 in gift cards.

Take UHD's Advisory Straw Poll on proposed new names

UHD has prepared an online advisory straw poll Web site on the two proposed new names for the University of Houston-Downtown -- City University and Houston City University.

Participants are asked to identify themselves as students, faculty, staff or alumni, and each person can complete one questionnaire. You can access the Web site directly at this link:
https://global.dt.uh.edu/eservices/uhdsurvey/?testflag=open

You can also reach the Web site via a Name Change Straw Poll icon in the upper left corner of the e-services page at this link:
http://uonline.uhd.edu/?testflag=open

Participants are also invited to visit the Web sites of other universities to see how they've taken advantage of their "City" names and locations.

The straw poll will remain open for faculty, staff and students until 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 14. Alumni will have until 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 21, to give them time to receive notification in the upcoming issue of New Horizons.

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Academic Assessment hosts AIM Reviewer sessions today and May 7

Academic Assessment has added two Assessment Information Management (AIM) Reviewer Training sessions, including one from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. today and another on Friday, May 7.

In addition, another "Closing the Loop" session will take place Tuesday, May 18.

These sessions are open to faculty, department assessment coordinators, deans and department chairs. Register for assessment training at the links below. For questions or to schedule individual sessions, please call 713-226-5594. Upcoming sessions include:

AIM Reviewer Training, both sessions set for Room A-717
3:30 to 4:15 p.m. today.
9 to 9:45 a.m., Friday, May 7. Register here.
Closing the Loop
9 to 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 18, N-1099. Register here.

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Staff Awards celebration May 7 recognizes outstanding employees

UHD's annual Staff Awards extravaganza is set for 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, May 7, in the Special Events Room.

See who wins this year's Awards for Excellence and Fun Awards in a celebration that will feature food and door prizes. Please wear your UHD Service pins to show how many years of service you have earned. For more information, visit the Staff Council Web site or click on the attached flier.

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Semester's final CPR certification class scheduled for today and May 7

This semester's final CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) certification class is set for today and Friday, May 7.

Register through UHD Sports & Fitness for these American Red Cross Training classes, which provide certification for one year. UHD students, faculty and staff pay $5 for the training, and classes are limited to the first 15 people who pre-pay. For more information on this semester's final CPR training, click here.

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College of Business maintains prestigious AACSB accreditation

College of Business Dean Don Bates, center, accepts re-accreditation status from AACSB-International representative Jerry E. Trapnell, left, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer, and John J. Fernandes, right, president and CEO.

AACSB - or The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business - has a goal of advancing "quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership." UHD's College of Business is among the less than 5 percent of the world's business schools that has received and maintained AACSB International accreditation.

Click the news release for a more complete story. See the AACSB International Web site for more information.

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Outstanding students from across the disciplines recognized during Academic Awards Program

UHD President Bill Flores greets some of the students attending Wednesday's Academic Awards Program, which recognized outstanding students in UHD's Colleges of Business, Humanities and Social Sciences, Public Service and Sciences and Technology.

Scholars Academy Convocation highlights students' achievements

Scholars Academy Director Mary Jo Parker, left, chats with just a few of the dozens of Scholars Academy students recognized during Wednesday's Convocation. From left, students Kelly Colby, Morgan Dees and Audrey Gonzalez share a laugh with Parker.

The Convocation included an awards program for scholarships as well as recognition of tutors, attendance and presentations at conferences and professional meetings and Brown Foundation Awards. About 150 UHD students are members of the Scholars Academy.

UHD's Yvonne Kendall performs in televised Guest Artist Series May 9

UHD's Yvonne Kendall, associate professor in the Department of Arts and Humanities, will perform live on TV 55 (KTBU) at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 9, as part of the Guest Artist Series offered by First Methodist Church of Houston.

It will be Kendall's third engagement as part of the series. The performance will be broadcast on satellite - Dish Network - Channel 8382. For more information, visit the church Web site here.

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Business students and faculty toured Federal Reserve Bank May 4

UHD's Anisul Islam, professor of finance, accounting and computer information systems, led a group of nearly 60 students and faculty on a May 4 field trip to the Federal Reserve Bank Houston Branch. Faculty members Gail Evans, professor of management, marketing and business, and John Paskelian, assistant professor of finance, accounting and computer information systems, also accompanied the field trip participants.

Federal Reserve Dollar Bill

In the photo above, Islam, second from left, and students on the Federal Reserve field trip show off an oversized $100 bill during the tour. Students viewed a video presentation of the Federal Reserve and a management power point, and they took a guided tour of the Fed's facilities and displays.

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Commerce Street Building elevator project scheduled for May 17-28

UHD Facilities Management will perform modifications to elevator 53, which serves the south portion of the Commerce Street Building, starting May 17 and running through May 28.

No access to elevator 53 will be available during the work. The two passenger elevators located in the front of the Commerce Street Building will operate normally and won't be affected by this project.

Once the modifications are complete, elevator 53 will have an additional set of doors on the first floor to make the Commerce Street Building more convenient and accessible. The new elevator doors will be located on the first floor adjacent to the stairs and student study area in the south end of the building.

Questions should be addressed to Eric Reimer at 713-221-8234 or reimere@uhd.edu. Facilities Management thanks the UHD community and Commerce Street Building visitors for their cooperation during the project.

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Stories from previous Skylines

UHD's Alpha Kappa Omega Induction Ceremony set for afternoon of May 7

Alpha Kappa Omega, the UHD Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta's International English Honor Society, will hold its Spring 2010 Induction and Honor Cord Ceremony for English majors and minors who meet the organization's academic requirements from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, May 7, in the Rockwell Room of W.I. Dykes Library.

The event is a semi-formal luncheon and official procedure for bestowing honors, including induction certificates, pins, cords and stoles. Current members of Sigma Tau Delta and English department faculty will attend.

For questions or more information, contact one of the faculty co-sponsors, Chuck Jackson, assistant professor of English, at jacksonchar@uhd.edu or Cara Murray, assistant professor of English, at murrayc@uhd.edu.

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences Announces Coordinators for Interdisciplinary Minors

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) has added a new minor in Film Studies, one of three Interdisciplinary Minor Programs that offer students the opportunity to explore a subject from multiple perspectives. Courses in these minors are principally taught by faculty from the Departments of Arts and Humanities, English and Social Sciences, with select course offerings from faculty in other colleges. Program coordinators are:

Ethnic Studies - Sharin Elkholy, assistant professor, Social Sciences
Film Studies - Chuck Jackson, assistant professor, English
Gender Studies - Cara Murray, assistant professor, English

Students interested in declaring a minor in these or other minors in the College - such as its newly approved minor in Creative Writing - should file a Minor Declaration Form with an advisor in the home college of their declared major.

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Phi Kappa Phi initiation has record number of UHD honor students

In a record initiation ceremony, 129 UHD students were inducted Tuesday evening into Phi Kappa Phi, the selective national honor society open to juniors, seniors, graduate students, faculty, professional staff and alumni in all disciplines who have achieved scholarly distinction. Juniors must rank in the top 7.5 percent of their class, and seniors and graduate students must rank in the top 10 percent of their classes. Above, initiates check in outside the Auditorium. Below, UHD's Barbara Canetti, right, awards a student while PKP officers Ongard Sirisaengtaksin (president elect), left, and Gary Greer (president), right, look on.

Phi Kappa acceptance

Induction into PKP is the reward for high achieving students able to keep their grades high while earning their degrees. Here a student celebrates acceptance into the prestigious group. Inductees who will graduate May 17 have the honor of donning the yellow honor society sash during commencement.

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UHD Police join other UH System departments in 'Salute to Law Enforcement' event held May 1

UHD Police officers joined colleagues from the other three University of Houston System police departments May 1 at the annual Salute to Law Enforcement event at Willowbrook Mall. UHD officers are, from left, Lt. Fred Varela, Sgt. Jaime Cortez, Lt. David De Leon and Officer Dustin Yates.

More than 400 law enforcement officers from the Houston region, and some from as far away as Austin and Dallas, participated in the event to honor and remember the officers who gave their lives for their jobs as National Police Week approaches May 9-15.

National Police Week ribbon

Remember to get your Blue Ribbon from UHD Police to show your support for law enforcement. Ribbons are available at the UHD Police Department headquarters, Room 118-North, or the parking office at 354-North.

The blue ribbon tradition started several years ago when a group called Concerns of Police Survivors encouraged the general public as well as police cruisers to fly blue ribbons from their car antennae during National Police Week. The resulting sea of blue shows support for police officers on the street and for those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

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UHD President Bill Flores Signs Five Policies, all effective May 1

President Flores signed five institutional policies effective May 1, 2010. These policies cover a variety of topics and it is highly recommended that all employees read each of them. Two of the policies are new and three are revised. The following is a summary of the five policies.

PS 02.B.15, Animals on Campus, is a new policy.

PS 08.A.01, Review of Information Technology Resources Requests, was revised. Changes include:
1. Division of Information Systems changed to Information Technology throughout.
2. Additional duties for the Chief Information Officer (with input from university planning groups) are added in the policy.
3. Exhibits are removed because they are no longer relevant to the policy.

PS 08.A.02, Information Technology Policies, Procedures, Standards and Plans, was revised. Changes include:
1. "Academic leadership and the Academic Computing Committee" are added to 3.1.
2. Exhibits A, B, and C were updated to reflect current procedures.
3. "Systems" changed to "Technology" throughout policy including in the title.

A new policy, PS 08.A.04, Computer Access, Security and Use Policy, has replaced PS 08.A.04, Information Systems Security and Access Policy, and PS 08.A.07, Computer Use Policy, both of which have been rescinded. The number PS 08.A.04 is being used again to maintain consistency in the policy numbering system. The new policy includes:

1. Wording that UHD must adhere to copyright laws concerning software.
2. Included the following statements:

Access to and use of computing resources is restricted to appropriately identified, authenticated, and authorized users.
All identification, passwords, and other "access means" to information resources are proprietary to the state.
Wireless access at UHD must be managed by and coordinated through UHD's Department of Information Technology to insure compliance with appropriate security standards and requirements defined by the state. Users must adhere to UHD's Wireless Access Guidelines, Exhibit A.