The Office of Students Activities and Events is seeking donated cakes for its Cake Walk during the annual Fall Family Festival noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23.

The festival will include a kids costume parade, raffles, hot dog eating contest, arts and crafts show, Houston Rockets inflatables, games, music and more. A flyer is available here. For people who would like to donate a cake, but who cannot attend the festival, SAE will collect the cakes on Friday, Oct. 22.

To contribute a baked good, please email Liza Alonzo at AlonzoL@uhd.edu.

The fifth annual Fall Family Festival will be noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at several UHD venues featuring a day of fun activities including games, rides, a craft show, food, contests, and more for UHD students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families.

The Office of Student Activities hosts the event that has grown to become one of UHD's biggest on-campus traditions. Activities will take place on the North and South Decks, the Main Portico, the UHD Coffeehouse area and Special Events Room. Special attractions include a kids' costume parade and hot dog eating contest.

Food from local area vendors such as My Fit Foods, Domino's Pizza, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Cielo offer a great variety of choices for children to adults. The Houston Rockets, General Mills and Downtown Aquarium Restaurant will also have booths. 

Visit www.uhd.edu/sae/fall_family_festival for more information. 

A Graduate Record Exam (GRE) preparation session will be presented from 5 to 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, in room C-212 in the Commerce Street Building.

The UHD faculty on the video are Krisda Chaemsaithong, assistant professor of English; Erin Hodgess, associate professor of computer and mathematical sciences, and Michelle Moosally, associate professor of English. Some guidance in working on GRE practice questions will be available.

Individuals planning to attend should email Anjoo Sikka, professor of urban education, at SikkaA@uhd.edu so event organizers have an attendance estimate.

The deadline for Youth Service America, youth-led $1,000 State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants has been extended to Nov. 9.

The grants are designed to encourage semester-long projects (following YSA's Semester of Service framework) that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (Jan. 17) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 15-17). Eligible programs will engage youth in service-learning, an effective teaching and learning strategy that promotes student learning, academic achievement, workplace readiness, and healthy communities. 

Eligible candidates include teachers, service-learning coordinators and students in a public school, or staff and youth in a community-based organization working with a public school. Learn more and access the application at www.YSA.org/goodneighbor. For information, contact Jean DeWitt, UHD community engagement director, at dewittj@uhd.edu.

UHD night with the Houston Rockets will be Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Toyota Center for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Denver Nuggets.

Sports and Fitness and the Campus Activities Board are sponsoring the night which features discounted tickets for seats in sections 101 and 126. The tickets are $55 each for a $20 savings over the original $75 ticket price. Tickets can be purchased at the Student Live Center or the Student Activities office in room 204-South.

For more information, call Sports and Fitness at 713-221-8225 or Students Activities at 713-221-8573. A flyer is available here.

Harris County Sheriff visits campus

The Criminal Justice Speaker Series features Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, center, who provided an Overview of Harris County and Crime to students, staff and faculty. The event was well attended by students and cadets who enjoyed the opportunity to meet and learn from the sheriff. The Speaker Series is sponsored by the Department of Criminal Justice in the College of Public Service.

W. I. Dykes Library has added resources that support service learning and the Office of Community Engagement to its collection.

UHD to offer first ever, all-online Winter Term this December

 UHD's Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs announced recently that UHD will hold its first ever, all-online Winter Term from Dec. 27, 2010, to Jan. 14, 2011.

"Currently enrolled UHD students will be able to take one course during the session, and registration for Winter Term is tentatively set to open on Dec. 1," Dressman said.

UHD's online courses always fill quickly, and many students have expressed an interest in a mini-mester format, he said.

Tuition and fees will be slightly reduced from the cost of a single course in the fall or spring semester, and UHD plans to have short-term loans available for qualified students who enroll. Students who receive financial aid spring semester will be able to apply a portion of the aid to pay back loan for the course, he said.

More details about Winter Term will be announced as plans are finalized.

Here is the tentative list of courses list of courses for the all-online Winter Term:

ACC               3303       Cost Accounting

ACC               3304       Accounting Information Systems

BA                  3300       Business Cornerstone 

BA                   3301    Legal Environment of Business

BIOL              4220       Intro. to Genomics and Bioinformatics

CIS                 1301       Introduction to Computer Based Systems  

CJ                   3301       Criminology

CJ                   3306       Crime and Delinquency

CJ                   3311       Ethics of Social Control

CJ                   3317       Race and Crime

CJ                   3318       Sex Crimes

CJ                   4314       Women and the Criminal Justice System

COMM           3302       Argumentation and Debate

COMM           3310       Women, Men and Communication

COMM           3314       Research in Communication Studies

COMM           4380       Field Experience in Communication

CS                  1305       Introduction to Computer Technology

ENG               1318       Intro. to the Study of English   Grammar

ENG               3302       Business and Technical Report Writing

FIN                 3302       Business Finance

HUM               3301       Foundations of Western Culture I

MATH            3321      Math Concepts

MGT               3301       Management of Organizations

MKT               3301       Principles of Marketing

PSY                3302       Principles of Educational Psychology

PSY                3305       Adolescent Psychology

PSY                3311       Biological Psychology

SCM               3308       Purchasing Management

SOSE             3320       Assessment and Evaluation of Children

SPAN             3301       Spanish Grammar and Composition

STAT             3309       Statistical Analysis for Bus.  Applications

STAT             3311      Statistical Analysis for Natural Science

Urban Education students train under UHD graduate at HISD middle school

Two student teachers from the Department of Urban Education, Maria Nuncio, left, and Michael Grahmann, right, are completing their student teaching at Burbank Middle School in the Houston Independent School District under the direction of Rosa Hernandez, center, principal and UHD Department of Urban Education graduate. Hernandez received a bachelor of science degree in 2002 and master of arts in teaching degree in 2006 from the Department of Urban Education. 

Hernandez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, but grew up in Houston. She attended Atherton Elementary, Golfcrest Elementary, Deady Middle School, Hartman Middle School and Jesse H. Jones High School. She earned an associate in arts degree at Houston Community College-Southeast before transferring to UHD.

Sports and Fitness is sponsoring a program, Maintain Don't Gain, to help participants avoid gaining weight during the holiday season starting with weigh-ins Oct. 25 on the third floor of the Student Life Center.

The average American gains 7 to 10 pounds during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. One way to avoid the gain is to be more accountable to yourself and the scale during these times. Sign up with Sports and Fitness for weekly weigh-ins and weekly email tips on avoiding holiday weight gain.

Five simple tips that can help you avoid a weight gain:

·   Drink lots of water

·   Increase your exercise a little bit each day

·   Cut back where you can at non-holiday meals

·   Eat what you like - but

only a few bites

·   Don't eat after 7p.m.

Weigh-ins will continue through Jan. 7. Participants who do not gain weight during this time will receive a T-shirt and water bottle. Interested participants can register by visiting www.uhd.edu/sports&fitness. A flyer is available here.

The December 2010 Commencement ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 19, and the UHD Bookstore wants everyone to be ready. 

For those who plan to participate in the graduation ceremony, it is important to order regalia no later than Nov. 24.  After Nov. 24, an additional $10 fee will be added to your order for rush shipping.

Orders placed prior to Nov. 24 should arrive the week of Dec. 8 and you will be contacted to pick up your regalia.

For any orders placed after Dec. 1 , there will be no guarantee regalia items will arrive prior to the day of Commencements.

The UHD Bookstore requires pre-payment  for all orders and accepts cash, all major credit cards (with a valid identification), or a charge to your department via PCard or purchase voucher with prior approval from your department. 

The regalia rental fees are as follows:

Master's Unit Complete - $60.98

(Includes cap, gown, tassel and hood)

Doctorate - $109.98

(Includes tam, gown, tassel and hood)

Individual Piece Prices:

Master's Cap, Gown, and Tassel - $30.98

Master's Hood only - $29.98

Master's Gown only - $25.98

Doctorate Cap, Gown, and Tassel - $68.98

Doctorate Hood only - $33.98

Doctorate Gown only - $29.98

8 Sided Tam - $40.98

IT Training for Faculty/Staff/Alumni

Register for IT training opportunities at the links below.  To schedule a one-on-one appointment or other assistance, please call 713-221-8200.

Blackboard Vista

Today 
10 - 11:30 a.m. - StudyMate

Monday, Oct. 25 
1 - 2 p.m. - SoftChalk Lesson Builder

Tuesday, Oct. 26

10 - 11:30 a.m. - Blackboard: Mail, Calendar, & Who's Online

Wednesday, Oct. 27

1 - 2 p.m. - Blackboard:  Managing Course Content

Microsoft Office

Thursday, Oct. 28 

10 - 11 a.m. - Outlook 2007 Enhanced Features

Friday, Oct. 29 
2 - 3:30 p.m. - Excel: Charts and Graphs

See all current IT training available