Campus Kudos
University’s sustainability director honored
Jim Walker, director of the Office of Sustainability, was recently honored with The Edwin Waller Award for Public Architecture. Presented by the American Institute of Architects of Austin (AIA Austin), the Waller Award recognizes achievement in public architecture to recognize public-service architects, public officials or other individuals for their roles as architects or advocates.
Dr. Leonard Moore honored for recruiting community volunteers into AISD
Dr. Leonard N. Moore, history professor and associate vice president of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, received the Austin Partners in Education (APIE) Chair’s Award on May 18 during Salute, the Annual Celebration of Excellence in the Austin Independent School District (AISD). Moore was selected for the award for of his role in helping APIE reach the goal of having the number of classroom coaches who volunteer in AISD be representative of the city’s African American population. Fourteen percent of AISD students are African American, and more than 60 percent of AISD students come from low-income families. Moore helped APIE achieve its goal by reaching out to students in his classes at the university and to members of the congregation of Soul Movement Church, where he is a pastor. Moore recruited approximately 60 Soul Movement members and more than 100 students by hosting several presentations at his church and in his classes. He also offered his students class credit as an incentive to volunteer with AISD.
Dobie Paisano Writing fellowships for 2011-2102 announced
Manuel Luis Martinez and Stefan Merrill Block have been awarded the 2011-2012 Dobie Paisano writing fellowships sponsored by the Graduate School. The fellowships allow writers to spend four to six months at the Paisano Ranch, J. Frank Dobie’s former retreat west of Austin, now owned and maintained by the university. Martinez, an associate professor of 20th century American literature, American studies, Chicano/Latino studies and creative writing at Ohio State University has been named the Ralph A. Johnston fellow. Block received the Jesse Jones fellowship, which will allow him to spend six months at the ranch.
Senior lecturer named president of International Engineering Society
Dr. Hillary Hart, distinguished senior lecturer in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the Cockrell School of Engineering, has been appointed president of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). The international society announced Hart’s election at its annual Technical Communication Summit in May.
Thirteen academic researchers in Texas receive Hogg Foundation grants to study mental health
Thirteen academic researchers exploring different aspects of mental health in Texas have been awarded $226,770 by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. The one-year grants are capped at $17,500 each. The 13 research projects were selected from a pool of 48 proposals submitted by tenure-track assistant professors at 17 Texas schools. Follow the link to see the list of recipients.
Press Mentions
The Wall Street Journal: Dodgers slide into chapter 11
June 28
There is “natural tension” between the baseball commissioner and the courts, says Michael Cramer, director of the Texas Program in Sports and Media, in this story on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ financial position.
Bloomberg Businessweek: Paul’s Anti-fed message gains respect in White House bid
June 27
Bruce Buchanan, Department of Government, comments on Ron Paul’s growing clout during this presidential bid compared to his 2008 run.
Chicago Tribune: Gov. Rick Perry’s role in possible wrongful execution may hurt campaign chances
June 25
The controversial execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in Texas could hinder Gov. Rick Perry if he runs for president, according to this article. However, James Henson, Department of Government and the Texas Politics Project, says the Willingham execution alone will not hurt Perry’s chances.
The Christian Science Monitor: With ‘Courage, New Hampshire,’ tea party movement enters world of entertainment
June 25
A new TV show by the tea party movement is “the next frontier in the whole party polarization fight,” says Sean Theriault, Department of Government, in this story.
CBS News: Archaeologists peek into 1500-year-old Mayan tomb
June 23
David Stuart, of the College of Fine Arts and the Linda and David Schele Chair in the Art and Writing of Mesoamerica, says footage of a Mayan tomb in southern Mexico suggests it is the burial site of an early female ruler of Palenque, a once-great city state.
The New York Times: How to spend the ‘peace dividend’
June 23
James K. Galbraith, LBJ School of Public Affairs and Department of Government, weighs in on this “Room for Debate” topic on the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq and President Barack Obama’s recent speech on the subject.
The New York Times: A region with big climate vulnerability and bigger distractions
June 23
Josh Busby, LBJ School of Public Affairs, comments on the realities of climate research in North Africa, a region vulnerable to climate change impacts.
NPR: Egypt’s political transformation moves slowly
June 22
The accomplishments of protesters in Cairo, who remain a regular feature in Tahir Square, are “remarkable,” says Jason Brownlee, College of Liberal Arts.
NBC News: On Libya, President Obama evaded rules on legal disputes, scholars say
June 21
President Barack Obama’s rejection of Justice Department legal advice on Libya has caused debate among legal scholars. Robert Chesney, School of Law, says the handling of the matter “is not the way the process is supposed to work.”
Wired: Streamlined islands could mean ancient oceans on Mars
June 21
Geologists Lorena Moscardelli and Lesli Wood, both of the Jackson School of Geosciences, are mentioned in this story about a paper authored by Moscardelli on the similarities between a land formation on Mars and the seafloor off the coast of Trinidad.
Time magazine: Life after high school
June 20
How do teenage experiences affect adult life? Robert Crosnoe, Department of Sociology, says social scientists are realizing that many adult outcomes can be traced back to one’s experiences in high school.
The New York Times: UT experiment grapples with essence of gravity
June 18
Gary J. Hill and Karl Gebhardt of the Department of Astronomy, along with physicist Steven Weinberg, the Jack S. Josey-Welch Foundation Chair in Science, are mentioned in this story on gravity, the universe and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment also known as HETDEX.
CNN.com: Divorce rates falling, report finds
May 20
Fewer couples are getting divorced, in part, because people are waiting longer to wed. Kelly Raley, Department of Sociology, says couples now delay marriage until they are settled in a stable job.
Read the last edition of In the Know.
