Campus Kudos
Presidential Citation Award recipients announced
The University of Texas at Austin has selected U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, philanthropists Joe and Teresa Long, university Senior Vice President Shirley Bird Perry and Ransom Center Director Tom Staley to receive the prestigious Presidential Citation for 2010. The Presidential Citation was created in 1979 to recognize the extraordinary contributions of individuals who personify the university’s commitment to transforming lives. William Powers Jr., president of the university, will present the Presidential Citation and other major university awards to recipients in a ceremony later in the academic year.
RTF grad to play in the Super Bowl
Radio-Television-Film alum Jonathan Scott will play football in the Super Bowl as the offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers on Feb. 6 in the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
Journalism professor’s Molly Ivins biography honored
Award-winning journalist, author and School of Journalism Clinical Professor Bill Minutaglio has won the Writers’ League of Texas 2010 outstanding book award in the nonfiction category for the biography “Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life.” The Writers’ League of Texas Book Awards contest is sponsored by the University Co-op.
Texas Medal of Arts award nominees named
The Texas Cultural Trust has announced Thomas F. Staley, director of the Harry Ransom Center, is an honoree for the 2011 Texas Medal of Arts Awards. Staley, who was set to retire in August, announced earlier this month he’ll stay on as director. The award, inspired by the National Medal of Arts, has been bestowed upon 59 Texas leaders and luminaries in the arts and entertainment industry for creative excellence and exemplary talents since its inception in 2001. Other 2011 honorees include Barbara Smith Conrad, Sarah and Ernest Butler, Marcia Gay Harden, ZZ Top and more.
Governor makes appointments to state committee
Three College of Pharmacy alumni have been appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to the state’s Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee. The appointments were announced Jan. 10 by the Governor’s Office. Donna Burkett, Oralia V. Bazaldua and Daniel Ray Hernandez all serve as adjunct faculty members in the College of Pharmacy. The Texas Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee makes recommendations for preferred drugs lists adopted by the Health and Human Services Commission.
Chemical engineering assistant professor gets $500,000 NSF award
Chris Ellison, chemical engineering assistant professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for integrating polymer research and education. The prestigious award grants Ellison $500,000 for five years of research and educational initiatives on the motion of polymers, long chain molecules, and implications for their use in nanotechnology applications.
Vince DiNino named 2011 Texas Bandmaster of the Year
The Texas Bandmasters Association has named Vincent DiNino, director emeritus of the University of Texas Bands, as the 2011 Bandmaster of the Year. DiNino became the first full-time director of the Longhorn Band in 1955 and made significant changes that gained the band national prominence and transformed it into the Showband of the Southwest.
Press Mentions
The Wall Street Journal: Take Monday off: Austin
Jan. 22
The Harry Ransom Center made the newspaper’s three-day travel guide to Austin which referred to it as, “one of the best literary archives in the world.”
The New York Times: Hey, kids, let’s put on a reading!
Jan. 20
Daria Davis, a graduate student in the Department of Theatre and Dance, is quoted in this story on the popularity of theater readings, although Davis said a reading “doesn’t always move the play forward.”
USA Today: Read her ‘lips’: Kirshenbaum has kissing down to a science
Jan. 12
The new book “The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are Telling Us” by Jackson School of Geosciences’ Sheril Kirshenbaum, received a positive book review.
The Guardian: Deferred gratification makes sexual politics sense
Jan. 13
Mark Regnerus, Department of Sociology, commented on his research on contemporary women’s sexual behaviors and relationships.
The Wall Street Journal: In race to market, it pays to be latecomer
Jan. 20
Isaac Barchas, Austin Technology Incubator, suggested entrepreneurs take a wait-and-see approach when breaking into new and untested markets.
CBS News: All eyes on Texas Lt. Gov. Dewhurst in Senate race
Jan. 22
Jim Henson, Texas Politics project, commented on Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and the advantages and disadvantages he would face in a Senate race.
The New York Times: University of Texas creates network
Jan. 20
The University of Texas at Austin announcement of a new network with ESPN received a mention in the sports section.
Nature: Supermassive black holes do not correlate with dark matter haloes of galaxies
Jan. 20
John Kormendy, Department of Astronomy, and co-author Ralf Bender wrote about how black holes do not correlate directly with dark matter or galaxy disks.
CNN: Has Obama found his voice?
Jan. 18
H.W. Brands, Department of History, wrote an opinion piece on how President Barak Obama’s recent speech in Tucson “shows he’s still got the speaking chops” and what that could mean for the future of his presidency.
FOX News: Through schooling, a few Gypsies join middle class
Jan. 16
Ian Hancock, College of Liberal Arts, commented on the discrimination against Gypsies, or Roma, and their lack of power.
USA Today: Matching language, true love?
Jan. 13
James Pennebaker, Department of Psychology, discussed his study on language styles among speed daters and couples and the importance of matching styles.
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