Campus Kudos
Faculty Members Named to Prestigious Academy of Distinguished Teachers
Seven faculty members have been named to the prestigious Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas at Austin this year. The new members are Jay L. Banner, professor, Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences; Michael W. Downer, professor, Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences; Charles Holahan, professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts; Sharon Jarvis, associate professor, Department of Communication Studies, College of Communication; Beth Maloch, associate professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education; Yale N. Patt, professor, the Ernest Cockrell, Jr. Centennial Chair in Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering; and Marjorie C. Woods, professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts.
New Department of Mechanical Engineering chair named
Jayathi Y. Murthy, a professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, has been named chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department in the Cockrell School of Engineering. Murthy, the first woman to chair the Mechanical Engineering Department, begins her position Jan. 1, 2012.
Business professor receives Excellence in Teaching Award
Patrick Brockett, professor of management science and information systems, mathematics and finance, was chosen as this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award from The American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA). Brockett holds the Gus S. Wortham Memorial Chair in Risk Management and Insurance in the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management at McCombs, where he teaches full time in risk management and insurance.
International history scholar joins UT
Jeremi Suri, an acclaimed scholar of international history, has been named the first holder of the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and has received a joint appointment at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and the Department of History in the College of Liberal Arts. Suri, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, joins the university in fall 2011.
Education professor win outstanding book award
Educational psychologist Richard Valencia‘s newest book, “Dismantling Contemporary Deficit Thinking,” has garnered the 2011 Outstanding Book Award from the American Educational Research Association, with the awards committee describing the book as a “superlative treatment” of the topic of deficit thinking.
Press Mentions
American Public Media: Kickstarting jobs tougher than you think
June 13
James Galbraith of the LBJ School and College of Liberal Arts and the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations, says a few tax incentives will not encourage businesses to hire, calling it “an exercise in futility.”
The Christian Science Monitor: Texas Gov. Rick Perry for president? Why he could have a hard time.
June 10
Bruce Buchanan, Department of Government, comments on why Gov. Rick Perry thinks he has the chops to be a presidential candidate.
The New York Times: I.B.M researchers create high-speed graphene circuits
June 9
This story mentions a technique by researchers at a South Korea university they say is based on an approach to making graphene film pioneered by The University of Texas at Austin.
The New York Times: What’s wrong with adult sexting?
June 9
S. Craig Watkins, departments of Radio-TV-Film and African and African Diaspora Studies, weighs in on this Room for Debate topic and says sexual expression is evolving along with technology in ways that make people vulnerable.
USA Today: Gilbert Arenas, athletes still causing Twitter headaches
June 9
Homero Gil de Zuniga, School of Journalism, says tweeting is socially risky and that Twitter misuse is because of a lack of understanding of the power of social media.
CNN.com/RealSimple.com: 5 things not to say to new college graduates
June 8
Katharine Brooks, director of Liberal Arts Career Services, contributes to this roundup of cringe-worthy questions like “What can you do with that degree?”
The Wall Street Journal: Learn to like your job
June 5
Christopher McCarthy, Department of Educational Psychology, is quoted in this story on altering one’s approach to addressing workplace problems.
Psychology Today: The hook up culture leads to emptiness and pain
June 5
This story references a study by the late Norval Glenn, Department of Sociology, and Elizabeth Marquardt on the romantic relationship options modern American women have: “hooking up” or “being joined at the hip.”
The New York Times: The Curious Case of Nelson Obus
June 4
McCombs School’s Robert A. Prentice, the Ed and Molly Smith Centennial Professor in Business Law, says the Securities and Exchange Commission regulators are pursuing insider trading cases because it’s “something they know how to do.”
The New York Times: Between college and that first job
June 4
New graduates should use the time between graduation and employment to learn about their industry and do virtual networking, says Katharine Brooks, director of Liberal Arts Career Services.
Discovery News: DNA computer gets scaled up
June 2
Andy Ellington, the Wilson M. and Kathryn Fraser Research Professor in Biochemistry in the College of Natural Sciences, says there is “enormous potential” in the work being done by Erik Winfree and others on biochemical circuits that could help fight disease. Ellington was also quoted on the same subject in the June 3 Los Angeles Times story “DNA computers: Research marks a leap forward for DNA-based computers.”
Psychology Today: Sexual teasing: Who does it? And why?
June 1
This story mentions a study by researchers at the university and the University of New Brunswick, Canada, that surveyed heterosexual undergraduates about their experiences with sexual teasing.
Read the last edition of In the Know.
