University News
Bill to Bring $174 million to UTSA, UT Health Sciences Center and New Texas A&M Campus in San Antonio
On Wednesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry ceremonially signed House Bill 153, which authorizes nearly US$1.9 billion in tuition revenue bonds for construction projects on 48 college and university campuses across the state, including $174 million for UTSA, the UT Health Sciences Center in San Antonio and a new Texas A&M University campus in San Antonio. The funds will help ensure Texas institutions have adequate space for classrooms, libraries, faculty offices, and updated science and computer labs to meet the needs of growing student populations.
Perry thanked the Senate author the bill, Senators Judith Zaffirini, who attended the ceremonial bill signing along with Senator Leticia Van De Putte and Representatives Joaquin Castro, David Leibowitz, Ruth Jones McClendon, and Joe Straus, who also worked on the legislation.
"Because of their work, UTSA will receive more than $74 million to build a new engineering building that will become the home for groundbreaking research that could eventually provide the basis for new technologies, new medicines and new jobs for Texas workers,"Perry said. "The UT Health Science Center will benefit from a $60 million investment, which will be used in constructing the South Texas Research Facility. These funds will allow the Center to add new space for researching diseases like diabetes, which is of particular concern in this part of the state, and developing technologies to protect all Americans against acts of bio-terrorism."
Another $40 million was authorized for a new Texas A&M University campus, which is expected to open in 2009 and will increase educational opportunities on San Antonio's south side. Since the fall of 2000, total enrollment at Texas public and private institutions has increased by about 21 percent, with more than 1 million Texans currently pursuing a college degree. Perry said the statistics are "encouraging because they point to the progress we have made in public education in the past, and to a future of greater opportunity and prosperity that lies ahead for our entire state."
Perry also pointed out enrollment growth creates a real need for additional facilities and infrastructure improvements, especially at campuses like UTSA, where enrollment growth was four times higher than the state average last year. "And with the steady global march towards a highly-competitive, technology-based economy, it is more important than ever for Texas to increase opportunity in higher education,"Perry said.
"This $1.9 billion investment is an important step in ensuring that more children have access to a college education, that our future workforce has the skills to compete in the marketplace of tomorrow, and that Texas remains a leading destination for high-tech employers and job expansions,"Perry said. "House Bill 153 is good for Texas college students, good for Texas employers and good for everyone who benefits from a strong Texas economy."
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UNC Administrator Gretchen M. Bataille Named Sole Finalist for UNT Presidency
Last week, the University of North Texas System Board of Regents approved a recommendation from Chancellor Lee Jackson to name Dr. Gretchen M. Bataille as the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of North Texas — the system's flagship campus in Denton.
If confirmed by the regents later this month, Bataille (pronounced Bah- tie) will become UNT's 14th president and the first woman in the university's 116-year history to hold the position of chief executive officer.
The naming of Bataille as the sole finalist completes a nationwide search begun in September 2005, following Dr. Norval Pohl's declaration last summer of his plans to step down from the UNT presidency by August 31 of this year. The announcement also begins the minimum 21-day period required by Texas law before the UNT regents can vote to officially appoint Bataille to the position.
Since 2000, Bataille has served as the chief academic officer of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system. For the past year, she had an additional assignment as interim chancellor of UNC's North Carolina School of the Arts. Bataille is a tenured professor of English at UNC-Chapel Hill.
As the UNC system's senior vice president for academic affairs, Bataille led the academic planning for all of the UNC system campuses, comprising a total enrollment of about 196,000 students. The UNC system is composed of the state's 16 public universities granting baccalaureate and advanced degrees, including two medical schools and schools of dentistry, pharmacy, public health and veterinary medicine. The scope of her responsibilities as the system's highest ranking academic officer included oversight of strategic planning and budgeting, research, student affairs, international programs and advising the UNC president and board of governors on academic issues.
As interim chancellor of NCSA, Bataille was CEO of an institution serving more than 1,100 junior-high to graduate students training for professional careers in the arts in five professional schools – dance, design and production (visual arts), drama, film and music. NCSA was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation.
Bataille has served as provost and academic vice president at Washington State University and provost of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She also served as associate dean for academic personnel in Arizona State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and chair of its English Department and as acting associate dean of instruction at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona.
A recognized scholar of Native American literature, Bataille's professional career has focused on issues of diversity, civil rights and ethnic studies.
Bataille began her teaching career as a member of the English faculty at Iowa State University. During her tenure, she initiated and chaired the American Indian Studies Program and directed numerous conferences and symposia on Native Americans and ethnic studies.
She chaired the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and wrote the grant that created the American Indian Institute at ASU, where Bataille also chaired the President's Committee for Assessment for Quality and Diversity. She served as a member of the Council of Academic Affairs of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and on the board of the Research Triangle Institute.
Bataille currently serves as the vice chair and a trustee of the College Board and serves on the boards of the North Carolina Humanities Council and the North Carolina Public Television Foundation, among others.
Originally from Indiana, Bataille earned her bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in English education from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. She earned a doctorate in English from Drake University and has completed management development programs at Harvard University and the University of California. Bataille is a widow and the mother of two grown children —Erin Hettinga Crail and Marc Hettinga.
The Regents and Jackson selected Bataille from a diverse pool of candidates recommended by a 19-member search advisory committee co-chaired by Regents Gayle Strange of Denton and Robert Nickell of Dallas. The advisory committee included UNT faculty, staff and students as well as community leaders. Korn/Ferry International, an executive search firm, aided the system and the committee in the search process.
In the University of North Carolina system, the position of chancellor is the UNT System equivalent of a presidency. Likewise, the UNC president is the UNT System equivalent of the chancellorship.
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Jacobs Institute to Create New Medicines, Biomedical Devices
To address the most pressing and challenging problems in clinical medicine today and in the future, the California Institute of Technology has established the Joseph J. Jacobs Institute for Molecular Engineering for Medicine.
The Jacobs Institute will create revolutionary methodologies for the diagnosis and treatment of human disease through innovative research and collaboration between Caltech and the world's top experts in the field of medicine. This new institute will facilitate seamless interaction among leading institutions pursuing biomedical research and clinical applications. The goal is use molecular engineering to invent the next generation of medicines and medical devices, thus advancing the future of medical science.
The initial $10 million gift to support the Jacobs Institute was donated by the late Joseph J. Jacobs.
A key to the success of the Jacobs Institute will be the development of close working relationships between top medical doctors around the world and researchers at Caltech.
The focus of the work will include molecular engineering, biotechnology, and the design of new biomaterials for medical applications. Cardiovascular disease, nerve regeneration, cellular interactions, engineered organs, and various biological mechanisms will be explored. Advances could lead to innovative treatments and new approaches to the prevention of medical conditions including heart disease, spinal cord injuries, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, lung disease, and diseases of the nervous system, liver, and kidney.
Industry leader and philanthropist Joseph J. Jacobs was founder and chairman of the board of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., one of the world's largest international engineering and construction firms, headquartered in Pasadena.
Throughout his career, Jacobs pursued many humanitarian endeavors and made substantial contributions to the improvement of numerous social issues. Among the many honors bestowed on him, Jacobs was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and named a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 1983, President Reagan presented Jacobs with the Hoover Medal, which recognizes the civic and humanitarian achievements of professional engineers. The medal committee cited Jacobs as an "eminent engineer; distinguished builder of worldwide enterprises in chemical engineering; a vital humanitarian force devoted to the support of education in engineering and the sciences for the welfare of society both nationally and internationally; and a dedicated contributor to improving an understanding of the problems of the elderly." An accomplished author, he published two books, an autobiography, The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture, and Ethics, and a book on social policy, The Compassionate Conservative: Assuming Responsibility and Respecting Human Dignity. Jacobs died in October 2004 at the age of 88.
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University of Nottingham Globalization Center Receives Grant
A world-leading center for research into globalization has received fresh backing with a new grant of £1.5 million (US$2.75 million)
The Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP), based at The University of Nottingham, has been awarded a further £1.5m from the Leverhulme Trust. The award will be used for a program of research on 'Surviving and Succeeding in a Globalized World'.
This latest award follows an initial grant made in 2001 to establish GEP — which has since developed into one of the world's foremost centers for the economic analysis of globalization.
The funding will support new research and dissemination activity in two of GEP's existing programs:
- Globalization, Productivity and Technology
- Globalization and Labour Markets
and will underpin GEP's new program on China and the World Economy.
The Leverhulme Trust, established at the wish of William Hesketh Lever, the first Viscount Leverhulme, makes awards for the support of research and education.
The award was also welcomed by Sir Nicholas Stern, Chair of GEP's Strategic Advisory Board. He said: "The new award is a very well-deserved note of confidence in the work of GEP.
The funding started on July 1, 2006, and runs for six years.
The Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy was established in the School of Economics in 2001, and has received core funding exceeding £4.5 million (US$8.25 million) from The Leverhulme Trust.
Its activities are structured around four research programs, linked by the common theme of the economic analysis of globalization: 'Globalization and Labour Markets', 'Globalization Productivity and Technology', 'Theory and Methods' and ' China and the World Economy'.
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Page-Campbell Merges with Vanderbilt Heart Institute
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Page-Campbell Cardiology Group at Saint Thomas Hospital have enjoyed a longstanding innovative partnership that began in 1999 with the creation of the Vanderbilt Page-Campbell Heart Institute.
On July 1, the cardiology practices officially joined forces to provide the most comprehensive services of their kind in Middle Tennessee when the Page-Campbell practice, along with its staff, moved to the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute.
Celebrated by both groups, the merger is expected to place Vanderbilt in the top echelon of providers for cardiology, cardiac surgery and vascular services in the region.
The former Saint Thomas physicians will receive full faculty appointments at Vanderbilt, while the staff will be integrated into the Heart Institute to serve patients in a seamless fashion. Already, staff members have attended several mixers and begun transitioning into their new workplace.
The innovative partnership, which began with the opening of the Vanderbilt Page-Campbell Heart Institute, created one of the state's largest regional cardiac care networks.
Now, the combination of a premier cardiology practice and a leading academic medical center will allow patients access to the most advanced therapies and a high-tech treatment and research facility.
Dr. Rob Hood, managing partner for the Page-Campbell practice, gradually transitioned to the Vanderbilt campus soon after Dr. Harry Page, co-founder of the practice, began seeing patients at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Hood's primary practice is at Vanderbilt, but he maintains a monthly appointment schedule at Saint Thomas.
Over the last six years, a growing number of Page-Campbell physicians began seeing patients at Vanderbilt as well as sharing the weekend on-call service.
Page-Campbell, a longtime anchor of Saint Thomas' heart programs, began in 1970 with the collaboration of two cardiologists – Page, and Dr. W. Barton Campbell. The pair, employed by Saint Thomas, formed a partnership and in 1974 created a professional corporation as a vehicle to hire other cardiologists. Ten years ago the original name, Cardiologist Consultants, PC, was changed to Page-Campbell Cardiology Group.
The Vanderbilt/Page-Campbell merger has been embraced as a fundamentally important step forward by the highest levels of leadership.
Page-Campbell's move could bring up to 20,000 new patients to Vanderbilt's existing roster of about 28,000. Vanderbilt's Heart and Vascular Institute, which debuted last year, is a combination of inpatient and outpatient services that houses the Heart Institute, the Department of Cardiac Surgery and the Vascular Center.
Under the new arrangement, Page-Campbell outreach clinics will be maintained in Tennessee, including in Celina, Franklin, Livingston, Shelbyville and Sparta, and in Greenville, Ky.
In addition, a non-teaching service will be operated by attending Vanderbilt physicians in concert with a team of cardiovascular nurse practitioners. With an anticipated increase in clinical volume, Hood said, this effort will assist in maintaining the 80-hour workweek practice for residents. The non-teaching service will be named the Page-Campbell Service.
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UCSC Creates New Major in Computer Game Design
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has approved a new major in computer game design, the first of its kind in the UC system. The new major, leading to a B.S. degree, provides students with a rigorous background in the technical, artistic, and narrative elements of creating interactive computer games.
The Department of Computer Science will administer the new interdisciplinary program, which will also involve faculty in the Department of Film and Digital Media in UCSC's Arts Division. Students can enroll in the new major beginning this fall.
A highlight of the major is a yearlong game design project in which students work in teams to develop and polish a substantial video game. The campus is creating a new instructional laboratory for computer game design to support these projects.
To help launch the program, UCSC has recently hired Michael Mateas, a leading researcher in the area of artificial intelligence for computer games. Mateas, an assistant professor of computer science, focuses on creating computer-controlled characters that have rich emotions, dialogue, and interactions with their environment.
Mateas is codeveloper of the game Façade, an interactive drama that represents a new genre of computer games. In Façade, the player is a friend of a couple having marital problems. The player "talks" to the couple (by typing), and they respond to the player and to each other. Whether they stay together or break up depends on what the player says.
The new major has a core of computer science courses and provides a rigorous education in the technical aspects of creating computer games. Additional courses in digital media permit students to focus on games from an artistic perspective. Electives permit students to explore relevant courses in art, theater, film, music, and economics. Pathways in the major permit students to transfer into it from community colleges.
Nationwide, there are only a handful of institutions offering technically focused undergraduate degree programs in computer games. In California, the University of Southern California is starting a similar degree this fall. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Georgia Institute of Technology have also both recently launched programs.
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Yale Psychiatry Researchers Receive NARSAD Awards
Three Yale School of Medicine researchers investigating schizophrenia, depression and Tourette's syndrome recently were awarded grants from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.
The Distinguished Investigator Awards are highly selective and are made to scientists with promising lines of research on the causes, treatments and prevention of mental illnesses. The one-year grants of up to $100,000 are intended to encourage experienced scientists to explore diverse areas of neuropsychiatric research that present special opportunities for discovery.
The Yale recipients and their research include:
Angus Nairn, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, is studying brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which has been implicated in many psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and depression. Using state-of-the-art proteomic biotechnologies, Nairn will seek to identify novel protein targets for BDNF that are synthesized in neurons and novel substrates for Akt, which is a critical enzyme involved in several signal transduction pathways. Identifying these novel targets would represent an important advance in elucidating the complete function of BDNF. If successful, these proteomic approaches would be extended to the neurotrophic factors that may be involved in psychiatric disorders.
Paul Lombroso, M.D., a professor at the Yale Child Study Center, will use an animal model to investigate the molecular events associated with Tourette syndrome. Tourette is a childhood disorder characterized by repetitive movements and vocalizations. It is believed that blocking dopamine receptors prevents the repetitive movements, however, it is unclear how dopamine signals lead to stereotypes. Lombroso will seek to identify proteins that contribute to this process and will focus on a family of protein tyrosine phosphatases called striatal enriched tyrosine phosphatases, or STEP.
John Krystal, M.D., a professor of psychiatry, will use functional magnetic resonance imaging that involves a saline and ketamine infusion in fixed order and data analysis to collect pilot data on 20 healthy human subjects. He will use this data to determine if GABRA2 (a selective subpopulation of GABA-A receptors containing the alpha-2 subunit) and NMDA receptors are related to the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. In addition to further implicating GABRA2 and NMDA receptors, and the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, this project may also provide a human lab-based paradigm for testing the efficacy of therapeutic agents targeting GABRA2.
