University of Texas Arlington

Lighting the way

KXAS/NBC 5 featured the lighting of UT Arlington’s new Gateway Tower during their 10 p.m. newscast Monday and again, Tuesday morning. The new tower will glow Maverick blue most nights with orange exterior lighting added on special occasions.

Making movies

Director Ya'Ke Smith, an assistant professor of film at UT Arlington, was featured in a San Antonio Express-News story about the making of his new feature film, "Wolf." Currently shooting on several San Antonio locations, "Wolf" tells the story of a family betrayed by a pastor's sexual abuse of their son and what it takes for them to move forward. Smith will be the featured speaker during Thursday's 4 p.m. MavsMeet convocation at Texas Hall.

New provost

Inside Higher Ed and Fort Worth Business Press reported that Ronald L. Elsenbaumer, vice president for research and federal relations at The University of Texas at Arlington, has been appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs there. Elsenbaumer’s appointment takes effect Oct. 24. As the new provost, he will be the university’s chief academic officer, overseeing all colleges, schools, research and academic programs.

Planetarium association president

The Fort Worth Business Press' Aug. 22 People section featured an item on Levent Gurdemir, director of The Planetarium at UT Arlington. He has been elected president of the SouthWestern Association of Planetariums.

An artistic donation

Don Beck, an art professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, donated the labor and materials to make hand-blown glass for neon signs that debuted Monday at Cannon Elementary in Grapevine, according to the Southlake Journal. As a reminder for parents, a new neon sign lights up "ON TIME" until 7:45 a.m., when it switched over to "TARDY."

Comic students recognized

A UT Arlington student broadcast production was among the finalists in the College Broadcasters, Inc. Student Production Awards contest, the organization announced on its website. A piece called “Easter Weekend” is one of four finalists in the Best Comedy category.

Graduate has nationally-noted success

Joan Yeh, who has a Master of Science in Accounting from The University of Texas at Arlington, has been appointed accounting manager for Jupiter Systems, according to an announcement featured on Yahoo! Finance and several other websites. Jupiter Systems is the leading worldwide supplier of display wall processors for command-and-control applications.