University of Texas Arlington

Mapping genomes

A story profiling Todd Castoe and Matthew Fujita, two UT Arlington assistant professors of biology, and their research into vertebrate genomes appeared on the websites of the Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star, the Charlotte Observer and several other McClatchy newspapers. The men were among nearly 60 co-authors on recent research that mapped the genome of the Western painted turtle. The story noted that as UT Arlington makes a push for Tier One research status, attracting top-notch faculty members and giving them cutting-edge technology to do their work are among the top priorities. The story originally appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Language learners connected

University of Texas at San Antonio and University of Texas at Arlington students will be able to enroll in new language classes in Portuguese, Russian and Japanese thanks to a $204,903 University of Texas Systems grant, according to the San Antonio Business Journal and the San Antonio Express News. Starting this fall, the two schools will use Blackboard Learn to deliver the courses either live or in synchronous sessions.

Researching MOOCs

UT Arlington will host a conference later this year where findings from the MOOC Research Initiative will be unveiled, the website Hack Education reported. The MOOC Research Initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation and administered through Athabasca University. It is awarding grants that range from $10,000 to $25,000 each.

New testing approved

University of Texas at Arlington associate professor of political science Allan Saxe was featured in a KTVT/CBS 11 story about a new law that requires people receiving unemployment to be tested for illegal drugs. “In our society today there are so many conditions … This is just part of it,” Saxe said.