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Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders
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Within—and often outside—the walls of our classrooms, the next generation of thinkers, business executives, artists, and inventors are listening. To their classmates as they debate important topics. To themselves as they ponder insightful questions. And to their professors as they guide them toward new ways of mastering complex material. UT Arlington provides students with all the tools they need to succeed, from dedicated teachers to award-winning programs to innovative classroom offerings. It’s all part of our effort to produce lifelong learners and critical thinkers who are well prepared to enter the global marketplace.

Minverva Cordero, Mathematics associate professor; James Epperson, mathematics associate professor; Theresa Jorgensen, mathematics assistant professor; Barbara Shipman, mathematics associate professor
Calculated Success
UT Arlington mathematics professors aren’t just making an impact inside their own classrooms. They’re developing programs that will make math clearer for other teachers and students—from elementary school to college. The UT System Board of Regents has recognized, clockwise from top left, Minerva Cordero, James Epperson, Theresa Jorgensen, and Barbara Shipman with Outstanding Teaching Awards for delivering the highest quality of undergraduate instruction through a demonstrated commitment to teaching. Dr. Epperson directs the UT Arlington Mathematics Teacher Preparation Academy, a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board-funded project that helps prospective and current teachers perform at the highest levels in mathematics and mathematics instruction. Dr. Jorgensen also is a leader in that program. “When you work with teachers, you see the light bulbs go off in their heads and they say, ‘Wow, these ideas are great! I’m going to take this back to my classroom,’ ” she says. Dr. Shipman is helping upper-level mathematics educators by publishing a series of classroom strategies she developed with funding from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Cordero is principal investigator for an NSF-funded project that places UT Arlington graduate students in selected Arlington schools to boost interest in math.
students study blueprint

IMPROVING THE LANDSCAPE

Design and research expertise have propelled the School of Architecture’s Landscape Architecture Program to national prominence. In its annual publication of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools for 2010, DesignIntelligence ranks the program in the top 20. “The landscape architecture profession is undergoing an evolution in its mission and purpose,” School of Architecture Dean Donald Gatzke says. “This recognition is another indication of the rising reputation and influence of the school and our graduates.”

Bart Weiss

READY FOR THEIR CLOSE-UP

Bart Weiss normally shines a spotlight on others, but his work in the Art and Art History Department is now getting the attention. The award-winning independent film and video producer, director, and editor is bringing new ideas to the film/video area of the department. His Video for iPhone class is thought to be unique in the country. Weiss and his colleagues will benefit from a recent $500,000 endowment from actor and alumnus Morgan Woodward, which will help the program continue its innovative and creative pursuits.

Michael Moore

GLOBAL ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION

UT Arlington continues to distinguish itself as a leader and innovator in online instruction through its Center for Distance Education. For the fourth consecutive year, a University faculty member has received international recognition from the United States Distance Learning Association. The most recent honoree is Michael Moore, associate professor of political science, senior vice provost, and dean of undergraduate studies, who received one of four Gold Best Practices Awards of Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching in 2010.

nursing student

FLEXIBLE OPTIONS FOR A CRITICAL FIELD

The College of Nursing has created a program that will tackle two major aspects of the national nursing shortage—lack of faculty and insufficient clinical learning space. The Academic Partnership Bachelor of Science in Nursing offers flexibility for students and an innovative approach to enrolling and supporting them. Through UT Arlington’s collaboration with Academic Partnerships, the program is expected to substantially increase the College of Nursing’s capacity to help qualified applicants become registered nurses.

Arne Winguth

SUSTAINABILITY MAKES THE GRADE

UT Arlington understands the importance of preserving the planet for future generations and has taken great measures to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. Faculty members like Arne Winguth, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, help students develop responsible eco-stewardship through hands-on experiences at area lakes.

The University now offers a master’s degree in sustainability at its Fort Worth Center. The 36-hour, non-thesis program can be completed in one year and includes courses focusing on core sustainability concepts like the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program and high-density development, as well as the psychological and socioeconomic dynamics involved in this cultural shift to more conscientious consumption.

“Participants develop the sustainability analysis and evaluation skills necessary to implement and document sustainable initiatives within the changing marketplace,” says Mike West, executive director of the Fort Worth Center and a clinical professor in the program, which recently expanded to Dallas. “The complexities of managing in a world that is rapidly adopting sustainable business practices is creating a demand for well-trained graduates in this discipline.”

In fall 2010 UT Arlington began offering a minor in sustainability in its undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies Program. The minor requires 18 credit hours, including courses in liberal arts, natural sciences, engineering, urban and public affairs, and architecture. The goal is to challenge students from a variety of majors to think critically about sustainability, help develop solutions, and gain greater understanding of an important topic not normally covered in their chosen disciplines.

James Campbell Quick

STRESSING TEACHING AND RESEARCH

James Campbell Quick is one of the world’s leading experts on stress, having written or co-written more than 100 research papers, articles, and popular books on the subject.

But his greatest contributions may have taken place in the classrooms of the Business Building.

The John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor in the College of Business, Dr. Quick has spent the past 30-plus years educating UT Arlington students, and his work has not gone unnoticed. He is a member of the University’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers, which recognizes outstanding teaching, personal commitment to students and the learning process, and ability to inspire and motivate students. He also has received the University Award for Distinguished Record of Research or Creative Activity, making him one of the few professors to receive both honors.

Quick was also the founding director and former executive director of the University’s prestigious Goolsby Leadership Academy, which provides a select group of undergraduates with training in leadership and management skills.

Outside the classroom, he has become a respected voice on organizational stress. His extensive writings over the past three decades are influential, appearing in textbooks and as references in scholarly articles. He believes a certain amount of stress helps people accomplish tasks and, within reason, equates to creative tension.

But as one of his frequent collaborators, Oklahoma State University Professor Debra Nelson, says, “What sets him apart is his generosity. He has partnered with and trained so many faculty and students, and he continues to operate with a servant’s heart.”
Judy LeFlore

BLAZING A VIRTUAL TRAIL

Judy LeFlore spent 20 years as a nurse and neonatal practitioner before joining the College of Nursing faculty in 2003, but she has already become a teaching pioneer and role model. Her expertise: using technology, such as the lifelike patient simulators in UT Arlington’s Smart Hospital.

She has received several local, national, and international awards. Most recently, the National League for Nursing named Dr. LeFlore a 2010 fellow in their Academy of Nursing Education.

“Simulation is a teaching strategy. It’s not an end; it’s a means to an end,” says LeFlore, the college’s director of pediatric, acute care pediatric, and neonatal nurse practitioner programs. “We’re hoping to establish best educational practices.”

She worked with engineers at UT Dallas in 2010 to create iNursing RN: Respiratory Distress, which uses video game technology to teach through a “clinical encounter” in a virtual world. With funding from the UT System, LeFlore conducted a randomized, control trial to evaluate whether iNursingRN could help her students learn to evaluate pediatric patients as well as a three-hour lecture could. She found that video game technology appears to be more effective than lectures alone in helping students apply information to a clinical setting.

She also leads the development of a rating system for health care professionals that has been used in area hospitals to improve multidisciplinary communication, professionalism, and use of resources.

“Every hospital has teams of people, whether you are in the OR or the ICU. No one works in isolation,” LeFlore says. “You have to play nice with others.”
History Associate Professor W. Marvin Dulaney, and Professor Sam Haynes

HELPING TEACHERS TEACH HISTORY

UT Arlington history professors are doing their part to improve the teaching of American History in area schools. For seven years, they have helped local schoolteachers create better history lessons under the federal Teaching American History program. Last year brought involvement in another $1 million grant to further those collaborations.

History Associate Professor W. Marvin Dulaney, right, is helping the Fort Worth school district plan the latest grant program. As part of Fort Worth’s initiative, professors from the UT Arlington History Department give a series of full-day seminars on topics covered in fifth, eighth, and 11th grade American history classes. Topics range from American colonization to the Civil War to contemporary America. The professors also will participate in a four-day Summer Institute.

“We give them a lot of good content in terms of facts and detailed ways to approach different topics in American history,” says Dr. Dulaney. “We’re hoping that what we teach the teachers they will then teach the students in high schools and middle schools.”

In 2009 Dulaney helped arrange UT Arlington’s involvement in another $1 million Teaching American History grant to Dallas schools. Before that, his colleague, Professor Sam Haynes, forged a partnership with the Arlington school district on a Teaching American History grant and worked with Fort Worth schools to get an earlier Teaching American History award.

“There are school districts all over that have benefited from this program,” Dr. Haynes says. “This is something we can do fairly quickly, and we speak directly to what they need. This addresses the teachers’ need for content knowledge in a very direct and effective way.”