University Communications » Internal Communications » TrailBlazer » TrailBlazer 07-24-2012

UT Arlington Research Institute debuts new name, mission

UT Arlington has a new name and a bold new mission for its former robotics institute in Fort Worth. The UT Arlington Research Institute (UTARI) aims to become a global leader in the research and development of advanced technology to help humanity and to provide unique, affordable solutions to complex problems.

Under the direction of retired Army Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, the UTARI will focus on strengthening links between University research and the commercialization of technology and innovation. A new strategic plan calls for the Research Institute to produce $100 million annually in research expenditures, significantly increasing its research and support staff.

The plan also will establish a new industry consortium that will allow industry professionals to share ideas and collaborate with the Research Institute, other UT Arlington faculty, and each other.

Read more about the UT Arlington Research Institute.

In agreement: President James D. Spaniolo, second from left, was joined Monday in renewing an agreement to support the path to a bachelor's degree by, from left, Bob Morrison, Mansfield schools superintendent; Erma Johnson Hadley, Tarrant County College chancellor; and Marcelo Cavazos, interim superintendent of Arlington schools.

University streamlines degree path with school districts, TCC

UT Arlington has renewed partnerships with the Arlington and Mansfield school districts and Tarrant County College to aid dedicated students on their path to earning a full bachelor’s degree.

Through agreements signed Monday, the two school districts, TCC, and UT Arlington pledge to provide additional staff and scholarship resources to guide students and families who want the highest quality education from high school through college.

UT Arlington admissions and academic advising staffs will work with TCC students to ensure that they take courses accepted toward their bachelor’s degree from the University. High-performing transfer students would be eligible for a UT Arlington scholarship of up to $10,000.

Students who complete all three phases of the program and qualify for the scholarship could save $25,000 on the total cost of their undergraduate education and earn a college degree for less than $10,000 in tuition and fees.

Read more about the agreement.

For more information about the accelerated degree plan, contact the UT Arlington Admissions Office at beamaverick@uta.edu or call 817-272-6287 (MAVS).

'The Shorthorn' moves to daily digital, weekly print editions

The Shorthorn, UT Arlington's student newspaper, will move to a daily online edition and weekly expanded print edition starting this fall.

An email news digest of articles published online will be available daily. The rollout—The Shorthorn's News Frontier—will include mobile apps and an enhanced website.

Read more about The Shorthorn changes.

Early voting on campus this week for primary runoff elections

UT Arlington is an early voting site 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, July 24-26, for the Tuesday, July 31, primary runoff elections.

Polling site is at the Maverick Activities Center, just inside the entrance.

The University also will serve as an early voting site Oct. 29-Nov. 2 for the Nov. 6 general election.

For more information on early voting, see votetexas.gov and Tarrant County elections.

Abram Street project closes road

Abram Street will be closed between Cooper Street on the east and Thornton Street on the west for the next two weeks. The closure is for pavement improvements.

Use Main Street and UTA Boulevard as alternate routes.

Monica Hew

Senior named student of the year by Boeing, Flightglobal

Monica Hew has been named one of two Boeing/Flightglobal's Engineering Students of the Year.

This is the first year Boeing and Flightglobal selected winning students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the annual Engineering Student of the Year Award competition.

Hew, an aerospace engineering and physics senior, has been developing, building, and testing ultra-low-power wireless strain sensors for use in monitoring the integrity and health of remote structures, including airplanes and other aircraft. The sensors use small photo cells to power the strain gage and data transmission system, enabling placement anywhere on a vehicle without the need for additional wiring.

Read more about Hew and her award.

Help Mavericks move in

Lend a hand when students arrive on campus at the annual Residence Hall Move In Event. Volunteers are needed for shifts 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20.

Apartment and Residence Life in the Division of Student Affairs anticipates 2,183 residents to move in to six residence hall communities.

Complete the Move-In volunteer form. For questions and details, contact Mari Duncan, director of residence life, at mari@uta.edu.

Center style A mixture of colors and designs integrate into the patterns of windows on the College Park District's east side along Center Street. Students will fill The Loft apartments and the Vandergriff Hall residential hall in August. Watch some finishing touches on the College Park District webcam.

Housing open at The Heights on Pecan

There are still some apartments open at The Heights on Pecan for the fall semester. This community, located at 1225 S. Pecan St., was purchased by the University and features only furnished apartments.

Tour the model rooms 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. Preview the community page, rates, and floor plans.

For questions, call 817-272-2791 or email housing@uta.edu.

Get discount and see Rembrandt etchings at Arlington Museum of Art

Enjoy UT Arlington Week at the Arlington Museum of Art Aug. 6-12 and see the summer exhibit Rembrandt: An Evolution of Etchings.

Show your UT Arlington ID and pay only $5 ($3 off the regular admission). The exhibit, which showcases some of Rembrandt's most celebrated etchings as well as some of his lesser known and rarely exhibited pieces, is co-sponsored by College Town UTA.

For hours, location, and other information, see Arlington Museum of Art.

Sign the pledge and 'Be Air Aware'

The Office of Sustainability at UT Arlington and Air North Texas are challenging the University community, businesses, and local governments to focus strategies on air pollution watch and warning days.

Things you can do to help include carpooling, using mass transit, biking or walking, and avoiding car idling. Heed air pollution watch and warning notifications, and protect your health by limiting outdoor activity on air pollution warning days.

UT Arlington is seeking to get the maximum number of faculty and staff to sign the pledge to "Be Air Aware" at Air North Texas.

Fresh face The New Student Welcome Center received a facelift. In the future, the center will retain its place on the first floor of Davis Hall, but some personnel and student tours will move to the College Park District.

Mavs Book Club meets Aug. 10

Mavs Book Club meets at noon Friday, Aug. 10, at the University Club in Davis Hall.

Get tickets now for UT Arlington's own Six Flags Day in August

Go higher and go faster with more than 50 thrilling rides at UT Arlington Six Flags Day on Sunday, Aug. 26, at Six Flags Over Texas.

Discount tickets for students are $25 each with a limit of 10 tickets per person. Tickets include admission to Six Flags, parking, and a "splash back" ticket to Hurricane Harbor. Get tickets at utatickets.com.

Enjoy the fun at the park starting at 10:30 a.m. or come 6-9 p.m. when it's the UT Arlington-only crowd.

The event is open to the UT Arlington community and is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs.

Vintage Computer Festival Aug. 4-5

The Vintage Computer Festival Southwest 3.0 on Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 4-5, features a tour of the Ross Perot collection of vintage computing, including several sections of the original ENIAC computer.

Festival hours are 9 a.m-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Events are in the E.H. Hereford University Center.

Admission is $15 for two days or $10 for one day. Children 17 and younger are admitted free.

The event is sponsored by the Museum of Information Technology at Arlington, the UTA Office of Information Technology, the UTA College of Engineering, the Museum of Computer Culture, the Houston Computer Museum, and Vintage Tech.

Discount tickets reserved for students for Passion Pit performance Sept. 14

Discounted tickets for 500 students are reserved for the Passion Pit concert at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, at College Park Center.

Tickets are on sale at www.utacollegepark.com; the Box Office at College Park Center, 601 S. Pecan St.; or by calling 817-272-9595.

Ticket prices range from $21.50 to $29.50. A $5.50 service fee will be added to each ticket. UT Arlington students are eligible for a $5 discount on one ticket while quantities last.

Passion Pit has won praise for “Take a Walk,” the first single from its upcoming Gossamer album, available this week.

Read more about the Passion Pit concert.

Impact of dropping classes

For summer II session classes, the last day to drop is Tuesday, July 31.

Impact of dropping on undergraduate students: Students who entered college for the first time in fall 2007 are limited to a total of six dropped courses during their undergraduate career. Read more about this state law and procedures for its implementation at UT Arlington.

Impact of dropping if you receive financial aid: Students receiving financial aid must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements established by UT Arlington. Refer to the SAP policy on the Office of Financial Aid website, uta.edu/fao, to ensure that you are meeting the requirements. Students who do not meet the minimum standards outlined will lose eligibility to receive financial aid. For questions, make an appointment to see a financial aid counselor by calling 817-272-3561 or sending an email to fao@uta.edu.

Order your transcript and avoid end-of-term lines

Order your end-of-summer transcripts online. You can order transcripts online and request to hold for grades or for your degree posting if you are graduating this summer.

Summer grades will be posted Thursday, Aug. 16.

Grade exclusion requests

On Tuesday, July 31, the grade exclusion site will close for any further submissions for the summer term. All grade exclusion requests submitted in the summer term must be submitted by 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 31. The grade exclusion site will reopen Sept. 11 for fall submissions.

Register for fall 2012

Registration for the fall term is continuing through Aug. 22. Late registration for fall is Aug. 23-29.

Registration timetables are online. To determine if you need adviser clearance, check your portal page at MyMav and click on Student Center. You will see a section on the right titled Holds. Click the details link for specific hold information. If your academic department requires advising, you will see an academic department service indicator (hold).

A list of advising offices is online. Check the fall schedule of classes.

Tour Texas politics, identity exhibit Wednesday Join curator and UT Arlington librarian Rafia Mirza as she leads a tour of the summer Special Collections exhibit "Texas 'Identity' Politics: 1900-present." The tour begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, on the sixth floor of the Central Library. The exhibit examines politics and everything considered political. It also makes the argument that every person has multiple axes of identity: gender, sexual orientation, religion, race/ethnicity, political affiliation, and more. The exhibit focuses on political identities in Texas from 1900 to the present and the ways in which politics have become intertwined with our identities. The word politics, like propaganda, often has negative connotations, but it's really just a descriptive term that can be fraught with complexity and emotion. The exhibit runs through Saturday, Aug. 11. For more information, call 817-272-3393 or email spcoref@uta.edu.

Wednesdays

Mindful Moments Take a break with Mindful Moments. Free. 12:15-12:45 p.m., Wednesdays, Room 219, Health Services Center. Health Services. Mindful Moments will not meet July 25 and Aug. 8.

Thursday, July 26

Outdoor Movie: The Pirates! Band of Misfits Enjoy free popcorn or buy soft drinks and snacks at the concession stand. Bring a blanket or chair for the lawn seating. Children under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Free. 9 p.m., west lawn, Maverick Activities Center. Also Battleship, Aug. 2. EXCEL Campus Activities.

Ongoing

897 Square Exhibit features artists who live and/or work in Tarrant County. Free. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesday, Saturdays; 4-8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Fort Worth Center. Through Tuesday, July 31. Gallery 76102.

Texas Rangers Baseball Get discount tickets for students, faculty, staff, alumni, family, and friends. Access texasrangers.com/uta and use the password MAVS12 for designated games through Wednesday, Sept. 26.

India Unveiled: The Photography of Robert Arnett A collection of images highlighting the diversity of India and its various regions. Free. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, sixth floor parlor, Central Library. Through Jan. 5, 2013. Special Collections.

Planetarium Take an adventure along the spectrum and discover the world of color in Cosmic Colors. 2:30 p.m. Saturdays. Planetarium.

(For an expanded list of events, see the UT Arlington Calendar.)

Two former Mavericks competing in Olympics

Former track athlete Jared Connaughton and former men’s basketball player Derrick Obasohan will represent their countries in the Summer Olympics, which begin Friday in London.

Connaughton (’08 BA), who was named the Southland Conference’s Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer in 2005, will compete in the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter relay for his native Canada.

Obasohan, who earned All-Southland Conference honors in 2004, helped propel his country of Nigeria to its first ever Olympic qualification in basketball.

Volleyball schedule includes two home tournaments

Two tournaments and 11 other home matches are included in the 2012 volleyball schedule as the Mavericks serve their way into College Park Center and the Western Athletic Conference.

Coach Diane Seymour's squad opens the season Friday, Aug. 24, against Savannah State in the UTA/Hilton Invitational in their first match at the CPC, which opened in February. The Mavericks also face UT Pan American and Stephen F. Austin in the two-day tournament.

Home matches with North Texas on Aug. 28 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sept. 3 precede the Maverick Classic on Sept. 7-8, which includes Marist, Northwestern State, and Southern Mississippi.

The Mavericks begin play in the WAC on Sept. 15 at Louisiana Tech and will have nine conference home matches beginning Sept. 28 against Utah State.

Intramural Olympic contest entries due Friday

Select the countries that collect the most gold medals in each event and you could win the 2012 Summer Olympics Challenge.

Entries are due by 5 p.m. Friday, July 27, at the services and information desk at the Maverick Activities Center.

Find entry forms at the MAC or enter online at Campus Recreation.

Maverick All-Sports Pass available now

Students can purchase a Maverick All-Sports Pass for admission to all home sports events and a get free T-shirt, too. The Sports Pass is $50.

To purchase through your MyMav account, follow this map: Student Center>Finance Section>purchase items>Athletics>Maverick All-Sport Pass.

Or write a check to UT Arlington Athletics and note that it is for the Maverick Sports Pass. Send to Box 19950, Arlington, TX 76019-9950 or drop by Suite 1102 of College Park Center. To purchase over the phone, contact Leigh Coggiola at 817-272-0694.

Individual student tickets are $3 each to all athletic events.

(For more sports news, go to utamavs.com, uta.edu/movinmavs, or uta.edu/campusrec.)