UTArlington - The University of Texas at Arlington Magazine

Seth Meyers — Maverick Speakers Series

utarlington — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:08:43 +0000

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For one night in November, College Park Center transformed into an oversized comedy club. As part of the Maverick Speakers Series, Saturday Night Live star Seth Meyers entertained a sold-out crowd with an hour-long stand-up routine.

Advancing Excellence

utarlington — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:14:26 +0000

We are pleased to have this opportunity to thank alumni, parents, and friends of The University of Texas at Arlington for your generous support of our students, faculty, and the important work accomplished daily at the University. In the 2011 fiscal year, 7,176 donors made gifts and pledges totaling more than $14.9 million. This is the second-highest total for private philanthropy in UT Arlington’s history, finishing just behind the preceding year’s $15.1 million. It is more than double the average annual total for the decade prior to these record years.

On the following pages, you will find the names of our benefactors. We hope you are proud to find your name among those who support scholarships, research projects, endowments, academic programs, and other UT Arlington initiatives. We also hope you will visit the campus to see firsthand the extraordinary transformation taking place, as well as visit our website at www.uta.edu to see the difference your support makes in the lives of our students and in the University’s global impact.

Ralph Hawkins Jim Lewis Chair, Development Board Vice President for Development

P.S. Help keep the momentum going. You can ensure your inclusion in the 2011-12 listing by making a gift of $100 or greater to any of the University’s programs by Aug. 31, 2012. If you have questions about making a donation, please call the Office of Development at 817–272-2584. You may also make a gift online at www.uta.edu/giving.

DONOR RECOGNITION SOCIETIES

Carlisle Society
Rankin Legacy Society
1895 Society
Giving Circles
Corporate Partners
Foundations
Associations and Organizations
Matching Gift Companies
Tribute Gifts
New Endowments

CARLISLE SOCIETY

Anonymous (3)
202, Inc.
Adobe Systems, Inc.
Mustaque and Rubana Ahmed
Alcatel-Lucent
The Alcon Foundation, Inc.
Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
Frank and Jane Alexander
Alibre, Inc.
American Concrete Institute,
Northeast Texas Chapter
American Concrete Pipe Association
American Heart Association
American Society of Civil Engineers,
Fort Worth Branch
Shahrzad Amirani
Annunziato Family Foundation
The ARC of Dallas
ARGUS Software
Aries Technology
Maritza Arrigunaga
AT&T Corporation
Atlantic Richfield Foundation
Mary E. Aucutt*
AVO International
Axes Technologies, Inc.
Ayco Charitable Foundation
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass
Lee M. Bass
Perry R. Bass*
Sid R. Bass
Baylor Health Care System
Michael R. Baylor
Bell Helicopter Textron
Joe L. Bentley
Drs. Dan and Janice Bida
Big Band Preservation Society
of North Texas
BNR (Bell Northern Research)
The Boeing Company
Bosque Foundation
BP Global
BP West Coast Products LLC
Malcolm K. Brachman*
Donald H. Bunnell, LTC, AUS, Ret.
Shane and Amy Burden
Daniel C. Burkholder*
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation
Lewis* and Virginia Buttery
Buz Post Motors, Inc.
CA, Inc.
CADSi
Jonathan Campbell and Tanya Dowdey
Cancer Research Foundation
of North Texas
Cardinal Health
CareFusion
Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc.
The Carthage Foundation
Chris and Becky Carroll
Amon G. Carter Foundation
Cawley, Gillespie & Assocs.
Cerion Optimization Services, Inc.
J. P. Morgan Chase Bank
Children’s Medical Center of Dallas
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Jeanneane Cline-Keene
Wayne and Nancy Coble
Jeannette M. Coburn
and Thomas M. McMahon*
CommScope, Inc. of North Carolina
Foundation for Community
Empowerment
Community Foundation of North Texas
ConocoPhillips
Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc.
Cook Children’s Medical Center
Keith Crandell and Susan Davis
Cravens — Wysong Family
Custom Information Services
Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council
Mark and Sherry Tucker David
Tucker David Foundation
Jack and Carolyn Davis
DCF Consulting & Services, Ltd.
Decision Analyst, Inc.
Dell Children’s Medical Center
Seton Family of Hospitals
Deloitte and Touche LLP
DFW Hospital Council Education
& Research Foundation
Digital Networking Solutions
Dionex Corporation
DLM Investments
DMS Renewable Energy, Inc.
Paul Dorman
Virginia P. Dorman
Dow Chemical Co.
Duratek, Inc.
Eastman Kodak Company
James H. and Minnie M. Edmonds
Educational Foundation
John W. Edmonds*
EFW, Inc.
Allan Ekholm*
Electronics Education Foundation
Electrospace Systems, Inc.
Elsevier E-Learning
Energy Future Holdings Corp.
Entact Information Security
ExxonMobil Corporation
ExxonMobil Foundation
Babak Fahimi
Thomas Dewey Field*
First Baptist Church of Arlington
Fleetwood Memorial Foundation
The Fleming Foundation
FMC Corporation
FNIS Flood Services, LP
Ford Motor Company
Formosa Plastics Corp Texas
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Jacqualyn A. Fouse
Igor Fraiberg*
Freese and Nichols, Inc.
Fresnel Technologies, Inc.
Frito-Lay, Inc.
Fujitsu Limited
Jenkins* and Virginia Garrett
GE
General Dynamics Corporation
General Motors Corporation
Getronics
John and Judy Goolsby
Greater Texas Foundation
A.C. Greene*
Janet and Mike Greene
Halff Associates, Inc.
Halliburton Company
Frankie M. Hansell*
Hanson Pipe & Precast, Inc.
Harris Corporation
Lewis B. Haskins
Ralph and Susan Hawkins
Healing Environs
Hein and Associates
Gensie B. Hemphill*
Rudolf Hermanns*
Hewlett Packard Co.
Higher Education Servicing Corp.
Nettie C. Hill*
Teed D. Hill*
Hillcrest Foundation
Hill-Rom
HKS, Inc.
Hoblitzelle Foundation
Janice N. Holmes*
Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc.
Honeywell International, Inc.
Houston Endowment, Inc.
Houston Lighting and Power
Ron and Sherry Howell
Murray Hudson
Brian L. Huff
Bill and Barbara Hughes
Huitt-Zollars, Inc.
IBM Corporation

Instron Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intergraph
Intermec Southwest, Inc.
International Biometric Society
Nancy L. Jackson
Sarah Lewis Jackson
Jacobs
Hazel E. Jay*
JEOL USA, Inc.
Michael Jin
Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc.
Daniel J. Kauth
Mary Kay, Inc.
KEGL-FM, Inc. (The Eagle)
Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation
KKDA/KRNB/K104 Radio
KPMG LLP
Evan and Ferne Kyba
John and Karen Lanigan
Lawrence Livermore National Lab
LBL Architects
Robert Leroy Foundation
Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly Software Associates, Inc.
Wanda K. Litsey*
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Company
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Lockheed Martin Missiles and
Fire Control
LTV Aerospace and Defense Company
LTV Aircraft Products
Macola Software, Inc.
Franklin J. Madis
The M/A/R/C Group, Inc.
Maritz Research, Inc.
Martin Sprocket and Gear, Inc.
Joe R. Martin, Jr.
The Mathematical Association
of America
Rakesh and Dipti Mathur
Ted W. Mayborn*
Mayfield Building Supply Co., Inc.
Dr. Karin McCallum
James A. McCrea
Medical Center of Arlington
Melles Griot, Inc.
The Meadows Foundation, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
MillerCoors
Wm. A. and Elizabeth B. Moncrief
Foundation
David Moritz
Motorola, Inc.
The Mundy Family Foundation
National Instruments
National Semiconductor Corp.
NEC America, Inc.
David R. Newell
Newport News Shipbuilding
Nokia, Inc.
Nortel Networks Corp.
O’Donnell Foundation
Carolyn Oliver and Tony Annunziato
Operation Technology, Inc.
Oracle
Orthopedic Specialty Associates, PA
Oryx Energy Company
Steve and Betsy Palko
A.E. Petsche Co.
Petroleum Research Fund
Alan Plummer Associates, Inc.
Murray and Nona* Poston
Alfred R. and Janet H. Potvin
Vasant and Barbara Prabhu
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Charles S. Proctor*
Prudential Financial
James and Sheri Quick
RadioShack Corporation
Joseph J. Rady*
Rainwater Foundation
Zelda Ramsey*
Michael and Wanda Ray
Raytheon Company
Realm Business Solutions, Inc.
Michael A. Reilly
Research Engineers, Inc.
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
Rockwell Automation, Inc.
Rockwell Science Center
Betty and Roger* Ruch
Ryan Mortgage Company
Sabre, Inc.
SAP America, Inc.
Allan A. Saxe
Ronald A. Schachar
Mrs. Helen Hughes Schrickel
Scientific Communications, Inc.
Seismic Micro-Technology, Inc.
Semiconductor Research Corp.
Shell
Siemens Postal Automation
Silicon Graphics, Inc.
SILMA Inc.
Harold Simmons Foundation, Inc.
Thomas W. and Linda Simmons
Gordon Smith*
Andrew B. Sommerman
Fred and Nancy Sonntag
Spring Creek Restaurants, Ltd.
SRH Consulting
Standard Meat Company
Star-Telegram
STMicroelectronics, Inc.
Stratify, Inc.
Summerlee Foundation
The Sunderland Foundation
Bernard T. Svihel*
Taiwan Power Company
Drs. Ben and Trudy Termini
Truman and Margaret Terrell
Texas Chapter of the American
Planning Association
Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital
Fort Worth
Texas Health Resources — The Research
& Education Institute
Texas Instruments, Inc.
Texas Rangers Baseball Club
Texas Utilities Electric Company
Texas Water Utilities Association -
North Central Region
Texoma Eye Institute
Textron, Inc.
TherMax Korea Corp.
Jerry and Betty Thomas
Thompson Components/Mostek
Grace Gee Thornton Charitable Trust
Topping Out
Fernando G. and Louise E. Torgerson*
TxTEC
TXU Energy
United Parcel Service
United Service Association For Health
Care Foundation
UT Arlington Alumni Association
UT Arlington Band Alumni Association
Robert and Ann Utley
VaPRO, Inc.
Varian Associates
Verizon
Michael Vinson
Visionary Products, Inc.
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc.
Ann P. Vreeland
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust
Kelcy L. Warren
Wavetek Indiana, Inc.
Harry C. Weeks*
Robert A. Welch Foundation
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Wescom, Inc.
James L. West
Wishful Wings: James S. Barnett, Jr. Memorial Foundation
Morgan Woodward

Message from the Editor

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:08:27 +0000

Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy debuted the idea of six degrees of separation in a 1929 short story. The concept that any two people are separated by no more than six intermediate connections gained popularity with the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation, adapted from the play of the same name.

How does the theory play out in social media circles? Last year researchers at the University of Milan analyzed 721 million active Facebook users and their more than 69 billion friendships. They found that, on average, any two individuals are connected by just 4.74 acquaintances.

We tested the findings using the four feature articles in this issue.

Our cover story on retiring President James D. Spaniolo examines his nearly nine-year administration, which brought unprecedented growth in enrollment, research activity, philanthropic support, and the physical campus. President Spaniolo has more than 700 Facebook friends, one of whom is Ryan Haire.

A senior in the Athletic Training Education Program, Haire is profiled in our story on the University’s new Sports Medicine Center and how its cutting-edge equipment prepares students for successful careers. I am among Haire’s 500-plus Facebook friends.

One of my friends is Jocelyn Zee, who graced the cover of our spring 2002 issue. She enrolled at UT Arlington at age 13 and graduated with a microbiology degree at 17. Now a doctor, Zee is part of our article about academic prodigies who nurtured their genius at UT Arlington.

That’s four acquaintances linking three stories. The final article, which ties them all together, explores our tendency to reveal too much personal information when communicating via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. It stems from sociology Professor Ben Agger’s book Oversharing: Presentations of Self in the Internet Age.

Today’s world is much more connected than Karinthy ever could have imagined.

College Park Comedy

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:07:27 +0000

For one night in November, College Park Center transformed into an oversized comedy club. As part of the Maverick Speakers Series, Saturday Night Live star Seth Meyers entertained a sold-out crowd with an hour-long stand-up routine. “I hope Texas doesn’t secede from the union,” he joked. “I wouldn’t want to look back on Friday Night Lights as a foreign film.” Meyers, who is in his sixth season as head writer and 11th as a cast member for SNL, also answered about a dozen questions from the audience. His appearance capped off Homecoming week and the dedication of the College Park District, which took place earlier that evening.

Watch a video from this event

Cason Named Vice President for Research

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:06:27 +0000

Carolyn Cason is committed to increasing UT Arlington’s cross-disciplinary approach to research and to ensuring that the University’s discoveries benefit society.

In her new role as vice president for research, Dr. Cason oversees UT Arlington’s growing research enterprise and leads divisions that manage technology development, intellectual property, and the University’s centers of research excellence.

A former associate dean in the College of Nursing, she had served as interim vice president for research since November 2011. She succeeds Ronald Elsenbaumer, who was named provost and vice president for academic affairs last fall.

“With our focus on biomedical technologies, Dr. Cason is ideally suited to lead the charge toward expanding our research influence,” Dr. Elsenbaumer says. “She excels at building relationships and will further our efforts to organize faculty and student research teams to tackle the most pressing societal concerns.”

Cason holds a master’s degree in nursing from the UT System School of Nursing and a doctoral degree in educational psychology from UT Austin. She joined the UT Arlington College of Nursing in 1997 and is a co-founder and former administrator of the University’s Smart Hospital, the Smart Care program, and the Genomics Translational Research Laboratory.

Her recent research has focused on diversity in the health care workforce and simulation learning environments in nursing education.

“Our goal,” she says, “remains to become recognized as a university of research excellence and to compete with other top national institutions for public and private support.”

Baseball

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:05:27 +0000

When the 2012 Major League Baseball season began, Hunter Pence hoped to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series title. But Philadelphia traded the former UT Arlington star to San Francisco mid-year, so he helped the Giants win the World Series instead. Pence had four hits in San Francisco’s four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, and he played a key role as the Giants battled from two games behind in both the National League division and championship series. “We didn’t allow doubt to ever creep in,” he said. “We had our backs against the wall, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.” His three-run double in the third inning propelled San Francisco to a 9–0 win in the deciding game of the National League Championship Series. Pence played for UT Arlington in 2003 and 2004, and the Houston Astros drafted him in the second round. After a stint in the minors, he joined the Astros in 2007 and played there until mid-season 2011 when he went to Philadelphia. He is a two-time Major League All-Star.

Melting Pot

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:04:27 +0000

U.S. News & World Report ranks UT Arlington seventh nationally for providing a racially and ethnically diverse campus. The magazine evaluated undergraduate enrollment based on proportion of minority students and the overall mix of ethnic groups. Schools were assigned an index from 0.0 to 1.0, with 1.0 the most diverse. UT Arlington’s index was 0.69. In fall 2012 about 54 percent of the University’s undergraduates identified themselves as African-American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian/Alaska native, Pacific Islander/native Hawaiian, or multiracial.

Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:03:27 +0000

Kelly Bowman plans to cool her jets for a while after an early career best described as a baptism by fire. The 2003 nursing alumna joined the Navy while a UT Arlington student and spent eight months as an emergency room nurse before deploying to Iraq. There she realized how her college training prepared her for battlefield chaos and helped her develop coping skills. “In Iraq you’re alone (with the patient) in that aircraft. It’s just you,” the former flight nurse says. “It makes you appreciate the little things, like a crash cart that’s fully stocked. So when you get to a hospital, you don’t get too flustered about anything. My professors believed I was capable of handling certain situations, and they put me in them.” In a shift during her senior year, three of her four patients coded and “people were dying and bleeding internally, but it was OK to carry on.” Bowman later trained Marine corpsmen on new standards for casualty evacuations to medical ships in the Middle East. After stints at Bethesda, Md., and Camp Pendleton, Calif., naval medical centers, she is leaving the military and returning to North Texas for a civilian nursing career. “I gave the military a lot of my life,” she says. “I’m ready to put down roots.”

Poignant Voices

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:02:27 +0000

The fifth season of UT Arlington’s marquee lectures, the Maverick Speakers Series, continues in the spring with astronaut Mark Kelly and the Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin.

Kelly, a retired Navy captain and best-selling author, speaks Feb. 19, 2013, in Texas Hall on “Endeavoring to Build a Better America.” Tickets will be available Jan. 22. Kelly flew his first of four missions in 2001 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which he commanded on its final flight in May 2011.

He became the center of international attention after the 2011 assassination attempt on his wife, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Kelly’s identical twin brother is also an astronaut, and they are the only twins and only siblings to have both traveled in space.

Corwin, a TV host and nature conservationist, closes the season with “100 Heartbeats: A Global Movement” March 27 at College Park Center. Tickets will be available Feb. 28. Best known as the host of the Animal Planet show The Jeff Corwin Experience, he has worked to protect endangered species and ecosystems worldwide for nearly three decades.

For his conservation efforts, Corwin was named ambassador of climate change and endangered species on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, a prominent conservation organization. His book 100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species was published in 2010.

The 2012–13 Maverick Speakers Series kicked off in September with a lecture by legendary sportswriter and novelist Frank Deford. Other fall speakers were ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts and comedian Seth Meyers (see College Park Comedy).

Free general admission tickets are available at utatickets.com. Visit uta.edu/maverickspeakers to watch video highlights of past speakers.

A Bridge Too Far

utarlington — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:01:27 +0000

When Dallas opened the Santiago Calatrava–designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge earlier this year, it signaled the beginning of a new era for its predecessor, the Continental Avenue bridge. The 82-year-old structure will soon be converted into a pedestrian plaza, a transformation that architecture Professor Todd Hamilton decided to probe with his spring design studio, A Bridge Too Far. Hamilton believed the Continental’s redesign provided an opportunity to get his students thinking critically about the form, function, and future of bridges. Working in teams, the dozen seniors created new ideas and interpretations for the structure. “My thought was that it’s time for architecture students to revisit the bridge idea and decide if it has gone far enough or is there more to be seen and heard,” Hamilton explains. The students were encouraged to imagine such concepts as a bridge with urban housing and no cars and a “bridge of the forbidden” that cultivates a Las Vegas-like atmosphere.