UTA In The News — Monday, June 21, 2021
Historic Black communities in Texas
UT Arlington architecture Professors Diane Jones Allen, Kathryn Holliday and Austin Allen led a tour of historic Black communities in Dallas and Fort Worth, including Mosier Valley, the first freedmen’s town in Tarrant County, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The three professors were awarded a $40,000 grant by the SOM Foundation to create maps of freedmen’s towns along the Trinity River and devise design guidelines that could be used for Black communities in Texas and across the United States. The story also appeared in Yahoo! News and Daily Magazine.
Military Times ranking
The University of Texas at Arlington was chosen as the nation’s top four-year college for military veterans and their families, by Military Times, U.S. Fed News reported. UTA’s Office of Military and Veteran Services offers coordinated student services to veterans and their families across the areas of transition, health, education benefits, engagement and career development.
Women in STEM
Minerva Cordero, professor of mathematics and senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science at The University of Texas at Arlington, is one of 122 STEM female innovators featured in the #IfThenSheCan art exhibit at NorthPark Center, Dallas Observer reported. Among the reasons that the exhibition’s organizers chose to include Cordero are her robust efforts to recruit girls and young women to enter careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Mars rover
Steve Hunker, a graduate of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, contributed his talents to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as it developed Perseverance, the Mars rover, U.S. Fed News reported. Hunker and his colleagues were responsible for designing and developing a robotic arm fitted to the underside of the rover.
Juneteenth celebration
The University of Texas at Arlington celebrated Juneteenth at Brazos Park on UTA’s campus, U.S. Fed News reported. The celebration featured an educational discussion led by Pamela Safisha Hill, adjunct professor of social work and faculty affiliate with the Center for African American Studies.