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Meeting Students, Discussing Issues
on Agenda for UT System Visitors
A lunchtime meeting with "a very impressive group" of students was a highlight of the Feb. 18 visit to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston by Kenneth Shine, M.D., the UT System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs.
"I really enjoyed them," Shine said. "They had some thoughtful things to say."
Kenneth Shine, M.D., center, the UT System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs, lunched with student leaders, from left, Anne Marie Vollero, School of Public Health; Colleen Kramer, School of Nursing; Student InterCouncil President Manuel Reyes, Medical School, standing; Stephen Kry, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; and Chunlei Wu, GSBS, during Shine's February visit to the UT Health Science Center at Houston.
Photo by Pamela Lewis
Students were one part of a full-day's agenda for Shine and other UT System officials, who are making visits to all the UT campuses.
"It's our pleasure to host Dr. Shine and his staff at any time, and I appreciate the time that our executive leaders put into their presentations to brief our guests on the priority issues and key accomplishments of the UT Health Science Center," said James T. Willerson, M.D., president of the health science center.
Faculty and administrators briefed the visitors on a number of issues. Deans of the six schools made a compelling case for increasing faculty salaries and recruitment packages, as the UT System refines its strategies for requests from the State Legislature.
Other briefing topics included: uncompensated care, medical billing, technology transfer, education innovations and electronic medical records.
The health science center received praise for taking the lead in using the development of a compact with UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof as a planning process. The compact is a written agreement between the president of a component and the chancellor that spells out specific plans to achieve important goals.
Geri H. Malandra, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for accountability and institutional improvement, said that the compact is intended to reflect concrete action items, not just aspirations. An update is due to UT System by May.
Other System visitors included Amy Shaw Thomas, associate vice chancellor for health affairs, along with Pat Francis and Richard St. Onge, both assistant vice chancellors for health affairs.