News on the Go #639, February 26, 2008

News on the Go is a service of the Office of Institutional Advancement, providing timely news and information to faculty, staff, fellows, residents and students on the go. Deadline: 10 a.m. Thursday before Tuesday publication. Submit all events and deadlines to the Web Calendar. Submit other items for consideration using the News on the Go submission form.

Topics at a glance: The Leader Update ... Faculty Satisfaction Survey ... Maher co-leads Texas HR group formation ... CCTS K12 training programs ... Rec Center Spring Softball Leagues ... Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo discounts ... McGovern Award Lecture ... Clinical research practice ... Click for CMH kids ... Positive deviance ... Free night at the movies ... WorkLife tip of the week ... HOOP updates

 

The Leader Update

Faculty Satisfaction Survey 

The 2007 Faculty Satisfaction Survey commissioned by the Interfaculty Council has recently been completed and collated by the Office of Outcomes Assessment. The survey will be presented and discussed at the Wednesday, March 19, meeting of the Interfaculty Council.  The survey then will be made available for campus-wide review.

Maher Leads Formation of Texas HR Group

Mary Maher, vice president and chief human resource officer at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, is co-leading the establishment of a Lone Star State chapter of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) within the next year. Her co-leader in this effort is Jill Pollack of Texas A&M University.

CCTS K12 Training Applications Sought

The Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) is now accepting applications for its K12 training program which supports training and career development of young medical and health care professionals conducting clinical or translational research.

The announcement and application instructions are attached. The application deadline is Tuesday, April 15.  Potential applicants with questions may call Jon Tyson, M.D., or Claudette Ocampo, 713-500-6708. For more information, visit http://www.uthouston.edu/mass_info/K12AnouncementforApplications(3).doc and http://www.uthouston.edu/mass_info/K12Application.doc

Rec Center Spring Softball Leagues

 

Spring 2008 Softball men's and co-ed registration deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 26. There is a maximum of 16 men's and 16 co-ed teams, so register your team now. The cost to play is $150 for health science center students and $175 for other teams affiliated with UT/Texas Medical Center. The UT Recreation Center is located at 7779 Knight Road. Contact: Tyawna.Jamison@uth.tmc.edu or 713-500-8422. For more information, visit http://ae.uth.tmc.edu/recreat/Forms/RecSports/Spring-2008/softballleague.pdf

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo


  • The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is here. Spice up your chance to attend rodeo-related-only events. Activities in Reliant Stadium and Rodeo Uncorked events are not included with any of these tickets. UT Health Science Center employees and students may purchase tickets for:
    • the World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest (Feb. 28-March 1)
    • the Houston Livestock Show (March 3-March 22)
    • as well as FunPasses! (unlimited use)
    • half-price carnival tickets

Offer ends Friday, Feb. 29. Make purchases online. For more information and ordering instructions, visit http://www.internetventures.net/uth/

  • Rodeo parking — The TMC Smith Lands parking facility will be available to Rodeo patrons during off-peak hours ($10 cash). The exit gate arms will be programmed to open automatically to approaching vehicles starting 5 p.m., Friday, February 29, and will remain that way until 6 a.m., Monday, March 24. Parkers should approach the gate arm slowly and it will rise.
  • Contract customers, who normally present their cards at the exit reader, will not have to do so during this time. Contract parkers will need parking cards to enter the facility each time. During this time period the Red and Texas Children’s Hospital shuttle buses will drop passengers off on the east side of the parking facility. The Smith Lands lot is always open to contract parkers assigned to that lot. Please consider using this lot if you're going to the Rodeo.  
  • This lot will be available for Rodeo parking weekdays at 5 p.m., February 29, March 4-7, March 10-14, March 17-21; weekends at 11 a.m., March 1, March 8-9, March 15-16, March 22-23. Travel from the Smith Lands lot to the Rodeo via HLSR buses. 

McGovern Award Lecture

Ray Hill, 2008 award recipient and creator/host/producer of Ray Hill’s The Prison Show broadcast weekly on Houston Pacifica Radio station KPFT, 90.1., will present “When Public Health Issues Escape Prison,” noon-1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, School of Public Health Auditorium. The First John P. McGovern Award Lecture Series for Community Contributions and Activism in Health Promotion lecture is sponsored by the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research. Parking is available in TMC Garage 2. Lunch will be provided for the first 100 attendees. Contact: Peggy Tate, 713-500-9609.

Clinical Research Practice

  • The Clinical Research Budgeting/Billing Training, 9-11 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, Medical School Building Room B.620, offers help in simplifying and clarifying the clinical research budgeting and billing process. Pre-register by visiting http://www.uth.tmc.edu/research/events/crtraining.htm or contact Catharine.V.Carter@uth.tmc.edu (713-500-3524), or Kimberly.Wilson@uth.tmc.edu
  • A Nursing Education Program in Clinical Research: A Model of Safe and Ethical Research Practice for Clinicians, beginning March 25, provides a model of practice in conducting clinical research based on the principles of Good Clinical Practice; focusing on research compliance, protecting the safety and well-being of research subjects and ensuring the integrity of the research. Topics will include: research ethics, consent process, budget development and more. Pre-registration is required. Visit http://www.uth.tmc.edu/research/events/crevents.htm for more information or to register. This course is free for health science center employees and $300 per person for participants from outside agencies.

Click for Children’s Memorial Hermann

The Med/Peds and Pediatric residents at the Medical School ask that you help Children’s Memorial Hermann win a fun room build-out from Colgate. Some of the pediatric patients spend more time admitted to the hospital than they do at home. The company will build the fun room for whichever children's hospital has the most click votes at http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp by Feb. 29. You can vote once a day, every day, but you may have to do this from your home computer, as the Web site recognizes the IP address of the computer you vote from, and might let only one person vote from that school or site.

Positively deviant solutions

“From the Inside Out: Uncovering Solutions to Intractable Problems Through Positive Deviance” with Jerry Sternin, director, Positive Deviance Initiative, and Curt Lindberg, president, Plexus Institute, sponsored by The University of Texas School of Public Health’s (SPH) Prevention Research Center, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, Memorial Hermann Clinical Innovation and Research Institute, the John P. McGovern Lecture Series, 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 5, School of Public Health Auditorium. Lunch provided for first 50 attendees. Contact: Bonnie.Armentrout@uth.tmc.edu

Free night at the movies

Join the faculty and staff of the School of Public Health Global Health Concentration for "Bowling for Columbine," a 120-minute documentary film by Michael Moore, 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, School of Public Health Building, Room E-705. Use the side doors if arriving late/leaving early. Contact: Christian.R.Gutierrez@uth.tmc.edu

With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of firearms-related bloodshed in the US. He learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage. In order to arrive at a possible explanation, Moore takes on a deeper examination of the US culture of fear, bigotry, violence and widespread gun ownership. Furthermore, he seeks to investigate and confront the powerful elite political and corporate interests fanning this culture for their own gain.

WorkLife tip of the week

A Lluminari study found less heart disease and depression-related illness when employees had more control over their work and their schedules. The top five work-related causes of stress and ill health for both genders: mentally tiring work, time pressure, too many changes within the job, not getting enough feedback on how they are doing and not having enough influence over their job and how it is done. Visit the WorkLife resources Web site (password UTH), and find additional information on stress. Then, if you have concerns, please call 713-500-3327 or visit http://www.uthouston.edu/worklife/ to see how WorkLife can help you

HOOP updates

The following Handbook of Operating Procedures policies have been edited for readability. Please use the listed contact numbers for any questions you may have.