News on the Go #644, April 1, 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 ... Healthcare Management ... Tuition Increases ... United To Serve Needs You ... Faculty Satisfaction ... Imodules Scholarships ... SPH Next Generation Lecture ... 16th Annual Steele Lecture ... House Medics Info ... World Health Day Activities ... HOOP Updates

The Leader Update

Healthcare Management Panel

“Bridging the Divide: From Institutional Health to Community Well-being, A Reflection on Houston’s Healthcare over the Past 20 Years,” the first of a series of panel discussions on healthcare management, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, SPH (RAS) Auditorium, at the UT School of Public Health.

Tuition increases

Last week, the Board of Regents adopted new tuition and fee rates for UT System academic institutions for the next two years. The Board set a cap for proposed tuition increases — 4.95 percent a year or $150 a semester, whichever is greater. To read a note from Chancellor Yudof on the subject, visit http://services.utsystem.edu/site/MessageViewer?em_id=3421.0&printer_friendly=1

Inspire by Example: United To Serve needs you!

Mark your calendars for the fourth United To Serve, the UT System-wide Outreach Day, Saturday, April 19. All UT System schools will participate in the volunteer initiative during National Volunteer Week.

The health science center’s United To Serve steering committee, spearheaded by students, invites students, faculty, staff and family members to volunteer two hours of time at one of the designated sites, most in the Texas Medical Center. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. with a free breakfast for volunteers at the Dental Branch (free parking at the Mental Sciences Institute), where they also pick up a United To Serve T-shirt, meet other volunteers and enjoy some music.

For volunteer information, visit http://www.uthouston.edu/sic/united_to_serve/index.html

Please also consider being a team coordinator for one of the volunteer sites, if you are interested or have questions, contact Jillian.C.Webb@uth.tmc.edu or Audrey.R.Ester@uth.tmc.edu. See you there!

Faculty Satisfaction Survey Report

Preliminary results are available for the 2007 Faculty Satisfaction Survey. Thank you to all of the UTHSC-H Faculty who took the time to complete the survey. The Inter-Faculty Council (IFC) is currently reviewing the full report in order to formulate recommendations for improvement at the institution. Further results will become available after IFC review. The Executive Summary can be found on the Outcomes Assessment web-page under Selected Studies at http://www.uth.tmc.edu/uth_orgs/ie/SelectedStudies.html

Introducing the Imodules Scholarship Program

Imodules, the vendor whose program the UT Health Science Center uses to communicate with alumni, recently launched a scholarship program. The goal is to increase the number of scholarships awarded and the total dollars funded each year.

Application deadline is April 30. The first five scholarship recipients will be announced by the end of the first week in May. For information on applying for a scholarship, visit http://scholarships.imodules.com

Next Generation Lecture

Jennifer McQuiston, DMV, Epidemiology team leader in the Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will present "Brains: The Other White Meat. An Outbreak of Unexplained Neuropathy among Pig Slaughterhouse Workers," noon, Thursday, April 3, School of Public Health (RAS) Auditorium. Register at: http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/biosecurity/calendar.cfm#42

16th Annual James H. Steele Lecture

Peter M. Schantz, VMD, Ph.D., Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonoses, Vectorborn and Enteric Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will present, "People, Pigs, Pets and Parasites: Helminths in the Homeland," 4 p.m., Thursday, April 3, SPH (RAS) Auditorium. Reception to follow.

Attention UT House Medics Volunteers

Since April was declared Volunteer Month a few years ago, there are so many worthy volunteer opportunities during that month at UT. Rather than compete with these wonderful projects, we have decided to move the UT House Medics’ spring campaign to the fall beginning this year.

Should you still want to work on senior citizen homes in April, we can arrange for you to work with a team already signed up with Rebuilding Together Houston. RTH has crews out in the community in both the spring and fall.

Please join us in October for the fall UT House Medics project.  We will begin recruiting in a few months. Until then, save the dates below for the fall project:

Crew Leader Meeting (RTH Warehouse) - Saturday Oct. 4
Work Day - Saturday, Oct. 18
Work Day  - Saturday, Oct. 25
Rain Date - Saturday, Nov. 1

For more information about House Medics, visit http://is.hsc.uth.tmc.edu/projects/housemed.html

World Health Day Activities

You are invited to the UT School of Public Health’s Global Health Concentration World Health Day Activities: 

  • 4 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, through 4 p.m., Thursday, April 10, poster entries exhibited for public and judges in First Floor Pressler lobby;
  • Noon, Thursday, GHC Brown Bag in UT SPH Auditorium;
  • 5 p.m., Thursday, poster competition Award Ceremony with Communal Dinner; 6 p.m., Thursday, Film screening of “Can the Rain Forest Be Saved?" UTSPH Auditorium. 

Contact: Mary Carroll, 713-500-9265.

HOOP Updates

The Disability Accommodation policy and the revised form to Request to Serve Alcoholic Beverages are among the recent updates to the Handbook of Operating Procedures. To view all recent updates, visit http://legal.hsc.uth.tmc.edu/hoop/whatsnew.html