 |
 |
|
|
|
|
AROUND CAMPUS
Herd Family Creates Endowed Scholarship
Chemistry Majors Present at Singapore Conference UT Tyler senior chemistry majors Abby
Roth of Wills Point and Heather McBride
of Tyler participated in the Futuropolis
2058: Creating Sustainable Urban
Environments through Innovation
Conference in Singapore. The students
made poster presentations about their
research conducted in the University of
Texas System Louis Stokes Alliance for
Minority Participation Summer Research
Academy. Dr. Stephen B. Rainwater,
interim chair and Chandler Professor of
Computer Science, accompanied the
students in his role as the UT Tyler
LSAMP director. In addition to the
October conference, the UT Tyler delegation
visited Singapore Management University
and the National University of Singapore.
LSAMP is supported by the National
Science Foundation and provides undergraduate
research experiences in an effort
to increase the number of underrepresented
students pursuing graduate level studies in
Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) programs.
|
||
The University of Texas at Tyler Office of News and Information Admin 372 3900 University Blvd. Tyler, Tx 75799 Ph: 903.566.7170 Fx: 903.566.7173 E-mail News and Information |
||
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Herd have established a
$1million endowed presidential scholarship
at UT Tyler. The gift of the Mr. and Mrs.
Bob Herd Presidential Scholarship will assist
first-rate students and comes at a time when
endowed scholarships rank as the highest
priority for the university, President Rodney
H. Mabry said. Funding for endowed scholarships
enables UT Tyler to offer competitive
awards to academically talented students
and provides need-based scholarships to
other well-qualified students. Scholarships
such as the Herd endowment not only help
students for all time but also grow with compounding
interest and provide even greater
assistance each year. “Scholarship support is
the key to attracting and graduating more
high-ability students who, in turn, will ultimately
become valued professionals helping
to strengthen the economy of East Texas and
valuable citizens and neighbors to all of us,’’
President Mabry said. “We are so grateful to
the Herds for their generosity and foresight.”
In addition to their longtime support of student
scholarships, the Herds have been
annual members of the UT Tyler President’s
Associates and have underwritten the university’s Distinguished
Lecture Series.
The Tyler Junior College Academy of
Dance’s production of “The Nutcracker’’
ballet is an annual holiday tradition in
Tyler. The 2008 production was especially
notable with the auditorium of the UT
Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing
Arts Center playing host for the first time
to performers, accompanied by members
of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra,
also a first in the history of the production.
UT Tyler’s contributions to the 2008
production went beyond simply providing
the venue, as alumni, current students and
faculty took roles on stage and behind the
scenes. UT Tyler graduate Tom Jones, who
has appeared in every production since its
inception, again played his leading role as
the magical Uncle Drosselmeyer. Junior
mathematics major Robin Westby marked
her third appearance, dancing the female
lead of Clara. Also making return performances
were graduates Gwendolyn Jones,
Karen McKeown and Vincent Williams,
freshman nursing major Kelsey Winn and
Dr. David Beams, associate professor of
electrical engineering. Appearing on stage
for the first time was Dr. James Nelson,
dean of the College of 
Engineering and
Computer Science. Junior English major
Ashlie Contos was the associate director of
the production. CECS instrument maker
James Mills again put his skills in the
machine shop to the service of the arts in
the 2008 production. The design skills of
alumni and CECS faculty and students
were once again on display in the props – a
self-propelled sleigh, a special-effects
grandfather clock and an expandable
Christmas tree, illuminated with 360 pairs
of light-emitting diodes that could extend
to a height of 24
feet. The technical
partnership
between CECS
and the Academy
of Dance has been
ongoing since the
introduction of
the self-propelled
sleigh in 2001.
Hill and Wilkinson General Contractors has been selected to construct the new
facility at the UT Tyler Palestine Campus. Founded in 1968 by Luther Hill, the
full-service construction firm has served industries including aviation, health
care, manufacturing, retail and education. Hill and Wilkerson has completed
projects for UT Arlington, Abilene Christian University, Dallas Theological
Seminary and Dallas Academy. Initial site preparation and construction on the
$8 million UT Tyler Palestine facility began in February. The project completion
date is May 2010. The new building, designed by Barnes Gromatzky
Kosarek Architects, will be approximately 17,426 square feet of general classroom
and faculty office space. It will provide added space for the expansion of
programs, such as nursing, where critical shortages exist throughout the state. It
also will accommodate the growth of the campus, which has seen an 89 percent
enrollment increase since 2000. The building project is the result of funds provided
by the Tuition Revenue Bond and gifts from the “Paving the Way”
Palestine community fundraising campaign.
Dr.Wei “David” Fan, UT Tyler assistant professor
in civil engineering, has received a grant
from the Texas Department of Transportation
to study roadside maintenance. In the two-year
study, Dr. Fan will collaborate with the Texas
Transportation Institute to identify and summarize
best practices in performance-based
roadside maintenance specifications. The team
will develop draft specifications for consideration
by TxDOT through field trials and feedback.
“To preserve and improve the value of its
roadside assets and optimize the use of its
resources, the Texas Department of
Transportation is investigating the use of
performance-based specifications,” Dr. Fan
said. “While performance-based contracting is
a promising roadway asset management
technique, it is still relatively new, and several
questions need to be addressed to help TxDOT
apply this technique effectively.”Contact Webmaster | Privacy | Accessibility | UT Tyler Home Page
Ph: 903.566.7000 • Ph: 800-UTTYLER
Copyright © UT Tyler, 2001-present