Academics

New Degrees Mark New Era in Healthcare Professions

Inspired by the opening of the new Biomedical Research and Health Professions Building, The University of Texas at Brownsville breaks new ground in health science and nursing education this fall. Watch the YouTube video of the opening.

The new bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences opens pathways to a broad range of medical career opportunities in research, healthcare and medical technology and helps create an updated model for physician education across Texas.

An anticipated 50 students, including Jose Mario Rodriguez (right), will make up the program's first cohort, which will include a foundation year and two-year integrated organ systems curriculum with various learning modules. Students will perform a clinical internship and a research project in an area of interest.

"We are sure this program will be preparing students to become superb and caring physicians, scientists and educators," said Dr. Michael W. Lehker, Associate Dean of the College of Biomedical Sciences. "The faculty has been designing this unique program based on solid published research on learning, teaching and best practices in premedical and medical education."

Physician education will be streamlined under the new program through the Accelerated Professional Relevant Integrated Medical Education, or APRIME initiative. UTB is working with institutions in Edinburg, El Paso, Galveston and Houston to make physician education more accessible to diverse groups. The initiative could launch as early as 2013.

A new era in nursing education is also coming in the fall of 2013, after the Texas Board of Nursing approved the College of Nursing's fully-accredited, four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree that meets the demands of a fast-changing healthcare landscape, offering what has previously been unavailable. While nationally about half of registered nurses hold a bachelor's degree, in Cameron County that number is 27 percent. National organizations, including the American Nursing Association, support initiatives to increase the number to 80 percent by 2020.

"Hospitals are requiring nurses to have a higher caliber of nursing and higher degrees to meet increasing national standards," said Dr. Edna Garza-Escobedo, Associate Dean of the College of Nursing. "Our new degree program will help fill this critical need."

Representatives of the state nursing board cited the high caliber of the nursing faculty and their experience in pre-licensure professional nursing education and the abundance of clinical opportunities for students as some of the reasons they supported the program's creation.

[TOP]

Vienna Became Home for Student During Semester Study Abroad

An ad in the school newspaper, The Collegian, in the fall of 2011 prompted English major Andres Orduña to pay a visit to the Office of Global Engagement at The University of Texas at Brownville and Texas Southmost College. » Read More

UTB music graduates share their thoughts on what it means to sing our national anthem

Watch YouTube Video: Fourth of July video with Victoria Rodriguez and Anthony Ramirez

HAPPY 15^th

The Department of Music marked a milestone as students, alumni, faculty and members of the community celebrated the 15th anniversary of the music degree program with a special concert on May 3 at The Arts Center.

"In Celebration: Fifteen Years Making Musicians" featured performances by current and former students commemorating the May 1997 approval of the Bachelor of Arts in Music degree by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Leo Zamora, choir director at Brownsville's Oliveira Middle School, was part of the crusade of students and faculty that went to Austin and convinced the state board the degree was needed.

"The degree was something students really wanted and it was nice to have the support of our professors and the administration," said Leo Zamora, who became the first to receive the degree.

Since then, the Department of Music has awarded more than 150 bachelor's degrees and more than 20 master's degrees. Graduates also have a 100 percent pass rate on the music portion of the state teacher certification exam.

"We have extremely talented students, a consistent curriculum and a dedicated faculty," said Dr. Sue Zanne Urbis, Chair of the Department of Music. "We filled The Arts Center to celebrate the past 15 years of remarkable success."

Reaching Out

Eleven teachers in the Mission Consolidated ISD are halfway through their master's degrees in English, thanks to the convenience of distance education.

From the Mission High School library, two evenings a week, the cohort joins their fellow classmates on campus who are gathered in the distance education classroom on the second floor of the University Boulevard Library.

"The Graduate School has found a good partner in Mission CISD," said Dr. Charles Lackey, Dean of Graduate Studies. "Every success is a testament to the power of technology when combined with committed students and dedicated faculty."

Global Engagement

Several groups in the College of Liberal Arts experienced another type of distance education this summer by travelling to Brazil, Czech Republic, Poland, Costa Rica and Paris. Studying psychology, photojournalism, environmental rhetoric, French language, art and culture, the students returned with broadened horizons and lifetime memories.

[TOP]

Rodriguez Pursues Electrical Engineering Degree with Scholarships 

A STARS student and a recipient of the Seldon Leavell Endowed Scholarship, Jose Luis Rodriguez, 20, is a junior majoring in engineering physics - electrical engineering. » Read More

ARCC Scholars Travel to New Mexico to Construct Satellite Antennas

A team of six physics students led by Dr. Fredrick Jenet, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Director of the Arecibo Remote Command Center Program, traveled to Socorro, New Mexico, from Friday, Sept. 21 to Tuesday, Sept. 25 to construct a new arm the Low Frequency All Sky Monitor (LoFASM) radio antenna array.
» Read More

Department of Physics and Astronomy Announces $5 Million Grant

Moises Castillo of Los Fresnos knows how important it is to have a research opportunity.

Castillo, 21, a first-year graduate student in physics at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, is grateful for grant money to help him continue research measuring the dilution factor of steel wires. He began the work while earning a bachelor's degree in physics at the university which he completed this summer and will formally receive at Winter Commencement in December. » Read More

University Students Initiate Marine Science Research as Part of Grant

Being supported by part of a grant from NOAA, students are conducting research in the Bahia Grande to determine water quality, community metabolism rates and nitrogen patterns in the wetlands. The focus of the grant is to connect minority-serving institutions with students being trained in marine, costal and environmental sciences, improve scientific knowledge for coastal resource management and planning and establish community outreach efforts. » Read More

Biology Student Does Summer Research with World Health Organization

Ravi Thakker, 19, a sophomore biology major, was a research intern for the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center for Mental Health Research and Training: Schizophrenia Research Foundation in Chennai, India. » Read More

STELLAR PURSUITS

The first class of Arecibo Remote Command Center Scholars in the Department of Physics and Astronomy graduated with their bachelor's degrees in physics at May's Spring Commencement.

Students Frank Ceballos, Louis P. Dartez, Alejandro Garcia, Rossina B. Miller and Jesus Rivera, all from Brownsville, worked with data collected from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia. The students also did their own research projects and mentored younger ARCC scholarship students.

All are bound for graduate studies this fall: Dartez and Garcia at UTB, Ceballos at the University of Kansas, Miller at West Virginia University and Rivera at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Making Math and Science Book

UTeach Brownsville, an innovative teacher preparation program in the College of Science, Mathematics and Technology, allows students to receive teacher certification while earning a degree in mathematics or science. This nationally acclaimed program was developed at UT Austin and has been replicated at 30 universities throughout the country.

Students accepted into the program receive intensive field experience and individual support and mentoring by faculty and master teachers. There are also opportunities for scholarships and paid internships.

Learning Games

Best Colleges Online named UT Brownsville as one of the "10 Best Colleges for Game-Based Learning" in early July. Dr. Soumya Mohanty, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, had already been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for his efforts to use video games to teach elementary physics.

See Dr. Mohanty talk about his innovative work in "Expert of the Month" at utb.edu/expert.

FLOATING CLASSROOM

Dr. Richard Kline, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, and some of his university students captured the attention of area youth while explaining the ecological complexities of the Laguna Madre and local marine life on the RV Karma (top). Docked in Port Mansfield and South Padre Island in February, the RV Karma is used for the Texas Sea Grant Program and Texas AgriLife Extension's Floating Classroom Program.

[TOP]

First Early High School Grads

Sitting among the graduates at Spring Commencement were 38 high school seniors from the Brownsville Early College High School, a partnership between UTB and Brownsville ISD. They are the first to graduate from BECHS with their Associate of Arts degree and a high school diploma.

"Since I came to BECHS, it really motivated me to stay in school," said Paloma Abigail Rodriguez (below), who has been the top student since BECHS started in 2008.

Rodriguez is a 2012 recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship and plans to attend UTB in the fall and pursue a bachelor's degree in biology.

Doctorate Celebrates 5 Years

Inaugurated in the summer of 2007, the Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Bilingual Studies continues to be a soughtafter degree.

"I was particularly motivated to pursue this degree both as a student and as an employee of this institution, and felt I could not let down those who believed in me," said Joel Garza, who earned his Ed.D. at Spring Commencement in May.

Garza is one of 13 students who have earned the degree and 40 others are currently in the pipeline.

National Ranking

The College of Education received a significant and prestigious accomplishment as U.S. News & World Report ranked the online Master of Education in Educational Technology number 14 out of 151 U.S. institutions of higher education for 2012.

Partners in Education

Administrators from the College of Education and South Texas College gathered in the courtyard of the Education and Business Complex in late April to sign an articulation agreement which will provide a seamless transfer for STC students pursing degrees in teacher education at UTB.

The College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science, Mathematics and Technology have also signed articulation agreements with STC. UTB has 80 articulation agreements with colleges throughout Texas including Texas State Technical College in Harlingen and UTPA in Edinburg.

Connections

UTB will partner with IDEA Public Schools and Sylvan Learning Center to implement the Connect2College Program. IDEA was awarded an $11.5 Million GEAR UP Partnership Grant to fund the comprehensive college prep experience.

[TOP]

School of Business Achieves Highest Academic Accreditation

The School of Business at The University of Texas at Brownsville has been awarded accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. » Read More

International Accreditation

Dr. Mark Kroll, Dean of the School of Business, announced in May that the School of Business was awarded accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, known worldwide as the oldest and most recognized form of accreditation for schools of business.

"This is a major accomplishment that ensures students and prospective students, as well as employers looking at our graduates, of the quality of the university's programs," Kroll said.

Early-Morning Wisdom From R.L. Hunt

Two hundred fifty business leaders from throughout the region attended the first Business Appreciation Breakfast on Friday, March 23, where they gained valuable business advice from keynote speaker and Dallas businessman Ray L. Hunt.

"The stars have aligned for the Rio Grande Valley," Hunt said. "There is great activity occurring in the region with development in educational opportunities that will create a base for growth, with collaboration as an important component of this."

Business to Business

A $90,000 grant from The Meadows Foundation will finance a pilot project designed to connect 50 business students with the local business community to ensure student retention and opportunities that lead to employment. The program will likewise provide employers with a flow of experienced, appropriately credentialed graduates prepared for entry-level professional positions.

Dual Focus

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jose Campos (left) received his military commission and his M.B.A. all within 24 hours this spring. Campos had previously received his B.B.A. at UTB after earning his A.A. while on active duty as a Marine Corps recruit.

"It's been a long journey," Campos said. "Fourteen years ago, I left Brownsville the first time to join the military, and I'm happy to have this second opportunity, now going back in as an officer."

Campos said he will be exhilarated when he finally reaches his first permanent duty station, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, later this year.

[TOP]