University Benefited Greatly from Generosity of Former Caller-Times Publisher Edward H. Harte, who passed away on May 18 at age 88, left a giant footprint on Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. A conservationist as well as a philanthropist, the former publisher of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in 2000 donated $46 million to establish the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies which today is a leading authority on the world's ninth-largest body of water. In addition, the Harte family contributed $3.5 million to help build the University's showpiece Performing Arts Center. |
Packed House Celebrates Dedication of Michael and Karen O'Connor Building The greater community and University officials rang the "opening bell" on May 13 to officially dedicate the Michael and Karen O'Connor Building. The 75,000-square foot facility that is the new home to the College of Business was in part made possible by a $6 million gift by the late Corpus Christi businessman Michael A. O'Connor and his wife, Karen O'Connor Urban. Currently, more than 1,400 undergraduate and 250 graduate students in the College of Business are pursuing bachelor and master's degrees in business administration, accounting and marketing. |
$200,000 Gift Establishes Scholarship for High School Graduates from Coastal Bend Lena Coleman-Wilson, pictured with University President Flavius Killebrew, has donated an initial gift of $200,000 to establish the Lena Coleman-Wilson Hope Scholarship for deserving students who are pursuing a degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be graduates of a Coastal Bend High School and be enrolled full-time at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Applicants must also have at least a 2.5 GPA and be able to demonstrate financial need. Coleman-Wilson is founder and CEO of the LC Foundation, Inc. |
Educational Musical Piece Teaches Elementary Students About Ocean's Creatures
Nearly 1,200 area elementary students were treated to a performance of Bruce Adolphe's "Oceanophony" May 17 in the Performing Arts Center. The educational piece was conducted by Dr. Shawn Smith, associate professor of music, with a chamber orchestra that included faculty from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Del Mar College, and some of the University's best music students. The educational piece combines music, poetry, narration and a slide presentation to teach children about a variety of creatures found in the ocean. |
Student Artists Win 'Hottest Metal' Competition at National Cast Iron Conference A team of University art students won the first place trophy for producing "the hottest metal" at the National Conference on Cast Iron Art held April 13-16 in Birmingham, Ala. The team of graduate and undergraduate students competed against 12 universities and art schools where students designed and fabricated iron-melting furnaces. Team members are Britanny Newton, Andrew Smith, Cody Jones, Sebastian Stoddert, Eric Fuertes, Professor Jack Gron, Abigail Lashbrook, Bill Raney, Maggie Denton, Professor Greg Reuter, Kevin Ramler, Jose Palacios and Greg Teagarden. |
Green Mountain Energy Presents Check to Art Museum to Fund Solar Panel System Green Mountain Energy celebrated "Earth Day 2011" by presenting a "giant" $140,000 check to the Art Museum of South Texas for the installation of a large solar panel that will be mounted on the roof, making the Art Museum the first in South Texas to be powered in part by a solar installation. Pictured are: (from left) Art Museum of South Texas Director Joe Schenk; Corpus Christi Mayor Joe Adame; Vanessa Montelongo, South Texas marketing manager for Green Mountain Energy; Julie Buckley, Art Museum board member; and University President Flavius Killebrew. |
College of Business Accounting Students VITA Service Recognized at Hooks Game
College of Business students and University staff were among VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) participants recognized during the Corpus Christi Hooks game on April 29. During tax season the students in Dr. Valrie Chambers' College of Business Tax I class each performed 20 hours of community service preparing tax returns for seniors and low-income taxpayers. Pictured are (first row from left): Executive Vice President Finance and Administration Kathy Funk-Baxter, John Owen (seated, CEO of Goodwill Industries of South Texas), Corpus Christi Mayor Joe Adame, and Provost Chris Markwood. (Second row from left): Lucy Wanjiku, Melinda Jevric, Inglan Iniguez, Juillet Purugganan, Cody Debler and Gordon Gong. |
| Research and Scholarly Activity |
 "A Survey of Reading Professors to Determine Seminal Works in Reading Comprehension" co-written by Dr. Dan Pearce, chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and Dr. Norma Zunker, assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education, has been selected as the "Favorite Article" from 2006-2010 to appear in the "Reading Professor," a referred journal sponsored by the Professors of Reading Teacher Educators. Pearce and Zunker's work was recognized in May during the International Reading Association's annual conference in Orlando, Fla. |
| Awards, Honors and Grants |
 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has been named to the 2010 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The honor roll recognizes universities that engage its students, faculty and staff in the community. The CNCS is a federal agency that engages Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Barack Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. |
 Dr. Denise Hill, chair of Teacher Education, has been named to the executive board of the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT). Hill has been teaching in the College of Education since fall 2002. During the 2008-2009 academic year, she received the University's Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. In January 2009, she received a $349,984 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create the University's Mathematics and Science Teacher Academy. |
 Dr. Magesh Thiyagarajan, director of the Plasma Engineering Research Lab (PERL) and assistant professor of engineering, has been elected as the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi representative of the Texas Space Grant Consortium, a group of 47 institutions which include universities, industrial organizations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies within Texas that are joined to ensure that the benefits of space research and technology are available to all Texans. The consortium is part of the National Space Grant Program which consists of 52 Space Grant Consortia nationwide. |
Seven University graduate students have been awarded 2011 Summer Research Development Grants. They are: |
 Glasram Technologies, a five-member team of scientists led by Dr. Magesh Thiyagarajan (center), assistant professor in the College of Science and Technology, has been named winner of the 2011 Coastal Bend Business Plan Competition. Glasram's cold plasma-based technology that could sterilize 99 percent of bacteria contained in shipped packages was selected over 25 other small businesses that are developing innovative, homegrown technologies. Glasram Technologies, a client of the University's Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center, will receive about $22,000 in in-kind services to further develop the technology. |
| Around the Island |
| The University Galleries will hold an opening reception for "The Dollar Store Project/Exhibition" on Friday, June 10, from 6-8 p.m. at the Islander Art Gallery, 4024 Weber Road in the Hamlin Center. The exhibition and art sale, which is on display through Saturday, July 2, is the summer fundraiser for the University Galleries and will showcase work by University faculty, students, alumni and local artists created with or inspired by items located in any dollar store. All proceeds will benefit the participating artists and the Department of Art's Visiting Artists Fund. |
| Check out the latest Outstanding Islanders on the University's Web page at www.tamucc.edu. Do you know a student, alumnus, professor or staff member who should be recognized for their accomplishments and achievements? Nominate them for an Outstanding Islanders profile today! Outstanding Islanders are featured every month. To submit a nomination, click here and navigate to the "Nominate an Outstanding Islander" link. Provide the nominee's name, contact information and why you believe the person is outstanding. |
The Office of the University Registrar at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will soon offer an online transcript order and delivery system. The new system will allow current students and alumni to place official transcript orders online 24 hours a day, seven days a week without having to visit the Student Services Center (Round Building). Requestors will also have the ability to conveniently track the progress of their orders online. The new transcript services will be rolled out in two phases beginning June 1, 2011.
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The campus community showed its school spirit May 20, wearing Island University colors or their favorite university T-shirt in support of GenTX Day in Corpus Christi. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board developed the Generation TX initiative, a statewide commitment for creating a college-going and career-ready culture throughout Texas.
Nearly 125 Smith Elementary School fourth graders received a glimpse of the "college experience" May 17 during a field trip to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The tour, designed to introduce young students to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields included visits to science labs, the "Wetland on Wheels" traveling exhibit and the Mary and Jeff Bell Library, a Zumba dance demonstration and nutrition talk and a math project.
Eleven cadets from the Islander ROTC Battalion were commissioned as 2nd lieutenants in the United States Army May 13 in the University Center Lone Star Ballroom. During the ceremony, the cadets were called to the stage individually where a family member or friend pinned the lieutenant’s bars on the cadet. The newly-commissioned officer then exchanged their first salute with a military mentor of their choice.
Dr. Flavius Killebrew presented the "Presidential Order of the Silver Wave" to the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies during the May 4 Spring Faculty/Staff Meeting. The award honors individuals or groups that bring national and international recognition to the University. In the year following the explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the expertise of HRI scientists has been highly sought by organizations and media throughout the world.
Dr. John Fernandez, professor of Computing Sciences, talks with a team of students about their project during the University’s first "Engineering Design Fair" May 21 in the University Center. The competition for finalists from South Texas middle and high school engineering competitions was hosted by the University's College of Science and Technology and included recruiting tables from several other South Texas colleges and universities.
Teams of brightly-painted students competed in tug-of-war and other games during the "Holi: Festival of Colors" held April 29 on the University Center east lawn. During the traditional Indian event sponsored by the India Students Association and Islander Cultural Alliance, students and faculty threw handfuls of paint powder at each other to celebrate the triumph of good over evil and the beginning of spring.
Maj. Gen. Larry Wyche, deputy chief of staff for Operations at Army Materiel Command in Fort Belvoir, Va., addressed nearly 900 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi graduates during two spring commencement ceremonies held May 14 at the American Bank Center arena. Wyche is a 1983 graduate of Corpus Christi State University and the recipient of numerous awards including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.
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