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This Page Contains Past News Releases
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Thunder™ Rolls on the HT Campus Landscape
By Janice B. Smith and Linda Y. Jackson
Academic collaboration at Huston-Tillotson University is more exciting, engaging, and immersive due to implementation of a revolutionary new technological tool. Unlike many instructional technologies that focus on the ability to incorporate one or two types of media, this integrated tool capitalizes on displaying, sharing, and manipulating multiple types of media in real time.
Thunder™ Virtual Flipchart™ System is the brain child of Polyvision Corporation, a Steelcase Company, considered the world leader in visual communication products. Through a grant from Polyvision ($48,850), a $500,000 appropriation facilitated by Texas Senator Royce West through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board funds, the five Texas Association of Developing Colleges (TADC) have acquired the Thunder™ Enterprise Collaboration System primarily to expand the schools’ Centers for Teacher Education distance learning offerings. Thunder™ was originally designed for the global communication needs of corporate clients. However, the TADC institutions quickly realized the benefits for instruction. HT and the TADC institutions are the only higher education institutions in Texas, to date, that have adopted Thunder™ as an academic technology.
Interest in Thunder as an alternative distance learning platform for courses offered through TADCs' Centers for Teacher Education began in 2005. The learning curve required by professors for adoption is extremely low, because Thunder™ incorporates several familiar technologies with into one integrated system. The system allows users to work in their style instead of adapting their style to accommodate new technologies or applications. Imagine, a professor’s or student's handwritten notes projected directly from the flipchart to multiple screens and a laptop, or diagrams and reports saved by each student at the click of a button. The collaboration and interaction with displayed content are the beauty of Thunder™. Unlike typical videoconferencing configurations, Thunder™ is not dependent on a single audio video transmission. Instead, the content displayed on the flip chart pages becomes the visual focus, and audio connections (phone) provide the avenue for oral collaboration—much like a conference call. Digital and text files as well as individual desktops are shared and manipulated easily by all participants through the Thunder™ easel and computer client application. All information presented during a session, whether face-to-face or at a distance, can be saved, re-opened, printed, and mailed electronically, if desired.
The technology is definitely new generation for virtual group interaction. Classes enhanced with Thunder™ at HT will be attractive to students intrigued by technology that addresses various learning styles and the opportunity to actively and collaboratively create content that becomes a part of the class session. In addition to enhancing and expanding the distance learning offerings, opportunities to collaborate with current and future partners is easily accomplished. Collaborative partnerships between the pre-service students at the University of Nottingham, the University of Toronto, and HT are in progress.
According to Janice Smith, HT’s assistant professor of instructional technology, Thunder™ supports the University’s strategic plan objectives by expanding distance-learning opportunities to meet the needs of students desiring alternative modes of delivery; developing and promoting the use of technology in teaching; expanding student-focused learning center/computer facilities; and increasing student accessibility to support instruction, research, and development. Smith provides technology training and instructional design support for the HT faculty and TADC consortium.
The Thunder™ product with its electronic room scheduling keypad is housed in HT’s Dickey-Lawless Science Building.
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HT Recognized for its Environmental Efforts
Reducing total municipal waste by more than 80% and other green efforts resulted in recognition for Huston-Tillotson University from the National Wildlife Federation. The University was awarded for its sustainability efforts and commitment to creating a campus community that focuses on recycling, energy conservation, and waste reduction.
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First Viaer Four-Year Scholarships Awarded
(AUSTIN, Texas) 10.31.08 — Huston-Tillotson University’s million dollar donor, Anthony E. Viaer, continued his philanthropy efforts by awarding renewable four-year scholarships to three students, beginning with the Fall 2008 academic year. Chipo Nziramasanga, Kristyn Renfro, and Faith White are the first recipients of the competitive Dr. Anthony and Mrs. Louise Viaer Scholarship.
Viaer made his first donation to the University in 2005 and several contributions since. During the 2006 Commencement Convocation, he gave each graduate either $1,000 for fulfilling their graduation requirements or $2,000 for fulfilling their graduation requirements with honors with the challenge to “look back, come back, and give back” an amount equal to the rate of their success. He established the endowed scholarship as a lasting effort in order to help deserving students secure their educational goals and dreams. Huston-Tillotson’s tuition and fees average $11,500 per year.
The three recent scholarship recipients are on a four-year plan to complete a degree with a minimum 3.0 grade point average. Nziramasanga enrolls as a business administration (accounting) major from Harare, Zimbabwe.
White will major in business administration and play basketball. She is a Hutto High School graduate, Hutto, Texas. Renfro will pursue a degree in English for a broadcast journalism career. She graduated from Evan E. Worthing Senior High School, Houston, Texas.
Viaer, originally from New York City, came to Austin, Texas, in 1953 after receiving a track scholarship to Huston-Tillotson. In addition to running track, he was also a member of the baseball team. In 1958 he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in sociology.
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Janice L. Sumler-Edmond's Book Released
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HT’S HISTORY PROFESSOR’S BOOK
TELLS MEMORABLE STORY OF
A FREE WOMAN OF COLOR
(AUSTIN, Texas) 10.2.08 — Huston-Tillotson University’s Professor of History Dr. Janice Sumler-Edmond has released a fascinating, intriguing biography entitled, “The Secret Trust of Aspasia Cruvellier Mirault: The Life and Trials of a Free Woman of Color in Antebellum Georgia.” The narrative resurrects the life and times of Aspasia Cruvellier Mirault, a free woman of color, whose story until now was lost to historical memory.
Sumler-Edmond joined the HT faculty in 2002 and teaches such courses as “African American History.” She was instrumental in securing a minor in African and African American Studies when she served as chair of the Department of Humanities and Fine Arts. She is also director of the University’s W.E.B. Dubois Honors Program for high achieving students.
A historian and a lawyer, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California, her doctorate in jurisprudence from the UCLA School of Law, and a doctorate degree in history from Georgetown University. Recently, Sumler-Edmond attended a summer seminar with the nation’s history academicians entitled, “Slavery: Scholarship and Public History” sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Council of Independent Colleges. She was awarded one of the five 2003-2004 Cross Hemispheric Partnership grants from the United Negro College Fund Special Programs, Inc. in Washington, D.C. The award included a $50,000 grant and a field trip to Latin American countries to form a collaborative partnership among Huston-Tillotson University and two universities in Latin America: the Technological Institute of Monterrey in Mexico City, Mexico, and the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica. Sumler-Edmond coordinated the research of faculty from all three schools in developing an African Latino Studies course that examines the history and culture of Afro-Mexicans and Afro-Costa Ricans.
Sumler-Edmond also teamed with her husband, Steven, who serves as HT’s Dean of the School of Business and Technology to complete “Historical Reflections: A Blueprint for the Future.” The document was researched and prepared for the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin District, in order to chronicle key historical aspects of the Martin Luther King, Jr. corridor. People, places, and things along the corridor were captured in print as a means of remembering and celebrating past accomplishments, contemplating the present, and preparing for the future.
She is coeditor of two previous books: “Freedom’s Odyssey: African American History Essays from Phylon” and “Black Women’s History at the Intersection of Knowledge and Power: ABWH’s Twentieth Anniversary Anthology.”
“The Secret Trust of Aspasia Cruvellier Mirault: The Life and Trials of a Free Woman of Color in Antebellum Georgia” was released by the University of Arkansas Press (hardback $29.95 ISBN 978-1-55728-880-6 | 1-55728-880-1).
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W.E.B. Dubois Honor Scholars
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Huston-Tillotson University launched it first class of William Edward Burghardt DuBois Honors Program scholars during the 2003-04 academic year with 25 students. Named for the African American sociologist, historian, writer, civil rights advocate, and intellectual of the twentieth century, the program attracts academically gifted students whose high school accomplishments indicate their intellectual ability, level of motivation, and leadership potential.
Students selected as DuBois Scholars came to Huston-Tillotson University from many large cities and small towns throughout the state of Texas and from several other states. Overall, these DuBois Scholars earned above average scores on standardized tests and were ranked in the top ten percent of their high school classes. DuBois Scholars excelled in a variety of different academic disciplines, including writing, fine arts, business, math and the sciences. All have proven themselves to be leaders, critical thinkers, and problem solvers.
2007 graduates are as follows:
Alexandra E. Aponte, Biology, San Antonio
Natashia L. Cooper, Business Administration, Dallas
Jonathan D. Hamilton, Music, Austin
Christine R. Henderson, Business Administration, Austin
Michael K. Lewis, Business Administration, Houston
W. Twelvis Matthews, Biology and Mathematics, Killeen
Andre Price, Biology, Austin,
Alexander Rancier, Biology and Chemistry, Austin
Shuntavia D. Wimby, Interdisciplinary Studies, Killeen
2008 graduates are as follows:
Allen N. Davenport, Business Administration
Soleil Hernandez, Psychology
Matthew L. Morris, History
Richard Powers Northcote, Chemistry
2009 graduates are as follows:
Kenneth Ross Chapman, Business Administration
Ashley Ka’Shay Davis, Criminal Justice
Arlene Delgado, Business Administration
Khadi -Ann Dixon, Business Administration
Arriel Goodman, Psychology
Gail Maduro, Biology
Llereva Mortimer, Business Administration
Jeffrey Plummer, Computer Science
Kemba Valentine, Business Administration
Kim Valentine, Business Administration
2010 graduates are as follows:
Mathew K. Bet, Computer Information Systems (CIS)
Alfred C. Carter, III, Kinesiology, Bastrop
Krystle T. Clarke, Chemistry, Trinidad and Tobago
Shatodra T. Goode, Business Administration, Waco
Brittany Griffin, Psychology, Las Vegas
Danica R. McKinney, English, Seguin
Kemi Elizabeth Riley, Business Administration, Bastrop
Damian H. Spencer, Business Administration, Trinidad and Tobago
Saletha Staples, Business Administration, Waco
Stevency Telfort, Business Administration, Bahamas
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HT Receives $238,000 Grant
for Its Math and Science Initiatives
(AUSTIN, Texas) 3.18.08 — The U.S. Department of Education, with Congressmen Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) leading the efforts, awarded a $238,000 grant to Huston-Tillotson University for its math and science initiatives. Those initiatives include the creation of the HT Math and Science Success Center and upgrades to the Dickey-Lawless Science Building, which was constructed in 1954, renovated in 1993, and will house the center. The new program will be designed to move more minorities into the math and science fields, according to President Larry L. Earvin.
The majority of the 768 students enrolled at the University study in areas under the College of Arts and Sciences, also located in D-L. All students are required to complete biology, chemistry, physics, or physical science courses prior to graduation with chemistry and biology majors spending a considerable number of hours in the laboratories completing applications that require the instruments and tools housed in the building. The success center will also create a pipeline of middle and high school students through an intensive eight-week Austin Pre-Freshman Engineering Program (AusPrEP) summer program.
Earlier this month the University was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Lola Wright Foundation to upgrade the ventilation and exhaust systems in D-L. Dean Joseph Jones, Jr. said that this recent award moves the University closer to completing its objectives “necessary for students to achieve the competencies for success in their academic and professional careers.”
The building was named in honor of physicians James L. Dickey and Frederick Lawless. Both were former members of the board of trustees who rendered years of service to the institution. Dickey was also a graduate.
McCaul, representing District 10, is currently serving his second term in the United States Congress. The 10th Congressional District includes eight counties from Austin to Houston.
Doggett, representing District 25, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994.
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HT Paraphernalia Ready for Buyers
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Need an HT T-shirt, jacket, warm-up, mug, pen, wallet holder, lanyard, or other special item? Visit the HT bookstore. Purchase your HT paraphernalia, and, of course, books for your classes at the campus bookstore. Special hours during reunion weekend. Store located in the Davage-Durden Student Union, 900 Chicon Street.
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Spring 2008 Enrollment Announced
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AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES ATTRACTED TO
HUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY
(AUSTIN, Texas) 12.21.07 — Huston-Tillotson University officials announce registration for the Spring 2008 semester and report that during the prior semester the number of males enrolled exceeded the number of females for the first time in a number of years. Males made up fifty-eight percent of the incoming first-year students enrolled. The largest group represented was African American followed by Hispanic males. For nearly 50 years, the University’s ratio of females to males has been balanced with 51% to 48%, respectively, for the 768 students enrolled during the 2007-2008 term. University officials credit the increase to tradition and scholarship opportunities available to students.
Registration for the Spring 2008 semester will be held Thursday and Friday, January 10-11, 2008, on the campus at 900 Chicon Street. Registration hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. New Student Orientation for first-year and transfer students, which offers assistance with the transition to college life, placement testing, career and major counseling with faculty, and financial aid assistance, will be held at the same time.
For more information, contact Enrollment Management at 512.505.3031, admission@htu.edu, the First Year Experience Coordinator at 512.505.3045, or click here to learn more.
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Internships for Criminal Justice Majors
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HT PARTNERS WITH U.S. IMMIGRATIONS AND
CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT TO OFFER INTERNSHIPS
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Huston-Tillotson University President Larry L. Earvin and Office of Investigations Director Marcy Forman signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to create an internship partnership. The agreement offers first hand experience and introduces upper level HT criminal justice majors to the challenges and benefits of a federal law enforcement career.
Huston-Tillotson University’s newest major, criminal justice, which was launched in 2003, has taken its place as the third most popular major among currently enrolled students as well as incoming first year, first time freshmen. Criminal justice ranks behind business administration, which has the most declared majors, and kinesiology.
“The opportunity is a fantastic one for any student who would like to gain practical, hands-on experience,” said Lorraine Samuels, HT’s Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice. “What better agency than the Department of Homeland Security. This is truly a gift to our students.”
This agreement is the latest in a number of initiatives with law enforcement agencies designed to ensure job readiness for HT graduates and increase the number of minorities in the profession.
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Upgrade Scheduled for D-L
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HT RECEIVES $50,000 FROM THE
LOLA WRIGHT FOUNDATION
TO UPGRADE THE
DICKEY-LAWLESS SCIENCE BUILDING
(AUSTIN, Texas) 12.3.07 — Huston-Tillotson University was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Lola Wright Foundation in order to upgrade the ventilation and exhaust systems in the Dickey-Lawless Science Building.
The building, named in honor of Drs. James L. Dickey and Frederick Lawless, houses the College of Arts and Sciences and provides the instruments, elements, and tools for students majoring in chemistry and biology. An auditorium, which houses the University’s Thunder™ software and hardware alternative course delivery system, lecture rooms, science laboratories, and a Dell Computer Laboratory are also housed in the three-story structure.
“This enhancement will enable Huston-Tillotson students to complete detailed applications and experiments that are necessary to achieving the competencies for success in their academic and professional careers,” said Dr. Joseph Jones, Jr., Dean, College of Arts and Sciences.
The Lola Wright Foundation was established by Johnnie Elizabeth Wright in memory of Lola Wright, a Georgetown, Texas, hotel owner.
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Earvin and Acevedo Sign Agreement
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HT AND APD
AGREE TO EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MOVES INTO TOP FIVE AMONG HT MAJORS
(Austin, TEXAS) 8.15.07 — Huston-Tillotson University President Larry L. Earvin and Austin Police Department Chief Art Acevedo signed a collaborative agreement today that provides tuition discounts and reimbursements to APD employees who successfully complete classes in criminal justice.
Huston-Tillotson University’s newest major, criminal justice, has taken its place as the third most popular major among currently enrolled students as well as incoming first year, first time freshmen. Criminal justice ranks behind business administration, which has the most declared majors, and kinesiology.
University officials added criminal justice to its offerings in 2003 and established partnerships with the Austin Police Department (APD), Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and Hayes County Sheriff’s Office. The partnerships offer discounted tuitions for employees to earn a baccalaureate degree in criminal justice with the anticipation of enhancing career opportunities for HT students, providing professional advancement options for existing law enforcement employees, and attracting more minorities to the profession.
In addition, during the 2007 commencement, 12 students received their bachelor's degree in criminal justice, which represented 13% of the 94 graduates. Graduates are currently employed with APD, in overseas positions, and the military.
Criminal justice, which is an interdisciplinary program in the study of crime and the administration of the justice system, raises the University’s liberal arts degree offerings to 15 as listed: Academic degree (secondary education), biology, business administration, chemistry, computer science, English, interdisciplinary studies (elementary education), kinesiology, mathematics, music, music education, political science, psychology, and sociology. Criminal justice, within the College of Arts and Sciences, is a 122-hour program of courses designed to endow students with skills necessary for critical knowledge, communications, personal growth, and real-world application opportunities within the criminal justice discipline.
Classes start September 4 and registration is in progress now for the fall term.
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HUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY JOINS WORLD GRID COMMUNITY
(AUSTIN, Texas) 11.7.06 — Huston-Tillotson University officials have partnered with the IBM Corporation to link its more than 300 campus computers to the computational power of the World Community Grid that can be used to solve problems plaguing humanity.
HT joins more than 225 companies, associations, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions that contribute their idle personal computer (PC) time toward the creation of a massive research system that is easy to use, safe, and far exceeds the power of a few supercomputers.
“This partnership affords Huston-Tillotson the opportunity to utilize its resources not only to serve the community but to make a difference in the community,” said President, Larry L. Earvin, Ph.D. “In addition, the collaboration advances HT’s ability to serve its students and faculty by addressing some difficult research challenges that the University has experienced.”
When personal computers are idle, data are requested from the grid’s server that is commutated, sent back for results, and prompted for the next records.
In its first year, the World Community Grid ran the “Human Proteome Folding Project,” which provided scientists with data on how individual proteins within the human body affect human health, enabling them to develop new cures for diseases like lyme disease, malaria, and
Tuberculosis. Scientists now have descriptions of 120,000 protein domains that are critical to human well-being. Without the benefit of the free grid technology, it would have taken five years to secure the results, compared with just 12 months.
Nearly 12 months ago, the World Community Grid launched FightAIDS@Home.com, sponsored by The Scripps Research Institute, to identify new candidate drugs to block Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) protease, a key molecular structure that when blocked, stops the virus from maturing and consequently prolonging life by avoiding the onset of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This past summer, the World Community Grid launched a new effort that will assist in cancer research. The “Help Defeat Cancer” project will use the system to analyze tissue microarrays, a new investigative tool that will ultimately help doctors select proper treatments and provide accurate prognosis for cancer patients.
To join HT and others in this huge endeavor, individuals should visit www.worldcommunitygrid.org to download the free software on their computers.
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Earvin Receives Special Honor
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EARVIN INDUCTED INTO THE
NATIONAL BLACK COLLEGE ALUMNI HALL OF FAME
(AUSTIN, Texas) 9.5.06 — Larry L. Earvin, President and CEO, Huston-Tillotson University, was inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, representing education, at a special ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 29, 2006.
Earvin, who started his career in higher education in a position that was only supposed to last one year, is now entering his 35th year in the academic arena. His career is filled with numerous accomplishments, successes, and a Huston-Tillotson presidential appointment in 2000. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University, completed his Master of Science degree at Georgia State University, and earned a doctorate from Emory University.
The National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation was established to serve as a catalyst and partner in order to ensure the stability, strength, and excellence of the nation’s historically and/or predominately black colleges and universities.
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