UTMB Faculty Senate

June 8, 2009

4:30 – 6:00 pm

MINUTES

 

Present:  Drs. T. Albrecht, G. Anderson, V. Brooke, N. Cintron, C. Cooper, R. Fox, N. Garg, D. Heliker, C. Holzer, S.D. Hudnall, A. Hudson-Jones, M. Kanuth, D. Munsell, S. Peloquin, K. Sandor, G. Taglialatela, C. Utsey, S. Watowich, P. Watson, C. Wigg, N. Wills and C. Wisnewski


Absent:  Drs. B. Doucet, R. Leonard, M. O’Keefe and E. Protas

 

I.           The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm by Dr. David Hudnall, Chair of Faculty Senate.

 

II.        Dr. Hudnall introduced Mr. Ralph Farr, Vice President  of Information Services (IS) who then introduced  Mr. Todd Leach, Director of IS Operations. Mr. Leach gave a PowerPoint presentation per request of the Faculty Senate, with specific attention to IS Technical services response time.  They estimated that there was 3,200 pieces of computer equipment damaged from Ike, and they were supporting UTMB members from various offsite locations; moving forward, they will be recruiting 6 desktop support personnel and be back to pre-Ike service by 9/1/09.

 

III.      Approval of Minutes of May 11, 2009.  Minutes of May 11, 2009 were accepted as written at the meeting.

 

IV.     Provost’s Report – Dr. Garland Anderson

·      Shriners Burns update.  UTMB is doing adult burns now.  Shriners will have their annual meeting in July; they have asked for an extension on the restraining order until after this meeting.  6 of the 22 Shriners have closed and Galveston took care of the most severe cases.  If they do not open the Galveston Shriners, we would like for Sealy and Smith to buy the building.  

·      ER will open in August and the Trauma center shortly after.

·      Legislative Session update.  We did well for capital; FEMA will give us $150 million for the new surgery tower

 

V.        Vice President for Education and Dean’s Reports

Vice President for Education – Dr. Pamela Watson (written report provided by Dr. Watson).

·      During the Council of Deans Executive Session on June 2, 2009, the committee voted to recommend approval of the UTMB PhD Nursing program’s change in modality from classroom based to online delivery.

·      The Council of Deans Executive Committee also voted to recommend approval of the proposal to transition the MSPT program to DPT program.  This will be referred to as “MSPT to DPT Program.”

·      A proposal for a process for revising the UTMB Mission and Vision Statements has been established by the Council of Deans.

 

Dean, School of Nursing – Dr. Pamela Watson (written report provided by Dr. Watson).

Education:

·      We received a Notice of Grant Award P938R090031 from the Department of Education for 2009 Hurricane Disaster Relief in the amount of $2,000,000.  These funds will be used to relocate the Simulation Center and allow for expanded use by students in all UTMB schools.

·      The Nursing Simulation Center held a ribbon cutting and open house on May 12th to showcase the area and introduce the campus to the center’s new temporary location on the 5th floor of the Children’s Hospital.

Research:

·      SON faculty recently submitted research grant applications to the following institutions:

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research (RCI): Kyungeh An, RN, PhD; Yolanda Davila, RN, PhD, Nonie Mendias, PhD, RN, FNP, APRN, BC; Elizabeth Reifsnider, WHNP, APRN, BC, Constance Brewer Koomey, Professor and Associate Dean for Research.

Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications:  Elizabeth Reifsnider, WHNP, APRN, BC, Constance Brewer Koomey Professor and Associate Dean for Research:

AHRQ Health Services Research Demonstration and Dissemination Grants (R18):

Kathryn Fiandt, DNS, FAANP, Professor and Associate Dean

Research Project Grant (Parent R01):  Sheryl Bishop, PhD, Associate Professor

Students:

·      Seven SON ACNP students who completed their programs in December 2008 have all taken and passed the American Nurses Credentialing Center certification exam! This is wonderful news given the disruptions encountered due to Hurricane Ike at the end of their program.

Kathy (Mary) Ware submitted her research paper from last semester on Influenza Immunizations for Healthcare Workers to Infection Control Today.  The article will be published in the July 09 edition.

Honors and Awards:

·      A case study on the St. Vincent’s Nurse Managed Health Clinic was published in the May 2009 edition of The Business of Caring.

·      Eight employees were recognized during the Employee Service Award Ceremony – three for 25 years of service; three for 20 years of service, and two for five years of service.

 

Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences – Dr. Cary Cooper (report provided by Dr. Cooper).

·     On May 20 & 21, 2009, the GSBS annual course in Ethics of Scientific Research was delivered to all research trainees who have not taken it before. It is a required course for all GSBS students and postdocs.  The course was directed by Dr. Harold Vanderpool and was well received.  Dr. Vanderpool has announced his retirement, and it appears Dr. Michelle Carter may take over the course for next year.

·     This morning, Monday June 8, the 19th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) began.  This is a 10-week program where selected undergraduates work hands-on in a faculty laboratory. 

 

            During the Period 1993-2008, SURP hosted a total of 614 undergraduates, and of that total:

            59% were women

            29% were under represented minorities (Hispanic, African-American or Native            American)

 

            14% enrolled at UTMB

38 matriculated in the GSBS

 6 matriculated in the MD/PhD program

39 matriculated in the SOM

 

Table 1 gives demographic data for the most recent years of SURP

 

Table 1.  Characteristics of the UTMB SURP 2002-2008

A. Composition

·      231 Total undergraduate students (56% female; 35% under represented minority)

·      110 Individual faculty mentors

B. Demographics

·      64% from Texas schools

·      36% from 80 non-Texas schools

 

 

 

 

Table 2 shows the publications co-authored by SURP participants for summers 2002-2008

Table 2.  Outcomes of the 2002-2008 UTMB SURP Program

A. Undergraduate student authorship on publications

·      46 papers co-authored with SURP students

·      67 abstracts or meeting presentations with SURP students

·      113 publications total

 

Over the years 1993-2007, the average number of SURP participants enrolled was 35, but in 2008 budget restrictions limited departmental contributions for SURP, and only 24 undergraduates were supported in SURP by the Graduate School for the 10-week period June-August.  For the current 2009 SURP, only 13 undergraduates have been accepted, all from local communities so that UTMB housing is not required.  This significant reduction for 2009 has been necessitated by the effects of Hurricane Ike, which a) destroyed all UTMB housing available for SURP and b) caused such budgetary problems that available funding for SURP was limited.

 

Dean, School of Health Professions – Dr. Elizabeth Protas (no written report provided).

 

VI.        Senator Replacements

We have several SOM vacant positions and need to fill those seats.  The process is under way.

 

VII.      Nominations for Chair Elect

         With the progression, the School of Health Professions is next for a chair elect. 

 

VIII.   Chair Comments – Dr. Hudnall announced that he will be leaving at the end of the week for his new position at Yale University.  He thanked the Senate for his time as Faculty Chair.  Charlotte Wisnewski, faculty chair-elect presented Dr. Hudnall with a plaque for his service and a thank you letter with signatures from the Senate and Administrative leaders.

 

IX.    Subcommittee Reports

Dr. Sandor reported that the Faculty Quality Committee met today and they are working on the Post Tenure Review among the schools.

 

A motion for adjournment was made and seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 5:32 pm.