Office of the Provost Danny O. Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS
Executive Vice President and Provost,
Dean of the School of Medicine
I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to serve as Executive Vice President and Provost, and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch. I am proud to be part of an institution with such a rich history and diverse community of people who are working to improve the lives of others.
Message from the Provost
May 20, 2013
You have until midnight (May 20) to participate in the You Count! Pulse survey. If you have not yet completed the survey, please take a moment to do so. We value your input!
All eligible employees should have received an email invitation from Morehead Associates with instructions and an embedded survey link. Please note that if you:
- have not received your survey link, please check your junk e-mail or deleted items folder in Outlook. (Some people have reported that the email was inadvertently routed to these folders.)
- have lost your email link, contact Morehead’s survey support team at support@moreheadassociates.com or 1-800-849-2292 (option 1) to request a new one.
The survey is completely confidential. Data is collected by Morehead and is never reported by individual. This includes the optional demographic questions being asked for the first time on this survey. (For more information on those, click here.)
Each employee who participates in the survey will be automatically entered into a drawing for one of six $750 gift certificates for a weekend getaway package (or the cash equivalent). The winners will be selected by Morehead at the conclusion of the survey.
Thank you for responding to the survey and for helping to make a difference at UTMB.
Sincerely yours,
Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine
Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair
May 20, 2013
I am pleased to share the great news that the UTMB Dietetic Internship Program in the School of Health Professions Department of Nutrition and Metabolism, has earned Candidacy for Accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Candidacy for Accreditation status demonstrates institutional readiness to implement the proposed program. The School of Health Professions will be immediately accepting students for our Fall 2013 term. Congratulations to Dean Elizabeth Protas, Dr. Astrid Inniss, Director of the Dietetic Internship, and our School of Health Professions faculty members for their efforts.
Dr. Inniss led the accreditation effort. She serves as Associate Director of Nutrition in the Institute for Translational Sciences, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Nutrition and Metabolism (SHP) and Preventive Medicine & Community Health, Human Nutrition Program (SOM), and Adjunct Assistant Professor (SON). She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and active in the community providing nutrition education at various health and wellness events throughout Galveston County.
ACEND’s decision was based on a peer review of our self-study report, the site visit report and our program’s compliance with Accreditation Standards to provide quality dietetics education. Our Dietetic Internship will offer two tracks: 1) the combined Master’s Degree with the Dietetic Internship and 2) the Dietetic Internship Certificate Program. Click here for details.
Dean Protas said, “We are very excited that the new Nutrition and Metabolism program has reached this significant milestone towards program excellence. Congratulations to Dr. Innis, the faculty in the Department of Nutrition and Metabolism, and our planning committee. We are grateful for all of your hard work to establish this new program.”
Sincerely yours,
Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine
Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair
May 17, 2013
In case you missed the May 14th article in the Galveston County Daily News, UTMB offers a new nonsurgical prostate cancer treatment, a first of a kind in Texas. The MRI-guided ablation procedure is an exciting new, safe and effective technique that lowers side effects. (New clinical results were recently published online in the journal Radiology.) Dr. Eric Walser, Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology, is one of only a few physicians in the world and the only physician in Texas who performs this groundbreaking procedure. Read full story.
UTMB is proud to be at the cusps of using the most advanced technology and imaging available to better patient care. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Walser on his innovative contributions to patient care.
Sincerely yours,
Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine
Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair
May 17, 2013
I am very pleased to announce that Lexi Nolen, PhD, MPH, Director of the UTMB Center to Eliminate Health Disparities in the Division of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs, has been appointed to the National Advisory Panel (NAP) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Healthy Communities Transformation Initiative. This three-year initiative will promote healthy living environments and communities through the development of a Healthy Communities Index (HCI) and Healthy Community Assessment Tool (HCAT) to help local jurisdictions assess the baseline health of their communities and then track and monitor progress toward healthy community objectives. The NAP is comprised of community leaders and experts in the fields of health, transportation, housing, sustainability, environment, indicator/metric development and other issues related to healthy communities.
Dr. Nolen serves as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Family Medicine and Internal Medicine. She is also an Associate Faculty Member in the Institute for the Medical Humanities and Associate Executive Director of the Coordinating Center for Global Health at UTMB. Dr. Nolen’s experience in health disparities and health equity is extensive. She has worked to improve community health through strategic research, as well as outreach and innovative training programs.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Nolen on her well-deserved appointment to the National Advisory Panel.
Sincerely yours,
Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine
Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair
May 10, 2013
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Karen Szauter was recently honored by the AAMC’s Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) with the SGEA Career Educator Award during its 2013 annual conference. The Career Educator Award recognizes service to the SGEA and lifetime achievement in medical education, including a record of scholarship, leadership, collaboration and professionalism. Dr. Szauter served as SGEA Chair from 2007-2009 and as a Steering Committee member from 2008-2011. She has been a member of the AAMC’s Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) Steering Committee since 2007 and notably served as national GEA Chair from 2010-2012. She is currently the GEA Past Chair. Dr. Szauter has held leadership positions in several other regional and national medical education organizations as well and is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of clinical performance assessment, standardized patients, and professionalism. The external letter nominating her for the Career Award said, “Her work on standardized patients and professionalism, published in the most prestigious medical education journals, including Academic Medicine and Medical Education, has made a genuine contribution to each body of literature.”
At UTMB, Dr. Szauter is Professor, Department of Internal Medicine/Division of Gastroenterology, and Medical Director of the Standardized Patient Program in the Office of Educational Development. She is Co-Director of the Internal Medicine Clerkship. She is an inaugural member of UTMB’s Academy of Master Teachers and was inducted in 2008 into the University of Texas Academy of Health Science Educators. In addition, she received the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Szauter on this well-deserved recognition.
Sincerely yours,
Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine
Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair
"Dr. Jacobs: Mondays in March" Video Available | View Here
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