Newly elected to the Employee Advisory Council are Julie Cantini, representing university support; Jennifer Smith Anderson, representing schools; Craig Kovacevich, representing hospitals and clinics; and Janet Gonzales, representing correctional managed care. Each year an election is held to replace members who have served their term. The peer-elected group serves classified and administrative and professional employees. Faculty are represented via the Faculty Senate and, therefore, not part of this election process.
 
Board member
Jerome Crowder, assistant professor in the Institute of the Medical Humanities, has been elected to the board of directors of the Society for Visual Anthropology. The Society, a section of the American Anthropological Association, promotes the use of images for the description, analysis, communication and interpretation of human behavior.
 
Appointments
Martha Livanec has been appointed director of patient services, helping advance patient-centered care across the health system.
 
Dr. Mark Holden is now the director of the division of general internal medicine. He serves as vice-chairman for undergraduate and continuing medical education in the department of internal medicine and is director of educational innovations in the Office of Academic Affairs. He has been awarded many honors on campus, as recognized by peers and students, for his clinical skills, bedside teaching and curriculum development.
 
Dr. Jong Lee, associate professor of surgery, has been appointed to the Annie Laurie Howard Chair in Burn Surgery. A member of the American College of Surgeons and the International Society for Burn Injuries, he is actively involved in teaching and serves as the program director of the surgical critical care fellowship. 
 
Dr. Shivaiah Balachandra, associate professor of pediatrics, has been named the William W. Glauser Professorship in Pediatric Nephrology. Board certified in pediatrics and pediatric nephrology, he serves as the director of the division of nephrology providing care for for children with diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, including those who need dialysis or transplantation. The division provides consulting across the state and regularly holds clinics in El Paso and Beaumont.
Visiting campus  
“Secondary bacterial infections as the primary cause of death from influenza” was addressed by Dennis W. Metzger, director of the Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College in New York.
 
Presentations
“Integrative psychiatry: Methods, tools, resources” was the topic for Dr. Victor S. Sierpina.