
Dr. Laura Rudkin, professor and chair in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, has been elected president of The University of Texas System Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education. The academy is both a service organization and honorific body that recognizes and utilizes faculty excellence to serve UT System in all aspects of health science education, educational scholarship and leadership. Rudkin, who has been a member
of the Shine Academy since 2013, will serve a one-year term. Dr. Gayle Olson, professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is president-elect and will serve as president following Rudkin's term.
Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Merkley, who has been appointed chair of UTMB’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Merkley assumed the role as interim chair in March 2015 and is the inaugural holder of the Theisinger Distinguished Chair in Ophthalmology. He has more than 20 years of management experience in the private sector, currently serves as medical director for the Joffe MediCenter in Houston and has also served as director for our Ophthalmology Residency Program. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology. He assumed the permanent role immediately.
Congratulations to the UTMB School of Medicine’s Educational Affairs Department for capturing rst-place honors in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo’s Go Texan Day contest, which recognized the department for its chili cook-off event. The Go Texan Day Contest encourages organizations to host events that promote and celebrate the rodeo and Texas Culture.
Ashley Shriver, second from left, and Alma Block, second from right, with UTMB's School of Medicine's Educational Affairs Department receive the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo bowlegged "H" trophy.