News on the Go #660, July 22, 2008

News on the Go is a service of the Office of Institutional Advancement, providing timely news and information to faculty, staff, fellows, residents and students on the go. Deadline: 10 a.m. Thursday before Tuesday publication. Submit all events and deadlines to the Web Calendar. Submit other items for consideration using the News on the Go submission form.

Topics at a glance: The Leader Update ... Hurricane Season ... Construction Alert ... Fort Bend Park & Ride Service ... Parking/Shuttle Services Office ... SPAM+ Disappears ... Distinguished Medical Educator Award ... Training Resource Center ... Benefits Updates ... Surplus Warehouse Online Auction & Warehouse Closure ... Fall Schedule of Classes ... Brown Bag Training Sessions ... College Football Ticket Special ... Houston Dynamo ... Clinical Research & Regulatory Practice ... HOOP Updates

The Leader Update

Hurricane Season

Prepare yourself for hurricane season by learning what to do before, during and after a storm. For information on hurricane preparedness and safety, visit:

Stay informed of local weather conditions, watches and warnings from the National Weather Service and view evacuation maps from the Texas Emergency Portal or Houston's Transtar Real-Time Traffic Map. More emergency response information can be found at http://www.uthoustonemergency.org/.

Construction Alert 

  • Garage 7 Construction Activities
    The roof level, twelfth floor and parts of the eleventh of Garage 7 will be closed to all traffic, until Sunday, July 27, due to scheduled maintenance.
  • Garage 2 Construction Activities
    The roof level and parts of the seventh level of Garage 2 will be closed to all traffic, until Tuesday, Sept. 2, due to scheduled maintenance.

New Park and Ride Service for Fort Bend County Residents 

Texas Medical Center institutions and Fort Bend County public transportation officials are working together to offer Park and Ride service direct to the Texas Medical Center. Details including schedules and fares are still being finalized.

There will be five stops on the Main Campus: near the University Center Tower at Pressler and Fannin; Pressler across from UT M.D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention building; TMC Garage 2 at Bertner and Bates; in front of the TMC Commons at Bertner and Moursund; and in the University of Texas Medical School breezeway next to Memorial Hermann.

If you want to take advantage of this new transportation alternative, please complete this brief survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2282XALJ2K7 by Monday, July 28.

More details will be available at the Texas Medical Center website as they become available.

Parking/Shuttle Services Office

Hours for the Auxiliary Enterprises Parking/Shuttle Services Office at University Center Tower have changed. The office now is open 7 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Monday–Friday, to better serve customers. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please e-mail parking@uth.tmc.edu regarding contract parking or shuttle@uth.tmc.edu for shuttle related information.

SPAM+ E-mails Disappeared Monday, July 21

Yesterday, e-mail messages that have 'SPAM+' in the subject line stopped being delivered to your Exchange inbox or your Junk E-mail folder. They will automatically be deleted from the e-mail system.

The IT Governance Committee endorsed the decision to discontinue delivering e-mail marked as 'SPAM+' to our inboxes because of significant costs associated with processing, storing and backing up anything marked SPAM+. There is no evidence of legitimate e-mail being marked 'SPAM+'. Now our e-mail system resources will process and deliver e-mail more efficiently because of expanded disk space available for legitimate e-mail.

Please contact the HelpDesk, 713-500-4848 or helpdesk@uth.tmc.edu, with questions or concerns.

Call for Nominations: Distinguished Medical Educator Award

TIAA-CREF and the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science are soliciting statewide nominations for the 2008 TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator Award.

The TIAA-CREF Distinguished Medical Educator Award honors teaching physicians, nurses and other health care professionals who have a long history of significant contributions to medical education and have influenced medical education nationally and internationally. Eligible nominees are medical professionals who exemplify the highest standards of leadership, guidance and dedication in medical education both professionally and personally.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, Aug. 15. To nominate a distinguished medical educator, visit http://www.tiaa-crefaward.org or contact Melissa Campbell, 713-523-7900, for more information.

Coming Soon: HSC Training & Resource Center

Later this summer, the health science center will make public the Training & Resource Center. The TRC, a training and communication tool available to all employees of the health science center, will provide the university community with a resource to manage and deliver professional development opportunities.
Training & Resource Center Areas of Interest to YOU:

  • Personal training records for every employee within the health science center
  • The ability for supervisors to see and access training records
  • The ability to create and manage online trainings
  • A registration tool for online and classroom trainings
  • Mandatory training updates and notifications
  • The ability to input certifications and receive updates on licensure renewals
  • Team Rooms with content sharing areas
  • Media Center
  • Online Library

The Training & Resource Center will “go live” later this summer. For more information about the Training & Resource Center, contact TRCAdmin@uth.tmc.edu or Megan.Williford@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-3074.

Benefits Update

Annual Enrollment for Benefits 2008-2009 plan year ends midnight, Thursday, July 31. For more information about Annual Enrollment for Benefits 2008-2009, visit the Annual Enrollment Web site or contact the benefits office at benefits@uthouston.edu, 713-500-3935.

Surplus Warehouse Online Auction & Warehouse Closure

Check out the surplus goods that are being auctioned off by Capital Assets Management, everything from a lot of dental crowns, to lab supplies, to miscellaneous furniture.
Surplus Warehouse Timeline:

  • Open to UT community — non-auction items only, Tuesday, July 22.
  • The online auction began Wednesday, July 16 at http://www.shattuck.com/.
  • The online auction will close Wednesday, July 23.
  • The Surplus warehouse will be closed for regular UT Community use, Monday, July 28 – Friday, Aug. 1.
  • The auction public will pick up their items at the warehouse, Monday, July 28-Wednesday, July 30.
  • The Surplus warehouse reopens on regular schedule, Monday, Aug. 4.

For questions or more information, contact Lavone.Moore@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-4735.

Fall Schedule of Classes

The fall 2008 Schedule of Classes is currently available at the Registrar’s Office.

  • Open registration for Dental Hygiene, Dental Postgraduates, Nursing, Medical Clinical Research, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Health Information Sciences and Public Health students is ends Friday, Aug. 22.
  • Late registration for Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Medical Clinical Research, School of Nursing, School of Health Information Sciences and School of Public Health students is Tuesday, Sept. 2–Friday, Sept. 5 ($15 late fee).
  • Late Registration for Dental Postgraduates is Monday, Aug. 25–Friday, Aug. 29 ($15 late fee).

For more information, visit Academic Registration Calendar – 2008-2009.

UCSC Brown Bag Sessions

The University Classified Staff Council Staff Development Committee is holding Brown Bag training sessions throughout campus. All Brown Bag training sessions are noon–1:30 p.m. Bring your lunch and learn while you eat. For more information or questions, contact Rebecca.C.Chapa@uth.tmc.edu.

  • “Active Shooter on Campus & Emergency Preparedness”
    All faculty, residents, fellows, staff and students are encouraged to attend one of these safety training sessions.
    Tuesday, July 22–Medical School Building, Room 5.001
    Thursday, July 24–Dental Branch Building, Room 207
    Tuesday, July 29–School of Nursing and Student Community Center, Room120
    More sessions will be announced for the IMM and HCPC.
    Featured Speakers: Sgt. G. Arenas, UTPD, and Kevin Roberts, Environmental Health & Safety
    Cookies and water will be provided for the first 100 people.

ESPN’s College Kickoff Classic: Ticket Special

The Rice University Athletic Department is offering a Texas Medical Center ticket special for the 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 29, ESPN College Kickoff Classic football game pitting the Rice Owls against the Southern Methodist University Mustangs. UT Health Science Center at Houston faculty, staff and students are eligible to purchase advance tickets at a discounted rate.

Tickets include access to many pre- and post-game activities that night including a moonwalk, rock wall and live music all in Tailgate Owley. Discounted upper-deck seats are $10, and first-level seats are $20. Group discounts (25+ tickets) are available. For questions or to buy discounted tickets, contact Lauren Snider at lsnider@rice.edu, 713-348-6405.

Houston Dynamo: Discount Tickets

Employees and students of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston can save time and money by purchasing their Houston Dynamo tickets through the Corporate Group Manager. Just visit the Houston Dynamo online at http://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=houtx&o=516161&g=309; password uthsc.

Clinical Research and Regulatory Practice

“Navigating the Regulatory Highway: Clinical Research and Regulatory Practice,” sponsored by the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, begins Monday, Aug. 25. K12 and K08 awardees, T32 trainees, fellows and faculty, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center faculty, new investigators, clinical research investigators, advanced research nurses and coordinators are invited to participate in the course.

For a full list of class dates, visit http://www.uth.tmc.edu/research/training/ClinRegulatory.html. Online registration: http://www.uth.tmc.edu/research/training/CRTrainNavRegHway.html. For questions or more information, contact Gena.Monroe@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-7903, or Kimberly.Wilson@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-7911.

HOOP Updates

Check out HOOP What's New? for specifics on new policy changes or the HOOP 2008 What’s New Archive for all 2008 policy changes. For general HOOP information, visit http://legal.hsc.uth.tmc.edu/hoop/index.html.