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Forecast, Page 2
UH rewards football coach Kevin Sumlin with new six-year contract Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Issue 74, Volume 75
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Alumna leaves legacy in arts By Amenah Khalil THE DAILY COUGAR Prominent alumna and philanthropist Cynthia Woods Mitchell, died Dec. 27 at age 87, after almost a decade of living with Alzheimer’s disease. Mitchell was a valued donor to various projects and causes, most of which involved her love for the arts. “She was a visionary philanthropist whose dedication to the arts was apparent in the founding of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center,” Karen Farber, director of UH’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, said in an e-mail. Mitchell was an enthusiastic supporter of the arts and believed that everyone, not just the wealthy, should be able to enjoy musical performances. This desire became a reality when the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion was created in The Woodlands. Mitchell’s philanthropy extends throughout Houston, Galveston and College Station. For UH, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts remains her greatest legacy. With a $20 million donation from Mitchell, the center has been able to cultivate collaborations between performing, visual and literary arts. “Just as she lived a productive and creative life with extraordinary
commitment to our community, she has left a legacy that will fuel creativity for future generations in our community and far beyond,” UH President Renu Khator said in a release. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts went through renovations in 2005 and 2006 and was renamed in October 2006 to honor Mitchell’s long-standing support for the arts. “Mrs. Mitchell’s and the Mitchell family’s commitment to create the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts — a center that celebrates the arts and encourages collaboration — has helped to position UH arts as one of the University’s key priorities,” Khator said. Mitchell was also a generous donor to UH’s Texas Music Festival and the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. She also created UH’s Distinguished Authors Program. “Mrs. Mitchell and her family’s generosity has made dozens of significant new artworks possible and left a lasting legacy that will continue to infuse the entire University and City of Houston with creativity and innovation. On behalf of the Mitchell Center board and staff, I extend the deepest sympathy and gratitude to the Mitchell family,” Faber said in an e-mail.
ZUHAIR SIDDIQUI THE DAILY COUGAR
Speaking up
A
group of local and national prolife advocates gathered to protest the opening of a new Planned Parenthood facility. The 78,000-sq. ft. facility will be the largest Planned Parenthood building in the nation and will be located at 4600 Gulf Freeway. Keith Fry, right, traveled from Abilene to be among the thousands of participants in the demonstrations, which occurred Sunday and Monday.
see MITCHELL, page 3
Students get industry experience
Fraternity to help aid in Haiti relief By Hiba Adi THE DAILY COUGAR
By David Haydon THE DAILY COUGAR UH students from different colleges got the chance to compete against each other and teach high school students at PetroChallenge 2010, held Jan. 9-12. The PetroChallenge is a teambased competition concerning oil and gas, created and conducted by Simprentis, a company that trains students and young professionals with its Oilsim software. “To me, it’s a great way to get the various colleges working together,” director of Petroleum Technology Initiative Christiansen said. During the competition, student groups work with a computer-based
JUSTIN FLORES THE DAILY COUGAR
Students who competed in PetroChallenge 2010 get a real perspective of what the oil industry can offer them in the future. program that simulates situations dealt with by oil workers. “We’re giving them a real sense of what it’s like to work in the oil and gas industry,” Simprentis’ Business Development executive for USA Graeme Slaven said. “They’re handling data and making decisions that replicate and simulate what it is like to work in an oil company going through an exploration campaign. It mimics almost exactly the same
process that an oil company goes through as it explores for oil.” Slaven said each group starts with a budget of $200 million. The students take the budget and must indicate the best prospects. “The way they identify the best prospects is by purchasing industry standard data such as seismic data,” he said. “They learn how to interpret see PETRO, page 3
The UH chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity is transforming its monthly Hump Day into a volunteer effort to help raise money and canned goods to send to Haiti, which is reeling in the aftermath of last Tuesday’s magnitude-7.0 earthquake that killed tens of thousands and left multitudes of survivors without food and water. The Hump Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at University Center-North Patio. “We would like to raise over $500 and 75 pounds in cans to send to Haiti. We know that it is a small amount in the large spectrum of things, but we also know that everything helps,” fraternity member
Michael Odwumi said. All proceeds will be sent through the American Red Cross. “We are all privileged to be in college and in this position in our lives,” Odwumi said “All college students should step up and help the community when there is need for help.” Other campus organizations such as the Black Student Union will help in putting together relief drives. BSU will put designated drop boxes around campus from today until Feb. 4 for the collection of basic necessities such as clothes, food, pillows and blankets. “If we have it, we should be able to give it to (Haitians),” BSU president Brittany Osazuwa said. news@thedailycougar.com