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Follow us on Twitter, and we’ll follow you back for your input Friday, January 22, 2010
Issue 77, Volume 75
thedailycougar.com
faculty senate
SGA Senate welcomes new president By Hiba Adi The Daily Cougar Former Faculty Senate President Dan Wells passed the gavel to the new 2010 President, Mark Clarke, during Wednesday’s meeting. “When I was first considering running for this job, I really had no idea whatsoever, of what I was getting into,” Clarke said. “Needless to say, my perception has changed over the last year while serving as president-elect. It has been a great honor.”
He took the opportunity to thank all the senators for their contributions to UH. Clarke also gave the faculty advice for the upcoming year. “I urge you to continue to be involved and committed to the business of this senate and, more importantly, to actively solicit from your faculty constituents,” Clarke said. He closed his speech with something he said was personally important to him: helping the junior faculty.
“We will be continuing the efforts that Dan has put in motion,” Clarke said. “Personally, I would like to continue with helping our junior faculty be successful here at UH.” Wells took the opportunity to give his farewell address during the meeting, recalling his memories and the achievements of the senate during his term. “A year ago when I stood here, I talked about setting some specific goals for 2009, and I said that when I came back to give my farewell address I would reassess those goals
and see how we did and whether we accomplished them,” Wells said. Some of his accomplished goals included more faculty governance communication. This was made possible by having one stronger unified voice rather than many weaker ones. Another accomplishment during his presidency was the creation of the new name and expansion of the Faculty Governance Committee. The committee is charged with the responsibility of making recommendations on
improvements when needed, according to the Faculty Senate Constitution. Lastly, Wells and the senators took on the issue of enrollment. “We worked with enrollment management issues. This year the enrollment task force has expanded,” Wells said. The next Faculty Senate meeting will be at 12:15 p.m., on Feb. 17, in the M. D. Anderson Memorial Library’s Rockwell Pavilion. news@thedailycougar.com
SGA takes part in choosing dean By Abby Lee The Daily Cougar
Crazy about conservation
Justin Flores The Daily Cougar
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ecycleMania kicked off Wednesday with a pep rally to promote sustainability. Students were given plastic water bottles and pins to encourage waste management. RecycleMania is a competition between universities and colleges across the country to encourage green initiatives. The next event will take place Feb. 2-3, when students will have the opportunity to sign up for discounted Metro Q-cards.
For the first time, the dean’s office at the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences reached out to Student Government Association for its help in finding a new dean for that college. The chosen dean will take the place of Interim Dean Joe Pratt, who was appointed after former Dean John J. Antel was named Provost by UH President and System Chancellor Renu Khator. “It’s not something that happens year in and year out, but we were approached this year, so we accepted the opportunity and got to interview some of the candidates,” SGA President Kenneth Fomunung said. From Nov. 2-16, the interviewing process, which was divided into multiple sessions, gave students the opportunity to evaluate five dean candidates. Former CLASS Sen. TayIor Kilroy said he believes it was important to have students involved in this
process because they will be the ones most affected. “We were looking for someone who has a little bit of administrative experience dealing with not only teaching students but also running an entire college,” Kilroy said. “We looked for folks who can fix problems.” SGA members were just some of the voices heard in the large pool of people, which also included Antel, Khator, community leaders and CLASS faculty. Involving students in the interviewing process made SGA members feel confident that they will not be let down. “After we provided our feedback on the candidates and we evaluated them, I’m pretty sure our comments were significant in the outcome,” Fomunung said. Antel and CLASS administrators will make the final decision. The date of the decision has not been announced. news@thedailycougar.com
Variety gets dining recognition gg
UH is one of few universities to add an ethnic cuisine station to dining halls
By Ambereen Azeez The Daily Cougar With its diverse student population, UH is always working on new ways to embrace the cultural heritage of the campus community. Recently, UH Dining Services was recognized by Restaurants and Institutions (R&I) magazine for its variety of cuisine, in an article
about how street food from different countries is becoming mainstream in America. “As a school with one of the most diverse populations in the country, it is our privilege to be able to showcase the wonders of different ethnic cuisine,” the Assistant Vice President for University Services, Emily Messa, said. UH Executive Chef Tori Bergerson,
who joined the dining staff in fall 2009, has since transformed the UH dining experience. “We really wanted to provide another option for students while also allowing those who have come from abroad to get a little taste of home,” Bergeron said in regards to the different food options in the see DINING, page 3
Justin Flores The Daily Cougar
UH Dining Service was honored in Restaurants & Institutions for their inclusion of ethnic cuisine in the residence halls cafeterias.