life+arts
Spears still has it
Award Beall rings for QB and RB
t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s to n s i n c e 1 9 3 4
THE DAILY COUGAR
HI
@thedailycougar
newsline
Got news? E-mail news@thedailycougar.com or call 713-743-5314
STUDENT AFFAIRS
VC/VP for student affairs search continues with open forums UH is continuing to hold open forums for candidates for the position of vice chancellor/vice president for student affairs. The position, which is being filled during the search by Mike Lawrence, looks over student development including the dean of students office, campus recreation, and the university center; student services including student publications; counseling and psychological services; and the health center and residential life and housing. “The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate strong leadership, organizational and business skills, as well as ability to communicate and advocate effectively with students, faculty, and community leaders in a multicultural and academic environment,” according to the job listing.
facebook.com/thedailycougar
®
Sign up for daily e-mail alerts
Status lures in students Naheeda Sayeeduddin
THE DAILY COUGAR For Shafaq Moosa, choosing the right college to attend was not a difficult task. The incoming business freshman, who is one of thousands that applied to UH, said the University was one of many that accepted her application. Moosa selected UH over the other schools because of the University’s Tier One recognition. “It makes me feel better (to know that UH is Tier One) because I know I am going to a really good school,” Moosa said. UH is seeing a record-breaking number of freshman applicants for the Fall 2011
semester. Jeff Fuller, director of student recruitment in the Office of Admissions, attributes the increase in enrollment to the school’s distinction as a Tier One institution. “We think that definitely the Tier One status and recognition by Princeton Review as one of the best universities in the United States are two key factors that have led us to have the numbers that we have,” Fuller said. The number of completed freshman applications for the Fall 2011 semester stands at 14,546, which is an increase from last fall’s record number of 12,656. Though the deadline for fall admission has ended, the Office of Admissions is still
working on getting a total for the number of completed applications for this year, which will happen later on in the week, Fuller said. He said he expects roughly 40 percent of the number of applicants to register for fall classes, based on trends from 2008 to 2010. Moosa has already attended orientation and registered for the fall semester. “I’m excited to finally get out of high school and to start my education to get a degree,” she said. The number of transfer student applicants is also on the rise, although the
KUHF selected for NPR project
The lecture will be given by Lisa Pope Westerman, the design director of hospitality and retail studios at Gensler-Houston and will discuss the new demand for public spaces that incorporate multiple functions as companies are trying to focus on the satisfaction of their employees. She will also describe how this affects the design of interior spaces.
A petition for budget reform to increase the transparency and accountability of public universities in Texas has been drafted on the FreedomWorks website. The petition calls for the end of tenure for professors, the separation of research and teaching budgets, the disclosure of salaries, number of students taught and research dollars brought in of tenured professors, and that researchers keep 90 percent of the money their research generates. The writers of the petition claim “these reforms will elevate the quality of higher education in Texas and ensure that universities prioritize the needs of students, parents, and taxpayers over entrenched, overpaid academics.” Students can sign the petition at http://tinyurl.com/3t7enb2.
CORRECTIONS !!
Jason Poland was not attributed for his cartoon “Robbie and Bobbie” in last week’s issue.
ENROLLMENT continues on page 3
CAMPUS
The Hines College of Architecture is continuing its summer lecture series with “Criss Cross: Our Areas of Expertise Colliding,” on Tuesday in the architecture theater room 150.
BUDGET
Issue 152, Volume 76
CAMPUS
Lecture discusses the future of design, functionality of spaces
Petition calls for budget reform, transparency of professors
75
Read. Recycle. Repeat daily.
ARCHITECTURE
Tickets are $20 for the individual lecture and $160 for the entire series.
LO
July 20, 2011
The committee in charge of the search is headed by Dona Cornell, vice chancellor/vice president of legal affairs at UH and UHS, and includes nine other members from the UH community.
Students interested in attending should contact Linda Silva at 713-743-2400 for reservations.
95
Wednesday
SUMMER EDITION
thedailycougar.com
sports
UH radio station to focus on environment, energy Joshua Mann
THE DAILY COUGAR
Professor Preethi Gunaratne, right, coauthored a study in the scientific journal Nature about her work with microRNA and ovarian cancer. | Courtesy of Thomas Campbell
Gunaratne said that ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to properly treat, with the survival rate dependant on how developed the cancer is when diagnosed. “Through pioneering efforts of a number of scientists in the last decade we have come to understand that a single microRNA can potentially bind, capture and silence hundreds of genes,” Gunaratne said. “Therefore, microRNAs can be considered strong alternatives or complements to many of the small molecule inhibitors that are currently being developed to silence disease gene networks.” It has been shown that microRNAs are responsible for 60 percent of the protein coding genes within the human body. The genetic sequencing of the cancer was investigated by The Cancer Genome Atlas network, which discovered how normal ovarian cells change into chemotherapy-resistant malignant tumors. They concluded that ovarian cancer is constructed of multiple mutations
Houston and Austin’s public radio stations are teaming up to improve coverage of the environmental and energy scene in Texas. KUHF Houston and KUT Austin have been awarded participation in NPR’s latest project, StateImpact, which encourages participating stations to focus on the ways in which “governmental decisions affect citizens in such areas as education, healthcare, business, the environment and jobs,” KUHF said in a press release. “Each of the different states chose a subject as it relates to local government and policy. Texas chose energy and the environment,” KUHF Station Manager and C.O.O. Debra Fraser said. “The idea is that we take that information, and it’s shared on a national level by all the states that are participating. Hopefully (the other participating stations) will find ways that the information is applicable in other states.” KUHF and KUT will be hiring two reporters and a blogger to write about energy and the environment full time, Fraser said. “We’re really glad we’re going to get
CANCER continues on page 3
RADIO continues on page 3
RESEARCH
Genetic trash could be treasure Study finds agent to prevent ovarian cancer development Darlene Campos
THE DAILY COUGAR A UH professor has led research efforts to determine the effect of the genetic molecules, microRNAs, on ovarian cancer. Preethi Gunaratne, assistant professor of biology and biochemistry, has found through her research that microRNAs, once considered to be genetic waste, have the ability to prevent ovarian cancer development. “Our ultimate goal is to understand the role of microRNAs in regulating gene networks on a genome-wide scale that allow stem cells and normal tissue to assume tight control over cell proliferation and growth,” Gunaratne said. “And then establish a paradigm for incorporating microRNAs into diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases like cancer.”