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Monday, April 28, 2014
Issue 111, Volume 79
H O U S T O N
STATE
University creates hub for health research
Career Services considers director finalists
The Daily Cougar news services
Mitchell McCluskey, Trey Strange Staff writers
CAREER continues on page 19
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
ADMINISTRATION
UH is searching for a new executive director of University Career Services and three finalists have emerged as serious candidates. Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dan Maxwell has worked diligently in hopes of finding the perfect match for the UH faculty. “The candidates were selected from a national search with 80-plus applicants,” Maxwell said. “The search committee vetted all of the applicants, conducted phone and Skype interviews and recommended ... finalists for the oncampus visit.” James Dixey, the first candidate, has served for the past 11 years as director of Graduate Business Career Services at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University. He also served as assistant dean and director of career management within the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., from 2002 to 2003. Dixey holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a focus in history and a master’s in business management. He met with students Thursday and Friday in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center to answer questions and concerns about his desire to come to UH.
S I N C E
Head coach Kyla Holas has built a competitive, yet professional, relationship with her 15 players. Her philosophy has led to program to six NCAA Regional appearances and two Super Regionals. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
SOFTBALL
A force of competitive nature Holas has built UH into a consistent winner capable of eclipsing 500 victories since she joined the program
Andrew Valderas Assistant sports editor
It’s a sunny afternoon when Kyla Holas takes the mound. Practice has already begun, and Holas, behind a pitcher’s protective
screen, sticks to her practice routine of pitching to her players. The Cougars (29-19) are hoping to be sharp before the May 8 start of FORCE continues on page 8
Abandoning the studios Students in the undergraduate studio art program at the University have packed the Blaffer Art Museum with their paintings, sculptures and multimedia works during the annual student art show. — Jimmy Moreland/The Daily Cougar
Three Texas universities are joining together to create a home for environmental investigators, funding infrastructure needs with a $4.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, funding the first-ever hub for researchers looking for connections between genetic traits and environmental health factors. UH, Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine are teaming up to create the center, named by the National Institutes of Health as the newest national Center of Excellence in Environmental Health Science. It will be led by research team leader Cheryl Lyn Walker, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology and College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. “In addition to the $4.4 million NIH grant, researchers will be using their own existing grants and seeking additional grants to do their work,” said Jeannie Kever, senior media relations specialist at UH. As reported by the Eagle, this center is a cross-institutional initiative to promote integrated environmental health research and translate research advances into practices that can improve human health. The grant will pay for the center’s infrastructure needs and provide $250,000 in seed grants HEALTH continues on page 19