A student reported at 10:30 a.m. on July 4 that her wallet had been stolen the previous night, according to a security alert from the UH Police Department.

At 11:45 p.m. on July 3 the student was approached from behind as she walked to her car in lot 2A from the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. The suspect grabbed her purse, and there was a subsequent  struggle. The purse then fell to the ground and its contents spilled out. The suspect took the student’s wallet from the ground and ran west to Calhoun Street.

The suspect was described as a black male, between 20 and 30 years old, approximately 5’ 9” tall, with a medium build and weighing at approximately 155 to 175 lbs. At the time, he was described as wearing a grey T-shirt and black pants.

Updates to this alert can be found online.

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Even in the midst of the first month of the summer, President Renu Khator is still busy preparing the University for the fall semester.

Two of her most anxiously awaited projects — Cougar Village II and Cougar Place — will open in August, bringing UH a total of 8,000 on-campus residents.

“It’s wonderful to have more and more students living here, bringing an even stronger sense of community to campus. Besides the energy and excitement that this brings, students who live on campus perform better academically,” Khator said.

Spring 2013 consisted of numerous achievements that Khator could not simply note one as the biggest accomplishment, such as the groundbreaking construction of the new football stadium, the Board of Regents approval to begin planning four-year fixed tuition rates and naming Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar as the head of the UH Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Center.

The provost search was also weighing down Khator’s plate. She said she was relieved after the process concluded when the University hired Paula Short, who served the semester as interim provost.

“As you know, student success is my top priority here at UH. (Short) is also recognized as an authority on how a University’s culture contributes to academic quality,” Khator said.

“She was very effective serving on an interim basis, especially in reorganizing the Office of Academic Affairs, and I’m confident she will continue to excel.”

President of the Student Government Association Cedric Bandoh has seen on Khator’s Twitter feed that she has been doing some traveling and spending time with her family. Khator said she has visited nearly 40 countries throughout the years and enjoys the sand under her feet with a vast ocean in front of her during her travels.

“Students may find it interesting that I write and publish short stories and poetry in Hindi, my mother tongue. They may also find it interesting that I am learning Spanish by using a free iPhone app,” Khator said.

Khator is more than a president, She describes herself as a Cougar and her impact at the University has not gone unnoticed to Bandoh. 

“I think she has made a tremendous and positive impact on the student body. She has helped us realize the potential our University has and how the success of our students is critical to the long-term growth of UH,” Bandoh said.

“She hopes that her relationship with the students is one of mutual respect and appreciation. She said she is doing her best to provide students with the resources and environment that will support their efforts.

“I thank God everyday for making me a Cougar,” Khator said.

“I love my red and I love to think of life as an opportunity to leap forward, not inch forward. That is what Cougars are known for.”

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Though the program is normally closed to Houston-area teachers, the Common Ground holds lunchtime readings by local poets and writers that is open to the entire UH community. | Courtesy of Mallory Chesser

Each summer, a handful of Houston’s English teachers become the students for a series of seminars at Honors College.

On June 28, teachers returned to college for the two-week Common Ground program, an event that has been held every year for more than two decades and aims to further expand their knowledge of the field.

“Common Ground is unique in the professional development world. Because it is sponsored by a university, we are able to offer content-based seminars that go beyond the typical pedagogical model,” honors events coordinator Mallory Chesser said.

“Whereas most teacher development seminars focus on how to teach, Common Ground is concerned with deepening teachers’ subject knowledge and introducing them to new books and ideas. In other words, the University faculty brings the subject knowledge, and the teachers bring their knowledge of how to teach students and what works in the classroom.”

Funded by a grant from the John P. McGovern Foundation, Common Ground is free for teachers in attendance, including parking and books.

Through four subject matters, which are chosen by faculty, the program offers teachers an opportunity to connect with fellow English educators in the area while engaging in academic and general discussions related to their readings.

“These seminars make so much more sense than most of the IB and AP week-long summer conferences I have attended,” said a Bellaire High School teacher Camille Quaite.

“This is what a true professional sharing should be. I tell all of my peers the invaluable lessons learned at Common Ground and encourage others each year to come join me in what I have always believed book study should be.”

Typically, the program limits each section to 12 participants to ensure better discussion within the group. According to Chesser, there may be between 40 and 50 teachers representing schools and districts all across the greater Houston area.

Attendees can earn up to 30 credit hours toward getting or maintaining a professional development certification from the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented.

“What I bring to my classroom from these Common Ground seminars includes the concept of a common ground we all share, which we find in the literature we study,” said Marte Parham, an upper level English teacher at Jersey Village High School.

“I share with students the power of round table inclusion, not only to check for understanding, but to provide safe space for conversation and defense of varying interpretations. Students hone those skills of defending argument through textual and life evidence, which are necessary in other situations students will experience.”

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With constant changes in the economy, it seems that more students every day are willing to take unpaid internships to get their foot in the door of the real work world.

This transitional path could be in jeopardy, however, as a federal judge in New York recently ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated minimum wage laws in the lawsuit filed by two interns who worked on the production of the 2010 movie “Black Swan.”

“The United States Department of Labor has set out six criteria to be considered in determining whether trainees or interns at for-profit businesses are, as a matter of law, employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (and therefore subject to the statute’s minimum wage and overtime pay obligations),” said UH Law Center professor Ronald Turner.

The criteria that the internship must meet is similar to training that would be provided in an educational environment; the experience is a must for the benefit of the intern. The intern does no replace regular employees and works under the close supervision of the existing staff, and the employer providing the training derives no immediate advantage from the intern’s activities. The employer’s operations may be impeded on occasion, therefore the intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship. Lastly, the employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

“Every job will entail things that aren’t part of the job description,” said University Career Services’ Internship Coordinator Priyanka Raut. “Even as full-time employees, we are doing things which are not really a part of our job description. It’s an overall experience.”

UCS is in the process of reviewing its policies surrounding the issue, but continues to accept paid as well as unpaid internship postings, said UCS Director David Small.

“UCS routinely sends companies a copy of the Department of Labor fact sheet which addresses ethical and legal questions associated with internships and, advise companies that they will miss out on many qualified internship candidates if they offer only unpaid internships,” Small said.

“Over 74 percent of UH students work, and most cannot give up a source of income for an unpaid internship.”

Employers across the nation have been changing their policies regarding internships. A local example is the Houston Chronicle, which recently switched from offering unpaid to paid internships after re-evaluating its program last year.

“We decided that the interns should be paid for their efforts because they were performing professional work, and we were using their work in our newspaper and on our websites,” said Houston Chronicle senior editor Dan Cunningham. “The lone drawback to paying the interns is that we had to limit the size of the class to eight students per semester, which means that fewer students will be able to experience our program.”

Some students believe that this drawback comes at a high cost.

“As an art student, I know how hard and competitive jobs in my field are,” said art senior Nohelia Vargas.

“Getting into some industries is harder than into others. I don’t see a way of getting experience while networking and making important connections in many fields, if not through unpaid internships.”

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This year the UH Interactive Game Development program had two teams that reached the world’s premiere student technology competition, Microsoft’s Imagine Cup U.S. finals.

Teams Skyline Studios and Lost Spectrum represented UH, making the university the only one in the nation to have two teams. |  Courtesy of UH.edu

Teams Skyline Studios and Lost Spectrum represented UH, making the University the only school in the nation to have two teams.

“We have participated in the U.S. Imagine Cup since 2010,” said Chang Yun, research assistant professor and interactive game development instructor in the Department of Computer Science. “Since then we never failed to have multiple finalists each year.”

The program had two of 10 total finalists in 2010, four of 12 in 2011, three of 12 in 2012 and four of 12 in 2013, said Yun.

“This is something that no school has ever done,” Yun said. “No institution other than UH has ever had multiple finalists in any year or even a single finalist in three consecutive years. This demonstrates the strength of the UH gaming program and students who are a part of it.”

In Team Skyline Studios’ puzzle-action platform game for mobile devices, “Zipline Hero”, the player uses the touch-screen to rescue falling cats and bring them to safety. | Courtesy of UH.edu

UH started the gaming program in fall 2007 by offering an inaugural game development course in the computer science program. Yun founded the program along with computer science professors Olin Johnson, Zhigang Deng and Jose Baez.

“We designed the program to equip students to be ready as a game developer in the gaming industry,” Yun said.

“In addition, we focus on teaching the overall game development process to allow the students to learn and experience different roles and responsibilities of each game developer position.”

The competition has categories in the World Citizenship and Innovation and not only game development, said Zach Nguyen, a computer science alumnus.

“Even if you only have an idea of something you want to do, get three of your trusted friends together, form a team and see if you can make something of that idea,” Nguyen said.

“There are so many opportunities that have opened up for me just from being in this competition that if I could do something different in my college career, it would be to participate sooner.”

Nguyen said that although the Imagine Cup is a great experience, Microsoft seemed to be scatterbrained when it came to this year’s competition.

“The deadlines were always changing, but in the end everything was handled really well,” he said. “For the UH class, I’d like for there to be more lectures on subjects that actually are helpful to the students.”

“After a few months we basically used the class time to work in groups, which was great, but I really enjoyed the Extra Credits web series and would love for the class to cover many of the same topics.”

The initial plan in 2007 was to push the new program to be one of the top five gaming programs in Texas, Yun said. The program exceeded the goal by becoming nationally recognized.

“We want UH gaming program to be regarded as one of the top 25 programs in the U.S.,” he said.

“The most challenging part of the program is developing the game in shortage of time,” Yun said. “I expect every student in my class to work 10 to 40 hours a week throughout semesters.”

“I am very proud of this year’s finalists who successfully continue the tradition of UH success in U.S. Imagine Cup.”

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From the halls of Cy-Fair High School to the relics in Suzhou, China, there isn’t much that Benjamin P. Wells hasn’t accomplished.

Wells

In June, Wells, a third-year law student, became the student representative on the Board of Regents when he was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as UH’s ninth student regent, replacing Gage A. Raba, whose one-year term ended.

The position of student regent, created in 2007, has all the responsibilities and powers of a normal regent with the exception of voting and being counted for quorum.

Originally from Houston, Wells attended Southern Methodist University, where he served as a student senator and was awarded the Richter International Fellowship to conduct research in Suzhou, China.

After Wells graduated with honors with a degree in anthropology, he worked in Austin and Houston focusing on public policy issues regarding healthcare, education, technology and business.

“As a native Houstonian, I’ve seen the growth of both UH and the system universities,” Wells said. “It’s amazing to see this Tier One research powerhouse and the other system campuses that serve the diverse communities of Houston.”

Wells competes on the UH Law Center Moot Court team, is a member of the Intellectual Property Student Organization and the Student Bar Association and serves as the online editor for the Houston Journal of International Law.

Additionally, he has served as a law clerk for the Texas Attorney General’s Antitrust Section and as a judicial intern for Justice Eva Guzman of the Supreme Court of Texas.

“Houston has been called the ‘city of the future,’ and I think that the system institutions are the ‘universities of the future,” Wells said. “I am truly honored to be here and look forward to representing all of the University of Houston system students.”

Wells is expecting to graduate with a doctorate in jurisprudence in May.

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Bauer Honors students will have a new place to call home this fall when construction crews complete a renovated commons area on the second floor of Melcher Hall.

The commons area, which will include two classrooms, offices for academic adviser, and study areas, is intended to bolster the academic and social community of the Bauer Honors program.

Bauer Honors, which used to share its commons with the Honors College in the M.D. Anderson Memorial library, will get its own space in the Bauer School of Business. | Kayla Stewart/The Daily Cougar

“Bauer Honors is all about community, so this provides an opportunity to enhance that, since it will create a common space where our business honors students will constantly be utilizing,” said the program’s administrative director Sarah Gnospelius.

Previously, Bauer Honors had been using space in the Honors College, located on the second floor of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library, as a place to host its events. However, the population of the Honors College has grown, and it has become more difficult to make reservations.

“We wanted a space that could be just for Bauer Honors. Somewhere to have the opportunity to expand our current events, have our alumni to come back to and hold recruiting meetings with employers that want to recruit our students,” Gnospelius said.

Matt Null, a senior finance major and former Bauer Honors Mentor, said that the commons is just another example of the “customer service” that the Bauer Honors program offers to its students.

“It just provides more amenities to the Bauer Honors students,” Null said.

“That’s a major theme throughout Bauer Honors: providing us with all the tools we could possibly use to further our education and professional prospects.”

Colleen Davies, an academic advisor for Bauer Honors, will be moving with Gnospelius into the new commons when it opens.

“It’s a one stop shop for resources,” Davies said.

Davies said the commons will add to the recruitment of prospective students, which already includes a tour of the Honors College, a tour of Melcher Hall, and sitting in on an Honors class.

“This will be an additional way to say: ‘We have all these facilities for you. We just need to get you on campus to see what you could be here to utilize,’” Davies said.

When he gives tours to prospective students, Null said he makes sure to point out the construction.

“We may not have a big name like UT or (Texas) A&M, but we offer a lot of services to our students and (the commons) is just another one of those things that we can offer to get the best and the brightest,” Null said.

Null plans on utilizing the commons himself as soon as the construction is finished.

“It’s going to be where Colleen and Sarah have their offices, so they’ll be really accessible,” Null said. “It’s going to be an awesome social space to hang out with my friends, so I’m really excited about it.”

The commons is scheduled to open with the Bauer Honors Annual Mixer this September.

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The following is a partial report of campus crime between June 12 and June 23. All information is selected from the files of the UH Department of Public Safety. Information or questions regarding the cases below should be directed to UHDPS at (713)-742-3333.

Theft: A UH student reported that his unattended and unsecured cell phone was stolen in the Athletics/Alumni Center. The incident occurred between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on June 12. The case is inactive.

Theft: A UH staff member reported the theft of two unattended and unsecured UH-owned electronic tablets from the Fleming Building. The incident occurred between 4 p.m. on June 12 and 8 a.m. on June 13. The case is inactive.

Burglary of a Building or Habitation: A visitor attending a summer camp reported that money was stolen from his room in the Taub Residence Hall. The incident occurred between 5:30 and 11 p.m. on June 15. The case is inactive.

Possession of Marijuana: An unaffiliated individual was stopped for a traffic violation on 3700 Scott st. and then arrested for possession of marijuana. The individual was transported to Harris County Jail. The incident occurred on 1:37 a.m. on June 15, and has been cleared by arrest.

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle: A UH police officer observed a vehicle that appeared to have been burglarized in Parking Garage 1. The owner of the vehicle has not responded to UH Police Department messages. The incident occurred sometime before 5:17 p.m. on June 15. The case is active.

Theft: A UH visitor reported two of her unattended and unsecured non-motorized scooters were stolen from the Softball Field. The incident occurred between 7:30 and 7:57 p.m on June 17. The case is inactive.

Theft: A UH student reported that someone stole his optometry equipment in the Armistead Optometry Building. The incident occurred between Noon and 1 p.m. on June 18. The case is inactive.

Evading Arrest: Two unaffiliated individuals in a stolen vehicle evaded UH police officers attempting a traffic stop on Old Spanish Trail at Martin Luther King boulevard. The incident occurred at 3:10 a.m. on Wednesday. The case is active.

Criminal Trespass: Two unaffiliated individuals were arrested for criminal trespassing, and another was arrested for outstanding warrants following suspicious activity. The incident occurred at 2 p.m. on Friday, and was cleared by arrest.

Theft: A UH custodian reported that a man was stealing copper cables from the Cougar Village 2 Construction Site. The incident occurred at 4:03 p.m. on Sunday. The case is active.

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Inspired by motion capture techniques used in films, EEG caps are placed on dancers, yoga instructors, and other trained professionals who understand how the human body can move. | Courtesy of Karen Bradley

Understanding the motions of the human body is not simply restrained to the science of muscles — every flick of a finger or twist of the head stems is controlled by the body’s central nervous system. It has been difficult for robotic and artificial limbs to accurately recreate the subtleties in human movement.

Karen Bradley, the head of the University of Maryland’s MFA Dance Program and UH’s Jose Contreras-Vidal, professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering, seek to change that. Through research the two plan to connect the dots between the movement of dancers and brain activity.

“Dancers are consciously expressive and communicative. They are well-practiced in very particular aspects of clarifying expressive movement,” Bradley said.

“If a dancer wishes to express a particular quality, they know how to manufacture that and give the energy necessary in order to do that.”

Bradley and Contreras-Vidal met in a flamenco dance class and brought their specialties together to form their ideas for the research. Their project eventually gained the title of “Your Brain on Dance: The Neural Symphony of Expressive Movement,” and began its preliminary research in 2011 under the funding from the ADVANCE grant, an award given from the University of Maryland to its female researchers.

The project studies five certified movement analysists, all dancers and actors from the University of Maryland, as they work with Contreras-Vidal’s sensor-equipped EEG cap, a device that studies their brain activity as they move.

“They have been trained to observe and also produce a huge range of movement possibilities. They’re performers, they are people who understand what happens when they walk out onto the stage and begin to move,” Bradley said.

Bradley and Contreras-Vidal expect results on their research later this summer. According to an article from the University of Maryland’s newspaper, The Diamondback, the research could expand into comparing the results of “Your Brain on Dance” to studies on Asperger’s syndrome or post-traumatic stress disorder.

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The search for an Audio Visual Services manager for the new University Center began Tuesday with a public interview with Colin Adams in the UC Bayou City Room.

The first of four candidates, Adams was interviewed by students and faculty for a position that works directly with supervising student and staff while coordinating all aspects of the A/V services in the UC, UC Satellite, A.D. Bruce Religion Center and all parts of campus that make reservations on a continuous basis.

Adams worked his way up from a technician to the director of event technology at the Westchase Marriott Hotel for PSAV, an international provider of A/V contract services. Adams handles the scheduling and clients for his hotel, and has managed both full-time professionals and students.

“Most of our part-time technicians are students,” Adams said. “They’re attending universities in the Houston area so I’m used to working with students. I understand their schedules, and that they’re going to have class and can’t always be up here.”

The director of video operations for the UH Athletics Department, Grantscott Greene, will be interviewed Thursday. Greene has served in his present role since 2002, where he designs, purchases and installs audio-visual technology for the department. He previously spent time as the assistant video coordinator at UH, and the video coordinator at Texas State.

Charles Grable, a former attorney, is scheduled to be interviewed on Monday. Grable has worked for the University of Texas, where he produced photography, graphic design and video projects for the faculty and staff. Grable also worked as the marketing communications manager with Panasonic Corporation of North America from 2000 to 2008.

The last candidate, Cory Welch, will be interviewed on Tuesday. Welch started as an audio director from KAMR-TV before becoming the graphics director at KVII-TV. Currently, he works as an A/V technician for the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.

Each interview will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. in the UC Bayou City Room. Students, faculty and staff members that have interfaced with the UC are invited to attend.

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