University of North Texas Resource Magazine: Research and Service

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UNT System: Resource magazine >> Research and Service

University of North Texas

Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education
Projections show that one-third of all community college educators will retire within the next five years, but student enrollment continues to increase. To address this issue, the UNT College of Education established the Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education through the Department of Counseling, Development and Higher Education in 1999. The center prepares graduate students for leadership positions as administrators or faculty members in community colleges.
Stephen Katsinas talks with doctoral students in education.     A $1 million gift from Dallas businessman and UNT alumnus Don A. Buchholz, who served for 18 years as a member of the Dallas County Community College Board of Trustees, created the center. Its namesake, Bill J. Priest, was the founding chancellor of the seven-campus Dallas County Community College District system.
    Besides preparing students for teaching and administration, the center conducts research on community college policy and administrative issues. It builds upon existing College of Education initiatives such as the Community College Journal of Research and Practice, which has been edited at the college for more than 20 years, and the North Texas Community College Consortium, which includes community colleges throughout the Metroplex.
    Stephen Katsinas, Ph.D., is the Don A. Buchholz Chair in Higher Education and director of the center. For more information, visit the center's web site at www.unt.edu/highered/Priest or call (940) 565-2045.

Center for Schenkerian Studies
The Center for Schenkerian Studies — the first of its kind in the world — was established at the UNT College of Music in 2001 with the donation of the Reinhard Oppel Memorial Collection. The center promotes music theory and is working to resurrect the music of renowned 20th-century music theorist Heinrich Schenker and his associates.
Timothy Jackson photo     Although the center focuses on Schenkerian theory, it also sponsors research, teaching activities and events in other areas of music theory, the history of music theory and the history of musical culture in pre-World War II Vienna. It sponsors guest lectures and last year hosted its first Fulbright scholar, Margus Pärtlas from the Estonian Academy of Music.
    Currently, Timothy Jackson, Ph.D., the center's director, is working with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to bring the music of Paul Kletzki back to life. Kletzki buried his music in Italy and fled during World War II. After the war, believing his music destroyed, he stopped composing. The chest of music was discovered in the early 1970s, but it was not until after Kletzki's death that his widow had it opened and found his music perfectly preserved.
    UNT received copies last summer. In conjunction with the center, the DSO will perform and record for Ondine Records all three of Kletzki's symphonies and his Capriccio for Orchestra. The center will organize a conference on the theme "Music that Survived the Holocaust."
    For more information about the center, call (940) 565-3748 or e-mail tjackson@music.unt.edu.

Center for Spatial Analysis and Mapping
The Center for Spatial Analysis and Mapping is an instructional and research center that uses geographic information systems (GIS) technology. Administered through the Department of Geography and the Institute of Applied Sciences, CSAM uses state-of-the-art computer software for managing information tied to geographic location. Using multiple layers of digital information, such as soil type, land ownership, rainfall, pesticide use, transportation lines and census data, CSAM conducts analyses in such areas as water pollution, disease distribution, resource management and business locations.
Bruce Hunter photo      The center works with federal, state and local resource managers describing agricultural activities, pollution threats, real estate locations and emergency response. It maintains numerous geographic databases for research by faculty and students and also has close ties with a network of GIS departments in municipalities, government agencies, universities and community colleges, and businesses. Many area GIS professionals are UNT alumni, providing the basis for a strong student internship program.
    The center has played an active role as a GIS training center for governmental agencies and businesses, presenting short courses to individuals from such organizations as Texas Parks and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and area universities and municipalities.
    In 1996, Bruce Hunter, M.S., director of the center, received the Founders Award from the South Central Arc Users Group, a five-state regional association. The award recognized Hunter "for being instrumental in changing the future of GIS in Texas."
    For more information about the center, visit its web site at www.ias.unt.edu/departments/csam.html or call (940) 565-2991.

Center for the Study of Work Teams
The Center for the Study of Work Teams was created in 1991 to provide education and conduct research in collaborative work systems through partnerships with businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and other universities. Such systems, designed to capitalize on collaborative work practices, require that the organization be set up deliberately to create opportunities for people to work together effectively.
    The center's educational programs include an annual spring symposium, intensive workshops and, each fall, the International Conference on Work Teams — the world's largest and most comprehensive learning opportunity of its kind, where leading experts share work team practices, tools and techniques. The center also provides information resources through publications and research papers, its web page and TeamNet, a group e-mail list for team-related topics.
    In partnership with organizations, the center offers assistance with organizational change and research projects for the design, development and implementation of collaborative work systems. Projects are led by UNT industrial-organizational psychology faculty. Team members include faculty from other UNT departments and educational institutions, doctoral students and center affiliates who are independent practitioners. Types of projects include transformation to team-based organizations, team development, team selection systems, employee involvement strategies, team performance measurement and team assessment readiness.
    Corporate sponsorships enable organizations interested in forming a business-university alliance to share in the growth of the center and ensure high-quality service and future programs. Sponsors include such organizations as Boeing Co., Shell, First American Financial, S.C. Johnson and MBNA.
    For more information, visit the center's web site at www.workteams.unt.edu, call (940) 565-3096 or send e-mail to workteam@unt.edu.

UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth

Institute for Cancer Research
The Institute for Cancer Research at the UNT Health Science Center was established in 1999 to study all aspects of cancer. It contributes to new approaches for cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
    The institute explores new anti-cancer therapies and cancer prevention methods through a multi-disciplinary team of researchers. Among the ICR's members are basic science, clinical and public health faculty from the Health Science Center, UNT at Denton, Texas Christian University, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Wesleyan University and Texas Woman's University. Ronald Goldfarb, Ph.D., a tumor immunologist renowned in the field of cancer research, was recruited by the Health Science Center to develop and lead the ICR.
    This collaborative group of cancer experts is gaining national recognition as an emerging force in the fight against cancer. The institute was one of a handful across the nation to receive an Institutional Research Grant from the American Cancer Society. According to the society's review board, the ICR's application for funding ranked second among 26 applications from many of the major cancer centers across the United States.
    Other funding for research projects comes from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging and the Department of Defense breast cancer and prostate cancer research programs.
    For more information about the Institute for Cancer Research, visit its web site at www.hsc.unt.edu/research/icr.cfm or call (817) 735-2113.

Memory Clinic
Recognizing that forgetfulness can be no laughing matter, the UNT Health Science Center operates a Memory Clinic for people who are concerned about their memory but haven't been diagnosed with dementia. The clinic is the only one of its kind in North Texas for the general public.
Susan Franks, Ph.D., clinical neuropsychologist; Barbara Harty, geriatric nurse practitioner; and James Hall, Ph.D., clinic coordinator.     The Memory Clinic uses specialists in neurology, clinical neuropsychology, geriatric psychology, geriatric medicine, geriatric nursing and geriatric social work for its team approach to memory disorders. It is operated by the Health Science Center's Physicians and Surgeons Medical Group, one of the largest physician practices in North Texas.
    Memory Clinic patients undergo a thorough assessment to determine if their memory problems are due to normal changes that occur with aging, treatable physical causes or chronic changes in brain function. Memory loss can be linked to a variety of causes, including certain medications, tumors, diabetes, stroke, depression, vision or hearing loss, cardiac or pulmonary complications, vitamin deficiencies, Alzheimer's disease or simple stress, according to Health Science Center specialists.
    Immediately after the assessment, patients review the results with a psychologist and discuss specific recommendations and strategies to improve their memory. Patients can also have a report of this assessment sent to their doctor.
    Memory Clinic patients are seen in the new six-story Patient Care Center on the UNT Health Science Center campus.
    For more information, call Barbara Harty at (817) 735-2193.

See the complete list of organized research and service units at UNT. The list contains only those centers and institutes that are approved by the vice president for academic affairs in accordance with university policy.

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