State budget adjustment won’t affect current jobs or our mission A message from President Scott Ransom As we have reported previously, the Health Science Center is achieving great success in meeting and often exceeding its strategic goals over the past couple of years.  We have realized record- breaking growth and new levels of quality in our student body, our academic programs, our research, our patient care delivery and our physical plant.  This success has been accomplished thanks to your hard work and dedication. We are living in challenging financial times, as you are keenly aware. Our leadership here and at the UNT System level have been working to determine what effect these challenges will have on our organizations, but it has not been clear what the State would need to do.  Now that the State Legislature is in session, we have been monitoring the situation closely and on a daily basis. On Monday afternoon all health science centers and higher education institutions received a letter from Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus directing us to plan for a 2 1/2 percent cut to our current state budget retroactive to Sept. 1 (see letter here).  For us this represents $1.3 million.  The UNT System has responded to the State leadership in writing regarding our proposed approach to this potential retroactive cut. Any reductions must protect the needs of our students and the quality of our academic, research, patient care and community engagement missions.  We, through several specific steps, will be able to meet this state mandate without staff or faculty layoffs or reducing current salaries. Click on the headline to see the steps that must be taken immediately.		Employee Profile Dr. Al Yurvati He’s an alumnus, a surgeon, a professor, a chair and a researcher… but, did you know he's also a bodybuilder?  click here

Take a survey, help UNTHSC and support a good cause
The Health Science Center’s five-year strategy places a high priority on creating a culture of excellence and growing the capabilities of our faculty and staff. To track our progress toward this goal, UNTHSC is conducting the Denison Organizational Culture Survey this month. The results of this survey will be used to guide improvements across campus.

All benefits-eligible employees received an e-mail from the Office of the President on Feb. 2 with a link to the online survey. Your honest opinion is valued and appreciated. All responses are anonymous (UNTHSC doesn’t have access to individual responses or raw data.)  If you need assistance with the survey or need a paper copy, contact the Office of Strategy and Measurement at ext. 2612.

This year, for each department with a 75 percent response rate by Feb. 20, a donation will be made to its charity of choice ($50 minimum, or $1 per participant per department).

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Be a part of the Cowtown
UNTHSC founded and has always been a strong supporter of the Cowtown.  This year we’re the title sponsor and we want everyone to be a part of one of Fort Worth’s biggest annual events. But, you don’t have to be able to run the marathon to get involved. There are several opportunities for faculty, staff and students to participate.

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Lewis Library launches UNTHSC Scholarly Repository
Each year UNTHSC faculty, staff and students produce thousands of scholarly documents—everything from journal articles to theses to PowerPoint presentations. With the new UNTHSC Scholarly Repository, the Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library is organizing and preserving those documents, and making them accessible by the academic community and the world.

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