First Friday Update by President Scott Ransom
Stay Safe on Campus

We have an open campus in a great Cultural District location.  While we want to remain warm and welcoming, your safety is our No. 1 priority.  In light of recent tragic events at campuses across the nation, we want to make sure you are aware of our safety efforts.

To protect students’ and employees’ safety, HSC Police patrol the campus 24 hours a day every day and will stop groups or individuals who make threats or act violently. In fact, HSC Police already have issued criminal trespass warrants against three individuals this year.

Click on headline to find out more.

HSC says “Goodbye” to OMCT, “Hello” to future
The Health Science Center bid a fond farewell to the former Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas (OMCT) at a ceremony on Feb. 27. The event honored the hospital’s importance to the Health Science Center and the community and officially marked the beginning of external demolition of the building.

State Representative Charlie Geren, UNT System Chancellor Lee Jackson, nephew of TCOM cofounder Danny Beyer and community physician Dr. David Beyer, and Health Science Center President Dr. Scott Ransom each spoke about the hospital’s work, as well as the plans to expand the UNTHSC campus onto the old OMCT property.

Watch a video of the OMCT Farewell event (15MB file)

Click on headline to see photos of the event and to read more.

TCOM alum shares experiences as
Spurs “jock doc”
Dr. Paul Saenz, TCOM Class of ’86, shared the “pearls and perils of being a jock doc” with UNTHSC last week. Dr. Saenz has been team physician for the San Antonio Spurs since 1991, and his adventures in sports medicine have taken him from the sidelines of high school sports in this hometown of San Antonio to Athens as U.S. Olympic team physician.

Dr. Saenz founded Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio and is the co-director of the Texas Center for Athletes -- a one-stop shop that includes a surgical center, imaging center, pharmacy and physical therapy center under one roof. His practices provide healthcare for several professional sports teams in San Antonio, as well as college and high school athletes.

Dr. Saenz wowed the crowd with stories of traveling the world, meeting celebrities and NBA Championships. He also let a few lucky folks try on one of his four NBA championship rings.

Watch the video of Dr. Paul Saenz’s presentation (99MB file)

Dr. Art Eisenberg declared a HealthCare Hero
The Fort Worth Business Press honored its 2008 HealthCare Heroes last week, and the Health Science Center’s own Dr. Art Eisenberg made the list. Dr. Eisenberg serves as the director of the UNT Center for Human Identification DNA Identity Lab, located right here on the Health Science Center campus. “He has devoted his life, beyond a 40-hour work-week, to helping families find closure at the most heartbreaking times of their lives by identifying the remains of their missing loved ones,” according to an article in the Business Press about his award. “He continually makes time to speak to victims’ families at conferences, through television broadcasts, and one on one to guide them through the process of submitting DNA samples.”

Click on headline for more details.

School of Public Health offers new programs
SPH now offers a Master of Health Administration degree to prepare students for management careers in health service organizations, from hospitals to insurance and pharmaceutical companies. The curriculum is in place, and applications are now being accepted for the first class in Fall 2008.

SPH will offer summer courses as part of its new Summer Institute in June. Three-week sessions are available in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health management, health policy and social and behavioral sciences. Students do not have to be in an SPH degree program to take part in the Summer Institute. The deadline to apply for the Summer Institute is May 30.  For all the details for both of these programs visit the SPH Web site.

FBI scientist to speak at RAD
Dr. Bruce Budowle, senior scientist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, D.C., is the featured luncheon speaker for the Health Science Center’s 2008 Research Appreciation Day (RAD) on March 28 in the Center for BioHealth. Budowle will speak about the "Forensic Challenges to the Bioterrorism Threat." Recently, Dr. Budowle has focused on counterterrorism, primarily in identification of victims from mass disasters and microbial forensics. Dr. Budowle was a principal advisor in efforts to identify the victims from the World Trade Center attack in 2001 and helped establish a mitochondrial DNA sequencing program to enable high-throughput sequencing of remains.

RAD provides a forum for students, faculty and staff to share their research efforts; showcases joint research projects; and increases the community's awareness of the Health Science Center’s research programs. This year, attendees will have the opportunity to see the da Vinci surgical robot in action.

More office moves
The Travel Office will be moving to EAD-828 on Monday, March 10. Their new fax number is 817-735-0628.

GSBS Office of Outreach and the Institutional Compliance Office moved to EAD-832 this week. Their phones and e-mail connections should be re-established by Monday, March 10.

Student Financials has moved to EAD-226. Their new fax number is 817-735-0677.

The Office of Marketing and Communications will be moving to EAD-826 during the week of March 17. They are expecting business as usual, but may be temporarily unavailable by phone or e-mail during the move.

As if you needed another reason to play golf
The annual President’s Invitational Tournament is April 7 at Ridglea Country Club. The golf tournament, organized by the Office of Institutional Advancement, raises critical funds to expand educational support at the Health Science Center.

Click on headline for a list of tournament sponsors.

Return to the Top

"Nothing is as important as the safety of the students and employees here at the Health Science Center, and I’m proud to be a part of the team dedicated to keep you safe. If you ever feel like your personal safety or the safety of another is in jeopardy, call the HSC Police at ext. 2600. We’re on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Captain Laurie Crain
HSC Police