The University of Texas at Arlington in partnership with a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and alumna is opening an office in San Jose, Calif., to connect technology created here with businesses in Silicon Valley that might commercialize the UTA innovation.
Gloria Maceiko, a 1982 graduate in industrial engineering, will serve as a consultant in the partnership. Maceiko also is the chief executive officer and chairman of DirectNu Energy, a renewable energy systems business that uses advanced technology to store and manage wind, solar and electric energy.
As part of the partnership, Maceiko has facilitated an agreement between GrandCanal Solutions, a supply chain optimization company, and the UT Arlington Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering. GrandCanal Solutions uses innovative algorithms and data to help companies solve complex, supply-chain problems and to streamline logistics and supply-chain networks. The company and UT Arlington researchers will focus on supply chain science and on resolving industrial engineering issues within today’s complex outsourced supply-chain environments.
Ron Elsenbaumer, UT Arlington provost and vice president for academic affairs, helped negotiate the agreements and said they represent an evolution in the university’s technology commercialization efforts.
“These Silicon Valley initiatives will amplify our efforts to more quickly match university technologies with the businesses and entrepreneurs who can benefit most,” Elsenbaumer said.
Maceiko will set up monthly meetings with potential partners for the university’s technology, processes and inventions.
Companies should contact the UT Arlington Office of Technology Management at otm@uta.edu or 817-272-1119 for more information about the university’s technologies and ideas available for commercialization.
Two veteran educators named
Fort Worth Teachers of the Year
Heather Walker, — photo — a first-grade teacher at Tanglewood Elementary, was named the Fort Worth Independent School District 2015 Elementary District Teacher of the Year. Lee Ann O’Loughlin, — photo — a 30-year teaching veteran, was named the district’s 2015 Secondary District Teacher of the Year.
Walker has taught in Fort Worth ISD for 16 years. She has served as a presenter at many professional development sessions on early literacy, and she also is a writer and reviewer of mathematics assessment items for Southern Methodist University.
O’Loughlin is a seventh-grade English teacher at Stripling Middle School. She joined the district in 2009 and is a leader in her content area on her campus. She has also written and presented several professional development sessions on reading, writing and technology.
The winners were announced on April 27 at the annual Recognition Dinner at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Each winner received a $5,000 honorarium from Central Market, the event sponsor.
Minnesota journalism professor
to head TCU’s Schieffer College
Kristie Bunton, — photo — associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., has been selected as the new dean of the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University, effective in the fall.
“I believe she will be a great fit for TCU. In this era when so many women are moving to the front lines in communications and doing some of the toughest jobs in journalism especially, having a qualified woman to lead our college sends a powerful message,” said veteran newsman Bob Schieffer for whom the college is named.
Bunton has worked at St. Thomas, Minnesota’s largest private university, for 22 years, first as a journalism professor, then as chairman of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department. In 2007, she oversaw its merger with the Communications Studies Department, a situation not unlike a similar merging of two units within TCU’s College of Communications a few years ago. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri and a doctorate in mass communication from Indiana University.
Work starts in north FW
on new elementary school
The Fort Worth Independent School District broke ground May 1 for the first new school authorized by the 2013 Capital Improvement Program, a $489.9 million bond package that voters approved by more than 72 percent.
The new Washington Heights Elementary School, located at 3215 N. Houston St. in North Fort Worth, will replace the district’s only remaining underground school with a 60,000-square-foot structure above ground.
“Today we are telling this wonderful community that they are getting the school they were promised during the 2013 bond campaign,” said Interim Superintendent Patricia Linares.
The current building dates to 1979 and all the classrooms were built underground to save energy on heating and cooling. The 2013 bond election called for replacing the underground portion due to leaks and other problems.
The new two-story building will be constructed on the campus at the site of the original building at a projected cost of $10.5 million. When the new building is completed, the 1979 addition will be demolished.
Arlington ISD adds course
on musical instrument repair
The Arlington Independent School District has partnered with Music & Arts, which sells school band and orchestra instruments and provides music lessons, to establish a two-year, professional high school course that will teach students how to repair band and orchestral instruments.
Upon completing the program, students will earn their instrument repair technician certification.
“One of our objectives as a district is to ensure that 100 percent of students will graduate on time and excel at their school or career of choice. Providing students the opportunity to succeed in courses that allow them to learn the skills and earn certifications for a career in a field like instrument repair is key to helping our students reach their full maximum potential,” said Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos.
2015 Stock Show officials
reflect on record year
Members of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show gathered April 29 for their annual meeting to discuss business and reflect on records broken at the 2015 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
Highlights of this year’s show include a record-breaking grounds attendance estimated at 1,248,500, a 10 percent increase over last year; a record 29,461 total show entries, representing exhibitors from 41 states; and 11,254 junior exhibitor entries from 237 Texas counties.
The Junior Sale of Champions roped in a record total sales of $3.7 million. A total of $498,000 was awarded through scholarships to 142 students. Educational grants and contributions totaled $350,000.
Community Foundation makes
early-learning grants to nonprofits
The Community Foundation of North Texas, along with several philanthropic partners, awarded $285,000 in grants to 27 area nonprofits through its program called ToolBox Grants: Giving Children the Tools to Succeed.
All grants will serve Tarrant County children ages 0-8 and will support early learning in diverse areas, including a summer reading intervention program, expanded play therapy, equipment for the diagnosis of learning disabilities and an after-school program.
The foundation also started three cross-sector efforts with multiple partners in the areas of family engagement, professional educational development and evaluation.
UNT alumnus named
vice president for advancement
David Wolf, an alumnus of the University of North Texas, is the new vice president for advancement at UNT, beginning June 1.
Wolf has extensive experience in donor relations, planned gifts and fundraising campaigns. Most recently he was executive director of individual giving at the University of California Los Angeles, where he led and managed fundraising and engagement operations. He also helped develop and implement a new crowd-funding resource and developed young alumni and student giving programs.
Prior to joining UCLA, Wolf worked in administrative advancement and development positions for the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Alabama, Cameron University and the University of Texas at Arlington. A long-time member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, he won three CASE district awards for campaign literature and marketing materials.
Wolf earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s in political science from UT Arlington and a doctorate in higher education from UNT.