Newswise For just the seventh time in its 90-year history, Rowan University is welcoming a new president.

Ali A. Houshmand will officially become Rowans seventh president during a formal inauguration ceremony on Friday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. in Pfleeger Concert Hall, Wilson Hall, on the University's Glassboro, N.J. campus.

New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Rochelle Hendricks and State Senate President Steve Sweeney will lead a host of state and local dignitaries to celebrate Houshmands inauguration.

Rowan benefactor Henry Rowan, former University President Mark Chamberlain, and delegates from more than 25 colleges and universities in the regionand from as far away as Tennesseeare expected to join with University trustees, Rowan Foundation board members, faculty, professional staff, students and alumni to honor Houshmand and mark the historic day.

The inauguration ceremony will include faculty in full academic regalia.

Sweeney, Hendricks, Board of Trustees Chairman Linda Rohrer, Alumni Association President David Burgin, Student Government Association President Surbhi Pathak, and University Senate President Bill Friend all will speak before Houshmand accepts the presidency and delivers his inaugural address.

Houshmand, who joined the University in 2006 as its provost, was named interim president in 2011. In June of 2012, he was named president.

He takes the helm at Rowan during an unprecedented period of transformation, much of that growth a direct result of his ambition and vision.

Under Houshmands leadership, Rowan this year became only the second institution in the nation to have both M.D.- and D.O.-granting medical schools. Rowan opened Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU)-the first new medical school in the state in more than 35 years-in Camden in 2012 and integrated the School of Osteopathic Medicine (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey)of Stratford on July 1 to form RowanSOM. Rowan also integrated Stratfords Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Additionally, this summer, Rowan became the second comprehensive research university in the state through the New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Act. Under the act, Rowan also is partnering with Rutgers-Camden to develop a new College of Health Sciences in Camden.

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Ali A. Houshmand to Be Inaugurated as Rowan University's Seventh President

The chief executive officer of the company that brought touch-based computing to the mainstream, an entrepreneur who appeared on ABCs Shark Tank and sells origami sound systems across the world, and a teen runaway turned philanthropist are among the winners of this years UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association awards. They will be honored, along with other outstanding alumni, at the CAAAs 40thannual Awards Gala on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.

This years award winners are:

Sandi Redenbach of Davis, Calif. Redenbach 72, Cred. 73, a retired English and theater arts teacher who overcame a tumultuous adolescence, is awarded the Aggie Service Award for her dedication of time, energy, volunteerism and leadership in support of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and UC Davis. She was a Woodland school teacher for 15 years and in 1988 established an independent learning program, which still operates serving at-risk youth. She authored numerous articles and books and has made a planned gift to the School of Education that created a perpetual scholarship for students committed to improving education for those at risk of not succeeding in school. She is also recognized for exceptional volunteer leadership and support of philanthropy at UC Davis.

Jerry Lohr of Saratoga, Calif. Lohr, an engineer and founder of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, is the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award for exemplary conduct and achievement. Lohr was raised on a South Dakota farm and learned at a young age about the importance of soil quality, the environment and sustainable farming practices. His enterprise now sells a variety of wine and other beverages across the United States and worldwide. Lohr is a strong supporter and friend to the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology, and now serves on its Board of Visitors and Fellows. He has been a key contributor in the design, planning and fundraising efforts for UC Davis winery, brewery and food-processing teaching and research complex in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

Francis Lee of Milpitas, Calif. Lee 74 is the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award for exemplary conduct and achievement. He was only 16 when his family moved from China to Sacramento and enrolled him into high school without his knowing English. That did not deter him. He was accepted into UC Davis and held three jobs concurrently while earning his degree. He graduated with honors from UC Davis and went to work for Synaptics Inc. a Santa Clara-based company that develops gesture-based computing sensors that are used in such products as laptop touch pads and smartphone touch screens. After two decades, Lee became the companys chief executive officer in 1998 and built the company to be a worldwide leader of touch-screen technology. He returns regularly to the UC Davis campus to mentor students and serves on the College of Engineerings Deans Executive Committee.

Daniel Evans of Queretaro, Mexico Evans, M.S. 84, Ph.D. 88, who began his career as a volunteer for the Peace Corps while earning a masters degree in international agricultural development and Ph.D. in ecology is honored with the Emil M. Mrak International Award for his distinguished career and service outside the United States. For more than 30 years, Evans has worked in the field of ecology, conservation and international development in some of the poorest countries in the world. He strives to protect biodiversity and improve natural resource management while struggling with challenges to alleviate poverty. He and his wife now live in Queretaro, Mexico, where he is Peace Corps director of 85 volunteers working in technology transfer and natural resource management.

John Chuck of Davis, Calif. After completing his residency in 1989 at UC Davis School of Medicine, Chuck became a board certified family practice doctor and is currently a faculty member at the UC Davis School of Medicine. He is presented with the Outstanding Alumnus Award for displaying outstanding achievement, promoting innovative change and making professional contributions to the community and to UC Davis. He was key in developing My Doctor, an online tool that helps physicians stay in touch with their patients and includes online tutorials and health-education programs focused on delivering personalized care. Chuck is the founder and chief executive officer of Serotonin Surge Charities, which has raised $2 million for free medical clinics, breast cancer research and scholarship funds. He serves as a trustee for the UC Davis Foundation.

Jason Lucash of Tustin, Calif. Lucash 06 launched his first business selling candy in front of his parents home when he was in the fifth grade. Now, thanks to his UC Davis education including a degree in managerial economics and internships and his continued entrepreneurial spirit, he is the co-founder of OrigAudio a premium audio products company that offers innovative solutions for music portability. The companys origami-style speaker was named in a 2012 Time Magazine story as one of the Best 50 Inventions. After being featured on ABCs Shark Tank, the companys products are now sold in 5,000 stores worldwide. Lucash lectures to university students around the country and helps support several local charities. His successes garnered him the Young Alumnus Award that honors outstanding professional contributions to the community or to UC Davis within 10 years of graduation.

Pam Fair of San Diego, Calif. Fair, 80, vice president of environmental, safety and support services and chief environmental officer for San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company will be awarded the Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award for extraordinary service to CAAA, the UC Davis Foundation and the university. She is a past chair of the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees, current chair of the Davis Chancellors Club and a longtime donor to the university. She helped acquire funds for the Sempra Energy Endowed Chair in Energy Efficiency at UC Davis, as well as research and workshop activities related to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. She created the Alan Jackman Scholarship at UC Davis in honor of her former chemical engineering professor and also established an undergraduate scholarship for leadership in engineering.

For a complete list of recipients, please visit http://www.alumni.ucdavis.edu/alumniawards or call the alumni association at (800) 242-4723.

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The first set of six public forums on the search for the next University president convened Tuesday on the Medical Center Campus and at the Universitys Flint Campus.

Regent Katherine White (D) led the discussion Tuesday evening, along with Alison Ranney, a consultant with the firm hired to conduct the seaarch, Russell-Reynolds Associates.

Three faculty members of the Presidential Search Committee and four additional regentsJulia Darlow (D-Ann Arbor), Mark Bernstein (D) and Shauna Ryder Diggs (D) jotted notes and asked follow-up questions to about 25 students, faculty and community members gathered in the Taubman Biomedical Science Research Buildings auditorium.

After briefly explaining the search process, White and Ranney asked the crowd of mostly faculty and medical students to consider the challenges the University will face over the next one, five or twenty years as well as qualities they would want the committee to keep in mind when choosing a candidate.

While a few periods of silence occurred in the mostly unfilled auditorium, a steady flow of comments generally characterized the forum. Comments centered on a wide array of issues and challenges. Some were focused on the University of Michigan Health System, with multiple speakers expressing the importance of a candidate with a background at an institution with a hospital. Two other contributors also expressed the importance of facing the challenges of the changing landscape of healthcare, following passage of the Affordable Care Act.

More generally, multiple medical school students addressed college affordability, touching on topics such as scholarships and tuition costs, as well as the need to attract students from diverse backgrounds in terms of race and socio-economic status. Other comments addressed alumni engagement and building cohesion and partnership between University of Michigan units and campuses, in Flint and Dearborn.

Peter Farrehi, an assistant professor in the department of internal medicine, pointed out that the next University president effect not just the campus in Ann Arbor, but the entire state of Michigan, including cities like Flint and Dearborn.

The state is in dire need of the Universitys leadership, he said.

Farrehi mentioned that many people are interested in becoming more global, but the University and its next president must place greater emphasis on supporting the local community.

Multiple commenters mentioned community-oriented needs as challenges that are just as important as the Universitys global expansion, both in the scope of the hospital and the University at large.

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Search committee holds public forum on Medical Campus

Newswise Michael A. Weber, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for research at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, will deliver the New York Academy of Medicine's 2013 Nahum J. Winer Lecture on October 8, 2013, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, at the Academy, 1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, New York, NY 10029. The Winer lectureship was created by the family of Nahum J. Winer, a respected clinical and research cardiologist who was an officer of the New York Academy of Medicine for many years. Dr. Winer received his medical degree from SUNY Downstate.

Dr. Webers talk is titled, "Unresolved Issues in Diagnosing and Treating Hypertension: Is Renal Sympathectomy an Answer?" He will review what blood pressure levels are appropriate for treatment, currently proposed drug strategies, and the possible role of renal sympathectomy.

Renal sympathectomy is a new but not yet FDA-approved procedure for treatment-resistant hypertension to get blood pressure below a defined goal. This technique destroys the nerves serving the kidneys, important in blood pressure control, by using a catheter to apply an electric current through the arteries that supply the kidneys. This method, although invasive, appears to be effective in many patients whose blood pressures cannot otherwise be controlled. Major clinical trials are now underway to examine this treatment more thoroughly.

Dr. Webers focus as a cardiologist has primarily been on hypertension and preventive cardiology. He has published numerous research articles in the medical literature and has authored or edited 16 books. Together with Suzanne Oparil, MD, he is responsible for the widely used reference volume, Hypertension. He is the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension and was one of the founders of The American Society of Hypertension (ASH), for which he has served as president. He also served as chair of the ASH Hypertension Specialists Program. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. He has also served on the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Board of the Food and Drug Administration, and continues as a consultant to that agency.

His main current research interests are in clinical trials of patients at high risk of cardiovascular events or strokes. He is also participating actively in trials in patients with metabolic disorders such as diabetes and kidney disease. Dr. Weber currently serves on the steering committees of several national and international clinical outcomes trials.

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SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patients bedside. A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, Colleges of Nursing and Health Related Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and an Advanced Biotechnology Park and Biotechnology Incubator.

SUNY Downstate ranks ninth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.

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Dr. Michael A. Weber to Deliver Nahum J. Winer Lecture at the New York Academy of Medicine

The University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School, the worlds oldest collegiate business school, will be featured on a new Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SIRI) channel, letting listeners get business lessons directly from professors.

Sirius will train Wharton faculty, such as finance professor Jeremy Siegel and sports-business expert Kenneth Shropshire, to host shows on the channel, the satellite broadcaster said today in a statement. Many of the live programs, which will cover everything from equity markets to retailing, will include call-in segments from listeners.

Sirius is modeling the station on its medical channel Doctor Radio, which uses physicians from NYU Langone Medical Center as hosts, said Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of the New York-based company. The goal is to connect listeners who lack a formal business education with academics who can explain concepts clearly, he said.

The move will create the first full-time radio station focused on business management and furthers efforts to use digital technologies to expand the role of elite universities. EdX, a nonprofit online learning network, announced plans last week to team up with Google Inc. to create a new Web educational platform. That venture is working with schools such as Harvard, Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley.

Underserved Market?

The Wharton channel will be targeted at anyone from a first-time job seeker to a chief executive officer, Sirius said.

We think the market for business knowledge is underserved, Greenstein said in an e-mail. We are launching at a time when there are more entrepreneurs than ever. They are hungry for key advice from seasoned experts.

The station will debut in early 2014 on channel 111, as well as through the Sirius XM Internet radio application. Sirius, which has more than 25 million subscribers, approached Philadelphia-based Wharton with the idea earlier this year. Patrick Reilly, a spokesman for the company, declined to discuss financial compensation for the hosts.

It was the only school we approached, said Greenstein, citing Whartons extensive academic and alumni network, which we feel will be an incredibly valuable resource for expert guest appearances on the channel.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Sherman in New York at asherman6@bloomberg.net

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Wharton School to Create Call-In Business Channel for Sirius XM

About three dozen Regional Occupation Program students, together with community members, teachers and school district administrators, witnessed on Sept. 5 the unveiling of a student-designed mural representing the Health Science and Medical Technology Pathway Program at Fontana High School.

The mural, which consists of four separate panels, represents a growing program at Fohi, which includes Certified and Acute Nurse Assistant, Medical Core, Personal Fitness Training, Veterinary Assistant and Sports Medicine, among others.

The unveiling represents the end of a two-year project that began with calling local artists, mainly students, to draw pieces that depicted health and science images, said Therese Kennedy, coordinator of Career Technical Education at the Fontana Unified School District.

The original idea was to award prizes for first and second places, but due to the high amount of great artwork, there were awards given for two first places and two second places, she added.

The mural was painted by artists Molly Griffin and James Griffin, both teachers at Jurupa Hills High School, and it took them about six weeks to finish.

The mural can be seen inside building E at Fohi.

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Students honored for designing mural at Fohi

Family physician Dr. Roland A. Goertz received the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Medicine Alumni Association at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.

Goertz was honored Oct. 22 at the 2011 Reunion Weekend Gala. The award is given each year to an alumnus or alumna and is based on three criteria: The nominee's service to the medical profession, to his community, and to the School of Medicine.

After earning his medical degree from the School of Medicine in 1981, Goertz completed a residency in family medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He subsequently completed a clinical teaching fellowship in family medicine in 1986 and received his M.B.A. from Baylor University in 2003.

In addition, he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.

For the past 15 years, Goertz has served as chief executive officer of the three foundations that oversee all operations of the Waco Family Health Center, which operates one of the oldest family medicine residency programs west of the Mississippi River. In 2010 the Waco Family Health Center provided care to 50,000 patients in McLennan County. He also holds an appointment at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Goertz currently serves as board chair of the AAFP, having previously served one-year terms as president and president-elect. In 2006 he was awarded the AFFP's Robert Graham Family Physician Executive Award.

Goertz was nominated by Dr. Martha Medrano, a fellow graduate from the Class of 1981 and director of behavioral health at CommuniCare Health Centers in San Antonio. Medrano received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004.

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Goertz named 2011 distinguished alumni by local med association

Four Minot State University alumni, Lona Anderson, Robert Anderson, Gary Cederstrom and Clint Severson, will receive the MSU Alumni Association's Golden Award at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 in the conference center on the third floor of the MSU Student Center.

Nathan Conway will receive the Young Alumni Achievement Award, according to a press release issued by MSU.

The Golden Award is the highest award bestowed by the MSU Alumni Association, and selections are based on outstanding service to the university or alumni association and distinguished career or community leadership. The Young Alumni Achievement Award recipient is between the ages of 21 and 39.

Lona Anderson, a retired realtor, graduated from Minot State University in 1968 with a bachelor of science in education. After teaching business classes in Casselton, New Town and Rugby, she moved to Minot and began a real estate career in 1978.

The Bottineau native was part owner of two real estate companies, Brokers 12 and Signal Realtors. During her 30-year career, she received many honors. She was president of the Minot Board of Realtors in 1984, Realtor of the Year for Minot in 1985 and 2001, North Dakota Association president in 2000, North Dakota Realtor of the Year in 2001 and North Dakota/South Dakota Certified Residential Specialist of the Year in 2001.

For MSU, Lona Anderson served on the Board of Regents, the MSU Development Foundation board, the College of Business Advisory Board, the Inauguration Committee for President David Fuller and a chancellor search committee. She initiated the MSU Business Mentor Scholarship Program in 2013. Her dream is that this program will have a lasting impression on the students who receive this scholarship money and the people who donate money and mentor students.

A founding member of the Minot Community Foundation's Power of the Purse, Lona Anderson is also involved in the Minot Symphony League. She is a past member of the YWCA board of directors and North Dakota State Fair Advisory Committee and a past trustee of Vincent Methodist Church.

Robert Anderson, MSU art adjunct professor, graduated from Minot State with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1983. Later he returned to MSU to earn a master's degree in elementary education in 1999. As an undergraduate student, he belonged to the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

After teaching for Minot Public Schools for 25 years, the New Rockford native retired in 2011. However, he was quickly called back into service to become the special assistant to the MSU president, or "flood ombudsman," after the 2011 Souris River flood.

As a member of the MSU Alumni Association board of directors, Anderson has co-chaired Gala, the association's major fundraiser, and Gala's Presentation Committee and participated on the Promotions Committee.

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MSU Alumni Association's present awards

AUSTIN (KXAN) - University of Texas students are passing at high rates and dropping out at a lower rate than student before them since the university launched its effort to increase four-year graduation rates, university president Bill Powers said on Wednesday.

Powers announced the improvements at his annual State of the University address to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university.

"We have significant work left to do, but we are moving the needle," Powers said of the improved retention and graduation rates.

The early signs of success include:

The president also addressed the construction of the Dell Medical School, which is on track to open in 2016. University leaders are currently conducting a nationwide search for the schools inaugural dean.

"The medical school will increase health care, and the quality of health care, especially for uninsured and low income residents in Central Texas," Powers said. "Over a long period of time there will be medical breakthroughs in the research that is done, and that will attract specialties where Central Texans will not need to go elsewhere to get a whole array of specialty."

Powers says thanks to voters and donors, UT will become the first major research university to open a medical teaching hospital in more than 35 years.

In the speech, Powers also touted UT's ranking as one of the best universities in the world and talked about a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June , which sent the case back to a lower court.

"We are more diverse, both in our student body and in our faculty, and we're fighting to protect that diversity in the (Abigail) Fisher case."

Powers also spoke about the Texas Legislature's decision to increase higher education funding and is glad the school will receive an addition $25 million over the next two years.

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Powers: Passing rates up, dropouts down