Program Earns Tech Honor; VP Named Business Officer Group Leader

Accolades is an occasional News Center feature that highlights recent accomplishments at The University of Texas at Dallas. To submit items for consideration, contact your school’s communication manager. 

Innovate(her) Program Garners Tech Titans Award

The Innovate(her) program at the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) received the 2019 Tech Titans of the Future – University Level award at the annual Tech Titans awards gala in August.

Tech Titans, the largest technology trade organization in Texas, honored 14 outstanding North Texas technology companies, organizations and individuals that have made significant contributions to their industries.

Innovate(her) was recognized as an educational program that encourages and supports students in choosing engineering- and technology-related disciplines. Participants engage with professional women mentors from the community through activities designed to encourage innovative thinking. The students learn about technology, design thinking, financial management and brand development.

Denyse Carpio, assistant to the IIE director, credited the Tech Titans honor to the strong corporate, alumni and mentor support for the program.

“Over the past few years, Innovate(her) has blossomed into a meaningful, topical program for middle school girls from across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex,” Carpio said. “Our staff is passionate about empowering girls to innovate and create, and that means that technology must be at the forefront of our program. The Tech Titans award not only affirms the spirit of the program, but it also provides the opportunity to expand our scope even further.”

UTDesign EPICS was a finalist for the same award, and Dr. Rym Zalila-Wenkstern, associate professor of computer science in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, was a finalist for the Technology Inventor Award.

Paul Nichols, a senior lecturer in organizations, strategy and international management in the Naveen Jindal School of Management, was recently named executive director of IIE.

“North Texas is realizing day by day the importance of UT Dallas — its research, its economic impact, and the corporate innovation and entrepreneurial training we offer our undergraduate and graduate students,” he said. “The institute has been recognized nationally and locally for our unique events, courses and resources, and I look forward to working with more students and partnering with additional area companies.”

Jamison Heads State Business Officers Association

Dr. Calvin Jamison, vice president for facilities and economic development, has been elected president of the Texas Association of State Senior College and University Business Officers (TASSCUBO). 

Jamison is the first UT Dallas representative and the first African American president in the 50-year history of the organization, which promotes the success of college and university business officers and their institutions in the state of Texas through professional development, networking and advocacy. 

The TASSCUBO membership helps oversee almost 1 million students, $29 billion in budgets and more than $49 billion in endowments. 

“It is an extraordinary honor to provide leadership for this group of outstanding professionals, who work extremely hard to provide support for faculty, staff and students while advancing the financial foundation for our universities through budget management and endowments,” Jamison said. “TASSCUBO members are very committed and passionate about the positive, strategic, forward-thinking role they play in changing lives and advancing the universities they represent.” 

TASSCUBO members include business officers and administrators from about 40 universities and higher education systems throughout Texas.

Jamison oversees facilities, buildings, parking, auxiliary services, construction, transportation and real estate management for UT Dallas. Since he arrived in 2007, he has overseen campus growth of more than 11.5 million square feet and an investment of more than $1.5 billion in new and renovated space on University land to accommodate a student population that now tops 29,000.