Accolades is an occasional News Center feature that highlights recent accomplishments of UT Dallas faculty and students. To submit items for consideration, contact your school’s communication manager. 

Health Management Grad Students Receive Scholarships

Three graduate students in the Master of Science in Healthcare Leadership and Management program at the Naveen Jindal School of Management have each received $1,000 scholarships.

From left: Neha Sinha, Nora Tassabhji and Isabella Yang

Neha Sinha, Nora Tassabhji and Isabella Yang received awards from Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Methodist Richardson Medical Center and Texas Institute for Surgery, respectively. Executives from those institutions presented the awards at the November meeting of the UT Dallas Healthcare Management Association.

Yang was thankful for the assistance and networking opportunities from HIMSS as she seeks a career in data analytics.

“Any amount of money really relieves the stresses that I have put on myself to try and pay for it,” she said. “I am very honored to receive the scholarship.”

Dr. Forney Fleming, director of the graduate program and a clinical professor of management, helps connect industry leaders with the Jindal School and was instrumental in obtaining funding for the scholarships.

“I can’t say enough about the generosity of these sponsoring organizations,” he said. “The health care industry is the second-largest employer in North Texas, and our mission at the Jindal School is to develop top business leaders to fill those roles. It’s gratifying to know that industry recognizes our efforts and supports us in that mission.”

Media Groups Capture National Honors

For the fifth consecutive year, the UT Dallas student newspaper, The Mercury, was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) Newspaper Pacemaker Award, considered the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism. 

Staff members of The Mercury display the awards they received at the National College Media Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. From left (front row): Madeleine Keith, Cindy Folefack, Carolina Alvarez and Diego Alvarez; (back row): Noah Whitehead, Matt Strack and Bhargav Arimilli.

The Mercury also placed second in the College Media Association (CMA) Pinnacle Awards for the best less-than-weekly newspaper at four-year schools.

The ACP honored individual staff members Bhargav Arimilli, fourth in Diversity Series Story of the Year; Emaan Bangash, honorable mention for Feature Story of the Year; and Cindy Folefack, honorable mention for Reporter of the Year.

The ACP also named The Mercury second in Best of Show for less-than-weekly newspapers at four-year schools, fifth in Best of Show Multimedia Package for an episode of its web series “Whatcha Eatin’?” and fourth in Newspaper Page One Design of the Year.

“The awards we brought home are a testament to the high-quality content our staff consistently produces,” said Arimilli, editor-in-chief of The Mercury and a chemistry senior in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

UTD TV placed first in the College Broadcasters Inc. contest for Best General Entertainment Program Video for its production of “LOOP” and second in the CMA Pinnacle Awards for Best TV Special Event Coverage.

“Our entire station poured our heart and soul into this production for a semester, and we were ecstatic to see it pay off on the national level,” said UTD TV entertainment director Antonio Diaz, who is a junior in the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication.

The student opinion magazine AMP placed third in the CMA Pinnacle Awards for Best Magazine Feature Page/Spread, and Radio UTD received an honorable mention in Best Radio Promo/PSA.

“UT Dallas students continue to produce high-quality work that ranks among the best in the country,” said Chad Thomas, director of student media. “We’re seeing them put together exceptional products and programs in print and digital formats. There’s an array of talent on display.”