Summer 2013

Behind the Magic Eye

Joffe (B.A. ’96), Visiting Assistant Professor of Art, calls his works nonrepresentational compositions, and he says his titles should “encourage the viewer to be playful in their interpretations.”

All the World’s a Classroom

Jeff Johnson, Ph.D., is a well-versed expert of foreign entrepreneurial practices. As director of the Center for Global Business Studies in the Bill Greehey School of Business and an Associate Professor of International Business, that’s to be expected.

Peace Corps Volunteer Finds Family 9,000 Miles From Home

There’s no electricity in the hut that Samantha Bezdek (B.A. ’10), a Peace Corps volunteer, calls home. Stationed in the impoverished coastal village of Manafiafy, Madagascar, Bezdek gets fresh water from a well down the road, and any chores not completed before nightfall are done by candlelight.

Director Makes His Own Luck

Steve Acevedo (B.A. ’00) knows how fortunate he is to have a rising career as a director and cinematographer in Hollywood. “It’s a difficult industry to break into, and I’m grateful I can make a living doing it,” he said.

A Rancher’s Call

Sometimes, when he’s driving through South Texas, Rafael Ricardo “Rick” Ramirez feels his jaw clench and his grip tighten on the steering wheel. Rick Ramirez and his horse It happens when he’s spotted a pasture that hasn’t been tended to in years, left to bake in the sun.

Bowed Not Broken

Aleigha Barrera is executive director of a nonprofit with big plans, but she’s not your typical CEO. It’s more likely you’ll find her wearing sneakers and workout clothes than a business suit.

Game On: Graduate Computer Science Professor Puts the Fun Back in Learning

For Carol Luckhardt Redfield, Ph.D., teaching isn’t a one-way process. She believes that effective teaching — and learning — requires students to be engaged in the effort. Considering how much of her time and teaching centers on game development, that makes sense.

Earning A’s For Entrepreneurial Effort

Managing Editor of The Texas Economy (TE), a publication of the Texas Comptroller’s office, David C. Bloom, visited with the program’s director, Brooke Envick, Ph.D.

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