Notable News: Spring 2025
The latest headlines from around UH.
UH Alumnus Receives MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’
Poet Jericho Brown, who earned his Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from UH in 2007, has been widely praised for his work that draws from his own life experiences, exploring themes of family, identity, and the intersection of race and sexuality. He even won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2020 for his book “The Tradition.”
Now, Brown can also count himself among a select group of MacArthur Fellows. Also known as a “Genius Grant,” the MacArthur Fellowship is awarded to individuals who demonstrate exceptional creativity, a promise for important future advances and the potential to create subsequent creative work. Brown, who is currently director of the creative writing program at Emory University, is only the third UH alumnus to win a MacArthur Fellowship.
UH Professors Awarded Presidential Medals
Once again, University of Houston faculty members are being recognized for excellence on a national level. President Joe Biden, prior to the end of his term in office, honored three professors from across the University for their contributions to their fields.
Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Studies Nicolás Kanellos (1) of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences was honored with a National Humanities Medal during a White House ceremony in October 2024. For more than 40 years, Kanellos has made an indelible impact on Latino culture in the United States through his works of fiction, poetry, biography and history. In addition to his full-time faculty role at UH, Kanellos serves as the director of Arte Público Press and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage initiative.
In January 2025, Allison Master (2), assistant professor in the Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences at the College of Education, earned the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S. government’s highest honor of its kind. She was one of 400 scientists and engineers honored for their exceptional potential and leadership early in their research careers. She is the first recipient of the award at UH.
Also in January, the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring were awarded to a who’s who of scholars, scientists, educators and researchers — including Donna Stokes (3), a longtime physics professor in UH’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Since her time as a UH graduate student, Stokes has committed herself to STEM student success, preparing STEM educators in secondary schools and mentoring students and junior faculty. She has also mentored physics and other STEM students in previous roles as physics faculty undergraduate academic adviser and associate dean of undergraduate affairs and student success.
UH Professors Awarded Presidential Medals
Once again, University of Houston faculty members are being recognized for excellence on a national level. President Joe Biden, prior to the end of his term in office, honored three professors from across the University for their contributions to their fields.
Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Studies Nicolás Kanellos of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences was honored with a National Humanities Medal during a White House ceremony in October 2024. For more than 40 years, Kanellos has made an indelible impact on Latino culture in the United States through his works of fiction, poetry, biography and history. In addition to his full-time faculty role at UH, Kanellos serves as the director of Arte Público Press and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage initiative.
In January 2025, Allison Master, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences at the College of Education, earned the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S. government’s highest honor of its kind. She was one of 400 scientists and engineers honored for their exceptional potential and leadership early in their research careers. She is the first recipient of the award at UH.
Also in January, the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring were awarded to a who’s who of scholars, scientists, educators and researchers — including Donna Stokes, a longtime physics professor in UH’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Since her time as a UH graduate student, Stokes has committed herself to STEM student success, preparing STEM educators in secondary schools and mentoring students and junior faculty. She has also mentored physics and other STEM students in previous roles as physics faculty undergraduate academic adviser and associate dean of undergraduate affairs and student success.
Matched for Impact
With mission in mind, the next generation of UH-trained doctors heads to residency.
On March 21, 2025 — aka “Match Day” — the second class of the University of Houston’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine learned where they would continue their medical training with the excited opening of an envelope. This pivotal event determines where the graduates will spend their residencies, transitioning from medical student to resident physician and shaping the future of their medical careers.
In only its second Match Day, the Fertitta College of Medicine exceeded the national match rate. Reinforcing the college’s mission to improve community health, 63% of the class placed in primary care residencies. Two-thirds of the class will stay in Texas, with others heading to top institutions nationwide.
What Is Match Day?
The National Resident Matching Program, also known as The Match, is a nationwide system that pairs graduating medical students with residency programs based on mutual preference. Established in 1952, it ensures a fair and orderly process for placing future physicians into training positions across the United States.
96%
Matched into residency programs, exceeding the national rate
63%
Matched into primary care specialties
8
Matched to residencies in the Texas Medical Center
63%
Staying in Texas
“This journey has been a lifelong dream of mine, and today it is a reality.” — Nabeel Ahmad, matched in pediatric dermatology
“This journey has been a lifelong dream of mine, and today it is a reality.” — Nabeel Ahmad, matched in pediatric dermatology
Where They Matched
Texas: 15
Houston: 8
Pennsylvania: 2
New York: 1
New Jersey: 1
Arkansas: 1
Louisiana: 1
Connecticut: 1
Primary Care Specialty Matches
- Family medicine
- Internal medicine
- Pediatrics
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Internal medicine-pediatrics
Other Specialty Matches
- Emergency medicine
- Anesthesiology
- Neurosurgery
- Dermatology
- Psychiatry
Nationally Competitive
- One future physician matched in a highly selective dermatology specialty.
Fewer than 250 neurosurgery residencies were available nationwide.
Three future physicians placed in anesthesiology, which remained highly competitive in 2025.
“As a former public school teacher, I am ecstatic to match at such a renowned institution as Yale.” — Iliana Sanchez, matched in emergency medicine
“As a former public school teacher, I am ecstatic to match at such a renowned institution as Yale.” — Iliana Sanchez, matched in emergency medicine
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