Advancement Leadership
Patricia Lee Starck, D.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N.
- Dean, School of Nursing and Senior Vice President for Community Affairs
- Email: Patricia.L.Starck@uth.tmc.edu
Senior Vice President for Community Affairs Patricia L. Starck, DSN, also is dean of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Nursing, where she holds the John P. McGovern Distinguished Professorship in Nursing.
Under Dr. Starck’s leadership since 1984, the School of Nursing has risen to the top 5 percent of graduate nursing programs in the U.S. She is nationally recognized for her contributions to health policy and for her innovative programs in nursing education at all levels.
In addition to expanding the scope of nursing education and practice, Dr. Starck has raised millions of dollars to support nursing, including funds to build the $57-million, award-winning School of Nursing and Student Community Center. She is the founding dean of PARTNERS, a community support group that provides resources for student scholarships, endowed professorships, faculty research and other activities at the nursing school.
The recipient of many professional distinctions, Dr. Starck earned her doctorate from the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) in 1979 and her master’s of nursing from Emory University. In 2010, she was named one of “60 Visionary Leaders” of the UAB nursing school’s 11,000 alumni.
Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo, UTHealth’s president ad interim, appointed Dr. Starck to leadership of the Office of Advancement in 2011.
Betsy C. Frantz, MPH
- Assistant Vice President for Principal Gifts and Senior Advancement Officer
- Phone: 713-500-3202
- Email: Elizabeth.C.Frantz@uth.tmc.edu
A fourth-generation Texan, Betsy Frantz has lived in Houston since graduating from The University of Texas at Austin in 1965. She completed a Masters in Public Health degree from UT School of Public Health at Houston in 1972 and worked from 1972-92, first at the School of Public Health and later in the university’s Development Office.
From 1992-93, Betsy served as the first woman president of the Houston Texas Exes, the largest and most active chapter in the nation. From 1995-2004, she worked for UT Austin and its “We’re Texas” campaign as the major gifts officer-in-residence for the Houston Region and its 55,000 alumni.
In 2004, she was Director of Development for the George R. Brown School of Engineering and the Weiss School of Natural Sciences at Rice University, returning to UT Austin in 2005 as Executive Director of Principal Gifts for the Houston Region.
Jennifer Canup
- Director, University Web Communications
- Phone: 713-500-3296
- E-mail: Jennifer.L.Canup@uth.tmc.edu
Jennifer Canup has worked for the UT Health Science Center since 1993, since 2000 managing the university’s top tier Web pages (www.uth.tmc.edu & www.uthouston.edu) and other high profile institutional websites. As the director of university Web communications, she coordinates Web activities for the health science center. Her role includes strategic planning, Web policy structuring, management of the university-wide intranet, and administration of the university's Web content management system.
Lisa Christison
- Managing Director of Advancement Operations
- Phone: 713-500-3204
- Email: Lisa.M.Christison@uth.tmc.edu
Lisa Christison has worked in the field of development for eight years, and has worked at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston since early 2004. As the director of advancement services, she supervises four departments: gift processing, prospect research, donor database management, and endowment compliance. Lisa is the key contact if a board member needs assistance with anything related to these areas.
Karen Krakower Kaplan
- Sr. Communications Officer & Director
- Editor, HealthLeader Online Wellness Magazine
- Phone: 713-500-3045
- Email: Karen.K.Kaplan@uth.tmc.edu
Karen Krakower Kaplan, director of communications has returned to the UT Office of Public Affairs (currently the Office of Institutional Advancement) three times during the last 30 years, most recently in 2002 to serve as editor of HealthLeader.
HealthLeader Online Magazine serves the larger public outside the walls of the Health Science Center, providing solid health and wellness information to the consumer. The magazine has won numerous regional and national awards for content, design and information excellence.
Karen serves on several advisory boards and committees both within the University and the broader Houston community and lectures on key issues surrounding personal health and medical journalism. Her work has appeared in over 50 journals, magazines, newspapers and anthologies and is the recipient of more than 20 awards for writing. Her additional work with AIDS organizations, organ transplant and hospice provides a necessary depth to her understanding of current health information needs.
Meredith Raine
- Director of Media Relations
- Phone: 713-500-3050
- Email: Meredith.Raine@uth.tmc.edu
In every area of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) - from the classrooms to the laboratories to the clinics - experts are developing innovative health solutions to treat, cure and prevent today's most common diseases. Meredith, who supervises media relations activities at UTHealth, can assist reporters with news in any of the university's schools, centers or clinics. A former newspaper reporter, Meredith has been a member of the Media Relations Team since January 2001.
