Members of the Dana Center staff gather together wearing shirts representing their various collegiate backgrounds.

A House Divided: The Dana Center's Impressive Collegiate Mix

August 30, 2019|By

The Dana Center is a very proud part of The University of Texas at Austin. One might expect that our offices would, accordingly, be a sea of burnt orange. Our staff of 80+ professionals is, however, not all Longhorns. In fact, given a different context, some of them might almost be considered enemies. Under the Dana Center roof brew some of the deepest and longest-standing collegiate rivalries, and we like to wear our allegiances on our proverbial sleeves.

In observance of college football season kicking off this weekend, we decided to have a little fun and show off the array of colleges and universities that we call "home."

Four images of Dana Center staff members wearing their collegiate colors. In this image are represented the University of Texas at Austin, Spelman College, Harvard University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Texas at Dallas. — In this image (left to right): Emily Mitis, operations manager, representing The University of Texas at Austin; Monette McIver, Ph.D., director of organizational effectiveness, representing Spelman College; Jennifer Dorsey, Ed.D., senior evaluation analyst, representing Harvard University; Afi Wiggins, Ph.D., representing the University of Virginia; Cynthia Flores, MBA, team lead for finance, representing the University of Texas at Dallas.

Working together at the Dana Center are Miners, Horned Frogs, Skyhawks, Aggies, Jaguars, Rams, Buffaloes, Comets, Vikings, Cavaliers, Bearkats, Golden Bears, and many, many Longhorns, just to name a few.

Three images of Dana Center staff wearing shirts and displaying other paraphernalia and hand signs from their respective alma maters. — In this image (clockwise from left), with a focus on just a few Texas institutions: Susan May, M.A., course program specialst, Mary Davis, professional learning facilitator, and Lara Zuehlke, director of marketing and communications represent Texas A&M University; Alison Kothe, communications coordinator represents Texas Christian University; Rachel Jenkins, M.A., senior writer/editor represents Angelo State University.

Taking a walk around the Dana Center offices quickly reveals where our loyalties focus. Desks and walls are dotted with team paraphernalia, diplomas, and knick-knacks from schools across the United States.

Images of collegiate-branded paraphernalia and diplomas from a range of institutions. — Represented in this image (clockwise from top-left): Sam Houston State University (Texas), the University of Colorado, the University of Tampa (Florida), the University of Chicago, Fort Lewis College (Colorado), and the University of Alabama.

In all, while the majority opinion at the Dana Center is, certainly, that the UT Longhorns are the bees-knees, the vast range of institutions from which we have collectively emerged is a point of pride for all of us.

In fact, we believe our diversity (even down to the schools we attended) is a point of strength as we continue our work to dismantle barriers in mathematics and science education for all students.

An image of a piece of team paraphernalia from the University of Texas Longhorns. A cartoon representation of the UT mascot wears a cowboy hat and flashes the "Hook 'em Horns" sign with his suspiciously human-looking hands. — (But still...Hook 'em Horns!)

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