Month: March 2023

End of year awards and dinner set for April 25

The Faculty and Staff End of Year Appreciation Dinner and awards will be held April 25 beginning with a reception at 5:15 p.m. followed by dinner and awards at 6 p.m. The event will be held in Chapel Auditorium. Dress code is business casual.

Please use the link or information below to RSVP by April 19.

  • RSVP by April 19 at https://forms.office.com/r/YBkeY09ncH
  • For those without computer access, RSVP forms will be placed in the staff lounge. Please complete and return them to Ida Perez in Moye Hall, Office 109.

Retirement planning essentials sessions set for April 17 and 18

Retirement planning consultant (RPC) from Transamerica will be on campus April 17 and 18 to assist employees and answer questions.

These experienced professionals can help employees:

• Enroll in a plan

• Review and understand their Retirement Outlook®

• Determine contribution rate and investment mix

• Learn how life events — such as marriage, children, and buying a home — could impact retirement strategy

• Improve overall financial wellness

Join an in-person group meeting on April 17 regarding Retirement Plan Essentials at 10 a.m. in Main Building, Room 311.

Join an in-person group meeting on April 18 regarding Get Ready to Retire at 10 a.m. in Main Building, Room 311.

Schedule a no-cost, no-obligation individual appointment with a Transamerica RPC on April 17 or 18 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Use this link to schedule an appointment: Transamerica online presence – Schedule a Appointment (timetrade.com).

Summer hours schedule announced

Summer hours will begin Monday, May 22, and will continue through Friday, Aug. 4.

Official university summer office hours will be Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Friday, 8:30 a.m.-noon.

Full-time employees are expected to work a nine-hour day, Monday-Thursday and a four-hour day on Friday. Staff who normally work Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., are permitted to leave on Friday at noon. All full-time employees will work 40 hours every week and are required to take a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch.

Examples of some summer scheduling hours include:

• 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, with an hour for lunch, and 8 a.m.-noon on Friday (or any combination to equal four hours: however, the office will be open 8:30 a.m.-noon).

• 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, with 30 minutes for lunch, and 8 a.m.-noon on Friday.

• 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Thursday, with an hour for lunch, and 8 a.m.-noon on Friday.

The various combinations of flexible schedules listed above are permitted as long as the office has staff employee coverage from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m.-noon on Fridays. Know that the actual schedule for each employee requires the approval of the supervisor. Additionally, some departments will not follow the summer schedule as necessary coverage is required after normal business hours.

Summer hour exceptions

The following departments are the exception to the Summer Hours Policy. They will be open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., during the summer.

• Undergraduate Admissions Office

• Graduate Admissions Office

• Registrar’s Office

• Financial Aid Office

• Student Business Office

The following are exceptions to the above summer hours schedule:

• The week of May 29-June 2 – since the university will be closed Monday, May 29, for Memorial Day, the university will be open regular hours Tuesday, May 30-Friday, June 2 (8 a.m.-5 p.m.).

• The week of June 19-23 – since the university closed Monday, June 19 in observance of the Juneteenth holiday, the university will be open regular hours Tuesday, June 20=Friday, June 23 (8 a.m.-5 p.m.).

• The week of July 3-7 –  since the university will be closed Monday, July 3, and Tuesday, July 4 in observance of the Fourth of July holiday, the university will be open regular hours Wednesday, July 5-Friday, July 7 (8 a.m.-5 p.m.).

Other exceptions are Lake Days scheduled for the summer. Lake Days will continue as scheduled and offices associated with Lake Days will remain open after noon if those days fall on a Friday. The rest of the university offices will close as scheduled.

Planned leave
All OLLU faculty and staff are asked to avoid scheduling planned leave between Monday, August 14, 2023 and Wednesday, September 6, 2023. A supervisor may extend the dates established by the university for individual offices and departments. Special circumstances which require leave during this time (a child’s wedding, taking your child to college) must be approved by the vice president or chief administrator of a division.

Reminder: Compliance training must be complete by Friday

Full-time and part-time OLLU employees who received an email notice from the Compliance Office on Feb. 24, 2023 are mandated to complete annual compliance training modules by Friday.

As part of ongoing compliance efforts, employees are required to complete the 2023 annual employee compliance training modules to reduce or prevent incidents of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and other types of inappropriate behavior on our campus. This training also includes information about campus safety, protecting privacy rights, and communicating this information to the appropriate university officials. To support employees with their obligations, OLLU has provided the following online training modules to help employees learn how to recognize and prevent unlawful harassment. Additionally, these training programs support our compliance with regulatory agencies governing the practices of higher education institutions.

All OLLU employees are expected to know and understand the university’s policies on unlawful harassment and discrimination and to abide by them.  As a reminder, employees of OLLU who, in the course and scope of their employment, witness or receive information regarding the occurrence of an incident that the employee reasonably believes constitutes sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence or stalking against an OLLU student or OLLU employee, are required by law to promptly report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator within 72 hours of obtaining the information. We believe that all human beings are inherently sacred and deserve dignity and respect and every community member is expected to be respectful in all interactions as part of the learning experience.

This training is mandatory for all full-time and part-time OLLU employees as stated in the Feb. 24 email.

Employees are assigned to complete the following NINE courses:

  • Data Security: Phishing (10 minutes)
  • Data Security: Malware (10 minutes)
  • Data Security: Passwords (10 minutes)
  • Data Security: Physical Security and Unintended Disclosures (10 minutes)
  • Data Security: Mobile Security and Third-Party Websites (10 minutes)
  • FERPA: Protecting Student Privacy (10 minutes)
  • Understanding the Clery Act (15 minutes)
  • Committing to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Faculty and Staff (25 minutes)
  • Title IX Mosaic: Prevent Sexual Violence Together (45 minutes)

To begin training, follow these FOUR steps:

1. Go to https://learn.ue.org/Login2.aspx  

2. Enter your login credentials.

  • Username: Your @ollusa.edu email address
  • Note: Do not use @lake.ollusa.edu email address
  • Password: Ollu2023! 
  • Note: Password is case-sensitive
  • The first time you log in, the system will prompt you to reset your temporary password and set a security question.
  • Helpful Hint: You can change your password to be the same as your OLLU portal and email log in password.

3. Once you are logged in, be sure to complete all of the training modules assigned to you in the “My Courses” section of the home page.

4. You will receive an email containing a link to your completion certificate, upon successful completion of each course. Please keep a copy for your own records. A history of your completed courses is available in “My Completions.” The system will automatically document your completion so there is no need to forward your certificate as proof of completion.

Thank you for your time and cooperation in completing this essential training program.

Tips for Completing Courses 

  • Pop-up blocker must be disabled for ue.blackboard.com.
  • Ensure your computer meets all System Requirements specified here.

Need Help? 

If you have any issues with sign-in or accessing the courses, call Support at 844-348-3650, or visit the Support Site Learning Portal at portalhelp.ue.org for options to live chat or create a help ticket. 

All other questions should be directed to the OLLU Compliance Officer at compliance@ollusa.edu.

Valdez tabs no-hitter as softball sweeps Southwest

The No. 2-ranked OLLU softball team downed the University of the Southwest (USW) in both games on March 26. The Saints improve to 26-4 overall and remain undefeated in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) at 12-0. The Lady Mustangs drop to 7-18 overall and 2-10 in RRAC play.

History
The Saints were 39-13 against the Lady Mustangs prior to the games.

Game one
The Saints blanked the Lady Mustangs in game one 10-0. OLLU scored all 10 runs in the first inning. Seven different players recorded at least one RBI during the inning. Madison Nunn, Madison Garza and Rebecca Duran all tabbed doubles during the frame. Cassandra Valdez started in the circle and pitched her first no-hitter as a Saint. She earned the win after striking out 11 batters in the five-inning run rule. Terrazas finished with three RBIs and Garza batted a perfect 2-for-2.

Game two
OLLU tallied 13 runs on 12 hits in the second game of the doubleheader. The Lady Mustangs took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but the Saints responded quickly. Alyssa Flores and Ariel Montgomery recorded RBIs in the second inning to give the Saints a 2-1 advantage. Terrazas and Valdez hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning and the Saints tacked on even more runs. They plated 11 runs in the inning and run-ruled the Lady Mustangs again 13-4. Angela Ramirez pitched all five innings to earn the win. She allowed three hits and four earned runs. The Saints have won 17 straight games.

Up next
The Saints travel to face the University of Houston-Victoria in a doubleheader on tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Baseball earns series win over Jarvis Christian

The baseball team tabbed two wins over Jarvis Christian University (JCU) to take the three-game series over the weekend. The Saints improve to 20-14 overall and 12-6 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Bulldogs drop to 14-19 overall and 8-10 in RRAC play.

Head Coach Matt Piker commented, “Anytime you can get a series win you should be excited about it. We lost a tough game one but our men bounced back and responded to the challenge in games two and three. It’s a huge credit to their buy in. I also can’t say enough positive things about how good of a job our assistant coaches do. Those men work their tails off for our student athletes every day. Our program is blessed to have them and to have the players that we do.”

History
The Saints were 13-13 against the Bulldogs prior to the series.

Game one
The Saints fell in game one after attempting a comeback late in the contest. The Bulldogs scored the first two runs of the game with one in the first inning and another in the fourth frame. OLLU rallied in the sixth inning to put up one run on a Jacob Montejano single. The inning ended in the following at-bat when Jackson Kalisky flied out to center field with Montejano on second base. The Saints also had a chance in the final inning with runners on first and second base with two outs. Jimmy Valle pinch hit and popped up to shortstop to end the game. The Saints were downed 2-1 and Alec Martinez suffered the loss. Martinez started on the mound and gave up two earned runs with six strikeouts.

Game two
The Saints offense came to life in game two. They defeated the Bulldogs 18-1 backed by 16 hits and four home runs. OLLU scored 15 runs in the first three innings. Montejano, Kalisky, Francisco Martinez and Anthony Valle all went yard and Diego Zuniga finished with four RBIs. Martinez also tallied four RBIs after batting 3-for-3. The Saints had eight players record at least one RBI and nine players had hits. Joshua Mendez earned the win after pitching three innings with three strikeouts. Dominique Boggs pitched four innings of relief.

Game three
The Saints took the third game to win the series. They scored one run on a passed ball in the first inning and followed with another run in the third inning. Tyler Vivier scored in the seventh inning and Zuniga followed with a three-run RBI double in the seventh inning. The Saints won 6-1 behind seven hits. The Bulldogs totaled eight hits, but OLLU limited them to only one run. Javier De Alejandro earned the win after going five innings with six strikeouts. Christopher Perez and Devin Benavides pitched in relief.

Up next
The Saints play at NCAA D2 St. Mary’s University on tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Women’s track and field sets four records

The women’s track and field team participated in the Charles Austin Classic at Texas State University.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “We had a huge weekend for school records and PRs. Being able to come to big meets and perform to our abilities is a testament to the talent our athletes have but also the confidence they’ve built working with their coaches. We are getting closer to a slew of national qualifier marks and I know this group is only getting better.

Significant results included OLLU records set by Viridiana Zuniga in the 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 13:23.04, Deandra Ibarra in the 800m with a time of 2:18.69, Autumn Roberts in the 400m with a time of 58.56 and Kiana Kebbi in the 200m with a time of 24.96.

See full results on the Saints Athletics website.

Two men’s track and field members qualify for nationals

The men’s track and field team participated in the Charles Austin Classic at Texas State University.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “We had ourselves a weekend. We had many school records fall, two NAIA A-standards, more PRs than I can count, and one athlete hit the time for U-20 World Championship. I’d be surprised if this squad isn’t highly nationally ranked when the ranking begins in April.”

Significant results included an OLLU record set by Jose Zarate in the 5000m with a time of 15:09.45. De’Jon Lewis’ 7.26m mark in the long jump has qualified him for the NAIA Nationals. In addition, Cerrone Thompson’s time in the 400m of 47.41 has also qualified him for the nationals.

See full results on the Saints Athletics website.

Research during Spring Break funded by $250,000 USDA grant

It wasn’t your typical Spring Break visit to the beach for OLLU students participating in a $250,959 grant funded project sponsored by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

While visiting the Texas coast, Torrence Campos, Julianna Collins, Aaliyah (Alex) Delgado and Sierra Jaramillo took part in marine field research on the gulf, explored the Oso Bay Wetlands, attended a talk on counterstory and toured research facilities at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and visited the local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office to learn about job opportunities and internships. They were accompanied by Dr. Briana Hauff Salas, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, and Dr. Jamie Crosswhite, Instructor of Professional Writing and Communication.

OLLU ​ secured the grant from NIFA to develop career opportunities and access for underrepresented STEM students. 

The federal money from NIFA, a subordinate of the USDA, is part of a $1 million, four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Education grant shared with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Northeast Lakeview College (NLC).

This Ecological-JEDI approach aims to increase self-efficacy in STEM through a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) perspective.  

“I am thrilled to provide this incredible opportunity to our students, especially for the brand-new Environmental Science program at OLLU,” said Dr. Salas, a Co-Principal Investigator of the grant. “Our goal is to give our EcoJEDI scholars life-changing outdoor experiences and science communication skills, while getting them ready for graduate school and/or career opportunities at the USDA post-graduation.”  

The grant aims to build a city-wide collaboration to facilitate career readiness in food and agriculture sciences (FAS) through science literacy and counter-storytelling.  

“Counter-storytelling encourages students and their audience to include perspectives that are often considered marginal, subjective, and non-disciplinary, thus embracing explicit principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI),” said Dr. Crosswhite, a Co-Principal Investigator on the grant.   

EcoJEDI will bolster recruitment and graduation and establish a career pipeline with USDA by prioritizing the inclusion of historically marginalized and underserved populations through the collaboration of OLLU, UTSA and NLC, all of them HSIs. 

At OLLU, the grant funding is dedicated to driving student success initiatives, such as selecting student fellows, who will receive funding to attend regional and national conferences and engage in environmental science and natural resource learning opportunities such as the Spring Break visit to the coast.

These students are also honing their communication and leadership skills, crucial for career readiness. Students have the unique opportunity of collaborating with their peers from across San Antonio. This city-wide network of access and support aims to make visible the community stories and marginalized perspectives that are seldom visible.  

Along with Dr. Salas and Dr. Crosswhite, the other Co-Principal Investigators of the grant are: Jeffrey Hutchinson, UTSA Associate Professor of Integrative Biology; Sue Hum, UTSA Professor of English; Vikram Kapoor, UTSA Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Gwen Young, UTSA Associate Professor of Integrative Biology; and Laura Perry, Northeast Lakeview College Professor of Biology.  

Softball’s winning streak reaches 15 with wins over XULA

The softball team swept Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) in a doubleheader on March 19. The Saints move to 24-4 overall and 9-0 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Gold Nuggets drop to 7-15 overall and 3-7 in RRAC play. The Saints have won 15 straight games.

Head Coach Bruce Lenington commented, “We had a combination of great starting pitching, timely hitting and solid defense throughout the games today.”

History
The Saints were 2-0 against the Gold Nuggets prior to the games.

Game one
The Saints didn’t allow a run in both games against the Gold Nuggets. They used runs in the later innings to grab the first game of the doubleheader. Madison Nunn started the scoring in the fourth inning with a two-run home run that scored Deandra Vera. Kayla Dreese scored on a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning to extend the Saints lead to 3-0. She doubled in the seventh inning to score Madison Garza and Cassandra Valdez followed with a single to bring in Dreese.

The Saints won 5-0 backed by nine hits. Valdez pitched a complete game and earned the win with 12 strikeouts. Garza tallied both a double and a triple.

Game two
OLLU put up 10 runs in the second game. They totaled 13 hits including three doubles and a home run by Ariel Montgomery. Caitlin Terrazas and Garza both had a multi-hit game and Montgomery drove in two runs. Angela Ramirez grabbed the win in the circle by pitching four innings with four strikeouts. OLLU tabbed seven runs in an impressive offensive fourth inning. The Saints run-ruled the Gold Nuggets in five innings with a 10-0 victory.

Up next
The Saints host the University of the Southwest in a doubleheader on Friday starting at noon.