Lavender graduation set for Wednesday

The Alliance is hosting OLLU’s Lavender Graduation on Wednesday from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. in the Library Community Room to recognize the accomplishments of our LGBTQ+ students and allies graduating in spring 2024.

More about the history of the Lavender Graduation tradition can be found here.

Lavender Graduates will be recognized with a purple graduation cord to wear at commencement, as well as a certificate. The evening’s agenda includes heavy appetizers and dessert, music, inspirational speakers, and a special recognition ceremony for our graduates and their two invited guests (optional).

You must register as a Lavender Graduate by Tuesday to earn your cord and certificate. Please use this RSVP link: https://ollusa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xO3xAM9xUvtaLk

Please send any questions to our event organizers, Madi Taber (mtaber@ollusa.edu) and Monica Castillo (mycastillo@ollusa.edu).

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Students perform well on Pilot Spanish Test

Preliminary results show that 16 Spanish majors and minors who took a Spanish Pilot Test in February scored well, ranging from “Intermediate High” to “Superior Proficiency” levels.

Administered by José Miguel Sánchez Llorente, Consejero Delegado, from the University of Salamanca in Spain, students took the exam in support of an initiative between the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the University of Salamanca and other stakeholders in Spain.

Maribel Larraga, PhD, Professor of Spanish, coordinated the group of students, compiled each student profile including individual proficiency levels, and submitted information to Sánchez Llorente for the University of Salamanca to register each student in the system before his arrival to San Antonio.“I’m very proud of our students’ performance,” Dr. Larraga said.

Benavides awarded prestigious fellowship from University of Texas

Yvette Benevides, Professor of English, Mass Communication, and Drama, has been awarded the Ralph A. Johnston Memorial Fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin and will be the 2024 Dobie Paisano fellow in residency from September through December.

The Dobie Paisano is an internationally known and recognized writer-in-residence award, whereby the awardee resides and writes at J. Frank Dobie’s ranch outside of Austin for four months.

The Dobie Paisano Fellowship Program is a major award, and writers from all over the world have been recipients in its 50 years of existence. 

To take the residence this fall, Professor Benavides will be on a leave of absence from the university for the fall 2024 semester.

Professor Peña visits OLLU-RGV for final student presentations

Ezequiel Peña, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, recently visited OLLU-RGV to meet with students from his hyflex class, “Psychopathology: Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.”

The RGV students impressed Dr. Peña with group presentations that focused on mental health concerns within a cultural context. 

“The students raised such important concerns about the mental health challenges families face along the US/RGV-Mexico border,” said Dr. Peña, a native of the Rio Grande Valley. “I think being from the Valley really helped us move a little more deeply into the RGV concerns that are similar yet distinct to those of Latino families in the San Antonio area.”

Cindy Mata-Vasquez, Director of the OLLU-RGV/La Feria campus, facilitated the visit.

“I was so moved by the students’ warmth, generosity of spirit, and welcome,” Dr. Peña said. “They even gave me a gift basket of treats that was so heartwarming. It is difficult to describe the sense of the familiar, or of a shared sensibility, that we share in the RGV. Although I have taught students from the RGV, either in San Antonio or in hyflex classes, I had never taught an in-person class in the RGV. 

“Even though I haven’t lived in the RGV for many years, being in class with the students felt like home, and like a bit of a homecoming. I am so excited for the great work our MFT students in the RGV will go on to do in the Valley. Their passion and love for the RGV community is inspiring.”

Year-End Fiscal deadlines approaching 

It is time to start considering and planning for the University’s Fiscal Year-End on May 31. Please review your budget requirements now.

  • All merchandise MUST BE received before Friday, May 17 to ensure that the invoice will have a May date.
  • Accounts Payable will process invoices with a May date up until Friday, June 7. Please forward purchase orders and/or invoices by this date.
  • After Friday, June 7, any invoices with a May date will be processed against the 2025 Fiscal Year Budget.
  • Any invoices with a June date for products ordered in May will be paid out of the 2025 Fiscal Year Budget.
  • CREDIT CARD HOLDERS: All purchases bought with the university credit card in May will be processed with 2025 Fiscal Year Funds.
  • EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENTS: Reimbursements for mileages and purchases during the 2024 Fiscal Year must be submitted by Friday, June 7. Accounts payable will not process any reimbursements pertaining to the 2024 Fiscal Year after this date. No exceptions!

Summer hours start May 20

Summer hours will begin Monday, May 20 and continue through Friday, Aug. 9.

All full-time employees are expected to work 40 hours each week (or in alignment with your employment work agreement if you typically work less than 40 hours). Employees are required to take a minimum 30-minute unpaid lunch break on full days. 

Below is a non-exhaustive list of scheduling possibilities:

If you like to take a 30-minute lunch break on M-Th, some scheduling options might include: 

  • Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. 5 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. -12 p.m. (provided the office has other employee coverage until 5:30 p.m. M-Th)
  • Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. -12 p.m.
  • Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
  • Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (provided the office has other employee coverage starting at 8:30 a.m.) 

If you like to take a 60-minute lunch break on M-Th, some scheduling options might include:

  • Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. -12 p.m.
  • Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. -12 p.m.
  • Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
  • Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. – 6:45 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (provided the office has other employee coverage starting at 8:30am)

The various combinations of flexible schedules listed above are just some of the examples permitted, provided the office has staff employee coverage from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Fridays. Department heads will provide final approval of each schedule, ensuring appropriate office coverage and the needs of the university are met. Additionally, some departments will not follow the summer schedule as necessary coverage is required for extended hours.

Holiday Weeks and Adjustments 

During weeks that have university holidays, the department’s daily office hours will remain the same all summer to help with consistency for our guests. However, since full-time employees are awarded up to 8 hours of holiday pay per holiday, employees and supervisors are expected to adjust an employee’s schedule for the week. This will help the employee still achieve the total number of hours for the week while still maintaining full office coverage for the remaining days open.

If a holiday falls on a Monday-Thursday, employees should work with their supervisor to add any potential hours to their work schedule that week since they will only be awarded up to 8 hours of holiday pay. While you can use any combination of flexible schedules, an example might be: Monday is an 8 hour holiday; Tuesday/Weds/Thurs 8 a.m. 5:45 p.m. with a 30-minute lunch equals 9ÂĽ hours each day; Friday 8 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. equals 4ÂĽ hours to total 40 hours for the week.

If a holiday falls on a Friday, then employees should work with their supervisor to adjust their work schedule that week since they will be awarded up to 8 hours of holiday pay instead of a half day. An example might be: Monday – Thursday 8:30am-5:30pm minus 1 hour lunch for 8 hours each day plus 8 hours for the Friday holiday to total 40 hours for the week. Summer holidays for 2024 include: Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day), Wednesday, June 19 (Juneteenth), and Thursday-Friday, July 4-5 (Independence Day).

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. These hours could be extended, at the discretion of the division chief, to meet the needs of the department and student services.

  • Undergraduate Admissions Office
  • Graduate Admissions Office
  • Registrar’s Office
  • Financial Aid Office
  • Student Business Office

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, Aug. 12 and Wednesday, Sept. 4. 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.

Baseball falls to LSU-Shreveport to conclude season

The OLLU baseball team finished the season with a 21-4 defeat to LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) on May 4 at the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Championship Tournament. The Saints were the No. 6 seed, the Pilots the No. 1 seed. LSU-Shreveport is ranked fourth in the NAIA with a 41-8 record.

Head Coach Matt Piker said, “This game obviously didn’t go the way we wanted it to. I’m very proud of the fight our team put up. We talk about setting goals in our program and you’re going to move heaven and earth to accomplish it. Just because you fall short of the goal doesn’t mean you failed. This group didn’t necessarily accomplish all our goals for the season, but in no way were they and the season a failure.

“We learned a lot and I’m extremely proud of the squad. I’m proud of the seniors and I’m very honored for the faith they put in me and for what they have given to this program. These players have left an indelible legacy on this program, and we are already counting the days for opening day next year. I can’t wait to get the guys back on campus in the fall.”

In The News

Recent media coverage that brought attention to OLLU:

On May 4, a story in the San Antonio Report by OLLU Mass Communication sophomore Leilah Gaitan:

On May 3, a story in the Dayton Daily News by an OLLU graduate student in Social Work about housing policy in Dayton:  

https://www.daytondailynews.com/ideas-voices/voices-dayton-tenants-are-the-gems-in-oversight-of-the-gem-citys-housing-policy/RDOROH6FBRCHTP62MDPGUFAP7E

On May 3, a story in ValleyCentral.com (CBS 4) about OLLU’s Top Golf scholarship tournament: 

https://www.valleycentral.com/community/our-lady-of-the-lake-university-inaugural-top-golf-scholarship-tournament

On April 30, a story on KSAT-12 about the No. 1 ranked OLLU softball team:

https://www.ksat.com/sports/2024/05/01/no-1-ollu-primed-to-defend-conference-tournament-crown-our-average-is-someone-elses-best-day