The OLLU women’s tennis team has won its first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team Award and six players have been named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
The Saints finished the season with a remarkable 3.649 GPA—the best among the 18 athletic teams at OLLU. ITA All-Academic Team Awards are given to teams with a GPA of 3.2 or higher.
All eight team members demonstrated their commitment to both academics and athletics, with GPAs of 3.0 or above, two earning a perfect 4.0 GPA and four earning 3.5 GPAs or above.
The OLLU men’s tennis team has won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team Award and five players have been named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
The Saints finished the season with a remarkable 3.547 GPA. ITA All-Academic Team Awards are given to teams with a GPA of 3.2 or higher.
Eleven of the 14 team members had GPAs of 3.0 and above, while three earned a 4.0 GPA, and three earned 3.5 GPAs and above. This collective success is a reflection of the unity and camaraderie within the team.
Winning the ITA Scholar-Athlete Award are Joshua Alarcon – 4.0 GPA, Luis Lanier – 4.0 GPA, Guido Picasso – 4.0 GPA, Jaroslav Majsajdr – 3.90 GPA, David Daniel – 3.89 GPA and Malachi Farley – 3.83 GPA. These individual achievements are a testament to the dedication and hard work of OLLU’s tennis student-athletes.
ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition is given to athletes with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
The OLLU baseball team has won the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award for the third consecutive year.
The baseball team posted a 3.198 GPA for the 2023-24 academic year. Teams from every level of college and high school baseball were honored with this year’s award, which highlights programs coached by ABCA members that posted a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale.
The baseball team had more Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Scholar-Athletes – 33 – than any other Saints team.
The video, 1 minute and 10 seconds in length, captures fascinating snapshots of the six months Dr. Rose spent in Cairo, Egypt, as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in 2023.
An Assistant History professor, world historian and researcher who speaks Arabic and Spanish, Dr. Rose poured through old newspapers in Cairo libraries, gathering information for his still-in-progress book, “Home Front Egypt: Famine, Disease and Death during the Great War.”
“I’m very flattered to be featured in the video,” Dr. Rose said. “The idea is to encourage more scholars to apply to Egypt and promote it as a destination for study and research.”
In Cairo, Dr. Rose researched the social and economic impact of World War I on the Egyptian population. Under British occupation, Egyptians were not allowed to fight. As a result, soldiers from Great Britain, South Africa, New Zealand and India arrived in Egypt.
“The troops needed to be fed,” Dr. Rose said. “They got the food from Egyptian farms at the expense of the Egyptian people. The Egyptians got sick and became malnourished. They struggled to make ends meet for their families. Some were pushed into desperate situations.”
More than 100 years later, conditions have improved but economic challenges remain.
“The currency has been devalued 150 percent since November 2022, so people are hurting and it’s not easy to get items that are imported,” Dr. Rose said. “This summer, they’ve also started scheduling rolling blackouts for two to three hours to reduce the strain on the power grid, which I’m very happy to have missed!”
He hopes the Fulbright Scholar Award will attract more students to the history program, which includes professor Valerie Martinez, PhD, who won a National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Award in 2022.
“We are both internationally recognized faculty,” Dr. Rose said. “I’d love to highlight the quality of scholarship we have going. We both teach undergraduate courses. You can study with us. I’m also a Fulbright Program advisor on campus. I’m hoping to encourage students and faculty to pursue study abroad options. And I’m working with students who are interested in applying for the Fulbright program.”
The university will continue testing its remote-work Friday program on July 26, Aug. 2 and Aug. 9. On these Fridays, student services will be available via phone, email or other virtual meeting options.
The remote-work Friday program aims to promote flexibility and enhance work-life balance among our faculty and staff members.
Most employees, except for those in Facilities Management and University Police, will work remotely on the noted days. Depending on the results of this summer’s test, the program could be extended to include all Fridays next summer.
During remote-work Fridays, most buildings/facilities will be closed including the cafeteria, the MARC, the UWAC and the library. Library services will be available virtually through the library website.
The C-Store will have limited hours from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Summer hours will continue to be observed during this time.
In order to meet the needs of our students and the university during remote Fridays, employees are expected to maintain the following:
Availability and Responsiveness: Employees must maintain regular working hours and be accessible so that colleagues, supervisors, and students can reach them as needed. Please review the linked instructions for forwarding office phones to a cell phone or to Webex.
Communication: Clear and timely communication is essential. Employees should respond promptly to emails, messages, and calls from colleagues, supervisors, and students.
Attendance at Virtual Meetings: Employees must attend/participate in virtual meetings, such as departmental meetings, project meetings or student appointments.
Productivity and Deliverables: Employees are expected to meet deadlines for assigned tasks, projects, and deliverables.
Data Security and Confidentiality: Adherence to university policies regarding data security, confidentiality, and privacy is crucial.
Professionalism: Employees must maintain professionalism in all communications and interactions with students, colleagues and others.
National championship softball t-shirts are flying off the shelf! The OLLU Bookstore has a dwindling supply of small, medium and large t-shirts in stock.
Hurry now to get your t-shirt. The online supply is limited as well. To order online:
The fall 2024 Graduation Application is available in the “Graduation” tile on Saints Connect. If you plan to graduate at the end of the fall 2024 semester, please submit the graduation application before the Aug. 1 deadline.
If you have any questions about your degree requirements, please reach out to your adviser for assistance. If you have any questions regarding the application, please reach out to graduate@ollusa.edu.
Please note, once the graduation application is submitted in Saints Connect, the $100 graduation fee will be added to your Fall balance.
A Staff and Administration Benefits Fair will be held on Wednesday in Main Building, Room 311 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
A Faculty Benefits Fair will be held on Wednesday, August 14 in Main Building, Room 311 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Annual benefits enrollment provides benefit-eligible employees the opportunity to start, change or end benefits, which become effective Oct. 1, 2024. The exception is medical and dependent care reimbursement plans, which begin Sept. 1, 2024.
All eligible employees making changes must enroll online in order to change benefits. Current benefits will carry over. The exception is the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), which require enrollment EACH year.
All full-time employees will be able to complete enrollment through Saints Connect/Employee Self-Service/Benefits. Employees wishing to make changes will need to adhere to the following deadlines.
Staff employee enrollment period (includes administration) begins Wednesday, July 24. Deadline to enroll is Aug. 7, by 11:59 p.m.
Faculty enrollment period begins Aug. 14. Deadline to enroll is Aug. 28 by 11:59 p.m.
To access the Benefits Enrollment online:
Log into Saints Connect
Click on Employee Self-Service
Click on Review Current Benefits
Click on Benefit Enrollment
Please print confirmation as this is your confirmation your enrollment is complete.
The OLLU volleyball team has won the prestigious American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the second consecutive season.
The award, initiated in the 1992–1993 academic year, is a significant honor that recognizes volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale. The Saints received the award for the first time in program history in 2022-2023, and their continued success in the classroom and on the court is a testament to their dedication and hard work.
The 2023 Saints have set a new standard of academic excellence, marking a remarkable 3.46 GPA. This outstanding achievement is a testament to their hard work and dedication both on and off the court.
The volleyball team also made the Team Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes programs in the top 20% of GPAs in the NAIA.
Three members of the OLLU women’s Track and Field team received 2024 U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches’ Association Academic Awards for their performance in the classroom. Aziza Clark, Madison Perez and Victoria Sweeney are OLLU’s representatives.
Clark qualified for the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay at the NAIA Outdoor Championships. In addition, she qualified for the 60m hurdles at the NAIA Indoor Championships. Clark earned a 3.43 GPA. Perez qualified for the 800m in the NAIA Outdoor Championships. She earned a 3.61 GPA. Sweeney earned a 3.55 GPA.
