Category: Employee News

Save the date: Benefits Fair and Open Enrollment set for July 24

A Staff and Administration Benefits Fair will be held on Wednesday, July 24 in Main 311 A & B from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

A Faculty Benefits Fair will be held on Wednesday, August 14 in Main 311, A & B 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. 6, by 11:59 p.m.
  • Faculty enrollment period begins Aug. 14. Deadline to enroll is Aug. 27 by 11:59 p.m. 

To access the Benefits Enrollment online:

  1. Log into Saints Connect
  2. Click on Employee Self-Service
  3. Click on Review Current Benefits
  4. Click on Benefit Enrollment
  5. Please print confirmation as this is your confirmation your enrollment is complete.

June Fitness Challenge starts today

A new fitness challenge for all staff and faculty begins today for the month of June. All employees are encouraged to challenge themselves and their coworkers with this fitness bingo challenge. 

For fitness challenge bingo rules, see the flyer below.

The winners will get special prizes and all participants will become more fit and healthy, which is the main prize!

As part of the fitness challenge, a Strength and Cardio Script will be offered on Monday from 5:15-6:15 p.m. in the UWAC aerobics room. An aqua aerobics class will be offered on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Multi Activities Recreation Center (MARC).

To sign up for the challenge, go to the link below:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=7XzkeHpiIkyB6GGeADMbGtSoBZzSAcJFp8d6HHhYJVpUN0hLQVFQTEtVTUI0RkpXQ0dCQzdFMlZCSC4u&origin=lprLink

For questions, write to kinesiology@ollusa.edu or abgarcia@ollusa.edu

Adelante Training and Development Conference a rousing success

The second annual Adelante Training and Development Conference, held May 22-23,  was a rousing success.

The theme for the conference – “The Difference You Make” – focused on the tremendous impact OLLU employees have had on our students.

Participants had a chance to hear Trellis Strategies representatives share on customer service while delivering great tools, examples, and interactions with the crowd in order to relate, inspire, and reflect on personal and interpersonal skills in customer service. OLLU staff, faculty, and Trellis volunteered as session speakers with professional development topics to share during the two day conference.

Staff Assembly would like to express its gratitude to OLLU President Abel Chávez, PhD, for his welcoming address, Vice-President of Mission and Ministry, Gloria Urrabazo, for her prayer to pause and focus on the theme, and Assistant Vice President of Administration, Mary Scotka, for her leadership in these preparations. Staff Assembly also thanks all of the speakers, participants, and Adelante committee team for supporting this conference and making this event so memorable!

Guadalupe Radio Network interviews Professor Zepeda 

Stephanie Zepeda, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at OLLU-Houston, delivered a strong interview recently on the Guadalupe Radio Network.

Questioned by host Wyatt Goolsby on the “Catholic Lunch Break,” Dr. Zepeda provided informative and insightful answers to a range of questions about her Catholic education and work as a marriage and family therapist.

To watch the interview: https://youtu.be/UmK5fOZuAWs?si=0FtM7fIyHiWfRibO

Professor Friesenhahn publishes poem, interviews with journal

Jacob Friesenhahn, PhD, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, composed a poem, “agarita,” that was published in the May issue of The Bangalore Review. To view the poem: https://bangalorereview.com/2024/05/agar

Dr. Friesenhan also was recently interviewed by After Happy Hour Review, a journal of poetry. His poem “rut” was recently published by After Happy Hour Review in Contest Issue #3 (Spring 2024) on the theme of “Animals.” 

In the interview, Dr. Friesenhahn talks about his creative process, his pet peeve when it comes to poetry, and the connection between his writing of poetry and his teaching at Our Lady of the Lake University. A link to the interview is below.

Jacob Friesenhahn (afterhappyhourreview.com)

Summer hours to 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 8:30am – 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 9¼ hours each day; Friday 8 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. equals 4¼ 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.

May fitness classes set for Mondays, Wednesdays

Happy May! Core Mobility and Zumba classes will be offered for faculty and staff twice a week in May in the Multicultural Activities and Recreation Center (MARC) aerobics room. Times have been adjusted. For a complete schedule, see the flyer below.

Core mobility is introducing ab strengthening movements for 30 minutes followed by 30 minute deep, stretching/mobility exercises.

Zumba is for anyone wanting to work out while having fun. With modern music, classic dance songs and easy follow along steps, this class will be for anyone wanting to move and dance.

All fitness levels welcome! Hope to see you there.