Dr. Jessica Hajek, Chair of the Humanities and Social Science Department, and Madi Taber, Director of Assessment and Accreditation and Special Assistant to the President, attended the Texas Association for Higher Education Assessment (TxAHEA) Annual Conference in San Antonio on Sept. 25-27. The two presented case studies that focused on three kinds of summative assessments implemented in general education and OLLU’s first-year experience course. The presentation contributed to an ongoing conversation of how faculty might better engage students at all levels of the learning process through assessment, while also demonstrating how assessment professionals can help faculty dial up their existing assessment methods to be more engaging.
As part of the university’s ongoing efforts to protect OLLU’s information and technologies, all employees must complete information security training by Nov. 23. Failure to complete the training will result in loss of access to the OLLU network including to email, MicroSoft Office, etc. This is a security compliance requirement.
All employees should have received an email from notifications@securityiq-notifications.com. This is a legitimate email and should not be deleted. Follow instructions in the email to complete your training. Employees will receive reminder emails until the training is complete. If you have not received the email, please search your junk email folder or contact the Help Desk.
The training involves a series of videos on a variety of security topics. The videos do not have to be viewed all in one session, but all training must be complete by the deadline.
Maribel Lárraga, PhD, Professor of Spanish, reviewed the book, “The Places of Modernity in Early Mexican American Literature, 1848-1949,” by Jose F. Aranda. The review was published in “The Journal of South Texas,” Volume 37, Number 1 in Spring 2023.
Dr. Lárraga also participated in the United Way Leadership Society Focus Group, representing OLLU in July.
Jason Paul Bourgeois, PhD, Cataloging and Special Collections Librarian, has published a peer-reviewed article titled, “Fatima and the Cultural Upheavals of the 1960s: the Reception of the Messages of Our Lady in the North American Voice of Fatima, 1962-1969” in “Ecce Mater Tua: A Journal of the International Marian Association 8 (Aug. 2023): 124-45.
The article builds upon a presentation given at an international conference in Portugal in 2016. It is his fourth peer-reviewed article.
The Faculty Benefits Fair will be held on Wednesday in Main Building, Room 311 from 9 a.m.-noon and from 1-2 p.m.
Annual benefits enrollment provides benefit-eligible employees the opportunity to start, change or end benefits, which become effective Oct. 1, 2023. The exception is medical and dependent care reimbursement plans, which begin Sept. 1, 2023.
All eligible faculty 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 faculty employees will be able to complete enrollment through Saints Connect/Employee Self-Service/Benefits. Faculty employees wishing to make changes will need to adhere to the following deadline.
Faculty enrollment period begins Aug. 23. Deadline to enroll is Sept. 8, 2023 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.
Spirit Day 2023 is scheduled for Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel. In addition to employee service recognition, the Spirit Day Mass will include a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the chapel. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, will be the main celebrant.
Below is a listing of names and years of service of employees who will be recognized during the Mass. Employees must have completed full-time service in increments of five years beginning with the 10-year mark and continuing in 2023 to be eligible to receive the Service Award.
Staff and faculty members who believe they are eligible to receive a Service Award for full-time service years at OLLU, but do not see their name on the list, should contact Human Resources as soon as possible via email at mbecerra15@ollusa.edu.
Name
Title
Service Years
Hall, James S.
Professor of Biology
40
English, Eugene
General Maintenance Worker/Carpenter
35
Ancira, Manuel
Groundskeeper/General Maintenance
35
Renteria, Rachel
Graduate Adm. Proc. Spec./Reg. Assoc. I
30
Urrabazo, Gloria A.
Vice President of Mission and Ministry
25
Smith, Charles A.
Professor of Chemistry
25
Perez, Ida
Executive Assistant to the President & Board of Trustees
25
Briones, Salvador
Assistant Grounds/General Maintenance Supervisor
25
Solorzano, Bernadette H.
Professor of Psychology
20
Sauceda, Carmen
Enrollment Management Support Manager
20
Pedrotti Gomez, Anne E.
Chief Communications Officer
20
McClain, Elissa M.
Contract Specialist
20
Bendele, Jennifer R.
Acting Vice President of Student Affairs
20
Vargas, Phillip J.
Director of Human Resources
15
Vargas, Juan R.
Preventive Maintenance and Interim HVAC Supervisor
15
Rodriguez, Kristy N.
Academic Advising Counselor
15
Reyna, Veronica M.
Director of Graduate Admissions and Student Services
15
Pena, Ezequiel
Associate Professor of Psychology
15
Manzano, Alexandra
Executive Assistant to the VPIA and the Board of Trustees
15
Gonzalez, Adrianna M.
Coordinator Research & Operations
15
Gomez, Patricia A.
Assistant Director of Human Resources
15
Elizondo-Martinez, Myra L.
Assistant Dir. of Financial Aid for Student Employment
15
Dominguez, Priscilla
Multi-Media Designer
15
Carmichael, Christine
Department Chair/Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders
15
Sun, Yu
Professor of Leadership Studies
10
Sanborn, Wallis
Professor of English
10
Ramirez, Anna Marie
PhD Administrative Assistant
10
Quintanilla, Teresa D.
Accounts Payable Assistant
10
Quintanilla, Octavio
Professor of English
10
Montoya, Jared A.
Interim Associate Provost for Grad. and Online Programs
10
McFerron, Nancy L.
Science Lab Manager
10
Marfil, Deyanira B.
Operations and Processing Manager/CRM Administrator
10
Lopez, Gabriel C.
Research & Instruction Librarian-Graduate
10
Chavez, Roxanna
Assistant to VP of Mission & Ministry/Program Coordinator
Yvette Benavides, MFA, Professor of English, wrote an essay, “Short Stories Say the Unsayable,” that was published in the latest issue of “Oh Reader” magazine.
The essay is about how short stories can give voice to the mysteries of the human experience that people find difficult to articulate.
The essay discusses “Misery” by Anton Chekhov, “Pile of Clothes” by Peter Orner, and “Chango” by Oscar Casares.
Back in 2019, a group of OLLU faculty and staff assembled to prepare for the Rock n’ Roll races (5K/10K/half/full marathon) in San Antonio. The group met for training runs around the city during the fall semester, leading up to the race. The inaugural Walking/Running Club provided a system of support and accountability, while also allowing everyone to network and have a little fun!
The club hasn’t assembled since the pandemic, but is hoping to get the gang back together! Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Please use this form to communicate your interest and we will follow up!
Assistant Director of Admissions, Juan Morales, MS, has been elected as president for the South Texas Area Recruitment Network (STARN).
STARN provides a series of boot camps, college fairs, and college readiness programs for students and parents in the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, and Coastal Bend Areas. In this role, Juan will work with representatives from over 30 other universities and colleges across Texas to develop pathways for college-bound students in South Texas.
As announced in July, the university is discontinuing the use of ConvergePoint software for housing policies. A new Policy Bank, housed in SharePoint, is now available and can be accessed at this link: https://ollusa.sharepoint.com/sites/OLLUPolicies.
Any links you or your department have to ConvergePoint policies, procedures, guidelines or statements no longer work and should be relinked to the Policy Bank.
If you need additional information, please contact Mary Scotka at mscotka@ollusa.edu.
