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.
To access the Benefits Enrollment online:
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 | 10 |
| Avila, Michelle I. | Department of Business Chair/Associate Professor | 10 |
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!
https://ollusa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9shxWJlvo4SeEbc
Madison Taber and Tracy Quiroz are both registered for the following races and would love to meet up with other OLLU folks:
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.
The official opening of the academic year for faculty and staff begins tomorrow with Convocation. It will take place at 10:30 a.m. in Thiry Auditorium.
Convocation will include a special presentation from Sister Rose Kruppa, CDP, the new superior general of the Congregation of Divine Providence, the university’s sponsoring order. In addition, there will be addresses from Board of Trustees Chair Paul Olivier, Faculty Assembly President Dr. Wallis Sanborn, Staff Assembly President Sabrina Zertuche and Student Government Association President Rachel Dziuba. President Abel A. Chávez, MBA, PhD, will present the final address as he lays out his plans and vision for the academic year.
Convocation will be followed by lunch which will be served in Chapel Auditorium.
Two graduate students and two faculty members represented OLLU at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 2-5.
PsyD students Olivia Hinojosa Galvan and Alyssa Arredondo and Assistant Professor of Psychology Jacque Coppock presented two sessions titled, “Muxeres standing strong: Decolonial healing through Womanist and Mujerista Psychology and Recognizing wellness: Decolonization of counseling practices for diverse Latinx clients.”
Dr. Coppock also served as the Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35 of APA) program co-chair and Olivia Hinojosa Galvan served as the Division 35 Hospitality Suite program coordinator.
Professor of Psychology Kathryn Anderson, President of Division 35, gave an address titled, “Feminism is the radical notion that…: We can effect change like Judy Heumann,” which included a tribute to Judy Heumann whose advocacy led to passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
