Category: Employee News

Special Education students and faculty get view into life with learning disabilities

George Williams Jr., PhD, assistant professor and coordinator of Special Education, along with several Education graduate and undergraduate students, participated in a Learning Disabilities (LD) simulation at The Winston School San Antonio. The Winston School is a local special day school designed to educate grade school students diagnosed with LD. Students experienced walking in the shoes of a child with LD through an intense hands-on workshop.

The simulation created an increased awareness of the difficulties and frustrations students with reading and language disabilities encounter daily. Graduate student Carolina Trevino commented, “Going through the simulation gave me a better understanding of the frustrations dyslexic children face. It was an enlightening experience. I’m so glad I went.”

History faculty member awarded planning grant for project

Cody Ferguson, PhD, assistant professor of History, together with his co-principal investigators at Arizona State University, received a planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the multi-year public and digital humanities project, “Nature, History, and Culture at the Nation’s Edge.”

The project currently involves more than 50 community partners in 15 historical and cultural organizations in 12 borderland communities along the Arizona-Sonora border. It will eventually include a travelling exhibit; an educational website and mobile application; support for cultural and educational events and indexing and digitizing oral history; and photo collections in small museums throughout the region.

Faculty members complete accomplishments out of the classroom

While sharing their expertise with students in the classroom, OLLU faculty members are also completing great professional accomplishments.

Check out a few recent faculty accomplishments:

Aimee Villarreal, PhD, assistant professor of Mexican-American Studies, was a producer on the animated short documentary, “Frontera! Revolt and Rebellion on the Rio Grande.” Latino Public Broadcasting premiered the film on PBS.org as part of its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. “Frontera!” uses humor, hip-hop, and comic book style animation to tell the story of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Watch the video here.

Mark Green, PhD, professor of Leadership Studies, self-published the textbook, “Graduate Leadership: A Review of the Science of Leadership.” Green began work on the book after having a hard time finding a first-semester textbook for doctoral students that was academically rigorous and easy for students to use.

Transamerica group meetings

For employees who missed the meetings in August, there will be another round of group meetings with Transamerica, OLLU’s new retirement plan provider, Sept. 3-4 in Main Building, Room 311.

Meetings are scheduled for the following times:

Sept. 3:

  • 9 a.m.
  • 10 a.m.
  • 12 p.m.
  • 1 p.m.
  • 2 p.m.
  • 3 p.m.

Sept. 4

  • 9 a.m.
  • 10 a.m.
  • 11 a.m.
  • 12 p.m.
  • 2 p.m.
  • 3 p.m.

Human Resources providing training on Interview Exchange system

The Human Resources Office will be providing training on the employee selection process and the new Interview Exchange application system. Topics covered during the trainings include:

  • The Hiring Process
  • Accessing Applications
  • Reviewing Applications
  • Navigating through Interview Exchange
  • Interviewing
  • Key Skills for Interviewing
  • Legal Problems in Interviewing
  • Evaluating the Applicant
  • Background Investigations
  • Making the Employment Offer

The last trainings will be held on the following date:

  • Friday, Sept. 5 – 11 a.m. – noon – Providence Hall, Blue Room

For more information, contact Erika Ramirez at ejramirez@ollusa.edu or 210-434-6711, ext. 3970.

Faculty and staff encouraged to apply for Executive Leadership Academy

The Executive Leadership Academy was developed to foster leadership among promising OLLU faculty and staff. Applicants are selected to participate in a one-year, intensive program that examines exemplary leadership principles and bridges theory with practice. The goal is to nurture the staff leaders and the next generation of faculty leaders to serve higher education initiatives at Our Lady of the Lake University.

The Executive Leadership Academy will be bookended with full-day retreats along with a planned series of workshops. A cohort of staff and faculty will be selected through a process of nomination and application, followed by an interview. Applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that describes their leadership goals, ways in which the Academy fits into their professional development plan, and how Our Lady of the Lake University will benefit from the applicant’s participation.

The application will include written permission by the applicant’s immediate supervisor for participation. Due to the transitional demands placed on first-year resident faculty, we ask that they delay application for later in their tenure.

Please send applications to Dr. Liza Nagel, associate vice president for academic affairs, in Main Building, Room 104. Submissions are due by Sept. 2.

For more information, contact Academic Affairs at 210-434-6711, ext. 4035.

Second Employee Benefits Fair on Wednesday

There will be a monthly paid employee benefits fair on Wednesday from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. in Providence Hall, West Social Room.

Annual benefits re-enrollment provides employees the opportunity to start, change, or end benefits, which are effective Oct. 1, 2014, with the exception of medical and dependent reimbursement plans, which begin Sept. 1, 2014.

All employees are required to complete a 2014-2015 enrollment form by the deadline listed below if making any plan changes, or if enrolling in medical or dependent reimbursement plans. Forms will not be accepted after the deadline. Monthly paid employee deadline is Sept. 5, 2014.