OLLU concluded its 8th annual Confetti 5K Run & Walk on Saturday with Forest Isenhour and Bethany Iniguez winning top overall medal honors amid a shower of confetti at the finish line.
Isenhour, a former track and cross country runner at Western Michigan University, finished with the top overall time of 15 minutes and 52 seconds. Iniguez, a competitive local runner, finished first overall among women in 22:42.
An official Fiesta event, the 5K race featured music, food and drink vendors and runners from across the metropolitan area, who started and finished the race in front of OLLU’s historic Main Building.
“We had another amazing Confetti 5K that brought together so many people from across Bexar County,” said OLLU president Abel Chávez, PhD, MBA. “This was a fantastic way to start Fiesta! Best of all, we were able to raise money for student scholarships.”
OLLU will host the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) Career and Leadership Development Institute on Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. in Main Building, Room 311.
The purpose of the inaugural Career and Leadership Development Institute is to expand and prepare the next generation of diverse leaders within colleges and universities in Texas. The institute will provide participants hands-on and engaging curriculum. The institute includes career coaching, applicable administrative skills, resume evaluation, and mock interviews to prepare participants for their next position.
OLLU President Abel A. Chávez, MBA, PhD, will facilitate the Professional Track workshop.
Two OLLU students have been nominated to attend the student cohort of TACHE’s CLDI: Kimberlee Padilla-Ponce and Jacqueline Alfaro.
To combat the rising costs of higher education, OLLU will “lock in” the price of undergraduate tuition for four years, beginning in fall 2024.
OLLU announced the locked-in tuition on Saturday during OLLU Preview Day.
Known as “OLLU 4U,” locked in tuition will provide significant – but uncommon – relief for students. Between 2001 and 2021, tuition and fees rose an average of five percent each year at public, four-year colleges and 3.8 percent at private, four-year colleges, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
“The OLLU 4U program will save our students thousands of dollars across four years,” said OLLU President Abel A. Chávez, MBA, PhD. “We are excited and proud to create an easier path forward for our students that runs counter to national trends.”
OLLU assistant director for admissions Johnny Garcia served as master of ceremonies at Saturday’s event. Pad locks were clicked shut to officially launch the program. Incoming and current students, parents, university staff and Dr. Chávez clicked their locks shut while balloons were released and confetti rained down.
The Sueltenfuss Library was honored to receive a visit from renowned local artists and authors Kathy and Lionel Sosa on Jan. 26.
They toured the Library Special Collections room with Jason Paul Bourgeois, PhD, Special Collections Librarian and Archivist/Assistant Professor, Maria Cabaniss, Director of the Library, and OLLU President Abel Chávez, MBA PhD.
During their visit, the Sosa’s graciously signed our copy of their book “Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico Coloring Book.”
OLLU President Abel Chávez and a delegation of West Side leaders, which included former mayor Henry Cisneros, visited the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta on Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The trip was organized by ESTAR West — Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Thriving Alongside Residents on the West Side. This coalition of leaders met with neighborhood advocates, private investors, housing developers and city leaders who are shaping Atlanta’s West Side community development and revitalization.
ESTAR West is an initiative that emerged from the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society program’s inaugural City Learning and Action Lab.
OLLU President Abel A. Chávez, MBA, PhD, invites faculty and staff to enjoy pan dulce and hot chocolate with him in the Moye Rotunda on Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has named OLLU President Abel A. Chávez, MBA, PhD, to its 18-member Board of Governors for 2023-2024.
Dr. Chávez joined HACU leaders on Nov. 9 for a groundbreaking ceremony for its new headquarters in San Antonio.
The 25,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility will be located on a 4.7-acre site on the Northeastern side of San Antonio, and will house eight institutes. The new headquarters will accommodate up to 100 employees on two floors. Construction is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025.
HACU was organized and formed at OLLU in May 1986. HACU has been located at several sites throughout the years. From its West Side roots, HACU is spreading its wings across the world.
Recent media coverage that brought attention to OLLU:
On Sept. 13, a story on Telemundo San Antonio about Tex-Mex food, featuring OLLU’s Yolanda Rodriguez-Escobar, Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research:
OLLU has selected Tom Norris as its new Athletic Director. A seasoned athletic administrator with a proven track record of successful athletic programs, Norris will oversee the university’s 18 intercollegiate athletic teams. He currently serves as Indiana University Kokomo (IUK) Director of Athletics and will join OLLU on Oct. 2.
Before joining Indiana University, Norris served as Assistant Athletic Director at St. Mary’s University – an NCAA D2 school located less than three miles from the OLLU campus.
OLLU President Abel Chávez, PhD, MBA commented, “Aside from his strengths in athletic program development, Tom has impressive experience in athletic policy development and implementation, fundraising, community partnership, promotions and budget and staff management. I am confident he will provide strong leadership for athletics.”
At IUK, an NAIA university, Norris oversees all aspects of the university’s athletic program by supporting 230 student-athletes and 26 coaches and support staff. He worked closely with community partners and donors and collaborated with the university administration.
Norris comes to OLLU as only the third Athletic Director in school history. Jack Hank started the program in 2006, and a men’s soccer team and women’s volleyball team began competing in 2007 through the NAIA. The following year, the university added women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf and tennis. In 2009, OLLU joined the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) and added basketball, cross-country and softball. In 2014, OLLU added baseball and track and field teams. After Shane Hurley became Athletic Director in 2018, he led the addition of competitive cheer and dance in 2019 and drumline in 2022. Hurley returned to his roots to lead the men’s soccer team as Head Coach.
The university now boasts more than 400 student-athletes, 19 full-time coaches and three full-time athletic trainers.
Norris said, “I look forward to continuing the longstanding success of Our Lady of the Lake Athletics and immersing myself in the OLLU and San Antonio community.”
