Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC)
- Voices Against Violence will continue the MasculinUT initiative during the month of December. Click here for more information on upcoming programs and events.
Housing and Food Service (DHFS)
Housing
- In anticipation of DHFS’s cable contract ending in August 2016, DHFS completed a brief survey to understand residents’ TV watching habits—1,554 (21 percent) completed this survey. DHFS learned that only 33 percent of respondents watch TV in their room, while 94 percent watch streaming services on their computer/tablet/phone.
- Justin Jaskowiak, JD Castro, Vero Juarez and Alison Kothe partnered with Texas Parents for a webinar on the parent’s role during a roommate conflict. Members watched the webinar live and it is available here.
- Senior Associate Vice President Tom Dison and Executive Director Hemlata Jhaveri celebrated a successful semester with staff at Thanks for Giving events. See photos here.
Food Service
- Registered Dietitian Lindsay Wilson presented on “Healthy Campus Dining” for six different First-Year Interest Groups. Over 100 students have been reached from various educational focuses, including the Discovery Scholars Program, International Relations and Global Studies, College of Communications, College of Natural Sciences and the School of Business.
- J2 and Kinsolving hosted a Friendsgiving dinner where students enjoyed a first helping of their holiday favorites before leaving for break. Staff prepared a delicious feast including freshly carved turkey and pumpkin pie. President Gregory Fenves and his wife, Carmel, stopped by J2 to help serve the meal. See the photos.
New Student Services (NSS)
- NSS staff reviewed 125 applications for the New Orientation Advisor position. With the help of former orientation advisors, they hosted the annual Selection Day on Nov. 15 to interview candidates and sent out offer letters before the Thanksgiving holiday.
- The week of November 16, NSS staff interviewed candidates for the Returning Orientation Advisor, Orientation Coordinator and Summer Orientation Staff Coordinator positions.
- NSS finalized orientation dates for summer 2016 and shared those with stakeholders.
- Horns Helping Horns hosted four lunch seminars this semester; the final seminar was held on Friday, Nov. 20. The seminar topics included presentations from Student Emergency Services and the Counseling and Mental Health Center, as well as a True Colors® presentation.
Office of the Dean of Students (DoS)
- Student Veteran Services held several successful events during Veterans Week including hosting the StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative to record the stories of veterans on our campus. These stories will be filed with the Library of Congress and some stories may be featured on KUT in the coming months.
- Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly gave the opening remarks for the Big XII Student Government Conference held on campus 12–15 and hosted by Student Government.
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA)
- Vice President Gage Paine has been busy meeting with the six winners of the #PickUsGP student organization social media campaign. She has hosted lunches with each of the groups; the final one is this month. See photo albums here. The campaign provided additional social media content for the Division’s communication channels.
- Celebrate the holiday season with your Division coworkers at the staff holiday party. Clear your schedule Dec. 10, 9-11 a.m. to enjoy great food and have fun in the photo booth in the Quadrangle Room at the Texas Union.
- The Division’s Impact Report is living on in social media. VPSA created a social media campaign highlighting excellence shown in each of the Division departments. Follow the Twitter and Instagram hashtag #UTAustinImpact to see the posts. The campaign runs through next July.
Recreational Sports (RecSports)
- RecSports’ annual Friends of RecSports Golf Tournament successfully teed off on Nov. 13 after an earlier rain-out. Proceeds will support the RecSports Excellence Fund.
- RecSports hosted the annual Intramural Lone Star Showdown in which the top men’s, women’s and coed intramural flag football teams from UT Austin and Texas A&M competed for bragging rights. Sadly, the Aggies took home the trophy winning all three games: women’s, 39–6; men’s 14–6; and coed 22–19.
- Program Coordinator Cecilia Lopez Cardenas is directing a weekly series of complimentary Nike+ Training Club workouts featuring footwear trials, rewards and refreshments.
- Senior Assistant Director Darci Doll attended the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Region IV Intramural Flag Football Tournament in College Station. Fifty teams from Texas, Oklahoma and other nearby states competed for a spot in the championship tournament in January. Doll trained student referees and helped manage the tournament.
- Senior Assistant Director Chris Burnett organized several community service projects. The volunteers he recruited helped clean up the flood-ravaged San Marcos River, embarked on a hiking trip with orphans from the Settlement Home for Children and prepared food for the homeless. See the photos here.
- Assistant Director Dixon Hankins attended the Athletic Business Conference in New Orleans, La., Nov. 19–21.
Texas Parents
- Nominations for the 2015–16 Staff Merit Awards will be accepted until Dec. 10. This award recognizes Division of Student Affairs employees who support student success, strengthen services provided by the Division and inspire fellow staff to make a habit of seeking excellence in their own work. Winners will be recognized at the Division-wide meeting in January at which time they will receive a plaque and $1,500 award. Download the nomination form here.
- Haley Broussard and Morgane Le Marchand participated in the 2015 Association for Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals Conference in Savannah, Ga.
- An assessment report has been completed for Family Orientation 2015 in partnership with Gale Stuart, the Division Director of Assessment. The feedback and data will help Texas Parents improve orientation programming and logistics for 2016.
The Center for Students in Recovery (CSR)
- CSR’s Clear Headed Haven tent at Fun Fun Fun Fest was such a success it was featured on KUT. Listen to the piece here. Dozens of music lovers visited the tent for support and camaraderie. Staff and students held support meetings during the festival and provided non-alcoholic beverages.
- CSR held its final football tailgate of the 2015 season on Nov. 7 with live DJs, a potluck, and members of the campus and non-campus community.
University Health Services (UHS)
- UHS gave flu shots to 10,689 students, faculty and staff during the 2015 flu shot campaign.
- A sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening clinic opened in the Student Services Building (SSB) to enhance access to this service. Specially trained nurses provide routine screening to students without symptoms. Charges apply; most insurance is accepted.
- As part of their training, nurses working in the new clinic shadowed clinicians at the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services STD Clinic in November.
- UHS staff held a special Saturday travel immunization clinic for the UT Men’s Basketball Team in preparation for their trip to China.
- UHS will administer immunization and insurance compliance for the inaugural class of students at the Dell Medical School.
- UT Austin students who are survivors of sexual assault are now able to get a sexual assault forensic exam on campus at no charge. UHS is working with SafePlace and Voices Against Violence to provide exams at UHS conducted by a SafePlace sexual assault nurse examiner.
- UHS providers and health promotion staff chatted with students on Gregory Gym Plaza during the Student Health Advisory Committee’s annual Bagels and Lox event.
University Unions
- Campus Events + Entertainment performed to sold out crowds for the 35th annual Madrigal Dinner Theater. See the photos here.
- Unions staff decorated trees in both the Student Activity Center and Texas Union.
- Unions staff unveiled the newly remodeled T-House Suite on the third floor of the Texas Union. During the day, the space will serve as a dining, conference and reception space for 75-100 people and in the evenings, registered student orgs can use it as a dance rehearsal space. The space was used as a computer lab for decades. Check out the transformation here.
- Be sure to check our website for reduced building hours for the upcoming winter break. Adjusted hours can be found on our website.