MavWire 2015 Archive » MavWire — Monday, December 14, 2015

Commencement ceremonies begin Thursday at College Park Center

Fall commencement ceremonies are Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 17-19, at College Park Center. The schedule is:

Thursday, Dec. 17—7 p.m. College of Nursing and Health Innovation

Friday, Dec. 18—11 a.m. College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs; School of Social Work; University College; 3 p.m. College of Science; 7 p.m. College of Liberal Arts

Saturday, Dec. 19—11 a.m. College of Business; 3 p.m. College of Engineering; 7 p.m. College of Education

For the complete commencement schedule and detailed information about tickets, attire, parking, formalities, photography, special accommodations, and more, go to uta.edu/commencement.

Dr. Daniel Armstrong and Dr. Purnendu 'Sandy' Dasgupta

Armstrong, Dasgupta named to Analytical Scientist Power List

Two UTA professors of chemistry and biochemistry, Daniel W. Armstrong and Purnendu “Sandy” Dasgupta, are ranked among the Top 100 most influential people in the world of analytical science by the monthly journal The Analytical Scientist.

The Power List 2015 includes 100 influential scientists from around the world. The United Kingdom-based publication’s editorial comprises scientists from the world’s leading institutions.

UTA and UT Austin were the only two Texas universities with representatives on the list, and UTA was the only one with two honorees. See the full Power List 2015.

Read more about Armstrong's and Dasgupta's honor.

Celebrate the season at annual holiday reception

Ring in the holiday season with the annual Faculty and Staff Holiday Reception 3-5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, in the Bluebonnet Ballroom of the E.H. Hereford University Center.

President Vistasp Karbhari is the host and will make remarks. Enjoy the festive sounds of the UTA Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Tim Ishii, associate professor of music.

Holiday refreshments will be served. The reception is sponsored in part by UTA Dining Services.

In the spirit of the season, bring canned goods and non-perishable food items to be donated to Mission Arlington.

Know the rules about political activities

As another election year begins, please remember public employees are prohibited from engaging in political activity during work hours or using any UTA resources—including office email, equipment, or their position at UTA—for the purposes of supporting a candidate or issue.

See the UT System's memo on employee political activity.

End repeated log-ins to SharePoint

Opening a new page in SharePoint often means logging in again and again. Eliminate the hassle by telling your computer to trust the software.

For details, go to the SharePoint help page. For more help, email sharepoint@uta.edu.

Maverick Ring Students received their class rings and experienced some of UTA's favorite traditions at the Maverick Ring Ceremony on Saturday in the Bluebonnet Ballroom. After receiving their rings, students listened to an explanation of symbols on the ring. Rubbing the bronze head of E.H. Hereford is said to bring good luck and is a favorite part of the ceremony. One student let his service dog lick the former UTA president's head for good measure. Ernest H. Hereford was dean of North Texas Agricultural College and the first president of Arlington State College, both predecessors of UTA. See more photos.

Police Department compliance comment session set for Wednesday

The public and the University community can comment on the UTA Police Department's compliance with professional standards at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, in Room 200 at the Wetsel Service Center or by telephone at 2-8860.

The session is part of an on-site assessment by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The commission requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services.

The assessment team also will accept comments by telephone 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 16 at 2-5604.

Appearances at the public information session and telephone comments are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency's ability to comply with CALEA's standards. A copy of the standards is available at the police department office, 700 S. Davis Drive. Local contacts are Chief of Police Kim Lemaux, 2-3389; Assistant Chief Glenn Cole, 2-1744; and Accreditation Manager Melissa Mais, 2-2847.

Submit written comments about the Police Department’s compliance with the standards for accreditation to CALEA, 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320, Gainesville, Va., 20155.

New funding for faculty travel available

President Vistasp Karbhari has authorized an additional travel funding source for tenured and tenure-track faculty. Faculty may apply for up to $500 per two-year period.

All travel requests must be approved prior to travel. Funding will not be awarded retroactively. The Senate will notify applicants of whether or not they receive funding no later than five business days after the submission deadline.

Requests may be submitted earlier than the deadlines, which are at 5 p.m. Aug. 25 for travel Sept. 1-Nov. 30; Nov. 25 for travel Dec. 1-Jan. 31; Jan. 25 for travel Feb. 1-April 30; and April 25 for travel May 1-Aug. 31.

Funds will be allocated at the discretion of the Faculty Senate based on review on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For details and application instructions, read more about the faculty travel funds.

Info session Thursday on Strategic Research Appointments

The Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President for Research have created the Strategic Research Appointments for Faculty program to enable faculty members to conduct research at other institutions and develop research collaborations.

The appointments will be awarded on a competitive basis and provide support for one semester at full salary. Awards will be limited to full-time, tenured faculty members who have been at UTA for at least two consecutive academic years. Funds will be provided to cover instructional needs during the appointment period.

Information sessions are 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, in Room 228 of the Engineering Research Building and 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, in Room 210 of the Life Science Building.

Read more about Strategic Research Appointments for Faculty.

Use Maverick discounts to save money

Watch your budget this holiday season by taking advantage of the Maverick Discount Program.

Faculty, staff, students, and parents can utilize the discounts by simply showing their Maverick ID to local business participants or by using a unique UT Arlington discount code to shop online. Participating businesses provide a minimum 10 percent discount.

Book buy-back planned by UTA Bookstore

The UTA Bookstore will buy back textbooks Monday-Friday, Dec. 14-19.

The bookstore will be open 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Dec. 14-17; 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18; and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19.

Use 'Employees' option for VPN connection off campus

Faculty and staff will be required to use NetIDplus and the .Employees VPN option when accessing UTA resources from off campus.

Users accustomed to using the .Default VPN group will need to click the group drop down and select .Employees for a successful login. All future logins from that computer should automatically choose .Employees from then on. How will users know they’ve selected the correct group? There will be three blank fields instead of the usual two.

NetIDplus, UTA’s two-factor authentication, is the best defense against password compromise via phishing schemes or malicious software. Use of two-factor authentication is mandated by UT System policy.

Self-enroll at any time using the NetIDplus enrollment site. The enrollment process requires the use of a computer and an authentication device, such as a cell phone, landline, or tablet.

Later, NetIDplus will be expanded to UTShare and additional UTA applications.

For more information, visit the NetIDplus website and two-factor authentication site or contact Help Desk for assistance at helpdesk@uta.edu and 2-2208.

Renew your locker at MAC

Renew your locker at the Maverick Activities Center by Friday, Jan. 7, to save the space for the spring semester. If you choose not to renew, please clean out the locker by that date.

Available lockers will be ready to rent on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

For details, email Blair Schuyler or call 2-0207. Visit the Campus Recreation website for MAC programs and services.

Beware of holiday season cyber criminals

The Information Security Office (ISO) encourages you to be aware of holiday seasonal scams, phishing, and malicious software distribution campaigns.

Cyber criminals send personal messages that appear to be legitimate websites that look real with logos, email, or web templates.

These phishing and malware campaigns include fake shipping/courier notifications; electronic greeting cards or links to holiday screensavers; requests for charitable contributions that appear to be from the real organization; and credit card or gift card applications or enticing discounts that lead to unfamiliar websites.

Look for signs that an email or website is not legitimate:

• Sender’s address or website address does not match the organization listed in the content of the message.

• Grammar in the message or website is poor.

• Format of the email or website is poor or inconsistent with what you’ve seen from the organization.

• Hovering your mouse over the links reveals web addresses inconsistent with the content of the message.

Never click on links or open attachments in emails that you’re not expecting, nor provide personal information in an email or on a website unless you are confident of the source.

If you do receive suspicious email messages, contact the Information Security Office at security@uta.edu.

Read about more online security tips during the holiday buying season on the ISO website.

Tuesday, Dec 15

Requisitions Register online. 8:30-11 a.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building. Business Affairs.

Effective Delegation Register online. 9-11 a.m., Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Wednesday, Dec 16

Payment Vouchers Register online. 1:30-3:30 p.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building. Business Affairs.

Thursday, Dec. 17

Motivating Your Employees Register online. 9-11 a.m., Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Friday, Dec 18

Travel and Expenses Register online. 8:30-11 a.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building. Business Affairs.

(For an expanded list of events, see the UTA calendar.)

Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 17-19

Commencement Ceremonies College Park Center. Commencement.

Coming Up

Maverick Speakers Series Ron Paul, Feb. 2; Donna Brazile, Feb. 25; and Jane Goodall, March 31. Free general admission, but tickets required. Premium, season, and VIP ticket packages include reserved seats, parking, and more. Tickets available at utatickets.com. 7:30 p.m., College Park Center. Maverick Speakers Series.

Basketball Double Headers Maverick women's game followed by men's competition. Tickets $7-20 general public, $3 students. Mavs vs. Georgia State, Wednesday, Dec. 30; vs. Georgia Southern, Saturday, Jan. 2; vs. Arkansas State, Thursday, Jan. 21; vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, Saturday, Jan. 23. Women's 5 p.m., men's 7:15 p.m., College Park Center. Athletics.

Ongoing

Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition The exhibit showcases showcases recent work by graduating seniors in painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, glass, film, and photography. The Gallery at UTA. Through Dec. 19. The Gallery at UTA.

Special Collections: Ringside: Memories of WCC Wrestling 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, sixth floor, Central Library. Through Jan. 16. UTA Libraries Special Collections.

Planetarium Holiday season  includes four programs using a full-color, 360-degree laser projector: Laser Country, Laser Holidays, Laser Pink Floyd, and Laser Zeppelin. Also, Holiday Music Magic and Season of Light as well as One World/One Sky, Cosmic Colors, Spacepark 360: Infinity, and Secret of the Cardboard Rocket. See the schedule. Closed Fridays, Dec. 24 and 30. Planetarium at UTA.

(For an expanded list of events, see the UTA calendar.)