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August 2007 Newsletter

A Message from Dr. Lamas

Dr. Frank Lamas Dear Mavericks,

The fall is a time for new beginnings, and a special time as we see new students transition to the university and welcome our returning students back. We have a wonderful year ahead packed with great events. See our Student Affairs events calendar for a listing.

Our year starts with the Leadership Retreat and resident assistant training in August. Also, with the final sessions of Orientation completed, we have assisted approximately 2,200 new students transition into their first year of college. The fall opening of the residence halls starts on Aug. 23 and the New Student Convocation and Maverick Stampede events formally begin our academic year on Aug. 24. Campus Recreation has been busy getting our new facility ready for the MAC Ribbon Cutting at 4 p.m. Sept. 18. The MAC will be a signature building on our campus and will provide our community with a wonderful facility to keep us healthy.

Student Affairs has recently added new departments to our division with New Student Orientation (during the spring) and Apartment and Residence Life (in July). In addition, there are plans for launching three new offices this fall – a Parent and Family Center, Mediation Center, and a Sexual Assault & Prevention program. Our new organizational chart is provided online for your reference.

Our returning staff is ready for the new year, and we welcome new members to the division who are eager to serve our students and university. All departments look forward to working with colleagues across the University, continuing to improve existing as well as new programs and services that better serve our students. Our Student Congress, UTA HOSTS!, Shorthorn staff, EXCEL, UTA Ambassadors, Greek Life organizations, FLOC, sport clubs, and a number of other clubs and organizations — too many to mention — are busy planning their activities for the year.

Get involved and engaged in campus life this year. You don’t want to miss all the great programs and activities. My best wishes for an enjoyable 2007-08!

Sincerely,

Frank Lamas
Vice President for Student Affairs

 

MAC Ribbon Cutting Next Month

MAC Construction Cam Mark your calendars! The ribbon cutting ceremony for the Maverick Activities Center is set for 4 p.m. on Sept. 18. It will include guest speakers, music, giveaways and exciting activities all evening long.

For more information, log on to our Web page where you can see a live Web cam of the building.

Make sure to join us on this special day. Be the first to enter the MAC!

 

Maverick Stampede Welcome Week Returns

Welcome Week Get roped in! Maverick Stampede will begin this year with residence hall move-in on Aug. 23 and will include a variety of programs and activities through the first week of classes.

With more than 30 events to choose from, there should be something of interest and value to each and every student on campus. In addition to events held for all students such as the Maverick Cookout and Activities Fair or MavsMeet: Convocation & AfterParty, many events are designed for students with specific majors or interests.

Various academic, student affairs, and student service departments from across campus will host welcoming events to entertain and inform students about topics ranging from their academic major to library resources, counseling services, or international student services. These activities are a great way to help students get connected to campus, have some fun, and bond with peers, faculty and staff.

Take a look at the full calendar of events online at www.maverickstampede.com.

 

New Student Convocation

Summer is once again coming to a close and the new fall term is approaching. UT Arlington and the Division of Student Affairs will inaugurate the new academic year with the MavsMeet: New Student Convocation on Friday, Aug. 24 at 4 p.m. in Texas Hall.

The annual program, which is truly becoming a University tradition, will include addresses by the president, interim provost, vice president for Student Affairs, a distinguished faculty member and the president of Student Congress. Parents and alumni are also invited to join in and welcome our new and returning students, faculty, and staff.

Students are encouraged to arrive early to get free giveaways including T-shirts while they last. Following the convocation, the AfterParty will begin in the Central Library Mall. There will be free food, games and activities, and live music featuring the band Phantom Planet.

Visit the MavsMeet Web site at www.uta.edu/mavsmeet for more information.

 

Movin’ Mav wins gold in Brazil

Aaron Gouge, a junior forward on the Movin’ Mav wheelchair basketball team, played on the USA team that won the gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Brazil Saturday.

The USA team, which beat Canada in the gold medal game, also included UTA and Movin’ Mav alumni Paul Schulte and Michael Paye. As a result of the win, the USA team secured a spot in the Paralympics in Beijing, China, next year.

Also, Movin’ Mav assistant coach Doug Garner was selected to serve as a technical official for the games. The Parapan American Games provides Olympic-level competition for Western Hemisphere nations every four years.

 

New Staff

Dr. Stephanie Brown will begin as the Leadership Center’s new director Aug. 22. Dr. Brown earned her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Georgia and comes to us from San Diego State, where she worked as a psychologist. While in San Diego, she also was faculty director for the Center for Community Based Service-Learning and faculty-in-residence for the school’s Living Learning Center.

Kala Markovich recently started as the Assistant Director for Fitness at Campus Recreation. She received her bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology from Texas A&M and her master’s degree from North Texas in kinesiology. Prior to coming here, Kala managed public and private fitness centers.

Lexi Christoules is the new Member Services Coordinator for Campus Recreation. She comes from Ball State in Muncie, Ind., where she served as a graduate assistant for Recreation Services while completing her master’s in sports administration. She received a bachelor’s in sports management from UT Austin in 2005.

Jenny Rodriguez is the Senior Assistant Director of Facilities and Informal Recreation for Campus Recreation. The San Antonio native has 11 years experience in campus recreation and previously worked at Texas A&M-Commerce, where she served as Associate Director of Facility Operations. Jenny received a master’s in program management from North Texas and a bachelor’s in kinesiology from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

 

Anthony Williams

Anthony Williams Student Profile: In each issue of the newsletter, a student in one of the departments in Student Affairs will be highlighted to show the contribution students make in the division.

Anthony Williams is the editor in chief of The Shorthorn, the student newspaper at UT Arlington. He was chosen by the Student Publications Committee in April to lead the paper during the summer and fall semesters.

Anthony, a Tyler native, transferred here from Tyler Junior College where he was co-editor of the paper. He also interned at the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

He began at The Shorthorn a year ago as a reporter and was promoted to editing the paper’s feature section, Scene, during the spring. That experience paved his way to be editor in chief, which supervises all news content decisions for the paper as well as a staff of 50 student employees.

“I felt like it was the next step,” he said. “I’ve never really taken that next step, so I did it.”

In the meantime, Anthony juggles a full-time courseload as a broadcast journalism senior who plans to graduate next year. He said he likes the fact that he’s helping to inform students about what really happens on campus.

But he has a simpler reason why he chose journalism as his profession.

“Because I’m nosy,” he said.

 

Student Activities

EXCEL and Volunteer events Department Profile: In each issue of the newsletter, a different department within Student Affairs will be highlighted to show what it does and how it’s helping build better students.

Student Activities, comprised of EXCEL Campus Activities and UTA Volunteers, supports the University’s mission by providing students with opportunities for cultural, educational, social and civic engagement. Both organizations present programs and events that enrich the lives of students at UT Arlington.

With programs ranging from the EXCEL Movie Series to the Friday Night Live concert series to comedians, lectures and traditional events like Bed Races, EXCEL Campus Activities offers something for everyone. Students can participate by joining the Entertainment and Arts, Special Events, or Campus Traditions committees.

Past events have included comedians Carlos Mencia and Christian Finnegan, poet Maya Angelou, and rock bands Bowling for Soup and Hellogoodbye!

Programs planned for this year include the MavsMeet AfterParty featuring Phantom Planet on Aug. 24, Friday Night Live with Black Tie Dynasty on Sept. 7, hip-hop feminist Joan Morgan on Sept. 18, the 27th Annual Bed Races on Oct. 4, and comedian Gabriel Iglesias on Nov. 18.

EXCEL’s general body meetings are held at 2 p.m. Mondays in the Student Congress Chambers on the lower level of the University Center.

Through UTA Volunteers, students gain new experiences and acquire new skills through volunteering at local agencies. Community service projects and awareness-raising events include One Night Without a Home, Cowtown Brushup, Hunger Banquet, Take Back the Night, and Carter Bloodcare blood drives.

UTA Volunteers has worked with such agencies as Boys and Girls Clubs, the River Legacy Foundation, and Dog and Kitty City. In the spring, UTA Volunteers hosts The Big Event, in which members of the UT Arlington community come together to give back. UTA Volunteers also offers drug and alcohol free Alternative Breaks community service projects. Past projects have included the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program at Catalina Island, Calif. and Habitat for Humanity in Tahlequah, Okla.

UTA Volunteers’ general body meetings are held at 2:15 p.m. Tuesdays in the Student Congress Chambers on the lower level of the University Center.

 

Department News

Campus Recreation

FREE WEEK!! Group Exercise classes are free on the first week of classes. Come try out the classes of your choice from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1. For class times and descriptions, visit www.uta.edu/campusrec.

Office for Students with Disabilities

The office had a busy summer helping students with academic accommodations in summer school as well as completing some “housekeeping.” Unfortunately, the office is losing a valuable staff member, Cheng-Fei Lai, who resigned her position as a Disability Specialist to return to school full-time and further her education in an educational leadership program.

In the meantime, many staff members have prepared for the fall by attending freshman orientation sessions as well as conferences to further staff skills in disability and higher education.

Overall, OSD finished the year by providing disability services to about 400 students. In addition, 680 students, parents and members of the university community contacted the office to inquire about services for individuals with disabilities. OSD also distributed 1,555 letters of accommodation written to faculty on students’ behalf and converted 100 different textbooks into alternative formats for students who are blind or have low vision. Last, but not least, the Adaptive Resource Center proctored 1,204 academic exams for students with disabilities.

Leadership Center

The Leadership Center is looking forward to the upcoming academic year with new programs and events being offered and the addition of Dr. Stephanie Brown as its new director.

Listed is a sample of programs and events the Leadership Center will be offering this fall:

Please contact program coordinator Cathy Souders if you would like more information about the Leadership Center and its programs or events.

Student Publications

The Shorthorn begins its 89th year of production with its biggest issue of the year on the stands in time for residence hall move-in.

The Back To School Issue, which will be out on stands Aug. 23, includes 24 pages of great information for students either beginning or resuming classes this fall. The paper, which was planned, written and edited throughout July, also includes a sneak peek into the Maverick Activities Center, which has its ribbon cutting next month.

Editor in chief Anthony Williams will lead a staff of 50 to produce the paper every Tuesday through Friday, and online editor Daniel Johnson will be overseeing improvements to TheShorthorn.com that will make the Web site more responsive and more relevant to students’ needs.

Apartment and Residence Life

The Department of Apartment and Residence Life is excited to be joining the Student Affairs team! We will be moving to our new office in the lower level of the University Center around Aug. 15. Currently, we’re gearing up for the residence hall move-in event which will take place on Thursday, Aug. 23. If you are interested in volunteering for this great event, please e-mail conferences@uta.edu. The apartments are also preparing to kick off the year with some new programming and events for apartment residents. We’re looking forward to a great year and new opportunities as we transition into Student Affairs.

Student Judicial Affairs and Legal Services

The Office of Student Judicial Affairs is planning “Mavericks Use Their Own Minds” Academic Integrity Week from Oct. 8-12 and “Promoting Positive Traditions” Hazing Prevention Week from Sept. 24-28.

The office is finalizing plans to introduce new student and faculty/staff surveys in the fall, which should enable the office to better educate students about the referral process, as well as their rights and responsibilities.

Recently our office sent follow-up letters to students that had failed to respond to summons or to complete sanctions assigned by a judicial officer. While this project is still in its early phase, we have received an encouraging response from students interested in resolving their judicial process.

In conjunction with the Campus Consortium Committee, several Apartment Life and Residence Life staff completed the TIPS for College Course, and we plan to make this alcohol education training available for students, faculty, and staff.

Student Governance

The Office of Student Governance and Organizations is looking forward to the fall semester. Below, please find some things to keep an eye out for during the first weeks of class.