Division News and Standouts, April 2022

Published: April 5, 2022

Center for Students in Recovery

• Our scholarship application is open to students in recovery from addiction until May 6.
• Katy Redd (Counseling and Mental Health Center/University Health Services) is the temporary contact for the department until a new director and program coordinator are hired.

Counseling and Mental Health Center 

• Our counseling team served international students following the Russian war against Ukraine through a variety of high-quality and accessible mental health services. Services include My Student Support Program, drop-in discussion groups for international students and consultations with our diversity counselor and outreach specialist for international students.
• Students can now utilize the Sobering Center without a police referral. The SHIFT team helped expand the current university partnership so that students can refer themselves or a friend to the center directly. This City of Austin/Travis County initiative provides a safe place for publicly intoxicated individuals to sober up as an alternative to the emergency room or jail and, where appropriate, to provide a bridge to recovery.
• Our Voices Against Violence team will host in-person and virtual programs for Sexual Violence Prevention Month to promote sexual assault prevention and awareness. The annual Take Back the Night, April 28, 6-9 p.m., Main Mall, includes a survivor open-mic session, live performances, a resource fair and giveaways.
• The Longhorn Wellness Center team put on the inaugural mindful UT week March 28-April 2.
• Longhorn SHARE Project staff are launching three new peer support communities.

New Student Services 

• Registration for New Student Orientation team is now open. The team is gearing up for seven freshman sessions and three transfer sessions.
• Through a five-year partnership with Texas Workforce Commission, the Longhorn TIES team secured $1.23 million to expand resources and services. Beginning this fall, Longhorn TIES will expand upon its free services to offer a fee-based service that will be covered through this new collaboration.
  • The team will also have a series of events for Autism and Neurodiversity Acceptance Month, April 6-21.

Alicia Monaco and Kayleigh Damphousse (New Student Services) at First Come, First Serve

• The Transition Initiatives team hosted First Come, First Serve for 21 prospective first-generation college students on March 25.

David Daniels (UT Police Department), Paige Muehlenkamp-McHorse (New Student Services), Jordan Watson (UT Police Department) and Scott Cooke (University Housing and Dining) at the Glow Safety Walk

• The Off-Campus Initiative hosted a Glow Safety Walk on March 30 with university police and Office of Campus Safety to teach students how to report safety hazards to Austin 3-1-1. 

Luz Martinez Alberto (Office of the Dean of Students), Paige Muehlenkamp-McHorse, Maria Angelica Ortiz and Alicia Monaco (New Student Services), and Sarah Remelius (Office of the Dean of Students) at Zilker Park.

• The off-campus team also partnered with Living the Longhorn Life programming team on Give a Bark About Your Park on March 16.

Office of the Dean of Students 

• The new Legislative Student Organization administrations transition to their new roles this month. The organizations’ advisors Dave Dessauer and Marcus Mayes facilitated Campus-Wide Elections Feb. 28-March 1 with results announced on March 7.
• If your office or department isn’t already listed on Hornslink, you can reach out to the Student Activities team to get set up. Hornslink is a database for our 1,000 student organizations.
• We’ve enhanced the student organization application process by adding a curriculum-based approach. Students now have to complete two Canvas courses prior to applying to start a new student organization.
• Our Student Activities team is hosting focus groups with student organization leaders to collect feedback about our office’s services.
• They are also hosting an Advisor Appreciation Luncheon on April 29. If you advise a student organization and would like to attend, please RSVP by April 8.

Recreational Sports 

• Register now for the Poker Walk 2022 being held May 10-12 to celebrate National Employee Health and Fitness Day. Participants have the option to complete the one mile walk in person or virtually.

• There’s still time to register for Longhorn Run 2022 on April 23. Registration is open until April 22. Choose from a 10K and 5K course that begins and ends on campus or participate virtually. Be sure to stay for the end-of-race celebration.

Nicole Olmeda, E.J. Patterson, Samantha Caufield Hammel, Chad Zimmerman, Jennifer Speer, Randall Ford and Bridget Tasker (Recreational Sports) at the NIRSA conference

• Several staff members traveled to Portland, Oregon, to attend NIRSA 2022, the annual conference that brings together campus recreation professionals for educational sessions and networking opportunities.

Texas THON in Gregory Gym

• Our Associate Director E.J. Patterson oversaw the 20^th annual, 12-hour Texas THON Dance Marathon on March 6. The students who participated, known as Miracle Makers, raised $145,348.20 for pediatric cancer patients at Dell Children’s Medical Center.

Robert Solis, Adrienne MacKenzie and Jordan Gaines (Recreational Sports) at the F45 Training Playoffs

• Our team presented our first-ever F45 Training Playoffs on March 10. In this benchmark fitness test, participants were tested on four disciplines at 10 different workout stations located at Caven-Clark Field.

Texas Parents 

• Our Family Weekend tradition, April 22-24, is just around the corner. Take a look at the events lineup.
• Registration for Family Orientation is now open. The team is getting ready for seven sessions this summer. Students interested in helping the team can apply to be Family Orientation Student Leaders.
• Texas Parents memberships for the 2022-2023 year also opened on March 23.

University Health Services

• The university updated its masking guidance on March 21 to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• We’re continuing to distribute free COVID-19 self-test kits at various sites around campus. Students, faculty and staff can pick up kits by showing their UT ID. Campus community members can continue to also utilize Proactive Community Testing (PCT).
• As part of a campus-wide initiative, our staff helped expand Naloxone nasal spray distribution on campus to the Perry–Castañeda Library. Naloxone is a life-saving medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
• We are supporting the Texas 4000 for Cancer student organization by providing pre-participation exams and also by hosting a skin cancer screening clinic.
• Our General Medicine clinic team will serve student studying abroad this summer by conducting their medical clearance exams.

University Housing and Dining

Scott Cooke, Elizabeth Doyle and Billy Jones (University Housing and Dining) at Spring Break Staycation

• Our Student Learning and Development team created a week’s worth of fun events during Spring Break Staycation, March 14-18. Students staying in town for spring break enjoyed live music, lawn games, crafts and snacks.

Robert Valdez, Allison Johnson and Ryan Talamantes (University Housing and Dining) at the 2400 Nueces Townhomes Open House

• We opened five furnished guest townhomes in 2400 Nueces as rentals for individuals in a university-sponsored or co-sponsored group. This pilot program is by invitation only and designed for recruitment, special programs, traveling scholars and temporary faculty housing. 
• Our Employee Development and Engagement team launched a new supervisor orientation program for new and existing supervisors. The program provides information and resources to help supervisors lead their teams.
• Our Dobie Twenty21 team started residential programming in March, following the management takeover of the 27-story building on Feb. 1. Residents participated in trivia, door decorating, mindfulness activities, a basketball tournament and lawn games.

University Unions 

• Our Cactus Café team has a great lineup planned for April and May with Texas singer songwriters, comedy shows and other events scheduled. Mark your calendar for one of these upcoming shows or events — most shows have no cover charge.
• Staff can now conveniently recycle batteries used on campus during quarterly Campus Battery Collections, part of the university’s Zero Waste Program. Save the date for the first event on April 13, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Student Services Building, Perry-Casteñeda Library, Commons Conference Center and J.J. Pickle Research Campus greeting desk.
• We’ve concluded a feasibility analysis for our new esports facility, and we are now in the design phase of the project. More details to come.

Forty Acres Fest

• The Campus Events+Entertainment team brought live music, food, prizes and activities to campus for the annual Forty Acres Fest tradition on March 26.

Mardi Gras X Carnival

• The events team also hosted Mardi Gras X Carnival on March 1, Explore South Asia on March 23 and Quinceañera on March 31. 

Vice President for Student Affairs

• Join us at the final office hours of the semester on May 9.
• Our office team will introduce new Division of Student Affairs staff to our departments and campus life at two New Staff Welcome programs on April 13 and 27.

• The development team invites you to get involved in this month’s 40 Hours for the Forty Acres on April 6-7 and Thanks Day on April 12.
• Last month, they hosted Dinner with 16 Longhorns on March 29 and the Division of Student Affairs Showcase (during the What Starts Here campaign launch) on March 4.

Carol Longoria, Soncia Reagins-Lilly, Alma Garcia and Alexis George (Vice President for Student Affairs office) at the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference reception

• During the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference, our team hosted the annual UT Austin reception for staff and friends on March 21.

Staff dancing at the Black History Month Cookout.

• Listen to our Living the Longhorn Life audio story and hear how students, faculty and staff marked the end of Black History Month with a special cookout.

Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly gave welcome remarks at the Office of Admissions LEAD Texas event on March 5.

Kymberly Nielsen, University Unions, presented “How We Streamline Requesting Our Facilities” during a Mazévo Connect live event on March 9.

Katy Redd (Counseling and Mental Health Center/University Health Services) at the Texas Global Peace Corps Story Slam

Katy Redd, Counseling and Mental Health Center and University Health Services, spoke at the Texas Global Peace Corps Story Slam on March 3 about her previous experience with the Peace Corps. 

Division staff presentations and recognitions during the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference:

• Daniel Becton and Aaron Voyles, University Housing and Dining, presented “Reinventing Student Voice: Beyond Counting and Coding” with Robert Lynch (Appalachian State University).

Sahtiya Hosoda-Hammell and James Butler (Counseling and Mental Health Center/University Health Services) at the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference

• James Butler, Sahtiya Hosoda-Hammell and Whitné Moussan, Counseling and Mental Health Center and University Health Services, presented “Mindfulness in Bystander Intervention: Be More Present With Discomfort in Order to Take Action to Create Inclusive Community Care.”

Matthew Smith (University of Georgia), Mylon Kirksy (University Housing and Dining), Shauna Sobers (McCombs School of Business) and Robert Valdez (University Housing and Dining) at the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference

• Mylon Kirksy, University Housing and Dining, was appointed NASPA Region III director.

Robert Valdez (University Housing and Dining), B Nathan (The Washington Center), Andrew Wiemer (University of Miami), Rashida Love (University of Washington) and Jeff Klug (Berklee College of Music) at the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference

• Robert Valdez, University Housing and Dining, presented “Life After a Doctoral Program in Higher Education Leadership and What Comes Next” with Jeff Klug (Berklee College of Music), Bethal Nathan (The Washington Center), Rashida Love (University of Washington) and Andrew Wiemer (University of Miami). Valdez was also appointed Region III director for special events and engagement. 
• Aaron Voyles, University Housing and Dining, presented “The Scholar/Practitioner as Zombie: Deconstructing the Binary Separating Theory and Practice” with Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley (Georgia Tech), and “We Can Teach Too: Strategies to Get Teaching Opportunities and Balance Life as a Practitioner-Scholar” with Justin Samuel (College of Pharmacy).

Justin Samuel (College of Pharmacy) and Thea Woodruff (Counseling and Mental Health Center/University Health Services) at the 2022 NASPA Annual Conference

Thea Woodruff, Counseling and Mental Health Center and University Health Services, presented “’Let’s Make it Mainstream!’: Promoting Student Well-Being at Professional Schools” with Justin Samuel (College of Pharmacy).