How We Are Influencing the Longhorn Life
Published: April 4, 2023
Our team brought the energy to several annual conferences across the country, showcasing how we’re influencing the Longhorn life to our national colleagues! On campus, we hosted many spring activities for students and our team, with a focus on our strategic priorities.
Maximizing the Longhorn Experience
Bringing a big name to campus to talk about recovery and sobriety, the Center for Students in Recovery hosted Susan Packard, author of The Little College Book of Sobriety on March 2. Packard, who helped create HGTV, Food Network and CNBC, met with students and staff, and spoke about her journey and recovery-informed leadership.
Since launching in Fall 2022, the SHIFT Maker team, under the Counseling and Mental Health Center and University Health Services, has served zero-proof cocktails at 21 events. They partnered with the Living the Longhorn Life team to host a Midsemester Mocktail Pop-Up on March 9, serving more than 300 mocktails and promoting wellness before Spring Break.
RecSports hosted Texas THON’s annual Dance Marathon on March 5 to celebrate the “Miracle Makers” year of fundraising for Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. The student organization announced that their year-long fundraising efforts amounted to $130,094.23 to help provide children with necessary medical treatment and serve all families regardless of their ability to pay.
The Office of the Dean of Students partnered with Texas Student Media to host UT Marketplace on March 1. The event allows companies and organizations to distribute information about their products, services and career opportunities directly to students, faculty and staff. University Housing and Dining promoted their housing communities that increase belonging on campus and in Austin.
At its spring Ambassadors Council meeting, Texas Parents recognized the 2022-2023 Texas Parents Outstanding Student Award recipients and finalists. The two recipients each received $1,000 to donate to a campus organization or program that impacted their time on campus. President Jay Hartzell and Longhorn Family Leadership Council Co-chair Tony Schell also spoke to the council.
In the 30th year of a campus-wide tradition, University Union’s Campus Events+Entertainment brought live music to the Main Mall with the Forty Acres Fest concert on March 25.
Food trucks have become a staple in the Austin dining scene and now there’s a bustling clientele on the Forty Acres too. Meet some of the customers and food truck owners and hear how University Unions has grown the program since it started in 2017.
Health and Wellness
To encourage students to focus on their mental health and well-being, the Longhorn SHARE Project hosted Pre-Health(y) Minds, a peer-led event for pre-health students focused on avoiding burnout on March 1. Also, the Longhorn Wellness Center expanded the calendar for Mental Health Promotion Weeks, adjusting the timeline from one week to almost two, March 27-April 7.
The Longhorn Wellness Center is relaunching the sun safety program with a new name – Longhorns Under the Sun. The sunscreen dispensers at the Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex will also get a refreshed design.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month is the new name for this April’s month-long series of events, including Take Back the Night where survivors of sexual violence share their stories. Voices Against Violence, the Title IX Office, and Student Emergency Services are collaborating on the programs.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Counseling and Mental Health Center and University Health Services staff experienced Persian traditions while celebrating the first day of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 23. They learned about the hafsteen set-up (representing seven symbols to celebrate the beginning of Iranian new year), and enjoyed Persian tea and cuisine from a local restaurant.
Talent Investment and Staff Support
Members of our team represented the Division of Student Affairs during the 2023 South by Southwest Conference. Paige Muehlenkamp-McHorse (New Student Services) volunteered during the conference and helped students attend information sessions earlier in the month about volunteering. Justin Galicz (Recreational Sports) attended the SXSW Interactive sessions on design, advertising and brand experience. Alexis George (Vice President for Student Affairs office) shared her experience at SXSWEdu in an Instagram Story takeover on the Division of Student Affairs accounts.
Several RecSports staff members attended the NIRSA Annual Conference and Campus Rec & Wellness Expo. They networked and connected with colleagues in the field of collegiate recreational sports, and gained insights from educational sessions.
Recruiting season for residence life professional staff has begun! University Housing and Dining staff traveled to Fort Worth to interview candidates for the community/complex coordinator positions at the Student Affairs Placement Conference. Interacting with candidates face-to-face helps tell the department’s story and cultivates an understanding of UT Austin campus life.
Giving staff a fun way to celebrate Spring Break week, University Unions held the “Out of Office” celebration on March 13. Several new staff members mixed and mingled with colleagues throughout the department.
Bringing together student affairs colleagues from across the nation, the Vice President for Student Affairs Office hosted the UT Austin reception at the 2023 NASPA Annual Conference. Check out the photos and see who presented at the conference in the Division Influencers section below.
More campus communications partners are getting a first-hand look at our work to maximize the Longhorn experience during tours of Division of Student Affairs facilities. Jess Cybulski (Vice President for Student Affairs office) took colleagues from University Marketing and Communications (pictured above) and Campus Construction/Facilities Planning and Management on the one-hour tour.
*Learn who gave presentations at the 2023 NASPA Annual Conference and others in the Division Influencers section below.
Technology and Resource Management
University Housing and Dining’s information technology team added DocuSign to the StarRez housing portal, streamlining the contract process for incoming residents, their guarantors and staff. The occupancy management team began sending out housing contract offers for the15 on-campus residence halls and Dobie Twenty21 on March 1. Offers will go out on the first and 15th of each month.
Division Influencers
Our “influencers” are team members who are recognized as innovators and thought leaders, making a positive difference with students, campus colleagues, institutional peers, families, alumni, supporters and others. Their work positively influences our students as they are living the Longhorn life.
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly participated in a panel at the Office of Admissions LEAD Texas event on March 25. Her fellow panelists included President Jay Hartzell, Provost Sharon Wood, and VP for Diversity and Community Engagement Latoya Smith. The event is the university’s premier on-campus admitted student day for approximately 1,800 students and families.
CieCie Leonard (Recreational Sports) presented on Aerial Silk Yoga at the TexFit Conference on March 4. Leonard, Adrienne MacKenzie and 23 group fitness instructors (student staff) and personal trainers attended the conference. These student staff had a great professional development opportunity for training and networking.
RecSports won three awards in the NIRSA Foundation T-shirt Competition at the annual NIRSA Annual Conference and Campus Rec & Wellness Expo: first place staff shirt, first place intramural sports shirt and second place one color imprint shirt, all designed by Senior Graphic Designer Justin Galicz. Entries were judged on originality, content, graphic design and overall visual appeal.
Division presenters during the 2023 NASPA Annual Conference, April 1-5:
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly and Robert Valdez (University Housing and Dining), with Andrew Wiemer (University of Connecticut) and Smita Ruzicka (Middlebury College): “Life After a Doctoral Program in Higher Education and What Comes Next…”
Savneet Bains (University Housing and Dining), Reyna Flores (College of Education) and Shauna Sobers(Intercollegiate Athletics): “Intersectional Experiences of Women of Color in Professional Degrees and Leadership Roles”
Brooke Bulow, Jess Cybulski, Alma Garcia and Heather Miller (Vice President for Student Affairs office): “Living the Longhorn Life®: the Evolution of Reimagining our Identity”
Alma Garcia (Vice President for Student Affairs office), with Darby Roberts (Texas A&M University): “Assessment, Communication, and Fundraising: Storytelling, Collaboration, and Success”
Alma Garcia (Vice President for Student Affairs office), with Aidan Andrews (University of Vermont) and Ashlee Roberts (Stockton University): “Fundraising and communications: How Every Student Affairs Professional Can Become an Export”
Aaron Voyles (University Housing and Dining), with Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley (Northwestern University): “Zombifying Higher Education: Deconstructing the Scholar-Practitioner Binary”
Division presenters during UT Professional Development Day on March 3:
Savneet Bains, Etinosa Ogbevoen and Gerard Smithwrick (University Housing and Dining): "WALK THE TALK: An Equitable and Inclusive Recruitment Process"
Jodi McDougal, Connie Rodriguez, Ryan Talamantes and Robert Valdez (University Housing and Dining): "Aim for the Texas Stars: Taking University Housing and Dining and Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Events to the Next Level"
Faculty and Staff Awards
At the Faculty and Staff Awards on March 29, President Jay Hartzell and Provost Sharon Wood recognized Eric Stoutner (Recreational Sports-retired) with the Arno Nowotny Medal. Hear former student leaders and staff members talk about Stoutner’s work to maximize the Longhorn experience during his 35-year career on the Forty Acres.