Archive for March, 2014

As some of you know, Greg Wilson recently received an opportunity to use his business acumen in furthering the efforts of United Way of Abilene.  We wish him well in this worthwhile endeavor and he will be missed.

Greg’s pursuit of this opportunity has created opportunities within Financial Operations and we are fortunate to have gifted people to meet those opportunities.

Katie Longley has taken over the role of Controller and will be responsible for ACU’s accounting function, accounts payable, banking relationships, as well as all internal and external audit relationships.  Please continue to direct any accounts payable or p-card questions to accountspayable@acu.edu or by phone at 325-674-2785.

Candi Hammett is now Director of Payroll, Tax, and Billing and Receivables.  Please continue to direct all payroll related questions to the Human Resources Frontline at humanresources@acu.edu or by phone at extension 2359.

Miranda Heikes has accepted the position of Billing and Receivables Coordinator.  She will be responsible for billing of student accounts and will be a key member of the University’s Financial Settlement Team.

ACU Press recently released a new book co-authored by Dan Garrett, “Leaving a Legacy: Sustaining Family Unity, Faith, and Wealth.” The book helps families put faith before fortune as they plan for the future, ensuring future generations learn how to make money a tool for achieving family goals for themselves and the kingdom of God. Dan Garrett presently serves as vice chancellor of ACU and president of the ACU Foundation.

ACU is participating in The Chronicle’s Great Colleges to Work For program, a study designed to gather benchmarking data within higher education and to recognize institutions that have built great workplaces.

Part of the program involves a survey distributed to a random sample of each ACU’s full-time Faculty, Administrators, Exempt and Non-exempt Staff. An invitation to take this survey was distributed to the random selection group on March 17, 2014. The deadline to complete the survey is Monday, April 14, 2014.

Thank you to those of you who have already completed the survey. Your views and opinions are appreciated.

If you have not yet completed the survey, please take a moment to do so. Your feedback is valuable. The results will be factored into the overall scoring process that will ultimately determine the institutions recognized. The Chronicle will publish the findings this summer in a special Academic Workplace supplement, due to be released at the end of July.

A high response rate helps ensure accurate results and demonstrates the commitment of our workforce. Whether or not our ACU is recognized, we can learn from the feedback and make improvements for our future.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Please contact Wendy Jones or visit www.ChronicleGreatColleges.com, if you have any questions.

Using your VSP benefit is easy, and it starts at vsp.com.

• Find a Doctor who’s right for you — close to where you live or work.
• Review your benefit information and savings before your appointment.
• Learn how eye care plays an important part in your overall wellness and find out about the latest advances in eyewear technology.
• Plus, check out special offers and discounts exclusive to VSP members.

For questions or comments, please contact us at 800.877.7195 or visit the VSP Member Services page.

On March 20th,  the WCTCC (West Central Texas Career Consortium) is hosting a Collegiate Career & Internship Fair and Tri-University Teacher Job Fair at the Abilene Civic Center.  This event is open to CURRENT STUDENTS ONLY, it is not open to the public. Please encourage your students to attend.  As of today there are 45 school districts and 42 businesses that will be in attendance.  Professional dress is required.

Also as you continue to plan your Spring Semester within your department, remember we are available to come in and present to your students some information regarding ACU’s Career Link, Networking in Job Searches, Linked In Tutorials, Resumé/Cover Letter Trends/Tips and much more.  Let us know how we can help.

Please let the ACU Career Center know if you have any questions or needs.  Thanks for your continued partnership.

Are you paying $50 or more for your prescriptions? Many brand name prescriptions have lower costing alternatives that can save you money.

Here are some common conditions that are often treated with expensive name brands.  Many people don’t know that they can pay much less, just by asking their doctor.  Some examples are High Cholesterol (Lipitor, Crestor), Anxiety (Effexor XR, Pristig), Heart Burn/Indigestion (Protonix, Zegerid), and High Blood Pressure (Benicar, Diovan). All of these common name brands have an alternative available.

Just send COMPASS your prescriptions at leahm@compassphs.com or call 1-800-513-1667 and they will let you know how much you could save. They can also help you investigate any additional options to lower your prescription costs.

The Benefits Committee of the Staff Senate is seeking your feedback on the benefits information sessions and communication from last fall. In partnership with Human Resources, the committee wants to know how effective these sessions are and how beneficial they are to your understanding of the benefits offered. Please click this link to take a short survey about these sessions and other communications about benefits.

The Agricultural and Environmental Sciences department is producing fresh farm eggs and natural raised ground beef at the ACU Rhoden Farm. Eggs are $3 per dozen and ground beef packages are $6.50 per 1 lb. Proceeds will go towards helping fund students’ participation in the departments International Agricultural Missions study abroad class in Zambia, May 2014.  For more information, please contact Mandy Scudder  by email scudderm@acu.edu or call x2401.

ACU is partnering with Cenergistic, a leading energy conservation company, to save the university millions of dollars in the years ahead while also taking a stronger step toward protecting our environment. Cenergistic is hiring an Energy Specialist to oversee the program. Read more:  Job-Information-Session-Overview-Presentation or watch this corporate video for information on Cenergistic.

Cenergistic will be accepting applications for the energy specialist position until March 7th.

For more information, contact Corey Ruff at clr06a@acu.edu or x2665. Corey is the ACU liaison.

On March 4th during Making Choices week, there will be an opportunity for you to participate in an event called Walk A Mile In Her Shoes. This event is geared to raise awareness and open up the conversation about sexual violence by having men walk the route in women’s shoes, as women line up and support their walk.  We will host a short walk, on campus and would appreciate support from both male and female faculty and staff.

Every two minutes someone in America is raped. One in six American women, and one in four college females are victims of sexual assault. That means someone you know, someone you care about, has been or may become the victim of sexual violence. It may be your mother, your sister, your friend, your girlfriend, your wife, your coworker, or your daughter. By opening up communication concerning this issue, we hope to facilitate how we as a university might effect change in our world concerning this topic.

We are seeking your help in a few ways.  Please support this effort by informing students of the event and promoting participation. We are also looking for some faculty/staff men who are willing to walk the walk, and faculty/staff women to help us cheer them on. This is an important conversation to have and we would love your support and participation. Please follow the link to the Google doc and let us know in what ways you might wish to participate. For further information contact the Judicial Affairs office at ext. 2022