Archive for April, 2020

Dr. Steve Weathers is retiring from his position as Associate Professor of English in the Department of Language and Literature at the end of this semester.  Since we cannot celebrate his retirement in person, we invite you to contribute to a virtual memory book we are creating to honor Dr. Weathers for his service to ACU and his contributions as an extraordinary and beloved professor, mentor, colleague, and friend. Please send a short video greeting, note of appreciation, words of encouragement, memory, or anything else you wish to share with Steve to denise.waldrop@acu.edu; or mikee.delony@acu.edu by May 15th.

Do you miss being on campus? Would you like to add variety to your new Zoom life? University Marketing and Strategic Communications has created 17 custom backgrounds with photos of the most beautiful spots on campus. Download your favorite here  and learn how to customize your background here.

It is extremely important for supervisors to verify and approve time for student employees.  The University agreed to pay students during the campus closure only through April 9th.  Students should only be entering hours for time that they actually worked.  If a student submitted a timesheet in error, please be sure to delete the timesheet from your queue.  To do so, click on the employee’s name in your summary to bring up their timesheet and from there you should have an option to delete the record.  Please do not use the “return for correction” option.  Contact us at humanresources@acu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

It’s time to cast your ballot for the June 2020 – May 2022 staff senators!

Each year you choose 10 new senators to represent you on the Staff Senate. Please review the candidates and cast up to 10 votes. You may only submit one ballot, so please carefully review your submission. Voting will remain open through Friday, May 1. Click here to vote today!

Beginning this week, Human Resources office will be open on Friday’s from 1:00-3:00  p.m. You may contact us via email at humanresources@acu.edu or by phone at 324-674-2359. Staff will be monitoring and responding remotely during regular working hours. (Documents can be left through office door slot.)

Pam Sullivan will teach two courses in the Fall 2020 semester related to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Successful completion of both courses will result in a TESOL certificate. These courses are excellent resources for students and anyone interested in traveling or teaching among speakers of other languages. Several of ACU’s recent Fulbright semi-finalists and finalists have completed the TESOL certificate as part of their preparation and application for this experience, so these courses might be of special interest to those considering Major Scholarships/Fellowships.

ENGL 340 (CRN 11157) – ST: TESOL Teaching Strategies/Practicum
ENGL 440 (CRN 11158) – ST: TESOL Theories & Methods

Please pass this information on to any interested persons, and contact Pam Sullivan (pgs06b@acu.edu) with any questions.

You are invited to nominate students for the August 2020  Honor Awards!  Please share this email with the faculty and staff of your department.  You can click on this link to view a list of the eligible graduating seniors included in a drop down menu on the webpage.  Nomination reasons should be at least a paragraph describing the student’s personal attributes or contributions that correspond to the award nomination.
Your input will assist the Student Life Committee in making appropriate decisions with respect to the final recipients for Honor Man or Honor Woman, Trustees Award, B Sherrod Scholarship, or Dean Adams Achievement.

Please submit your nominations for the August 2020 Honor Awards by 12:00 PM on Friday, April 24, 2020.

Should you have any questions, please contact me, Susan Gore at susan.gore@acu.edu or 674.2067.

Student Life Honor Awards

Honor Man and Honor Woman:  Character, a recognized example of the ideal student; scholarship (minimum GPA of 3.25)
One man and one woman graduating and May and December will receive this award at Commencement Rehearsal.

B Sherrod Scholarship:  Overall contribution to the University.  A minimum of a  $500 scholarship is included with award to be used for graduate school (ideally at ACU).
One to two men or women graduating in May or December will receive awards at Commencement Rehearsal.

Dean Adams Achievement:  Character, cultural growth and development, obstacles overcome by student (financial or otherwise).
One to four men or women will be chosen to receive awards at commencement in December and May.

Trustees Award*:  Character, outstanding achievement which has brought honor to the University.

One to four men or women will be chosen to receive awards at commencement in December and May Commencement Rehearsals.

ACU students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in 2020 Virtual Maker Fest, April 16-30.  We will send you a packet of supplies via Maker Mail for you to make your own hand-stitched leather journal at home, plus we will provide online support and opportunities of sharing.  The project is FREE (which includes postage to your house) for the first 100 people who register.  Keep in mind that we can only mail Maker Fest packets to U.S. addresses.  Visit https://makerlab.online/virtualmakerfest/ to register.

The 2020 ACU Virtual Undergraduate Research Festival is here: https://blogs.acu.edu/researchfest/
The Virtual Festival features both poster and oral presentations in the Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM, as well as finalists from the Pruett Gerontology Center’s Images of Aging photography contest. Prizes will be awarded to outstanding presentations and faculty mentors will be announced on Friday, April 17th.

All staff and student employees should submit their leave reports and timesheets today, April 13. Supervisors will need to approve the leave reports and timesheets tomorrow, April 14. You can access the payroll calendar as well as subscribe to the Human Resources calendar for additional dates.