Archive for November, 2020

Applications and abstracts for the 2021 Undergraduate Research Festival at Abilene Christian University are due on Friday, January 22, 2021 by 5 p.m. Due to COVID-19, the ACU Undergraduate Research Festival, scheduled for Tuesday, March 30, 2021, will be virtual this year. Oral presentations will be live synchronous sessions. Poster presentations will be pdf format with a brief video-recorded introduction. Students who present their research compete for Outstanding Presentation Awards in several categories. This year at the festival there will be a creative arts category for presentations focusing on digital, vocal, theatrical, and creative expression, as well as entries from the Images of Aging photography contest. Submissions may be made for Images of Aging through the following link: https://blogs.acu.edu/pruettgerontology/images-of-aging/ All other festival proposals should be submitted at blogs.acu.edu/uresearch/festival/ If you have questions, you may contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at orsp@acu.edu or the Office of Undergraduate Research at uresearch@acu.edu.

Due to inclement weather, this event has been rescheduled for Sunday, Dec. 20.

You are invited to visit United Way’s Winter Lightfest on a special discount night for faculty and staff. Tickets will be discounted to $1 with each ACU faculty or staff ID shown on Sunday, Dec. 20, between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Note that last admission to the park is at 9 p.m.  For a map to Winter Lightfest and other event details, please click here.

Family First is please to announce that Alexis Faulks is the recipient of the Kindness Award. Alexis is the Executive Assistant to the Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. ACU colleagues describe her as having a “true servant heart” and she has gone out of her way during the Covid Pandemic to show colleagues she cares and supports them. Alexis displays kindness off campus as well, by helping others in her community who need extra tasks done around the house. ACU is blessed to have Alexis as part of our community. The Family First Kindness Patrol showed up at her office with gifts to honor her for her acts of kindness. Look for opportunities next semester to nominate another faculty or staff member for the Kindness Award.

On behalf of the December 2020 senior class, we hope you’ll join us this Thursday, Nov. 19, for Candlelight Send-Off!

We’ll gather from 7-8:30 p.m. at Beauchamp Amphitheatre for a time of praise, prayer and encouraging our graduating seniors as they begin the next season of their journey.

Note: no outside guests may attend – this event is for December 2020 graduates and on-campus faculty and staff only. Thanks for doing your part to keep our on-campus community healthy and safe.

Please RSVP by this Wednesday, Nov. 18, so we can save a spot for you!

Last week, Apple released their newest macOS update, macOS 11 Big Sur. Updating to the new version can potentially cause problems ranging from software incompatibility to rendering the computer unusable. If you choose to update, please be aware that there is limited support we can provide until we receive updates to our supported software. We are in the process of testing our software, systems, and services with this update. Once all issues have been identified and resolved, we will begin supporting this update.

White Ribbon Week will be observed on campus this week. It is dedicated to educating those without disabilities to learn more about disabilities and how to advocate for those individuals. During this week, you are invited to two panel discussions. The first will be on Mon. Nov. 16, 7:30-8:30pm in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies building, Hart Auditorium. This panel will consist of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (autism and down syndrome) answering questions about what it is like to be a student with a disability. Parents of children with disabilities will then answer questions about what it is like to raise a child with a disability. The second panel will be on Fri., Nov. 20, 5:30-6:30pm, also in Hart Auditorium. This panel will consist of students with physical disabilities for the first 30 minutes as well as participants from this week’s Wheelchair Challenge for the last 30 minutes.

Chai Green, Library Digital Design Specialist since 2016 , is leaving the Library to become the director for ACU Online’s Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Program starting in Spring 2021. Chai has served in several teaching roles in the Library’s Innovation Foundry and Maker Lab, as well as serving in the Library’s Freshman Cornerstone Embedded Librarian program. We are excited that he is taking on this new responsibility for ACU and will continue to collaborate closely with the Abilene campus in his new role. If you would like to take the time to write Chai a note of gratitude, congratulations and encouragement, you can use the document link here.

As we move towards the Thanksgiving holiday, this is a good time to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. The Covid Pandemic can create a cloud of gloom and heaviness, sometimes depleting our gratitude. As a faith community we are reminded to not allow the sufferings of our lives to take away our deepest joys. Practicing gratitude is a great way to combat the challenges of the pandemic. Family First wants to encourage all of us to identify our blessings while we also face the challenges. Check on these two helpful resources on cultivating gratitude and thankfulness. This resource by the Mayo Clinic offers you a free, month-long self-guided virtual gratitude program. And this fun resource provides 10 meaningful thanksgiving gratitude activities that can be done at the holiday with kids. Happy Thanksgiving from Family First.

Nike and Under Armour Sale: 25% off thru November 13. In Store and Online. Champion Sale: 25% off thru November 15. In Store and Online. Apple Sale: We have lowered prices on previous generation MacBooks, MacBooks Pros, and seventh generation iPads. See store for details.

On Nov.16-20, the student chapter of Best Buddies International (a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities learn vital leadership skills, find jobs, find inclusive places to live and make friendships) is planning a wheelchair challenge in which faculty, staff and students will ride in wheelchairs for one day to see what it is like to be physically disabled and to see how accessible or inaccessible ACU is. The students are attempting to make this challenge into a fundraiser in which $10 is given to nominate a faculty/staff member or student to ride in a wheelchair for a day (8am-5pm) that week. All donations will be used to pay the student dues in order to remain a chapter of Best Buddies International. They are taking nominations from now until Nov. 19. To nominate someone, give $10 through this link, along with the name of the person you’re nominating.