Archive for January, 2022

Friends of ACU Library invites you to its spring event, Incurable Optimism: An Evening With Kate Bowler, on Thursday, March 3, at the Hunter Welcome Center. Individual tickets start at $50. All proceeds from the event will support the FACUL Endowment. We are excited about the opportunity to bring Bowler and her message to ACU while providing critical support to Brown Library. Click here to purchase individual tickets.  If you’d like to pay for a table sponsorship by FOAP, click here.

We’re excited to announce that Kathy (Gay ’78) Halbert of Colleyville, Texas, has been named the 2022 Outstanding Alumna of the Year. Brandon Osborne (’05) of Abilene is the 2022 Young Alumnus of the Year. Thanks to a generous gift from friends of the university, this event will be free of charge. We’ll gather at 12:30 p.m. in ACU’s Hunter Welcome Center to share a meal and honor these deserving alumni. Space is limited, so registration is required. Learn more and RSVP today.

We are working on completing the 1095-C forms by the IRS deadline of March 2nd. HR will notify employees once they are available.  Please note that you do not have to wait to file your 2021 tax return if you are receiving a 1095-C.  Once these forms are available on myACU Banner, you will receive an email notification from HR if you elected to opt into electronic delivery.

You can still opt in to receive your 1095-C electronically, please complete the below instructions as soon as possible. Paper copies for those who do not opt into electronic delivery will be mailed by March 2, 2022.

• Employee Tab
• Tax Forms
• Electronic Regulatory Consent
• Check the appropriate box and Submit

The MLK holiday (January 17), is included in this week’s pay period.  Please remember to record your regularly scheduled hours as Holiday on your timesheet or leave report today. If you have any questions, you may refer to HR’s website for the holiday calendar and leave benefits.

Love is in the air and Family First is offering a drawing for a free date night at Fort Refuge, the new development of Refuge Ranch, February 24th at 6:30 pm. Experience a wonderful evening of laughter and childlike wonder with your spouse at Fort Refuge – their new indoor location! Enjoy fabulous cheesy or sweet fondue options along with delicious treats and drinks! Fun surprises (and prizes!) will be revealed throughout the evening as you play nostalgic board games together with NEW twists designed to awaken your youthful spirit! Fort Refuge *New Indoor Location*, 364 CR 154, Tuscola, TX 79562 To enter, email familyfirst@groupmail.acu.edu Entry deadline is February 18th by 5pm.

Join us as we highlight Black contributors to the various disciplines represented on campus and learn about significant individuals in these fields. We are excited to celebrate individuals such as bell hooks, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Cone, and more. Feel free to invite students or colleagues to join you. Drop in for a few minutes or stay the entire time! Tuesday, February 8th, 11:30-1:00, Library Reading Commons.

The “2022 Summary of Benefits and Coverage” and the “Glossary of Health Coverage and Medical Terms” are now available for review on the HR website under the Employee Benefits, “Important Notices” section.

Dr. Robert Chao Romero will share his book, Brown Church on February 15, 2022 11:30 to 2:00 pm. in the Adams Center at ACU.  Dr. Romero is “Asian-Latino” and has been a professor of chicana/o studies and Asian American studies at UCLA since 2005.  He received his PhD. from UCLA in Latin American history and his J.D. from U.C. Berkeley and is also an attorney.  He has published 15 academic books and articles on issues of race, immigration, history, education, and religion, and received the latina/o studies book award from the International Latin American Studies Association.  Faculty can RSVP by emailing rsvp2ac@acu.edu. *Faculty only event.

Mark your calendar for Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. to celebrate the groundbreaking of our next residence hall. New Hall 2 is part of ACU’s new Freshman Village, which groups all freshman halls along East North 16th Street and will later include the renovation of Sewell Theatre into a Student Life Hub and additional renovation at other residence halls. New Hall 2 is scheduled for completion in Fall 2023.

In February we’ll be celebrating Black History Month with a variety of events. In addition to student activities planned by our Black Student Union, the Office of Multicultural Affairs has two excellent speakers from the higher education community coming to campus, and the Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action has events planned as well.

• On Feb. 1, an outdoor prayer event organized by the Spain Center will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first Black students enrolling at Abilene Christian College in 1962. The event will begin at the labyrinth east of Hunter Welcome Center at 4:30 p.m. and continue with a walk around the Lunsford Trail.
• Dr. Brandon Jones (‘06), associate director for student learning and development at the University of Texas at Austin, will be speaking about the realities of students of color and how to create experiences that engage difference. His presentation for faculty and staff will be Feb. 3 at the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning at 11:30 a.m.
• Kathryn Freeman, resident chaplain at Baylor University, will present on the importance of the voices of Black women in America. That event is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Brown Library Packer Forum.
• The Carter G. Woodson Lectures Series will take place Feb. 28. Check the Carl Spain Center website for more details as it gets closer.