Archive for January, 2022

ACU Athletics and Hanner Chevrolet GMC have teamed up to thank and publicly recognize departments on campus who play a significant role in the success of our student athletes. We are happy to announce that our students, coaches, and staff have selected Alumni Relations and University Events as this month’s department honoree! The Alumni Relations and University Events teams create a significant advantage for the Department of Athletics. “Often behind the scenes, they are a critical part of the gameday experience both at home and away events,” states Deputy Athletic Director, Steve Harrell. The team leads efforts in football tailgating, watch parties, special events and away game gatherings. “They are always looking for ways to help engage by organizing, marketing, and executing exceptional events for our alumni and fans. ACU Athletics is grateful for the time and energy they provide to support our teams,” says Steve Harrell. To show appreciation, our partners at Hanner Chevrolet GMC will be providing lunch for their team. The department will also be recognized in a feature story on ACUSports.com and during the upcoming men and women’s basketball games. In addition, our partners at Hanner Chevrolet GMC encourage all ACU faculty/staff to explore their GM Educator Discount Program when considering their next vehicle purchase.

Monday, January 31, ACU alumna Janet Kellogg Ray is coming to Abilene to talk about the message of her new book: Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark?: The Bible and Modern Science and the Trouble of Making It All Fit. Janet’s visit will be hosted at Highland Church of Christ, and the first 100 guests will receive a free copy of her book! – book signing at 6pm – presentation at 7pm – 20 pt chapel credit for students Students will also be given chapel credit for a second presentation, Tuesday, February 1, in Halbert-Walling Research Center, 101 at 11 am.

The Lunar New Year is the most important celebration in many Asian countries. It is a 7-day holiday during which families meet together in their home towns and feast on special foods. Family and friends exchange good wishes for the coming year, shoot off fireworks, decorate with red decorations, and give red envelopes with money to the children. In the spirit of celebrating the Lunar New Year alongside our students, The Office of International Students & Visiting Scholars would like to invite everyone to wear red on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Ask your international students about the way their family celebrates the Lunar New Year!  The World Famous Bean will also be serving a variety of Asian dishes for lunch on 2/1 to celebrate the Lunar New Year! Hope you can plan to enjoy some great food and join in the celebration! This would be a great opportunity to invite some students to have lunch with you.

Summer is right around the corner and it’s not too early to start thinking about getting your children ready for pool season. Contact Alyssa Hawkins at akh04b@acu.edu for information about private swim lessons at the SRWC.

Join us at the ACU Men’s Basketball game on February 2nd at 7pm vs Chicago State as we Celebrate our ACU Faculty and Staff! ACU Athletics is thankful for everything you do for our Student Athletes and would like to offer you free admission into the Men’s game on 2/2 at 7pm. #GoWildcats

After 35 years of dedicated service to Brown Library, Gary Oliver retired on January 14th. For most of Gary’s time at AVU, he worked as a Cataloging Librarian. In addition to his service to ACU, he spent numerous years as a participant in the Program for Cooperative Cataloging at the Library of Congress, where he has served our country well in doing original cataloging for the Library of Congress. In lieu of a retirement reception, please send your congratulations to Gary via a card or email at oliverg@acu.edu.

If you are interested in lowering your prescription costs, please make sure you compare prices on Cost Plus Drug Company and GoodRx.

Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy promising affordable prices on prescription medications has launched. The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company cuts out middlemen. It negotiates directly with drug manufacturers and pharmacies for rebates and discounts on behalf of employers, health insurers, and government health programs. It says it’s offering the lowest direct-to-consumer prices on more than 100 medications, including those commonly prescribed for high cholesterol and blood pressure. The pharmacy is cash only for now. The company hopes to allow customers to use their insurance by next year.

Don’t forget about GoodRx, where you can see current prices at the pharmacies in your area and select the lowest cost for your prescriptions.

You will not use your insurance card with either of these programs, but you can still pay with your HSA or FSA cards.

It is a new year, and what better time to learn a new skill. This semester, the Innovation Foundry will be offering a 3-part series on Photoshop. Photoshop can be a very intimidating application, but understanding how it works can give you the confidence to be creative. Join us on Friday, Jan. 21st at 10:00 am in the Innovation Foundry to get started on your creative journey. (Virtual Option Available) RSVP Here.

The new process for Concur out of pocket expenses was implemented December 1, 2021, please refer to the November 15, 2021 announcement in the HR newsletter. If you have submitted a report with an out of pocket expense, your transaction is now being processed through your Wildcat Pay Portal as a refund after posting to your employee account under your Banner ID. Please note that this is the same system we use for student accounts so you may get a notification that uses the terminology “student refund”. Refunds are processed weekly. To expedite receiving your refund, please set up your direct deposit information in your Wildcat Pay Portal on the my.acu.edu home page under Accounts and Balances. You will go to Electronic Refunds in Wildcat Pay Portal to enter your direct deposit information. This is a one-time setup of banking information. If you choose to not set up direct deposit under your Wildcat Pay Portal, the refund will process automatically up to 6 days later in the next Accounts Payable check run with your current payment method on file with A/P. If you did not receive a refund notification for your out of pocket expenses, please check your balance in Wildcat Pay Portal as you may have an outstanding charge that the out of pocket reimbursement was applied to.