Kim Dennis's Archive

ACU is excited to offer Medicare 101 Sessions to our employees again this year! We are hosting 2 virtual sessions with a Medicare expert, Tamela Southan, who will be able to answer any questions you may have regarding Medicare, how it works, how Medicare and ACU insurance work together and how they don’t, etc.

All employees who attend one of the sessions will also get a complimentary one-on-one session with Tamela to answer any follow-up questions you may have. Please feel free to invite your spouse to this virtual meeting as well.

Session 1:

Tuesday, 10/12, 10am-11am

Click here to join.

Session 2:

Wednesday, 10/13, 1pm-2pm

Click here to join.

A randomized selection of 600 faculty, staff and administrators received an email over the weekend to participate in The Great Colleges to Work For survey sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The program provides administrators and academic leaders “with insights on the quality of the workplace experience for faculty and staff.”  With over 1,000 institutions participating, ACU has been recognized often. Please check your email for the survey from The Great Colleges to Work For and/or ModernThink.  Participation in this survey is greatly appreciated.

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.

The ACU Library is offering current students, faculty, and staff access to the digital version and content of the New York Times, including breaking news, multimedia, opinion, blogs, videos and more. To activate your access : 1) Go to http://accessnyt.com 2) Search for and select “Abilene Christian University” 3) Create a NYTimes.com account using your @acu.edu email address If you have previously registered your @acu.edu email address on The New York Times site (paid or free), you will click the “Already have an account?” Log in here” link for Step 3, and login using your password that you have used for NYTImes.com previously. If you have been paying previously for a subscription to NYTimes.com using your @acu.edu email, then you will need to first cancel your paid subscription by calling/emailing NYT Customer Care at (800) 591- 9233 e-mail: customercare@nytimes.com For questions, contact Mark McCallon at mccallonm@acu.edu

In an effort to lower the number of COVID-19 cases on our campus, the university made the decision to limit most in-person gatherings with more than 25 people for the next two weeks. Consequently, we have made significant changes to tomorrow’s faculty and staff kickoff event and postponed ACU Night at the Zoo. The Alumni Relations team will send a separate email to registrants with updated information about these events. We have several virtual events still planned for this weekend – learn more at acu.edu/homecoming.

Shed Market sandwiches and Homecoming T-shirts will be available at the Hunter Welcome Center from noon –  2 p.m. on Saturday. Drive-through pickup will be available on the north portico side, and we’ll have tables set up on the west side of the building for walk-ups. Food and shirts will be available on a first come, first served basis.

This week, we are focusing on protecting our marriages during Covid. Creating a strong marriage is challenging even without Covid, and now these additional stressors can leave partners weary and neglecting their relationship. Can you relate? As we seek to care for our students, children, and other work and life demands, let’s remember to not put our marriages on the back burner. A little reflection and intentionality can be enough to strengthen the marital bond. Check out this article, 5 Quick Ways to Protect Your Marriage During Coronavirus. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help and support if the marital distress lingers. Let’s pray for our marriages and support each other along the way.

This week Apple is holding an event at which it is anticipated that they will announce the release date for 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.

The Maker Lab Homecoming Make & Take returns the Saturday of Homecoming, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. This year we have two project options: a 9” x 18” felt ACU Pennant or an ACU Lightbox. We have 150 lightbox kits available and plenty of pennants. Build your project in the lab (depending on capacity) or pick up your kit to build at home. Registration required and one kit allowed per household. RSVP

A consultant from TIAA will be offering individual counseling sessions via phone/virtual to discuss your personal financial situation and retirement investments on Oct. 23 & 26. Register for an appointment online.  Appointments are limited and are reserved on a first come, first serve basis.