Wednesday, May 9, 2012

May 2012 ACA General Meeting

The May 8, 2012 ACA General Meeting, sponsored by New Student Services, featured updates from New Student Services, updates from The School of Undergraduate Studies, the presentation of our ACA Studnet and Professional Development Scholarships, and speeches from the nominees for ACA Executive Officers for the 2012-2013 academic year.


 








A huge THANKS to New Student Services for sponsoring and presenting at our meeting.  They featured treats at the meeting was Amy's Ice Cream!

As usual, members began the meeting by eating and mingling.


Our ACA Bobcat Crew


New Student Services
The staff from New Student Services discussed the changes happening to orientation for summer 2012.

Marc Musick - Associate Dean in Liberal Arts who has a special appointment by President Faulkner to oversee New Student Services.

Cristi Biggs, Assistant Dean of Students

Cristi Biggs, K.J. Harris, Esmer Bedia, & Kyle Clark - members of the New Student Services Team.


Undergraduate Studies
David Spight discussed the reorganization of the Sanger Career Counseling Services (which happened in March) and the office transitions occuring within the School of Undergraduate Studies during the month of May. 



ACA Professional Development & Student Scholarships
Sarah McKay and Janice Williams, members of hte ACA Awards & Recognition Committee, announced the winners of each of the $250 Professional Development and Student Scholarships.


Student Scholarships

Kayla Freeman - Radio/Television/Film senior.

Nancy Cardenas - Government & International Relations/Global Studies senior


Staff Professional Develoment Scholarships

Patty Micks - Senior Program Coodinator in The School of Undergraduate Studies First Year Experience

Kristen Kessel - Academic Advisor in the School of Social Work





ACA Executive Officer Nominee Speeches for 2012-2013
The nomination process was coordinated by Jennifer Jordan, ACA Secretary and Academic Advisor in the Biological Sciences Advising Center.  Jennifer announced nominations in the April meeting and collected nominees throughout the month of May.  Candidates for ACA Excecutive Officer positions were asked to give their nomination speeches.



ACA Co-Vice Presidents/Program Co-ChairNominees - Kayla Ford & Kristin Tommey

ACA Co-Secretary Nominees - Julia Chinnock & Cynthia Sullivan

ACA Co-Historian Nominees - Cynthia Gladstone (look between the fingers) & Angela Mirabito (as played by Lovelys Powell)

ACA Public Relations/Communication Coordinator Nominee - Mathew Haynes


The Candidates for President Elect were not able to make the ACA Meeting, but each asked an ACA Member to deliver a speech on their behalf.  JoAnne Huber read Kelly Strait's speech and Lovelys Powell read Rob Poyner's speech. 
Past Presidnet JoAnne Huber reads Kelly Strait's President-Elect speech


At the conclusion of the meeting, all uncontested nominees were voted in by the membership, leaving ACA President-Elect as the sole office to be elected by ballot.  Jennifer Jordan, ACA Secretary, announced the process for the election and the deadline for casting votes. 


The current ACA Executive Officers take a picture as they anticipate the election of their replacements.

2012-2013 ACA Officer Elections - Vote for President-Elect

For our 2012-2013 Officer Elections the ACA membership agreed to elect those candidates that ran unopposed for their respective positions. The position of President-Elect was the only contested position and now requires a vote by our dues paid members. The position has two candidates running for election and their speeches can be read below.  Please look for an e-mail message from Jennifer Jordan with instructions on casting your vote.

Speeches (in alphabetical order):


Rob Poynor Academic Advisor Rob Poyner - Senior Academic Advisor for the Department of Computer Sciences

I am very excited about the possibility of being a part of the leadership for ACA at UT Austin. I am not sure if we are all fully aware of the far reaching aspects of our involvement in ACA. The first campus wide advising organization I belonged to was created after a visit from a member of UT Austin ACA. There are 22,000 students being better served at that institution because someone at UT cared and took the time to help organize the voice of advisors on that campus.

As the climate toward higher education continues to change in our state the impact on our campus is great. The next five years are very important for us and our students. As graduation rates become the center of focus we will  undoubtedly face many challenges. I hope that we can face those challenges as if we were a new organization with the new ideas, vim and vigor. Yet with the seasoned experience of veterans understanding the obstacles and challenges unique to our campus.

I am not sure what the future holds but, I know there is not another group of people I would rather face that future with than my world class colleagues on this world class campus. Not only can we rise to the challenge we can master it and continue to provide a student oriented educational environment second to none.

My ACA Involvement includes:
ACA Co-Public Relations/Communications
ACA Advisory Council
ACA Professional Development Day
ACA Advising Day Committee (Is this what it is called still?)
ACA Scholarship Committee
ACC/UT Transfer Event Committee
ACA Mentor



Photo: Kelly Strait Kelly Strait- Senior Academic Advisor - College of Liberal Arts
Good morning, ACA! I am sorry I’m unable to be there with you today. (And many thanks to Jo Anne for speaking on my behalf!)

I am truly honored to be a candidate for the 2012-13 ACA President-Elect. We all know how overwhelming the UT campus can be, but being a member of ACA has provided me with something that’s crucial for everyone on campus to find: COMMUNITY. In my experience, ACA has been a place for advisors and other staff to share information, work together, and support one another in accomplishing common goals.

ACA has been a tremendous source of knowledge and encouragement during my (almost) 6 years at UT as an academic advisor. Though I am both an Aggie (WHOOP!) and a Sooner (BOOMER!), the ACA community has been incredibly welcoming and really made me feel a part of the Longhorn family. I’ve had the honor and privilege of serving ACA in a variety of capacities including, Holiday Party Committee, Advising Expo Co-Chair, Scholarship Committee Chair, and Public Relations Coordinator.

As we all know, the role of an advisor isn’t just advising anymore—we’re course schedulers, we advise student organizations, we plan events, we oversee programs and committees…the list goes on and on. And with budget cuts and constraints affecting us at every turn, it is more important than ever for ACA to provide opportunities for professional development and fellowship. As President-Elect, I hope to work with my fellow officers…
– To continue strengthening ACA’s voice and presence on campus.
– To provide educational opportunities to better advising procedures and resources and increase student success.
– To offer support in departmental and campus-wide programs.
– To push for our members to serve on campus-wide committees dealing with vital changes, like four-year graduation rates and orientation.
– And to make sure we take time to recognize our hard work and celebrate our successes.


I can’t thank you enough for the opportunity to serve ACA in this capacity. And I truly hope to follow in the footsteps of the great Theresa Thomas as the second president-elect/National Karaoke League Champion!