March 2013 ACA General Meeting

Thanks to the Study Abroad office for sponsoring the March social time!

 

 ACA President Nathan Vickers presents the "Appreciating Campus Administrators" award for March to Dr. Terri Givens of the Department of Government.

Jessica Miller (left) and Tanya Andrien spoke to ACA about the Undergraduate Energy Management Certificate Program.  This is a certificate program that mixes geology and business, and it is particularly appropriate for engineers, geologists, etc.  The program offers networking, workshops, and mock interviews.  They also offer a summer program.

Herpreet Singh from Undergraduate Studies provided ACA information on flags.  The goal is to implement all flags for all colleges in the 14-16 catalog.  Ms. Singh went on to discuss writing flags and petitions to attach flags to courses in transfer, among other topics. 

Dr. Lorraine Pangle discussed The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas (CTI).  Dr. Pangle is co-director of the Center.  According to Dr. Pangle, the focus of the certificate program is on great books (classical philosophy, texts of major world religions, political philosophy, American government) and new ways to study ethics, and is excellent for pre-law students.  Students can minor in CTI as well. 

Finally, Erik Funkhouser spoke to ACA about the UT Energy Symposium, an interdisciplinary speaker series on environmental energy.  Both undergraduates and graduates can earn course credit through this program.  Every week a speaker representing industry, government, or academia is brought in to address the symposium, and students get an opportunity to network with CEOs and government leaders.

Thereafter, the meeting adjourned.  

Member Spotlight: Joel Mendolusky

Hometown: Amherst, NH

College attended: The University of Texas at Austin


Degrees earned: BSCSD Communication Sciences and Disorders (1995), BA Psychology (1995) and English (2003)



Job Title: Senior Academic Advisor

Hobbies: Computer gaming, movies, reading

Current job at UT:  Advising psychology majors in the College of Liberal Arts

How many years worked at UT: I worked for three years as a work-study in the Graduate Office of the Department of Psychology and after a one-year hiatus, I was hired to replace my advisor, Laura Cole, in the Undergraduate Office for that same department in 1996.

Most challenging aspect of job: The most challenging, as well as most satisfying, aspect of advising is finding solutions to new problems.  With new, significant changes coming with each successive catalog, problems arise on a regular basis.

Favorite thing about current job: Advising students in psychology who want to pursue grad school, law school, medical school, you-name-it,  allows me to live vicariously through them as they pursue their dreams.  I get to help them make choices I did not myself make when I was in college.

Success story in current position: In nearly 17 years here at UT, I have never burst into flames (knock on fire-retardant wood).  I'm going to count that as a success.

Member Spotlight: Linda Mayhew

Hometown: Holmdel, NJ

College(s) attended: Kalamazoo College for undergrad and The University of Texas at Austin for graduate work.

Degree(s) earned: Kalamzaoo College, BA in English and Russian; University of Texas at Austin, MA and PhD in Slavic Literature and Languages.

Job Title: Academic Advising Coordinator.

What are your hobbies?  Horseback riding, cycling, and homebrewing.  I also like to work in my yard, crochet, travel, read, and cook.

What is your current job at UT? Advising Coordinator for Liberal Arts Honors and Humanities.  I also teach a class for our first-year honors students in the Spring.

How many years have you worked at UT?  I've worked full-time at UT since May 2005.  But before then I worked part-time in Athletics and as an Assistant Instructor and TA in the Slavic Department.

What is the most challenging aspect of your current job?  Time Management.  Sometimes there are so many things going on that I really need to plan my day out very carefully to make sure that I get everything done.

What is your favorite thing about your current job?  I wear a lot of different hats in my job and while that can be a challenge, I also love it. Aside from advising and teaching, I put together a biannual newsletter, plan several events like graduation receptions and the Humanities thesis symposium, read scholarship applications and help with admissions for Liberal Arts Honors.

Tell us about one of your success stories in your current position (regarding a student, co-worker, project, etc.)  Two years ago, I started the LAH Fall Bike Ride. Upper-class LAHers volunteered to lead small groups of first-year LAHers on bike rides around town – to Zilker Park, food trucks, Phil's burgers.  UT Orange Bike Project loaned bikes for the day to students who wanted to go on the ride and didn't have bikes on campus.  We had about 20 students participate in the ride, even though the ride took place in August and it was 97 degrees.  Another 12 students participated in a walk to Toy Joy and Spider House.  Everyone came back to our office for an ice cream party.  I was really excited about how the bike ride and walk turned out – our first years got a chance to meet some other LAHers, as well as find some places to eat and study near campus.