January 2021 Division Update

MUSIC ACTIVITIES

All of the Texas A&M University choirs are auditioning for the spring 2021 semester. Auditions are open to any Texas A&M students for all the choirs, which include the Singing Cadets (all male), Women’s Chorus (all female), and Century Singers (mixed). To schedule an audition or receive more information email David Kipp. 

In light of successful fall musical presentations with no known COVID spread within ensembles, the University Bands, Orchestras & Jazz Ensembles will continue rehearsals with similar research recommended COVID protocols and on-line concerts. Streamed concerts will begin toward the end of February. Dates with concert links will follow in future updates.

VETERAN RESOURCE & SUPPORT CENTER

Aggie Shields is diligently working to get all requested textbook requests fulfilled and distributed for the  spring semester. Student veterans in need of textbooks who didn't complete an application can request volumes by emailing shieldsofficers@gmail.com.

Monteigne Long, assistant director of the TAMUS Office of Veteran Services, is running for co-chair of the NASPA Veterans Knowledge Community (VKC). Ballots were sent to active NASPA members; elections end Feb. 10. If you are member of the VKC, please consider supporting our colleague! For more information, visit the NASPA elections webpage.  

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DoIT)

Welcoming Swarup Das to the DoIT family!

It’s our pleasure to introduce Swarup R. Das to the DoIT Family as our new business relationship manager. With more than 25 years of experience in the military, security, facilities management, and academic sectors, Das is well-versed in technology innovation, value management and delivery, training and communication, and business relationship management.

UNIVERSITY CENTER & SPECIAL EVENTS (UCEN)

UCEN will continue to host academic classrooms in our facilities throughout the spring 2021 semester.

We now offer fully-virtual event services. Visit  our website to learn more!

OFFICES OF THE DEAN OF STUDENT LIFE

Health Promotion would like to recognize the thoughtfulness and work of the Texas A&M Student Senate, which passed resolution 73-28 during the fall 2020 semester to officially recognize October as Domestic Violence Prevention & Awareness Month. This resolution specifically "acknowledges the importance of the public health issue of domestic violence, seeks to extend support to victims of domestic violence, and recognizes the increased importance of this issue in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

New Student & Family Programs (NSFP) was recently recognized as the Campus ESP 4th Quarter MVP. NSFP is one of Campus ESP’s 100+ customers utilizing the parent communication platform. The MVP award recognizes Texas A&M’s creative use of the platform to implement the Summer 2020 Virtual Family & Guest New Student Conference.

Similar to the fall 2020 semester, all students were required to complete a COVID-19 student training and certification before the start of the spring semester. As of Jan. 22, more than 63,000 students had completed the training, which launched Jan. 4. Students will be unable to access the Howdy portal unless they complete the training. 

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Staff continue to share expertise and best practices in the field:

• Jay Skye and Josh Brown will present at the Black & Multicultural Greek EMPOWERMENT Summit.
• Marlee Jones and Bruce Brown had a NASPA presentation accepted: "Factors that influenced the success of the online COVID-19 transition for first-year students."

Staff are also being acknowledged for their excellent work:

• Bradley Burroughs received the ACPA First Year Experience Outstanding New Professional Award.
• Isaiah Villarreal (photo) won first place in the Order of Omega Case Study Competition at the 2020 AFA Virtual Annual Meeting. 

Our students are representing their communities with excellence as well:

• 28 Multicultural Greek Council and National Pan-Hellenic Council students will participate in the Black & Multicultural Greek Empowerment Summit
• Collegiate Panhellenic Council has three officers participating in National Panhellenic Conference Academy

The latest Leading with Student Activities Podcast focuses on "Digital Recruitment - Learning from the FLAC (Freshman Leadership Advisory Council) Recruitment Process." The FLAC recruitment process involves a shared recruitment system that is used by 20 Freshman Leadership Organizations.

Stompfest, the annual program brought to you by the National Pan-Hellenic Council, will not take place this year due to COVID-19.

RECREATIONAL SPORTS

Our new Polo Road Rec Center is open! Amenities include a strength and conditioning room complete with free weights, machine/pin select strength equipment, cardiovascular machines, and a turf area for exercises, medicine balls, and stretching. There is an activity room for fitness classes, locker rooms, towel service, and free, day-use lockers. Visit our website for information!

Intramural Sports begins registration for its first seven programs of the semester on Jan. 25! Registration will continue on most Mondays throughout the semester. Students, staff, and faculty and anyone with a Rec Sports membership can join by purchasing their Unlimited Play Pass for just $20 at www.imleagues.com/tamu.

Join a Group RecXercise class in person or virtually! And our free “try before you buy” specialty classes are happening through Jan. 31. For more information, visit our fitness class webpage. All-access and virtual recxercise class passes now available; buy yours today through the Rec Sports app or at https://recconnect.tamu.edu/

Want to climb, swim or play racquetball? Make a reservation by clicking the “reservations” icon on our app to schedule time in a racquetball court, the indoor lap pool, the lap lanes of the Cain Outdoor Pool, the indoor rock wall, or bouldering wall. Download our app here. 

RESIDENCE LIFE

Congratulations to Tiona “Ti” Broussard, administrative coordinator II in the Housing Assignments Office, who was appointed by the College Station City Council to the Construction Board of Adjustments for a three-year term. We appreciate her willingness to represent the City of College Station and serve the community.

Students are returning to on campus housing for spring and anticipated occupancy is up slightly from fall between current, returning and new residents to 90%. We are grateful to staff and residents for their participation in COVID protocols while creating an Aggie experience to remember.

Residence Life is looking to launch a new sustainability initiative this spring in partnership with Soles4Souls for Aggies to donate gently worn shoes. This initiative advances goal 06-7 of the Campus Sustainability Master Plan to provide more opportunities for residents to donate durable goods. Soles4Souls will distribute collected shoes to developing countries. More information is forthcoming.

COUNSELING & PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES (CAPS)

Welcome back! We are here and invested in supporting our students' mental health needs by providing a variety of services via telehealth. Our initial consultations are by phone while ongoing counseling can be by phone or Zoom. Scheduling an initial appointment is done through the student portal on our website. Check it out for information on what to expect and what resources are available.

 Visit our website to learn about spring groups and workshops, most of which will be via telehealth or in video format to watch  online here. 

HelpLine held its second in-person training class safely during this pandemic Jan. 11-16. The week began with 26 trainees; 16 completed the training. Each trainee has one final interview. This month HelpLine celebrates its 26th year of service at Texas A&M. Operational hours are 4 p.m. to -8 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours per day on weekends when classes are in session. Call HelpLine at 979-845-2700. Call. Talk. We’re Here!

We hosted our first training class for Aggies Reaching Aggies, a new peer educator initiative with a mission to raise awareness and prevent suicide at Texas A&M. Six completed our virtual training and will be serving as peer education mentors overseen and supervised by the Suicide Awareness & Prevention Office within CAPS. Visit our website to learn more! 

DIVERSITY COMMITTEE

The Division of Student Affairs Diversity Committee invites you to “Spirituals in Music” sponsored by the Department of Music Activities. During this session, Miguel Sousa, an instructor in Music Activities, will talk about the influence of African-American spirituals in classical music and how our Texas A&M music ensembles have been experiencing it. Please join us by registering below.

Friday, Jan. 29, from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. Register here by Jan. 27.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Check out this fun boomerang we made on Instagram and posted on our social channels! If your area doesn't have Instagram, but would like to add fun clips like these to your social content rotation, check out Giphy to create GIFs and backdrops and decorate them with captions, filters, stickers, and more.

The Division of Student Affairs is hiring two assistant vice presidents for student affairs. Visit the search page of our website to learn more and share with qualified colleagues who may be a good fit. (The second position will be posted soon.)

We are hiring a multimedia project coordinator to manage the video program for our central team, along with other duties. Stay tuned ... the job will be posted on the Texas A&M employment website soon.

Scroll down a bit on our website and you will see a new "Campus Events" section that feeds from our Live Whale calendar system. We want to see events from all of our DSA departments on our division calendar! Please email Veronica Gonzalez Hoff to learn how you can contribute to this effort and / or create your own events calendar for your department.

Need our help with a marketing or communications project? Please think through all aspects of your plan and fill out our project request form before you start. 

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