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Dec. 15, 2004

ITC names interim director, interim associate director

A veteran of the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC), John L. Davis, has been named interim executive director while UTSA conducts a national search for a permanent leader of the institute. Davis, who currently serves as ITC associate executive director for operations, will begin his interim duties Jan. 1. Charles Crane, director of the UTSA Office of International Programs, will join the ITC management team as interim associate executive director. Crane will continue to direct the Office of International Programs while dedicating half of his time to the institute. Davis replaces Jerry Barloco, who recently announced his retirement.

Read more on UTSA Today.

 

Electrical work to bring Dec. 26 outage at 1604 Campus

A power outage originally planned for Dec. 24 at the 1604 Campus has been rescheduled for 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 26. The outage, which is not weather dependent, is necessary to perform upgrades to the primary electrical substation. All emergency electrical circuits will have power during the outage and backup generators will be tested. Facilities Services staff will walk through campus facilities after power is restored to ensure systems are back to normal.

More information: Rene Colunga, 458-5279

 

CAR collects toys for tots

The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) is collecting for Toys for Tots, a donation program organized by the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1947. Donated toys should be new and unwrapped and may be dropped in boxes at CAR (room 1.00.04, West Campus), the University Heights break room, 1604 Campus mailroom, Department of Anthropology faculty mailroom (HSS 4.03.36) or the Office of the Registrar, John Peace Library Building. Deadline for donations is 5 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 16.

More information: Sherrilyn Sunaz, 458-4378

 

New electronic security measure is now in effect

In order to continue to improve UTSA network security and to stay current with mandatory electronic security requirements of the State of Texas, UTSA has implemented changes in network password requirements. UTSA faculty and staff members may have received a message during the login process about their network password expiring.

With the upgrade to the UTSA central server system, your password must be changed every 90 days in accordance with these rules:

  1. The new password cannot contain all or part of the login account name (ex. john.doe@utsa.edu), and must be at least eight characters long.
  2. You cannot reuse any of your previous three passwords.
  3. The password must contain characters from three of the following categories: English upper case characters (A –Z), English lower case characters (a-z), base-10 digits (0-9), non-alphanumeric characters (!, #, $, %, ^)

Examples of passwords:
pa$sW3rd (Valid: uses lower case, non-alphanumeric, upper case, numeric, eight or more characters)
johndoe#1 (Invalid: uses the login name)
m!cr0so (Invalid: less than 8 characters)

More information: Help Desk, 458-5538

 

Professor seeks mentors for SMILE research project

Michael Karcher, associate professor of counseling, educational psychology, and adult and higher education, is seeking 80 volunteers for a research project. The volunteers will serve as mentors to middle and high school students in the Study of Mentoring in the Learning Environment (SMILE) project, which is part of the Communities In Schools of San Antonio organization. Each mentor will meet with one student one hour per week through the 2004-2005 academic year. Download an application and view a list of participating schools.

More information: Debby, 458-2963

 

Legal affairs office issues HOP updates

Updates have been made to two policies in the UTSA Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP): 9.1 “Nondiscrimination and Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct” (editorial change in policy) and 9.32 "Sponsored Programs Administration" (title and procedure updates).

More information: Legal Affairs, 458-4105

 

UTSA is offered discounted UTSA Night with the Spurs

UTSA community members can buy discounted tickets for UTSA Night at the Spurs vs. Wizards game set for 4 p.m., Monday, Jan. 17 at the SBC Center. Tickets are $17, for a $25.35 balcony seat, or $27 for a $37.35 balcony seat. Tickets include a free hot dog, soda and ice cream. A special post-game chalk talk with former UTSA great Devin Brown and special MC Sean Elliott is in section 128. Deadline to order tickets is Jan. 10. Tickets will be held at the SBC Center box office will-call window. Download the order form (Word document).

More information: Joe Reyes, 444-5725

 

OIT implements 'pushed' computer upgrades

The UTSA Office of Information Technology (OIT) has implemented a new process for installing (or “pushing”) computer upgrades on university machines running Windows 2000 or Windows XP. As a staff and faculty member, you will not be responsible for upgrading your personal computer -- these upgrades will be automatically installed on your machine. Following the successful update, you will be asked to reboot your PC. In most cases, you will be given the option of restarting your machine at a later time, but in some cases you may be required to restart your machine immediately. In either case, save your work and exit all software applications before restarting your computer.

More information: Help Desk, 458-5538

 

Payroll office issues several important reminders

  • New withholding rates and voluntary retirement plan limitations are effective with the Jan. 3 paycheck.
  • The semi-monthly payroll cut-off date for the December 1-15 payroll is Dec. 16, giving only one day to enter time sheets. The good news is that due to scheduling conflicts, semi-monthly/hourly payday will be one day early on Dec. 21. To accommodate those that may not be notified, payroll checks will be kept in Fiscal Services for two days: Dec. 21 and 22.
  • W-2 forms will be available for download via UTDirect Jan. 14 (possibly sooner). For those who don't print their copies from the Web, the Payroll Office will print W-2s beginning Jan. 28.
  • Want to receive your earnings statement electronically? Go to My Paycheck Profile. Each payday an e-mail is sent to you with a link to your earnings statement. At the site, you also can sign up for direct deposit. A UTEID is necessary for access. For more information, contact Cindy Orth, 458-4343 or Barbie Hanna, 458-4556.
  • There are new limitations on voluntary 403B and 457 plan contributions. Read more: http://www.utsa.edu/payroll/tsa.htm or http://www.utsa.edu/payroll/TexaSaver.htm.

More information: Payroll, 458-4280

 

Institutional Compliance offers management assessment tool

If your department has income from cash or checks, how do you assure that all of the income received was actually deposited? Find the answer to this question at the Management Assessment Tool (MAT) link.

For information on other management issues, view Web and printable versions of the entire MAT on the Leadership Accountability Web site.

More information: Donna Holmes, 458-4077

 

UTSA shuttle to run on modified schedule

The UTSA shuttle service will run on a modified schedule between semesters:

Dec. 15 -23 -- 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Dec. 27-31 -- no service
Jan. 3-14 -- 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Regular service resumes Jan. 18.

More information: Adrian Vilanova, 458-4290

 

Fire alarm inspections set for all campuses

Fire alarm system inspections are scheduled for Dec. 20-23, Dec. 27-30, Jan. 3 and Jan. 7 at the 1604 Campus. An inspection at the 1604 Campus child care facility is set for Dec. 20. Inspections at the Downtown Campus are Dec. 20-22, and Dec. 20 at the Institute of Texan Cultures. All inspections are at 7 a.m. until complete.

 

 

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