ChancellorSeptember 13, 2024

Campus Update, Sept. 13, 2024

Written By: Terisa Riley

Happy Friday, colleagues and students.

It is hard to believe that we just completed the 4^th week of the semester which means we are ¼ of the way through this fall term. Time flies when you are working hard and having fun.

Shelter in Place Alert: This week, the University Police Department did a fantastic job of securing our campus and sending timely warning notices to everyone in light of the news that a person with an active warrant was believed to be on the UAFS campus. I am grateful for the excellent partnerships we have with local law enforcement officials who communicated with us through each step of their pursuit of the individual. It was later determined that the individual in question did walk through our campus property but did not spend any significant time on campus and was never a threat to anyone. Frankly, while our “shelter in place” was a precaution, we would much rather overreact than under react to these sorts of situations.

If you have not signed up for university alerts through Rave Guardian, please take a minute to do so now: https://uafs.edu/student-life/campus-safety/inclement-weather/lions_alert.php. The University uses this app to notify employees and students of a variety of situations such as inclement weather, campus closures, and campus safety information.

Counseling Center: Our Counseling Center offers professional and confidential counseling services to help students address personal or mental health challenges. The Counseling Center is located in the Pendergraft Health Sciences Center, room 129. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Counseling Center at 479-788-7398. Student fees cover this service allowing students to receive eight free counseling sessions per academic year.

Board of Trustees: This week, I represented UAFS at the September meeting of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees held in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The university’s only agenda items were included in the Committee on Audit and Fiscal Responsibility where we reported on completion of some recommended improvements in Payroll. Particularly, it was important for us to ensure that all employees have all required documents at the time of hire in order to issue compensation to them. I appreciate the Department of Human Resources and Payroll for immediately taking corrective action and ensuring that we exceeded the expectations of our auditors and Trustees.

Fall Staff Meeting: A big thank you to the UAFS Staff Senate for hosting a very successful University Staff meeting today. We heard important information about our preparations and timeline for our reaffirmation of accreditation visit by the Higher Learning Commission on February 24-25, about Title IX and our roles as mandatory reporters, learned about ethics in admissions, and received updates about our transition from Banner to Workday Student. I particularly appreciated the phenomenal keynote speech by Lynette Thrower who emphasized the desire each person has to “belong” to something bigger than themselves and to matter to others.

Faculty Open Forum: Faculty are invited to the fall Faculty Open Forum hosted by the Faculty Senate. The event will be held on Tuesday, September 17 from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in the Windgate Theatre in the Windgate Art and Design Building. Please see the link in the previous emails sent by Faculty Senate Chair Dr. Alex Zacharella to register to participate via Zoom.

I hope you have a safe and relaxing weekend, Lions.

Terisa Riley

Terisa C. Riley, Ph.D.

Chancellor

University of Arkansas Fort Smith

• Tags:
• Chancellor