March 22, 2007
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In This Issue
Message from the Vice President for
Student Affairs
Indra's Net
From the Rig Veda * as described by Anne Adams and quoted in Turning to One Another; Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, by Margaret J. Wheatley
Well, today's my seven week anniversary (soon I'll have enough experience to count it in months!). As you know, I've spent much of these seven weeks moving around campus learning about the good work being done in the Division of Student Affairs. I've heard about successes, challenges, frustrations, issues and great programs and wonderful services. I've met staff members who care about our university and our students and take pride in the work being done. There is a lot going on!
Getting everyone on the schedule takes time and when one looks at various departmental organizational charts (and the one for the division as a whole) it can be daunting. And when you add the University's chart it is not unreasonable to want to think about it in smaller pieces and forget about (or try to ignore) the larger, highly complex whole. And the reality is that most days, we connect with only part of the greater organization, so it can be easy to look only at a small portion of the little boxes and forget about the lines that keep everything connected.
Some organizational development theories now propose that instead of hierarchies we think about organizations in a more circular way, sort of like a spider's web. And yet, even with that image, we still tend to think in two dimensions - very flat. But I wonder if our organizational chart isn't better represented as a star chart existing in three dimensions and instead of lines connecting each box to two or three other boxes, there are many lines are radiating out from each point connecting each of us to multiple parts of the organization.
With an organizational chart like that it becomes clearer that my work supports, or diminishes, your work and everyone else's work and the same is true for every one of us. I hope that when you feel a bit frustrated in this big organization you'll tug on your threads of support to ask for help and that you'll return the support to others. In the same way, if you are tempted to complain about 'their' work, you might stop and look for ways all these connections are impacting them and see if there is another way to understand what's happening.
So as you go about your work, remember that each of us benefits from the good work of everyone else in our organizational net. Our combined reflected light is much brighter than that of any individual.
Gage
* The Rig Veda is a collection of over 1,000 hymns and is considered to be one of the foundations of the Hindu religion.
Announcements Student Government Elections Student Affairs staff are asked to encourage students in their offices to vote in the upcoming Student Government elections. The elections are scheduled for March 27-28, 2007 on Banner ASAP. The Student Government Association will be filling all of its Executive Officer positions along with College and Class Senator Positions. The election results will be announced on March 29 in UTSA Today.
Directors' Reports
As per Executive Council Meeting, February 13, 2007, VPSA will not require monthly reports. However, departments are encouraged to provide updates of their events, activities, etc. to the VPSA office for inclusion in the bi-weekly newsletter, Student Affairs Staff News. University Life
Awards Ceremony on April 5th The Student Government Association invites members of the UTSA Community to attend this year's University Life Awards Ceremony on April 5, 2007 at 6:00pm in the Retama Auditorium. The University Life Awards is in its 31st year and celebrates both the academic and extracurricular achievement of our student body. Additionally, the awards ceremony honors faculty and staff who have excelled in their positions and been active in supporting student success on campus. For more information on the ceremony, please contact the Office of Student Activities at 458-4160. To All Parents of a Current UTSA Student or Alumni: We want you to share your experiences with new UTSA parents! Get involved with Orientation and Transition Services and The UTSA Family Association. The OTS team is finalizing plans in anticipation of another great summer, as we welcome over 6,000 new students and their families to UTSA. As part of the Fall 2007 Rowdy Ties Family Orientations, we would like to present a Parent-to-Parent session in which parents of current or past UTSA students speak to parents of new UTSA students. The session will be presented in an informal, 30-minute format, and will be held during family orientations at the 1604 and downtown campuses . Family orientations are held once a week and occur throughout the months of June, July, and August for a total of nine Parent-to-Parent sessions. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase our university staff who also double as UTSA parents. If you are interested in participating in these sessions, please contact Julio Joey Ramos at Orientation and Transition Services- ext. 4724.
Athletics All Sport Schedule Highlights - San Antonio Area
See GoUTSA Sports Weekly Schedule for more information.
BB - Baseball WT - Women's Tennis WTF - Women's Tennis Finals MT - Men's Tennis SB - Softball
Events 
Group X Schedule - "There's Something for Everybody"The Group X program is available to all UTSA students and Rec Center members. There is no commitment or sign up required. You may come as frequently as you choose!! Participants must "sign in" for each class. The "sign in" is located immediately on your left or right when entering a studio. Class space is limited so come early! The studios are located on the second floor of the Rec Center to the right of the stairs. Click on above Campus Rec for a printable 2007 Spring Schedule.
Student
Activities
The Office of Student Activities is currently accepting nominations for Student Leader of the Month for March 2007. Nomination forms can be completed online at www.utsa.edu/sa/leadutsa/slotm.cfm and are due by April 2, 2007. The Student Leader of the Month program is part of a comprehensive leadership development program sponsored by Student Activities and seeks to recognize those student leaders who are integral members of our campus community. Monthly winners are presented with a certificate and have their stories highlighted in UTSA Today and the Student Activities Newsletter. For more information on this program, please contact Marlon Anderson at ext. 6114. See Weekly Events Starting March 26, 2007
In The Loop Prize-Winning Newsletter
Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services New Call Center Complete!
The blue-prints have started to come alive for The Office of Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services! Call Center staff started moving into their new “homes” in February. Located in the former scholarship office, this renovation marks the first completion of a multi-phase office renovation.
Construction and renovations will continue for other parts of the office during the next several months, but this first phase has started the domino effect of the remaining offices to be completed. For the past several months, only blue-prints and talks of the renovation filled the office. The completion of the new Call Center is an exciting start to seeing those plans develop.
Reminder Please remember to encourage students to link to the Student Affairs Student Ombudsperson web page and Student Concern Form. Send newsletter items to Vivis.Lemmons@utsa.edu by Monday, April 2, 2007.
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- Student
Leader of the Month 