NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Athletics’ Breast Cancer Awareness Game

UM athletic teams are continuing the fight against breast cancer with their Breast Cancer Awareness Game at the Falcons’ women’s basketball game against Christian Brothers University on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m.

At the game, the Athletics Department will host a silent auction with a pink basketball signed by the women’s basketball team. Other activities at the game include a bake sale, face painting, hair braiding, nail painting and a photo booth with Freddie the Falcon. T-shirts supporting the fight against breast cancer will be on sale for $15 (S-XL) and $20 (2XL-3XL). All proceeds will benefit breast cancer research. Contact the Athletics Department at 205-665-6600 for more information.

UM Announces Environmental Education Program

The University is excited to announce the Environmental Education Program. This new program provides experiential learning opportunities at UM’s Organic Community Garden, Ebenezer Swamp Ecological Preserve, James Wylie Shepherd Observatory, University Lake and more throughout campus. By using inquiry-based, hands-on lessons, we offer impactful learning opportunities using the outdoors as a classroom. Learn more about the program and field trip offerings at montevallo.edu/eeprograms.

HSO Hosting Salsa Showdown

The Hispanic Student Organization will host its first ever Salsa Showdown on Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Farmer Hall. We are asking students, faculty, staff and the Montevallo community to participate to see who is voted best salsa in Montevallo! First, second and third place prizes will be awarded. If you would like to enter and show off your master salsa-making skills, please contact Alexis Perez or Lizeth Ramirez by Feb 14. All are welcome to sample and vote for your favorite salsa.

Annual Staff Performance Evaluation — One Final Training

*This message applies only to staff employees and their supervisors.

If you are a new staff employee (including part-time employees, but excluding temporary and student employees), or if you are new to supervising staff employees and you did not attend a training session last year, you must attend a training session this year.

If you attended a performance evaluation training session last year, you are not required to attend one this year. However, we strongly encourage all employees, especially those serving in a supervisory capacity, to attend one of these sessions. Please see the note at the bottom of this message to get started with the performance evaluation process.

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., one final training will be held in the Master Classroom, Wills 200. Please email hr@montevallo.edu to register. 

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Note: The online self-evaluation tool is now accessible. If you’ve attended a training session, you may at this point begin your self-evaluation. The most direct way to access the portal is to click on the link from the Performance Review reminder emails you receive periodically from Human Resources. Simply click on the highlighted link and it will take you to the UM login screen. Or you may use the direct link jobs.montevallo.edu/hr. Log into the system by using your UM user name and password. To move into the Performance Management System, click the “three dots” in the top left-hand corner. Next click “University of Montevallo Employee Portal” located under OTHER TOOLS.Then click, “My Reviews” and finally, “Employee Self-Evaluation” to start your 2019 Self-Evaluation.

Montevallo Yoga Festival

Need something to look forward to now that College Night is over? Save the date for the Montevallo Yoga Festival, Saturday, May 16, on the UM campus. MoYo promotes wellness for the whole body and every body and connects people to teachers, products and information that will assist them on their journey to optimal health and a healthy lifestyle. Early-bird cost is $50. Student cost is $20. Event includes 16 yoga and wellness workshops, two vegan/vegetarian meals, access to gifted artists and unique vendors. For more information, visit montevallo.edu/moyo or email moyofest@montevallo.edu.

Training Opportunity: Teaching Effectively Online

Do you plan to teach online? Would you like to learn how to better utilize Canvas for your courses? Please join Online Instructional Designer Audra White for the training series “Teaching Effectively Online.” Completion of the three-part training certifies instructors to teach online or hybrid courses at the University. The training phases are sequential and must be completed in order. However, all phases do not have to be completed within a single semester or academic year.

The training phases and dates for this semester are:

Canvas Basics (face-to-face)
Friday, Feb. 21, noon to 1:30 p.m., or Tuesday, March 17, 3:30 to 5 p.m.

Pedagogy and Policy (online)
Feb. 21-27 or March 26-April 16

Building your Course (online)
April 17-24

To find out more about the individual phases of training and to register, please visit the Malone Center webpage and scroll to Teaching Effectively Online Training.

Student Host Families Needed for Sister City Visit

The Montevallo Sister City Commission is looking for families to host students. Exchange students from Montevallo’s Sister City of Echizen, Japan, will arrive March 13 and return home March 21. While here, they will learn about American customs, traditions and art. If you are interested in being a host, please contact Chris Fulmer by Feb. 29.

Applications Open for Enrollment in Child Study Center Pre-K

UM’s Child Study Center Pre-K program is now accepting applications for pre-registration for the 2020-2021 school year. The random drawing for acceptance will be held on March 20.
 
A copy of the child’s birth certificate and a recent utility bill must be uploaded or provided prior to the lottery drawing. Fees (tuition) for this program will be paid monthly during the school year and are based off a sliding income scale. We do not receive the sliding income scale until mid-summer.
 
For full details, visit this link. Even more detailed instructions in English or Spanish can be provided by request. If you need assistance or more detailed instructions, please call the FCS Office at 205-665-6385 or email Amanda Grauel.

EVENTS

Make and Take Event

Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 4 to 6 p.m., Bloch Hall 112

Co-sponsored by E-club, FCS and Sustainability Committee

What are we making? Sustainable meals, facial cleansers, laundry detergent, small clothing alterations and patches. First come, first served for containers. Bring your own containers to maximize sustainability efforts. Wear comfortable work clothes and bring any small hems, buttons and patchwork alterations you would like to fix. First come, first served for patches provided.

How to Develop an Effective Cover Letter

Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 3:30 p.m., UM’s Veteran Center *This event is for all UM military-related students.

Job seekers frequently send a cover letter along with their curriculum vitae or applications for employment as a way of introducing themselves to potential employers and explaining their suitability for the desired position. Join the Career Development Center to discuss how to develop an effective cover letter.

UM’s Veteran Center is located behind Napier Hall and across the street from the Center for the Arts. Refreshments will be provided and the presentation will last no longer than an hour.

Montevallo Connection Meeting

Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 4 p.m., Montevallo Elementary School

Please mark your calendars and join Montevallo Connection for its final meeting of the academic year. You will hear updates and needs from our local principals and teachers at Montevallo Elementary School, Montevallo Middle School and Montevallo High School. This is a great opportunity for your department or your class to determine where you can collaborate and help local students.

Azul/Blue Exhibition

Feb. 13 through March 6, weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closing reception and gallery talk, Thursday, March 5, 5 to 7 p.m.
The Gallery at Bloch Hall 

This exhibition is an expression of the color and concepts of blue. It is also a collaboration allowing contact and communication via art for 32 artists from Cuba and the USA. The artists inspired by blue and the power of art to reach across the horizon of 90 miles of blue sky and water between our shores traded work, and at times both artists worked on the same piece of art. This show embraces the life connection of each artist through all the metaphors and concepts for blue. It is a way to find a common shore and to dissolve boundaries in order to embrace our common human hopes. The closing reception and gallery talk is part of the Blue Nature Colloquium, March 5 through 6.

Toolbox Talk: Cultivating Empathy

Wednesday, Feb. 19, at noon, Wills 200

This month’s topic is “Cultivating Empathy.” Through careful design of assignments and activities, teachers have the capacity to cultivate empathy in their students. This empathy — valuing the perspective of others — is imperative for leading meaningful class discussions and carries well beyond the classroom. During this workshop, participants will learn about and practice a few practical techniques for cultivating empathy in the classroom. Lunch is provided for participants who register prior to 8 a.m. on Feb. 17. Register online now.

BSS Brown Bag

Wednesday, Feb. 19, at noon, UMOM 201
 
Dr. Melissa Shepherd, assistant professor of psychology, will lead a fascinating conversation on: “Childhood Illness as an Antecedent of Perceived Vulnerability to Disease.” For more information please contact Dr. Clark Hultquist.

Faculty/Staff Highlights

Dr. Roderick George, professor of music, was the featured guest soloist in a performance of Nathaniel Dett’s “Chariot Jubilee” with conductor Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand and the Aeolians of Oakwood University for the annual Calvin Symposium on Worship held on the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Jan. 31.

Dr. Ted Hoffman, associate professor and director of music education, was re-elected to a second four-year term as facilitator of the Society for Music Teacher Educators' School-University Partnerships Area of Strategic Planning and Action. In this capacity, he oversees SMTE’s nationwide efforts to investigate and cultivate partnerships between colleges/universities and P-12 schools. There are only 12 such and ASPA facilitators ASPAs in North America.

Professor of English Dr. Lee Rozelle’s short story “Catfish” is included in the Anthology of Bizarro by HellBound Books, a publisher of horror and dark fantasy. This story was previously published in Dark Dossier Magazine.

Dr. Tiffany R. Wang, associate professor of communication studies, Dr. Raymond R. Ozley, associate professor of communication studies, Dr. Sally Bennett Hardig, professor of communication studies, Dr. Sherry G. Ford, professor of communication studies, and COMS alumna Rebecca B. Leach published an article, “Rhetorical and Relational Turning Points in the Communication Studies Major,” in the most recent issue of the Journal of the Communication, Speech & Theatre Association of North Dakota.

New UM Employees — January 2020
Jordan Brooks — Assistant Director, Sports Information
Arianna Jones — Custodian I
Michael Lebeau — Director, Career Development Center
Linda Maxwell — Adjunct, Teaching, Leadership & Technology
Lillian Rouse — Administrative Assistant I, Student Health Services
Anitka Sims — Administrative Assistant I, TRIO Upward Bound
Shay Traywick — GEAR UP Area Facilitator
Celia Venable — Admissions Counselor
Brenda Walker — Custodian I
Jacques Watkins — GEAR UP Area Facilitator

Student Highlights

Molly Mize, senior piano major, was chosen to participate in the 2019-2020 Fetcher & Nell Morris Piano Competition at Samford University Feb. 19-20. Mize is studying piano with Dr. Eun-Hee Park, assistant professor of music.

The Montevallo fishing team recently won back-to-back Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation College Championships. The team of Jarrett Brown and Tyler Harless won first place while J.T. Russell and Grayson Morris finished third. Brown and Harless finished the tournament with 29.98 pounds and big fish 8 pounds. This qualified the team of Brown and Harless for the 2020 Bassmaster National Championship.