January 2012 A Monthly Newsletter for Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Friends of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
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| Hispanic Women's Network of Texas Presents Endowment for Student Scholarships Dr. Mary Jane Garza, chair of the Corpus Christi chapter of the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas, presented University President Flavius Killebrew with a $25,000 endowment for student scholarships on Dec. 12. The HWNT, an organization committed to the participation of Hispanic women in public, corporate, and civic arenas, raises money for scholarships, and to advance the educational, cultural, social, legal, and economic well-being of all women. |
| Show Your School Spirit for Homecoming Week: January 23-28 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Homecoming Committee encourages the University community to show their school spirit and save the date for "Homecoming Week" from Monday, Jan. 23, to Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. The week will be filled with festivities culminating with the Homecoming parade in downtown Corpus Christi and the Islanders men's basketball game against Stephen F. Austin at the American Bank Center. For a complete schedule, click here. |
Izzy Makes a 'Fully-Recharged' Debut before Islanders Fans Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's Izzy the Islander made his "fully-recharged" debut before cheering fans on Dec. 1 during halftime of the Islanders men's basketball showdown against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the American Bank Center. Get a history lesson on the University's mascot and check out Izzy's upgrade here. |
Caldwell Named University's First Women's Head Soccer Coach  Shanna Caldwell, former recruiting coordinator and first assistant coach at the University of Akron, has been named as the first women's head soccer coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Caldwell, who also served as an assistant coach at Baylor and Oklahoma, will take the helm of the newly-founded Islanders program on Monday, Jan. 2. The Islanders will begin play in the fall of 2013 as part of the Southland Conference. The team will play at a new facility on the Momentum Campus off Nile Road, which will begin construction in early 2012. |
| University Faculty Members Participate in KEDT Challenge Four University faculty members lent their expertise to the KEDT Challenge in November, asking pre-taped questions to be answered by teams competing in the seventh season of the academic competition between area high schools. Participants were Dr. Ruby Mehrubeoglu, associate professor in the College of Science and Engineering; Dr. David Gurney, assistant professor of communication; Dr. Ashley Ross, assistant professor of political science; and Islanders men's basketball coach Willis Wilson. |
| Recognition, Honors, and Awards |
| The Division of Student Affairs has received the Ted K. Miller Achievement of Excellence Award for 2011 from the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) in Washington, D.C. The award, which includes a plaque and a $1,000 cash prize, is given to an individual, higher education institution, or professional association in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in advancing standards of practice and quality assurance in educational programs and services in higher education. |
 The University's History Department has selected Dr. Tom Kreneck as the first "Joe B. Frantz Lecturer in Public History." Kreneck, who holds a Ph.D. in History, has been head of Special Collections and Archives at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library for 21 years. He has taught numerous classes in public history and independent studies in archival practice. In 2006, he was selected as a Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association. |
 Dr. Patricia Spaniol-Mathews has been promoted to director of the McNair Scholars Program. Since June 2011, she held the position of McNair Scholars Program coordinator II. Prior to coming to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Spaniol-Mathews held a director position for TRIO programs at the Educational Opportunity Center and Talent Search at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and was an administrator for the Florida statewide Juvenile Justice Program for Substance Abuse and Mental Health grant services. |
| Around the Island |
| Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's Fall 2011 Commencement will be shown on Government Access Channel 20 on both Grande Communications and Time Warner Cable, and on digital channel 41.2 on Wednesday, Dec. 21; and Friday, Dec. 23; at 5:30 p.m. and then again on Monday, Dec. 26; Wednesday, Dec. 28; and Friday, Dec. 30; at 5:30 p.m. Commencement may also be viewed via live stream during the same dates and times. Go to www.cctexas.com/publicinfo and click on the CC Cable Channel 20 link. This viewing has been made possible through a joint partnership between Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and the City of Corpus Christi. |
| The President's Spring Faculty/Staff Meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in the Performing Arts Center. Refreshments will be served in the PAC lobby at 9 a.m. and the meeting will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. |
| Recreational Sports is accepting nominations for the Spring 2012 Employee Wellness Program to encourage people to make healthy lifestyle changes. Among other incentives, participants will attend wellness seminars and be required to participate in weekly exercise. To participate or nominate someone to participate, email Nadine MacKay at Nadine.mackay@tamucc.edu. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, Jan. 11. For more information, click here. |
University President Flavius Killebrew and First Lady Kathy Killebrew and special guests threw the switch to illuminate the campus buildings in blue and green holiday lights during the Islander Lights celebration held Dec. 2 at the Performing Arts Center plaza. The campus tradition also included a visit from Santa Claus, a Marine Corps "Toys for Tots" toy drive, games, and activities.
Local bands competed for cash prizes Dec. 2 during the 13th annual "Battle of the Bands" sponsored by the Campus Activities Board. The bands were judged on technical skills, creativity, stage presence, vocal skills, and audience connection. The winners were: first place, "The Resz;" second place, "Elise;" and third place, Quexotic.
Ellen Rossi (left) receives congratulations from a colleague Dec. 13, during a retirement party in her honor. Rossi served in the College of Business for 15 years as senior administrative assistant.
Teams from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi took home first and third place at the Panoply Cyber Security Competition held in October at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Members of the two Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Cyber Defense Teams were Brad Hannah, Jose Chica, Andrew Lopez, Sean Sandoval, Esteban Campos, Nathan Darr, Justin Mausolf, and David Avila. Both teams made up of Computer Science majors were coached by Steve Alves, Computer Science instructor, and assisted by Irvan Hendrik and Hayford Osei.
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