The day has come!

There are two things UT Tyler students are saying right now; "Yay! I am so happy school has started!" and "Why oh why has summer ended!". For whichever student you are, just stay positive and work hard because school HAS started and it is INEVITABLE that the semester will be stressful.

One thing is for sure, Patriot Palooza has started!

Palooza 2011 Logo">

Transferable parking stickers

For the 2011-12 academic year, the UT Tyler Police Department will issue new, static vinyl parking permits for students, faculty and staff, Mike Medders, chief of police, announced.

To be considered valid, the new permits must now be placed inside the vehicle – on the front, lower passenger-side windshield. Because they are transferable, only one will be issued per person. Cost remains the same.

Medders said he expects the changes to be positive.

“Due to decals being transferable, it will no longer be necessary to obtain a temporary parking permit when driving another vehicle. Also, the new decals will be placed on the inside windshield making them less vulnerable to theft,” he said.

Parking permits will be issued to students, faculty and staff in the University Center foyer at the following times:

•8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Aug. 15 – 19; Aug. 22

•10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Aug. 20

•8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Aug. 23 – 24

Students must bring their university ID and have paid for their decal prior to issuance.

Employees must bring a photo ID and completed payroll deduction form or have purchased a decal from the cashier’s office and bring their receipt prior to issuance.

Full price will be charged for additional or replacement decals, Medders added.

“Replacement permits will be issued at no charge if for some reason it fails to adhere to the windshield. However, you must turn in the defective permit prior to being issued a new one,” he said. “If your second vehicle is a motorcycle, there is no charge for that permit, assuming you have already purchased a permit for your primary vehicle.”

Permits also will be available at the University Police Department, located in the University Services Center, room 125.

Permits must be properly displayed on motor vehicles and motorcycles no later than the 11th class day of the semester, after which time citations will be issued.

The was written by the University and can be seen here at http://www.uttyler.edu/news/announcements/2011/08122011.php

Enrollment Services

UT Tyler now has a "one stop shop". This is the Enrollment Services Center and here you can ask all kinds of questions and get most everything completed in one spot. What if you are not able to get to the school to get your question answered and you do not want to wait on the phone forever. Well, now you can get it all done online! Check out https://www.uttyler.edu/helpme/

Time to register!!!

"Avoid the frustration and register for classes NOW before they are full!" This is the theme UT Tyler has been trying to get across since registration has opened. It is not crunch time people!!! Classes are filling up and some of them are even CLOSED now because they are FULL. Three weeks are left until classes start, so do yourself a favor and register!

Greek Life's formal recruitment

Fraternity and sorority formal recruitment registration is available for UT Tyler students, Brittany Childs, student life and leadership assistant director and Greek coordinator, announced.

Interested students may register online at http://www.uttyler.edu/greeklife.

The registration fee for women is $27 by Wednesday, Aug. 26 or $37 after that date. There is no registration fee for the men.

Registration deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 for the women and noon Monday, Sept. 12 for the men.

“For information on joining the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., please visit the Greek Life website or contact me for sorority contact information,” Childs said.

On-campus sorority and fraternity recruitment is Sept. 6 – 10 and Sept. 12 – 16, respectively.

For more information, contact Childs, 903.565.5788 or Brittany_Childs@uttyler.edu.

"This information is found on the main UT Tyler website and was not written by me"

UT Tyler Athletics Among Nation's Best Again

PLANO, Texas -- For the third-straight year, The University of Texas at Tyler athletic department has finished as one of the nation’s top NCAA Division III programs according to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics/Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings.

The Patriots were the top finishing program in the American Southwest Conference, completing the 2010-2011 season in 58th place with 278.5 total points in the final national standings.

For nearly two decades, the Directors' Cup has been widely recognized as the mark of distinction among the nation's collegiate athletic departments through a point system that awards a respective institution based on its national finish in an NCAA or NAIA championship. USA Today and NACDA co-founded the prestigious award in 1993, and it continues to be the only award sanctioned by collegiate athletic directors and that recognizes superior performance across all men's and women's sports.

UT Tyler made NCAA championship appearances in men’s soccer, women’s tennis, men’s tennis, baseball, softball and women’s golf during the 2010-2011 season.

“The Directors' Cup is the prominent benchmark for intercollegiate athletics programs and we are very proud of the commitment and effort that our student-athletes, coaches and staff have put forth in making UT Tyler a nationally-competitive and nationally-recognized athletics department,” said Dr. Howard Patterson, UT Tyler vice president for intercollegiate athletics and auxiliary services.

UT Tyler finished 54th for the 2009-2010 season and 33rd in the 2008-2009 standings – also the top ASC institution in the standings for those two years.

Williams College of Massachusetts finished atop the final Division III standings this year after recording 1,147 total points. Williams most recently won national championships in both women’s rowing and women’s tennis, while also placing fourth in men’s tennis, fifth in women’s outdoor track & field and 75th in men’s outdoor track & field.

-Written by UT Tyler's Athletics

UT Tyler going to nationals!

UT Tyler's Billards Club will be going to the national 9-ball tournament. They placed in the top three at the state competition on July 14. Robert Ray and Cody Bradshaw will be playing against 43 other players from all around the United States to win the national championship. For more info please check out the article here:
http://www.uttyler.edu/news/announcements/2011/07152011a.php

Interactive Calendar?

UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications is creating an interactive campus calendar or events. This calendar will be for university community to use to stay informed and connected with the university. I am sure this calendar could also be used for students to know what is coming around the corner and where it is located (maybe they can include an interactive school map amongst this calendar) mmhhmm.... the possibilities. Well, read the full article and comment on this to let me know what you would use an interactive school calendar for.

http://www.uttyler.edu/news/announcements/2011/07182011.php

Dr. Randall Powell

We all miss Mr. Gregg Lassen who was the Vice President of Business Affairs here at the school until he decided to head off to Lamar University. Now we welcome Dr. Randall Powell from Sam Houston State who will lead us starting September 1. He was the vice president of budget and operations there and interim vice president of finance and operations as well! Read the full text here, but congratulations Dr. Powell! We look forward to meeting you!


http://www.uttyler.edu/news/pressrelease/2011/07142011.php

Excitement!!

         Cowan Center has posted their schedule of events for the upcoming school year and I am very excited! Blue Man Group is coming, along with Bill Cosby, and the play Young Frankenstein. You can check out the complete schedule of events here. Also, students get a FREE ticket (while supplies last) so make sure you are first in line!

*Tip*
This is a free date night guys! :)

49 more days!

Only 49 more days till classes begin! Make sure you have registered because that 49th day will be here before you know it. Make sure you have purchased all your books and have thoroughly read your syllabi's because you may have a pop quiz on it on day 1 (this has happened to me not once, but twice!) When the 49th day comes make sure you have your new outfit ready and do not forget a writing utensil (very embarrassing because I have done this way too many times!) Also, when the 49th day comes you want to make sure you are fully rested and are ready to learn because you don't want to pay for something you don't get anything out of. Just remember to sit in the "T" zone! Wait, no one has ever told you about this... Well, the "T" zone is in every classroom. Basically, the "T" zone consists of the whole first set of desks and every desk directly behind the front middle desk.
Now, this may seem difficult to remember, but here is a short checklist: (in no particular order)
* Have books ready
* Read through syllabi's
* New "back-to-school" outfit
* Bring writing utensil
* Get rested the night before
* Sit in "T' zone

If you do all these, you will be ahead of the average student and will set yourself up for success!

Middle of summer, come on school!

It is almost the 4th of July and I am so ready for school to start! UT Tyler offers so many activities to do during the school year that it is so depressing staying here over the summer. I understand that not many people are here during the summer, heck... it's pretty much a ghost campus, but come on school because I can not wait for some free stuff!! Once school starts back up I am sure Campus Activities Board (CAB) will have something ready for everyone to jump in to as a "Welcome Back" kind of gimmick and you know what... I fall for it every time! :) So, everyone should say, "Come on school!" because we want free fun! Even though classes start up then, the first week is mostly syllabus/class schedule talk and not much of actual learning items for the respective class you are in. The activities by CAB far make up for classes actually starting.

So everyone yell with me, "Come on school! Come on school! Come on school!"

UT Tyler is number three

UT Tyler's softball team has ended their season with a great third place finish in the nation! The women ended up losing to Linfield, a team they beat 4 to 1 earlier in the NCAA's. Please visit this site to read more about their amazing season and to look at how they did in the NCAA bracket. http://www.uttylerpatriots.com/softball/news/18/2207/

UT Tyler's baseball team did not fair as well as their counterparts did, but they still had a great season none the less. The men ended up losing their first two games in the NCAA's which meant they would play no more this season. With a respectable 33 wins and 8 losses the Patriots will have to wait till next year to win the title of National Champion. To revisit their last two games this season check out http://www.ascsports.org/news/2011/5/19/BSB_0519114222.aspx

Softball gets bid to NCAA Tournament!!

UT Tyler women's softball team receives a bid to the NCAA softball tournament! The Patriots were 34 and 11 overall and were selected as the number 3 seed. Even though the softball team were runners-up in the American Southwest Conference they were able to place high enough nationally to receive an at-large bid.
The tournament starts on May13-16 and will be held at UT Tyler so make sure to come in out and support after finals are over! The schedule for that weekend can be seen here... ttp://bit.ly/lCtVEd

Also, even though UT Tyler's baseball team did not make the NCAA tournament, they did have a few individual awards. Chad Sherman earned top individual honors as the East Division Pitcher of the Year. They also had four men on the All-East Division First Team; Nick Clifton, Justin Juneau, Aaron McCain, and Chad Sherman. T.J. Martin, Hayden Chick, Matt Schimpf, and Parker Sheets were all named to the All-East Division Second Team.

Good job Patriots!

Patriot Days 2011

Today started this years week long festival at UT Tyler called Patriot Days. This will be my fifth year to go through Patriot Days and I am just as excited as my first! This year, as always, the crawfish boil started everything off! Check out TJ's blog here http://bit.ly/h1ORe6 . There is so much to see this year and so many events to compete in that EVERYONE should go! Check out the entire schedule here www.uttyler.edu/sll/campusactivities/Patriotdays.php .

Student Government and Study Days

         Student Government Association does it again! The voice of the student body upholds their job and I believe they did a tremendous job. To learn more about SGA check out their website here.

        UT Tyler will officially hold Study Days the two days before final exams starting in long summer. They will be held on a trial basis for about 2 years. Lets hope that these days go well and that they will make it permanent. If you don't know what a Study Day is then you are missing out! A Study Day is when no classes are held a few days before final exams are given, thus giving you extra days to STUDY!!! 

UT Tyler Ultimate Frisbee Team

          UT Tyler's Ultimate Frisbee team has their first tournament of the year this weekend in Houston. The frisbee team will be playing against other colleges/universities as well as club teams from the Houston area. The tournament is a one day event on Saturday, for more details of the tournament you can go here.
        Also, make sure to check out the frisbee team on facebook here for more info on them and how to join. Check back in a couple days because I will be making a vlog of the tournament and how we do!

GLOBE trotting on February 24th!

             GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) will be hosting an event on February 24th. This event will be like no other event on campus, this one will be at night going from 6 until 8. The title of this event is "Star Hunt Party". They will be meeting on the UT Tyler practice soccer field located on University Blvd and Old Omen Rd.

If you have never looked at stars or if you have but don't know what the constellations are or what they mean, then this party is for you!

Come and join GLOBE on this night of fun with all other GLOBE chapters around the world who will all be gazing at the sky.

For more information, please visit here.

Robotics Competition

On Saturday February 12 the University of Texas at Tyler's College of Engineering and Computer Science will host the 2011 East Texas VEX Patriot Challenge robotics competition. There will be many students there, aged from middle school to high school mixed together in different teams, working together to try to make the most innovative robot as possible.

Here is a tentative schedule of the days events:
• 7:30 – 7:45 a.m. – Volunteer check-in / Orientation
• 8 – 9 a.m. – Team check-in / practice field opens
• 8 – 9:45 a.m. – Robot inspection
• 9:15 a.m. – Drivers and coaches meeting
• 9:30 a.m. – Opening ceremony
• 9:45 a.m. – Qualifying rounds
• Noon – Lunch / Robot Skills and Programming Skills Challenges
• 1 – 2:30 p.m. – Complete qualification rounds
• 2:30 p.m. – Alliance selection
• 2:45 p.m. – Alliance strategy meeting
• 3 p.m. Alliance elimination matches
• 4:30 – 5 p.m. Awards and closing ceremony

This is going to be so amazing, I hope to see you all there! Also, the best part is that the winner of this will qualify to go to the VEX World Championships that will be held in Orlando, FL!

UT Tyler Student Communications Team