The daily campus check-in process is now #CampusClear, a free self-screening app that students, visitors, faculty, and staff can use as part of the COVID-19 health screening process. This process is being implemented to improve the ease of use and to provide options for a mobile app or website version We are hopeful that many will find this as an improvement over the current check-in process.

In order to facilitate their unique needs, student-athletes, athletics department employees, and clinical students in the health sciences will have a unique check-in process and will not be required to use #CampusClear. You can access #CampusClear through the UE Website at www.evansville.edu/coronavirus by clicking on purple Campus Check-in button at the top of the page.

Aces Spirit Tryouts will take place September 5 at 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m in the Carson Center Small Gym. Please contact Brent Couch bc165@evansville.edu for additional info.

The University of Evansville athletic department is thrilled to announce the #ForTheAces Virtual 5K sponsored by ProRehab! Register for just $25 and receive an event t-shirt, commemorative sticker and fun, unique digital content. Registration is now open until September 4 and you can complete your 5K anytime between September 18-20. All proceeds for the event will go the UEvansville Fund to help offset the additional expenses that UE is experiencing with COVID-19. Please visit https://bit.ly/33rxpvJ for a list of FAQs. You can register for the event here: https://bit.ly/39WBxoW. All employees, students, alumni and friends are encouraged to participate! Contact Scott Peace at sp166@evansville.edu for more information.

As announced by Dr. Austin at the Fall Conference, UE has purchased a supply of disposable masks that are being made available for those coming to campus not wearing a mask. Each building has a designated disposable mask pick-up location as follows:

From 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. disposable masks are available at the Library reception desk.
 

Choir placement auditions will be held this week, through Thursday, August, 27. contact Dr. Dennis Malfatti at dm155@evansville.edu to schedule an audition. All ue students are welcome to join.

Reusable masks are being distributed to all campus community members. Commuter students may pick up their masks from the Ridgway University Center Information Desk on Tuesday, August 25 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. or Wednesday, August 26 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Please share your view of the world! All active and retired UE faculty, staff, and administrators are invited to submit their work(s) for a photography exhibition that will be on display from August 31, 2020 – October 4, 2020 in the Krannert Gallery.

Images of all sizes are welcome, though 16” x 20” would be the maximum size for display cases. Photographs should be framed and suitable for hanging in the Krannert Gallery.

On the back of each framed photograph, please provide:

• Your name and current/former UE department
• A title for your image.
• Details such as location or meaning/memory attached to the photo. The more details, the better!

Please bring your work to Carol McCraney in the Department of Law, Politics, and Society (SOBA 50) between Monday, August 24 and Friday, August 28. All entries will be returned at the close of the exhibition.

If you have any questions, please contact Carol at cm177@evansville.edu.

The paperless procedures developed over the last few months are here to stay! Before you submit a request or a document, please read the "Accounting_Update-Electronic_Documents" on the Accounting and Audit Departmental Page of the MyUE Portal.

You can find the link under Policy & Procedures above the P-Card Section.

https://myue.evansville.edu/DepartmentPages/Accounting/Pages/default.aspx

Detailed instructions on how to electronically submit a web voucher have also been added to the page.

The Spring 2020 Deans' List is currently on display at the library. Congratulations!

Walayet A. Khan, Professor of Finance, will participate in the upcoming virtual 2020 annual meeting of the World Finance Conference as the discussant, chair, and the presenter. The papers to be presented are as follows:

1. “Target Selection Preferences and Takeover Premiums: Public versus Private Acquirers”.
We investigate how the takeover target characteristics and target shareholder wealth effects differ for takeovers by private and public acquirers using a comprehensive sample of acquisitions of publicly traded US target firms from 1990 to 2018. The significance of our study is increased due to “low interest rates, the rise of index-tracking funds and years of lacklustre hedge fund performance which have pushed investors to private equity in search of higher returns. Available private equity capital has hit a record high. 1.5 trillion dollars, which was 0.5 trillion dollars in 2010.”

2. “Black Gold’s Price Shock: Are Conventional and Interest Free “Islamic” Banks Equally Vulnerable?”
We examine the effects of oil price shocks on credit and insolvency risks for the banking industry (conventional versus interest free Islamic banks) from 2000 through 2016 in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The value of our study is increased due to the recent decline in oil prices (2019/2020) in the global market as we scrutinize the impact of similar declines in the past.

The UE School of Education recently received a grant totaling $735,247 from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, which was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). GEER Funds were created to provide support to local educational agencies and higher education institutions to develop and improve distance learning techniques and technologies throughout the state of Indiana. 

With the grant funds, the UE School of Education will focus on implementing two main initiatives: 1) a free community tutoring program for students, and 2) professional development for teachers and UE students to improve student outcomes. While working toward these goals, UE will be partnering with seven school corporations throughout Southern Indiana, including the Diocese of Evansville, Warrick County Schools, Loogootee Community Schools, North Lawrence Community Schools, Orleans Community Schools, Shoals Community Schools, and Tell City Schools. While first preference will be given to partner schools, the grant activities will also be open to in-service teachers and students in K-12 corporations throughout Southern Indiana.

Using the grant, the UE School of Education will offer a free tutoring program geared toward community K-12 students. UE students and current educators will be connected with students in partner schools and other K-12 school corporations, and they will provide targeted interventions to assist in closing learning gaps. Tutoring sessions will take place via Zoom or in-person using social distancing guidelines.

Monies from the grant will also be utilized to boost in-service and UE pre-service teachers’ capacity to efficiently and effectively provide remote and virtual instruction. The UE School of Education will utilize Zoom sessions to introduce participants to the G Suite for Education, which is a suite of tools designed by Google to empower educators and students and promote innovative learning. Training sessions will focus on teaching in a Google-infused classroom, as well as instructional best practices for online and hybrid learning. After completion, participants will receive Google for Education Fundamentals Training certification.

“We are so honored to provide this support to our students and teachers, which is heavily needed after the last several months,” said Lisa Hale, assistant professor of education at UE. “The training this grant provides will not only enhance the technology-based remote learning, but also improve in-person methodology once schools return to full-time classroom instruction.”

The grant-writing team was composed of several staff and faculty at the University of Evansville, including Sylvia DeVault, Sharon Gieselmann, Lisa Hale, Alison Jones, Mary Kessler, Shari Millikan, and Leanne Nayden. UE also worked with alumni Rick Roll and Joe Lannon for a united team effort.