The University will be closed on Monday, September 2, in observance of Labor Day. No classes will be held and all UE academic departments and administrative offices will be closed.

In April, Sylvia DeVault ’85 was promoted to Senior Director of Major Gifts and has recently relocated across the street to the MGO offices at 525 Rotherwood, where the remainder of the on-campus team is situated. In her new role, Sylvia oversees the Major Gifts Team while also continuing her duties related to corporate and foundation relations. The team is committed to exceeding the FORWARD Campaign goal by securing funding for scholarships, endowed professorships, capital projects, and other programmatic support.

Michelle Conklin has been a committed member of Advancement Services since 2021 and is now serving as the new Administrative Assistant for the Major Gifts Team. Michelle is excited to broaden her understanding of fundraising and grants from a new viewpoint as she continues her studies in the Organizational Leadership program at our university.

The Rest of the MGO Team

Ayana Blair M’23 – Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer – School of Engineering Liaison – Works remote from Madison, WI

Chelsi Moore – Major Gifts Officer – College of Education & Health Science Liaison

– Works from 525 Rotherwood

Damian Thompson ’03 – Major Gifts Officer, East Coast Region – Works remote from New York City

Kelly Gates ’99 - Athletics Major Gifts Officer – Works from 525 Rotherwood and Carson Center

Rachael Burt ’96 – Major Gifts Officer, Indianapolis Region – Works remote from Carmel, IN

Tyler White ’14, M’18 – Major Gifts Officer – Ridgway College of Arts & Sciences Liaison – Works from 525 Rotherwood

Every contribution, regardless of its size, is valuable. Please follow the link below to make a difference.

“ For it is in GIVING that we RECEIVE. ”

forward.evansville.edu

The University of Evansville Music Conservatory kicks off the 2024-2025 Concert Season with the annual Fall Faculty Gala on Tuesday, September 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Wheeler Concert Hall. Featuring the talented performing faculty of the UE Music Conservatory, this free concert features an eclectic mix of musical instruments, styles, and eras. Each year, the UE Music Conservatory features dozens of concerts and recitals featuring student soloists, student and community ensembles, faculty recitals, and guest artists. The festive atmosphere of the Fall Faculty Gala is a great way to launch this year’s series of concerts and is not to be missed!

Date: September 3, 2024

Location: Wheeler Concert Hall

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Admission: Free and Open to the Public

Join the Center for Student Engagement for the newly developed Leadership Lunch and Learn Series!

The Center for Student Engagement is excited to introduce a new leadership development framework that combines the Social Change Model of Leadership Development and Corey Seemiller's Student Leadership Competencies. This framework provides a holistic approach to cultivating impactful student leaders.

This lunch and learn series will explore the key elements of this framework, including:

- Developing personal values, group values, and a commitment to social change
- Building essential leadership skills and competencies such as communication, decision-making, and ethical responsibility
- Applying these principles to real-world leadership opportunities and challenges

Through interactive discussions and collaborative activities, participants will gain valuable insights and strategies to enhance their leadership journey at the University of Evansville.

All students are invited and lunch will be provided for the first 30 people in attendance! RSVP on UEngage is required. Registration can be found HERE.

Sessions will take place on the first Wednesday of each month during the Fall Semester and cover the following topics:

- Self- Understanding (September)

- Group Development (October)

- Citizenship in Society (November)

To kick off the new series, one of our new Student Counseling Services counselors, Lainie Krumenacker will be using her extensive experience and professional passions to help students better understand their personal values and how those values influence their behaviors and actions.

For any questions, please reach out to the Center for Student Engagement at cse@evansville.edu.

Stop by the library lobby between 3 and 5pm on Wednesday, September 11 to learn more about what the library can do for you. There will be lots of useful information, along with library tours, snacks, and games!

This year the office of Spiritual Formation and Development is working to create regular rhythms of worship and prayer for the entire University. These rhythms are meant to provide us each the space to recenter and come together in a purposeful and communal way. Here's a flyer for the next couple Worship and Prayer Gatherings. Hope to see you there.

This year, the United Way Day of Caring will be held on Wednesday, September 11. UE continues our partnership with the Boy Scouts of America local council, the Buffalo Trace Council. The council is located at 3501 E Lloyd Expressway, behind the State Hospital.

Please note our we will be helping the local Boy Scout council on a different date than United Way’s scheduled Day of Caring. UE’s Day of Caring participants are encouraged to participate in the Day of Caring Kick Off Breakfast on Friday morning, September 20 at the Old National Events Plaza.

Please be aware that this day is different from UE Gives Back, a way that we can serve our campus and each other, scheduled for Friday, October 18.

The YARD TIMES exhibit, featuring artist Amanda Smith, will open on September 3 through October 19, 2024.

The UE Friends of Art cordially invites you to a reception on Friday, September 13 at 6:30 pm in the Melvin Peterson Gallery.  Please plan to attend and bring a friend!

Following the positive feedback at Fall Conference, the Office of Human Resources has decided to move forward with inviting all current employees to HR Orientation sessions. Please see the list of planned sessions below and email Brooke (mw502@evansville.edu) to have your name added to the roster.

Attending an orientation session as a current employee is an excellent way to get up-to-date information on benefits, policies, and practices, as well as learn about current happenings across key departments. Plus, we have a lot of fun!

Available Sessions in the Fall:

Sessions run on Mondays from 8:30am to 12:00.

August 26th

September 9th

September 16th

September 30th

October 7th

October 14th

October 21st

October 28th

November 4th

Employee & Spouse Fall Health Risk Assessments will take place September 11th -13th from 7:00am -10:45am each day in Eykamp Room 251. Complete your health risk assessment and earn HRA credits. This health risk assessment is available for UE employees and their spouses on the UE medical insurance plan. Please remember, fasting 8-10 hours is recommended. Drink plenty of water prior to your screening appointment. Take maintenance medications as prescribed, as long as they are not required to be taken with food. Click the link below to sign up today!

https://booknow.appointment-plus.com/1bblnzjg/

We're hosting "Hometown Flavors," an event in the Eatery to showcase the favorite meals of our international students. Share your favorite recipe from home, and we'll feature it in the dining hall, letting everyone experience the diverse flavors of our campus. You can also include any special memories or stories about the dish. Let's celebrate your culture together!

The Center for Career Development is happy to announce that our Career Advocates are ready to help students with resumes, cover letters, and more! Their hours are listed on our website at www.evansville.edu/careercenter/students/careeradvocates.cfm.  They are available on a walk-in basis during those times. Appointments may also be arranged through email. Visit them upstairs in Ridgway in the Student Life Suite!

Sue Prasad (sp193)                                                           

Lilly Roskind (lr240)

Elliot Boutell (eb360)       

Owen Lawrence (ol29)

Benton Simpson (bs361)

Follow the UE Center for Career Development!

https://www.instagram.com/uecareers/

https://www.facebook.com/UECareerCenter

https://x.com/UECareers

To best serve the needs of hourly employees at the University, the Accounting and Audit Office is updating the Payroll Policy. To ensure accurate hours are paid, we ask that each hourly employee complete a timecard at the end of each pay period.

Supervisors are asked to ensure their direct reports submit a timecard and then approve the time. If a supervisor has knowledge that an employee had hours worked during a pay period and the employee does not submit their time, they are required to notify Payroll by the pay period deadline to ensure employees are paid accurately. Supervisors have the ability to enter time in Self Service for any direct reports who did not complete their timecard.

Time should be submitted no later than 10:00 am on Monday following the end of the pay period. Supervisors should approve time by noon on Monday following the pay period end date. Instructions for entering time and approving time are available on the Accounting and Audit department page on the MY UE portal.

Any payroll questions can be directed to payroll@evansville.edu.

The Honors Program is excited to welcome 68 new freshmen and 3 transfer students to the program this fall. On Sunday, August 25, these students took part in the annual honors retreat at Audubon State Park. While at Audubon, the students completed a team-building challenge course, brainstormed ChangeLab ideas, and played a mini-version of the Nerd Wars trivia competition.

Students also participated in a book discussion of this year’s Honors Program common read, The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell. Special thanks to the faculty who shared their expertise during the discussion – Dr. Dale Edwards, Dr. Cris Hochwender, and Dr. Mari Plikuhn. The Honors Program invites the campus community to join in reading the book in advance of other events taking place this semester, including a campus visit and presentation by the author on November 4. Copies of the book are on reserve in the library.

Registration for the IM soccer season ends this Thursday, make sure your team is signed up by Thursday 8/29!

Thanks to the brand new turf we will be playing 10v10 soccer this year!

Go to imleagues.com or download the imleagues app to sign up.

Any questions contact Drew @ah519

The Spring 2024 Deans' List is currently on display at the library. Congratulations!

The application to become an Admissions Ambassador is now open! If you are interested in giving campus tours to potential students, please click the link to apply. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to our VP of Retention and Recruitment, John Brown (jb900), or either of our co-presidents Benton Simpson (bs361) and Kyleigh Mayer (km540).

Apply now!

The 2024 - 2025 UE Planners are HERE! Keep track of your assignments, important to-do list items, and organize your busy academic, campus, and personal life with this FREE tool. The UE Planner book also includes a student resource guide and comes built-in with important university deadlines and event dates. Begin your new chapter this year by being on top of your time!

Get your FREE planner at the Solution Station table in Ridgway University Center:

• Wednesday, August 21 from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
• Friday, August 23 from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
• Wednesday, August 28 from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Planners are also available in Academic Services (Olmsted 116) and the UE Library. Just ask!

Don’t miss out on this great FREE resource! Come by and ask for one.

Sophia Caci is a UE Senior majoring in Archaeology and Anthropology. She had her first article published, “Disability Inclusion in Archaeology”, in June 2024 on the Enabled Archaeology Foundation website. During her semester at Harlaxton, Sophia conducted a research project comparing practices of Community Archaeology between the UK and the US. While conducting her research, she discovered the Enabled Archaeology Foundation (EAF) and had the good fortune to interview Sarahjayne Clements, communications officer, in March 2024 and discovered the important work EAF does in making the field of archaeology accessible to those with disabilities. She was later invited to use her research to write an article for the site and was excited and proud of the opportunity to share her insight. You can read her article here: Disability Inclusion in Archaeology.

UE Mathematics Assistant Professor Omid Khormali and his collaborators published an article entitled "A topological approach for capturing high-order interactions in graph data with applications to anomaly detection in time-varying cryptocurrency transaction graphs" in the Journal of Foundations of Data Science (FoDS).

View the article.

Early this year, Dr. Kimberling was invited to contribute the first article in a new journal. The name of the new journal is simply Geometry. At the time of invitation, Dr. Kimberling was researching certain recently discovered geometric transformations, which he and his colleague, Peter J. C. Moses, subsequently studied in depth. The result was published in July and is indeed the first article in the first volume of Geometry. You can view the article, entitled "Unary Operations on Barycentric Coordinates in the Plane of a Triangle": First Article. The publisher, MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute), is the world's largest publisher of online academic journals—more than 433 journals covering a remarkable range of subjects. The interesting history of this rapidly growing Swiss-based publisher can be accessed here: History, 1995-2024.

Two second half goals powered the University of Evansville women’s soccer team to its first win of the 2024 season.

The Purple Aces offense came alive in the second half on Thursday night in a 2-1 win over the Lindenwood Lions. Forwards Amy Velazquez (Avon, Ind. / Avon HS) and Hailey Autenrieb (Cincinnati / Seaton HS) goals in the 72nd and 77th minutes helped UE to the win along with strong defense from the backline and goalkeeper Myia Danek (Laingsburg, Mich. / Laingsburg HS).

“It felt good to get the first win,” said Head Coach Chris Pfau. “I thought we did some really good things the first half. Things we have been working on in training. I thought it was important too that we got on them a little bit in the first half.

“Especially after Western Kentucky, because I thought the first half of WKU we did well, but we hit the wall a little bit. We weren’t as sharp with 10 days off; we didn’t do the little things. So to come out and not be shell shocked, still have the confidence to play and do some things was important. Getting the win with two freshmen playing center back in a big game and getting the explosiveness we did in the second half is huge. Getting two goals is also a bonus for us at this point.”

It was a quiet first half offensively for Evansville as the team didn’t register a shot in the first 45 minutes. But the Aces defense stood strong against Lindenwood’s attack, blocking three shots while Danek made her first of five saves in the 23rd minute.

UE’s offense came out fast and furious in the final 45 of the match starting with a corner kick in the first minute. Which was quickly followed up by Evansville’s first shot on goal from sophomore midfielder Ella Hamner (Evansville, Ind. / Memorial HS). The Lions took over on the offensive side of the ball for the next 15 minutes.

But it was the Aces who broke through first in the 72nd minute as sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Koutsos (Cumming, Ga. / West Forsyth HS) brought the ball up the middle of the field. Koutsos sent a cross to Velazquez on the left side who ran forward into the penalty box and nailed a left-footed shot that went off Lindenwood’s goalkeeper’s hands into the top left corner of the goal.

UE added an insurance goal from Autenrieb in the 76th minute as she chased down her own rebound off the post. Autenrieb cleared the goalkeeper on the initial shot and found the back of the net with a strike on the right side. The Lions did break the shutout in the 88th minute but Evansville locked things down in the final 90 seconds to secure the 2-1 win.

The Aces finished the match with nine shots as 44% landed on goal.  Koutsos picked up her first point of the season with an assist on Velazquez goal in the 72nd minute while it was both goal scorers first of the season. UE is back in action on Sunday evening in Louisville with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

In a homecoming for many who are part of the University of Evansville volleyball program, the Purple Aces are set to open the 2024 season on Friday in Puerto Rico.

Friday's opener will pit the Aces against Akron at 6:30 p.m. CT before a Saturday contest against the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras.  That match is set for a 6 p.m. CT start.  Sunday's final match versus Providence will begin at 3 p.m. CT.

Melanie Feliciano, Ainoah Cruz, Angelica Gonzalez Maltes, and Josdarilee Caraballo are natives of Puerto Rico.  Evansville head coach Fernando Morales along with assistants Jonathan Vila and Michelle Nogueras are also from the island.

While this will be a special trip for those who call Puerto Rico home, the weekend tournament opens what is setting up to be a promising campaign for the Aces.  Led by reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and All-American Giulia Cardona, UE returns a talented nucleus in the floor.

Cardona led the nation last season in kills per set, points per set, and attempts per set and will team up with Feliciano, who is a former All-MVC player back for her sixth season with the program.  While Cardona paced the NCAA with 5.34 kills per frame, Feliciano was second on the team with an average of 3.64/set.  Kora Ruff excelled in setting up the offense, totaling 1,039 assists in her sophomore season.

Madisyn Steele got the job done both offensively and defensively.  Her average of 1.17 kills was third on the team while her totals of 24 solo blocks, 67 block assists, and 91 total blocks were all team highs in 2023.  Another defensive star for UE last season was Ainoah Cruz.  As a freshman, she paced the team with 4.49 digs per frame. 

The University of Evansville Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024 has been announced.  The latest class includes Tim Ernst, Talmadge Vick Sr., Krista McKendree, and Daryl Buente.

On November 9, 2024, the Class of 2024 will be enshrined in a reception at the Evansville Country Club.  A reception will take place at 6:30 p.m. that evening before dinner and the program begin at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available now for $150 and include dinner and drinks along with the program.  You can register now at www.uealumnionline.com/HOF24.

Tim Ernst – Men’s Soccer

Tim Ernst played a pivotal role in one of the most successful periods that UE Athletics and the men’s soccer program had ever seen.  Ernst opened his career in 1987 and was named to the Soccer America Freshman All-America Team.  In the four seasons Ernst was with the program, the Purple Aces earned four NCAA Tournament berths, three MCC Championships, and an appearance in the Final Four in 1990.

Ernst continues to rank in the top ten in program history in career goals (31), career assists (24), and single season assists (12 in 1990).  The 2-time All-Mideast Region honoree garnered All-MCC accolades on three occasions.  Ernst was the team captain of the 1990 Final Four squad and went on to play in the ISAA Senior Bowl in 1991.  His career continued as he played for the Detroit Express indoor professional team for seven seasons.

Talmadge Vick Sr. - Football

One of the most talented football players to wear the Purple Aces uniform, Talmadge Vick Sr. was a pioneer, being one of the first African-American football players in program history.  After opening his college career at Tennessee State A&I, Vick was drafted and served in the Army from 1952-55.  Upon discharge, he attended UE and completed the 1958 season as the #$5 passer in the nation.  Vick left the program holding numerous records including passing yardage, completed passes, completion, and longest touchdown pass (81 yards).

Following graduation, Vick had the opportunity to play at the professional level for the Chicago Cardinals, but chose to stay home and tend to his ailing father while serving as the head coach at Lincoln High School.  He was the Chairman of the Really Concerned Citizens (RCC), which one a federal suit against the EVSC to desegregate each its schools.  Vick went on to work for the EVSC for over 40 years as an administrator, teacher, coach, and counselor at all grade levels.

Vick was the recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash in 2005, which is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Governor of Indiana.

Krista McKendree – Women’s Soccer

Krista McKendree put the Purple Aces women’s soccer program on the map in a playing career that spanned from 1998 through 2001.  She led UE to three NCAA Tournaments (1998, 1999, 2001) and garnered All-MVC First Team honors in each of her four campaigns.  McKendree was the MVC Player of the Year in 2000 after being named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in the prior season.

She was chosen third team on the 2000 NSCAA/Adidas Women’s Soccer Division I All-America Team, becoming Evansville’s first All-American in women’s soccer.  McKendree was chosen for the MVC Women’s Soccer All-Centennial Team in 2006.  Following her playing career, McKendree served as the head coach for the Aces from 2008 through 2019 and led the program to a pair of MVC championships.

Daryl Buente – Equipment Manager

Daryl Buente was the Equipment Manager at UE from 1981 through 2019.  He was the recipient of the 2011-12 John Sanders “Spirit of the Valley” Award and later earned the Athletic Equipment Managers Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

He began his time at UE as a student in 1968 before graduating in 1972.  Buente was a student manager during his undergraduate work with the university. Throughout his career, Buente oversaw a large staff of student managers who assisted his work with all the Purple Aces athletics programs.  His work included caring for equipment and uniforms at every home event, maintenance of certain UE playing facilities and much more.