The Word: UIW Community Newsletter - September 11, 2020

Spotlight

UIW and St. Edward’s University Reach Health-Changing Agreement 

The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and St. Edward’s University in Austin have entered into a series of memorandums of understanding that will eventually benefit the health and safety of residents throughout Central and South Texas. Under the agreements, UIW will offer guaranteed interview spots and seats in each cohort for qualified students from St. Edward’s University in UIW’s schools of Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Optometry and Physical Therapy.

“Healthcare is a founding cornerstone of the University of the Incarnate Word,” says UIW Provost Dr. Barbara Aranda-Naranjo, “The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word were called to action during a pandemic and serving the healthcare needs of our communities has been our calling ever since. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers are needed to serve in vulnerable population communities and this agreement between St. Edward’s and UIW will ensure there will be health care providers to work with these populations.”

“This formal partnership with the University of the Incarnate Word will give our Class of 2020 a direct pathway to UIW’s rigorous graduate degree programs,” said Andrew Prall, Provost of St. Edward’s University. “Looking forward, we hope this is the start of a long collaboration between UIW and St. Edward’s that will equip and prepare students to meet the state’s growing healthcare demands.”

Under the agreement, the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine will guarantee up to 10 interview slots and 2 seats for qualified students from St. Edward’s University. The Feik School of Pharmacy will guarantee interview slots for qualified students. The Rosenberg School of Optometry will guarantee up to 10 interview slots for qualified students. And the School of Physical Therapy will guarantee up to ten seats for qualified students.

“This partnership will not only enhance the pathways of St. Edwards students who want to become health care professionals but meet the need of increasing the health care workforce for Texas,” says Naranjo. “St. Edward’s continually produces quality students who have a clear understanding of mission. This agreement will pave the way for many of those students to fulfill their dreams of providing unparalleled healthcare service to their communities.”

“It takes a village to holistically develop students,” said Jason De La Rosa, director of Career and Professional Development at St. Edward’s and chair of the health professions advisory committee. “When students utilize pre-health services at St. Edward’s, the health professions programs at the University of the Incarnate Word are a natural place to continue that trajectory of a commitment to one’s community, rooted in a mission of social justice.”

Nationally, employment of healthcare occupations is projected to grow 14 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding about 1.9 million new jobs, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

UIW, the largest Catholic university in Texas, is preparing to graduate it’s first class from the School of Osteopathic Medicine in May 2021. The University has five health professions schools in all, including its historical Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions.

Academics

Dreeben Faculty Publish Works

Dr. Alfredo Ortiz Aragón, associate professor of Education, published Action Research 5th Edition with co-author Dr. Ernest T. Stringer from the Curtin University of Technology, Australia. Several UIW faculty and students in the Graduate Studies Program have been acknowledged in the book for significant contributions.

Dr. Sandra L. Guzman Foster, associate professor of Education, contributed "Chapter 6: A Shattered Window," in a new book, Experiences of Racialization in Predominantly White Institutions: Critical Reflections on Inclusion in U.S. Colleges and Schools of Education.

Social Justice in Action: Empowering Educators and Their Communities 

The UIW Teacher Network is proud to announce the 2020-2021 Professional Development Workshop Series titled Social Justice in Action: Empowering Educators and Their Communities. The series is grounded in Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards of identity, diversity, justice, and action. Participants will learn strategies and techniques to facilitate critical conversations on race, equity, and social justice. 

This professional development series is designed for novice and experienced teachers at all levels and is open to the public. The first in the series, "Race and Identity through Pop Culture," will take place Saturday, Sept. 12. All workshops will be held from 10 a.m. - noon. 

The UIW Teacher Network was designed to provide high-quality support to graduates of the Teacher Education Program in their first three years of teaching. These early years are critical and studies show that most teachers leave the profession during their first five years. As part of that work, the network regularly offers opportunities for professional development through workshops, webinars and conferences. 

UIW Teacher Network Website

UIW Libraries Provide "Open Access"

UIW Libraries have jumped on the Open Access bandwagon in a big way. More than 100 peer-reviewed open access publications have been added to UIW’s Primo Discovery System. These resources are created by academics and go through a peer review process like traditional academic publications. 

Learn more with Liaison Librarians 

COVID-19

Get Your Thermometers Ready: Cardinal Daily Health Check is Here!

The Cardinal Daily Health Check, a web-based tool, must be completed by all employees, students, and guests before visiting any UIW location. After a successful daily health check, users will be emailed a ticket to be used to verify completion of the screening. Staffed checkpoints, supervisors, faculty members, athletic staff, and others may ask to see this ticket to help our community minimize COVID-19 transmission risks.

Cardinal Daily Health Check

Community Updates: UIW Moves to Warning Indicators

At UIW's COVID-19 information site, you'll find the latest updates regarding UIW's response to COVID-19, safety rules, links to helpful forms and more. UIW has moved from its Continuity of Operations Phase Plan to a new warning indicator system. The warning indicators are now listed on the COVID-19 site. As always, any questions about UIW's response to COVID-19 may be submitted here.

UIW COVID-19 Response Site

New Case Tracking Site Launched

In an effort to keep the University community informed, UIW has launched a new COVID-19 case tracking site. The site currently provides information on positive COVID-19 cases on the Broadway campus, as well as information regarding UIW’s new warning indicator system.

View the new site

Mission & Ministry

9/11 Anniversary Prayer 

Holy God,

Creator of all people and all nations,

That occurred on this day.

We lift to You in prayer all those who died
In the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon, and on United Airlines Flight 93
In Shankesville, Pennsylvania.

We entrust them to Your loving care.
Console their families, friends, and all who mourn this loss
In the hope that all who trust in You find peace and rest in Your Kingdom.

We pray for those who courageously responded to provide aid and comfort to the afflicted. May their painful memories of that day
Be healed and transformed into strength and positive resolution.

We also pray for ourselves as we seek Your strength and guidance.
We live in the aftermath of this tragedy and under the shadow of future acts of aggression;
We stand in need of Your assistance.

Enable us, Dear God, to put an end to fear:
By resolving to live lives that are based on respect for one another;
By resolving to abide in a peaceful manner
and never settle disagreements in our lives in a violent way;
By resolving not to fall into the trap of blaming entire ethnic groups, races, or religions
in response to acts of hostility;
By resolving that justice, not revenge, prevail in our world.

Let us resolve that in the face of hatred, we will show love;
That in times of despair, we will be voices of hope
And creators of new dreams;
That in times of darkness, we will be sources of light.

Let us resolve that we never regard forgiveness as weakness,
But rather as a source of strength in our lives and in our world.

And, let us honor the memory of nearly 3,000 individuals who died on September 11, 2001
By resolving, with Your help Almighty God,
To truly live this way so You may be glorified and Your love made known to others through us.

Amen.

- Bro. Darrell Burns, S.J.

Sunday Morning Prayer - September 13

University Mission and Ministry invites you to attend our weekly Sunday Morning Prayer at 11 a.m. on September 13. The platform will open at 10:45 a.m. for an opportunity to greet one another. This week's service is based on the scriptures of the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time. While we cannot gather in person to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist in Our Lady’s Chapel or the Chapel of the Incarnate Word, we can gather virtually and unite our prayers of petition with our extended Incarnate Word family during this celebration of the Liturgy of the Word. The service will be held on Zoom. We hope you’ll be able to join us this Sunday!

RSVP to receive a Zoom link to Sunday Morning Prayer

St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Ministries

Inspired by the core values of our University – Faith, Innovation, Education, Service and Truth – and the strong desire to be together in some way, the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Ministries was born. At its heart, the ministry will work to help the Incarnate Word family – students, faculty, staff, administration, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, alumni and friends of UIW – remain connected to one another and the campus, while building a more prayerfully aware community ready to offer its heart and hands in service to those most in need.

As the patron saint of the internet, St. Isidore will guide our efforts to remain connected in prayer. St. Isidore ministers are on a rotating schedule from week to week –they serve as readers and proclaimers of prayer, musicians, tech angels, greeters, virtual sacristans, virtual environment and art ministers, prayer leaders for devotionals (rosaries, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, novenas, etc.) through any of the following ways:

• Sunday Morning Prayer (11 a.m.): A weekly opportunity to gather virtually as an Incarnate Word family – to reflect on the scriptures of the day and pray for our global family, supported by music and visual art.
• Sunday Night Live (8 p.m.): We invite individuals or groups (couples, families, roommates, house communities, etc.) to host a short contemplative prayer time virtually on Facebook Live, Instagram Live, or Zoom in collaboration with University Mission and Ministry. At the heart of this prayer opportunity is extended contemplative silence (20-30 minutes) and prayers of petition from participants.
• Ps 98 (“Sing a New Song”) Music Ministry: Though physical distancing due to the pandemic has made it difficult to gather together in a traditional way, new and returning members of the UIW family can still "sing a new song" in a virtual space. This music ministry will help facilitate the music of our Sunday Morning Prayer along with other opportunities throughout the semester, including a collaborative venture at the end of the semester with the UIW Music Department. Singers and instrumentalists (keyboard, guitar, percussion, winds and strings) are welcome. 

The plus side of virtual ministry is that one does not have to travel far. Students can receive service hours. Alumni can reconnect. Faculty and staff have some new options on campus to nourish their faith. Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word have another avenue to meet students, faculty and staff and vice versa. New friendships can be made!

For more information, please contact Lena Gokelman, director of Music Ministries or Carmen Aguiler, liturgy and music assistant) at uiwmusicministry@uiwtx.edu.

St. Isidore Ministries Registration Form