Inside this issue:

NEWS & VIEWS - VP MARK KINDERS

2

COMMUNITY CONNECTION 2

LISTENING VS HEARING 3

FREE HEARING SCREENINGS 3

HEALTHY CAMPUS - ITS ALL ABOUT DIABETES

4

BRONCHO BRAGS 5

MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 6

RETIREMENT READY 6

LEAVE SHARE ENROLLMENT 6

MARCH BIRTHDAYS 7

MESSAGE FROM MERCY EAP 7

EMPLOYEE TRAINING 8

March 2012

HELP WANTED

Do you know someone who’s

looking for a job? Many UCO

departments are hiring!

Undergraduate Admissions

General Maintenance

Landscaping

Police Services

Librarians

Facilities Management

Many More!

W E L C O M E N E W B R O N C H O S !

Sarah Gayken Project Coordinator College of Business Hired 02/13/2012

Niccole Miller Academic Advisor Enrollment Management Hired 02/13/2012

Olivia Cuadrado Landscaping Facilities Management Hired 02/13/2012

Bentin Hicks Service Representative Student Financial Aid Hired 02/13/2012

Eric Rogers Retail Manager IT-Education Support Services Hired 02/13/2012

Charles Tew Tech Support Assistant Chambers Library Hired 02/13/2012

Mary Ann Brown Administrative Assistant III College of Fine Arts & Design Hired 02/13/2012

William McLain Library Technician III Chambers Library Hired 02/13/2012

Mahala Bittman Accountant II Financial Services Hired 02/13/2012

Robert Howard Dir. Project Mgt/ Assist. to VPSA Special Events/Speakers Bureau Hired 02/20/2012

EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE AWARD

Congratulations to Quarterly Exceptional Performance Award winner Cindy Guth-

rie! Cindy was selected from a large pool of candidates based on the traits she exhib-

ited in the four key areas of Impact, Effectiveness, Innovation and Significance.

The methods Cindy uses to carry out her responsibilities have a significant impact on

the University both internally and externally. Cindy demonstrates effectiveness on a

daily basis by developing and providing relevant, timely training opportunities to new

and existing ProCard holders.

Innovation has been the hallmark of Cindy’s activities through the consistent use of student em-

ployees (primarily from the College of Business) as compliance staff. Accomplishing significance

from a community perspective is obtained in many ways, but the combined effort of appropriately

trained, empowered employees, in addition to regular, consistent compliance activities all man-

aged by Cindy have contributed to the significance of the community.

Associate VP of Administrative Services Mark Moore commented, “As an institution, we are for-

tunate to have many deserving and appropriate candidates, and I believe Cindy is one of the fin-

est.”

News & Views Vice President Mark Kinders, Government Relations

Hello, UCO!

It’s been a few weeks since I arrived

here and I’m already immersed in

learning about UCO and the Edmond

community while jumping into the

Legislative session, inauguration,

learning our Congressional agenda,

engaging in the set-up for UCO’s next

seven-year strategic plan, and a few other things, besides.

So it’s been a drink from a fire hose.

First, though, I want to express my appreciation to all of

you for the genuinely warm and cordial welcome I’ve re-

ceived from our “family” of faculty, staff, students and

alumni. There is a lot to admire about Central, and it shows

in the pride for our institution in everyone I’ve met.

It’s no secret to any of us that we live in challenging times:

the “New Normal” of changing technology, globalization,

and increased accountability all converging at a time of

declining state and federal resources.

My role in government relations is to collaborate with you

in arriving at consensus about what we expect of ourselves

and our many external partners so that we flourish in the

New Normal, and to aspire to be a model to other institu-

tions. The goal is lofty, but why not? It’s clear to me since

my arrival that we have many bright, innovative and en-

gaged faculty and staff. There are many bragging points at

UCO about the things you’ve accomplished collectively in

the past.

It may well be that we are now entering a break-out period

for Central. What does it mean to us and to Oklahoma to

be its metropolitan university? What role can we play in

meeting the needs or closing the gaps in the metro area in

addressing economic development, environmental steward-

ship, or sociological issues? What are our niche programs

or centers of excellence in which we can make a dramatic

difference in the lives of others? Are we the neutral facili-

tators, the agenda setters, the technocratic experts, or the

change agents to these opportunities and challenges?

The yin to that yang is to determine what we expect of our

outside partners—business, industry, government, PK-16,

and non-profits—by supporting us through collaborations,

policies or resources in realizing our shared vision for Cen-

tral, the metro, and Oklahoma.

These are exciting times. And I couldn’t be more energized

to be a part of these complex and meaningful conversa-

tions.

I look forward to working with all of you in the months

and years ahead.

Community Connection Tiffany Wilson, University Relations Staff Writer

UCO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER GRAND OPENINGS OF NEW EDMOND AND NORMAN OFFICES

The University of Central Oklahoma Small Business Development

Center (SBDC) hosted grand openings for its first satellite offices in

Edmond on Feb. 21, and in Norman on Feb. 28, expanding its out-

reach within the community. Until now, businesses in the greater

metro area received guidance from staff at the SBDC’s main office

in downtown Oklahoma City.

“We foresee a large increase in the number of clients we can serve

annually, adding approximately 100 new clients at each location

each year,” said SBDC regional director Susan Urbach.

The Edmond location is housed in the Edmond Chamber of Com-

merce, and the Norman location is housed in the Norman Economic

Development Coalition.

Since being established in 1984, Central’s SBDC has served more than 10,000 businesses, helping them produce mil-

lions of dollars in capital, while generating or retaining approximately 355 jobs per year. The SBDC is a member of

the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center Network.

Free Hearing Evaluations

Do you have concerns about your hearing? Do you often use the phrases “huh” and “what”

or have difficulty understanding people in a crowded room? Many factors play an important

role into how well you can listen, but a hearing loss is the leading cause of misunderstand-

ing. The UCO Speech-Language and Hearing Department (located inside Chambers Li-

brary) offers FREE hearing evaluations to all faculty, staff and students during the school

year. To schedule a free appointment to have your hearing evaluated, please call 974-5419.

We all know that good listeners pay attention when someone is speaking. But what happens when you cannot hear what

they are saying? This is the challenge that approximately 38 million Americans face every second of every day due to

their hearing loss. It is not as simple as needing to pay attention and listen; they actually do not have the ability to hear

certain sounds due to their decrease in hearing sensitivity.

A normal hearing individual should hear all speech sounds at various loudness levels. External factors such as crowd

noise, increased distance, attention and the ability to see the face of the person who is talking also play an important

role into how effectively we can listen and hear.

When testing your hearing sensi-

tivity, audiologists use a loudness

scale called a decibel (much like

the volume dial on your stereo).

The graph they use is called an

audiogram where the top hori-

zontal line contains the low fre-

quencies to high frequencies (125

-8000z) and the vertical line con-

tains the decibels from soft to

loud (0 dB – 120 dB). We use

this wide range scale due to the

complex sounds that we listen to

when communicating. Different

sounds are located at different

loudness levels and frequencies.

A hearing loss eliminates the

ability to hear certain sounds at

certain loudness levels, depend-

ing on how severe the hearing

loss is. We may believe that

someone is not listening to us,

when in reality; they are not capable of understanding due to their degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss ranges from mild

to profound and is not an all-encompassing “deafness” as you may have learned. If you have concerns regarding your

hearing or would like more information, please contact our department .

Listening versus Hearing Dr. Brandon R. Vincent, Speech-Language Pathology

Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not make or correctly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone needed to change sugar, starches and other food into energy necessary for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be unknown, although both ge-netics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

Living with diabetes can be a challenge. High blood sugar can damage your heart, eyes, feet and kidneys over time. Maintaining close-to-normal levels of blood sugar has been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes-related problems. Therefore, it is important for people with diabetes to monitor their blood sugar levels by using a blood glucose meter.

CHOOSING A BLOOD GLUCOSE METER

Almost any meter will provide fairly consistent, true results. When choosing a meter, it often comes down to the details you’re looking for. Here are a few things to consider when making your choice:

• How does the meter score for accuracy? Does it come with a control solution or test strip to check for accuracy?

• Does the meter fit in your backpack, supplies kit or purse?

• How skillful are you at handling those test strips? Are they so small that you can’t get a good grip on them? You might want to try a meter that uses cartridges instead of individual strips.

• How big a drop of blood does the meter require? Smaller is better.

• Do you want to be able to download check results to a home computer, or be able to email them periodically to your doc-tor’s office?

• Interested in alternative site testing? There are meters that can test samples from various places on the body.

CHECKING YOUR BLOOD GLUCOSE

Blood glucose checks are one of the best ways to help you manage your diabetes. Regular checks and consistent record-keeping give you a good picture of where you are in your diabetes care. One reason to do checks is to find out how often your blood glu-cose levels are in your target range. Your target range is a personalized blood glucose range that you set with your doctor. Once you know how often and when to check, then you stick to the schedule and check at those times each day. Keep a blood glucose daily log book recording your levels.

The most important thing is to remember to write down your results every time you check. Then, take your log book with you when you go see your doctor, educator or other member of your diabetes care team. They will be able to help you answer ques-tions about your diabetes from the information in the log book.

GLUCOSE METERS ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) is offering you the choice of a preferred blood glucose monitoring system at no additional charge for a limited time to help you manage your condition. Currently, ACCU-CHEK®’ Aviva, ACCU-CHEK Compact Plus and Bayer’s CONTOUR®’’ and BREEZE®’’ 2 blood glucose monitoring systems are available at the preferred copay level under BCB-SOK benefit plans. Other meters and test strips are typically identified at the non-preferred copay level.

ACCU–CHEK

Aviva System

ACCU–CHEK

Compact Plus System

To order an ACCU-CHEK meter, call 1-877-436-9864. For

more detailed descriptions, visit accu-chek.com.

To order a Bayer meter, call 1-877-229-3777.

For more detailed descriptions, visit bayercontour.com.

CONTOUR blood glucose

monitoring system

BREEZE 2 blood glu-

cose monitoring system

IT’S ALL ABOUT DIABETES

BlueCross/BlueShield requires that all new physicians be credentialed under their new employer’s tax identifi-cation number. The process of credentialing Dr. Stepha-nie Husen took longer than expected and she was not credentialed until January 1, 2012.

Several UCO employees saw Dr. Husen prior to January 1, 2012 and the claims were processed as out of network. If you received an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) showing you owe money or you received payment along with your EOB, take your EOB and any check you received to the UCO Clinic. If you have questions, please call the clinic at 974-3115.

The medical staff of Mercy Clinic at UCO are available to test your blood glucose levels and help you manage your diabe-tes if needed. Call 974-2317 today for a consultation.

Broncho Beat wants to celebrate with you! Email Broncho Brag submissions to cwalls@uco.edu. All

announcements are subject to editing and publication.

Congratulations to Michelle Maneth and Paul Freeman who were married in a

small family ceremony at the Rocky Mountain Lodge in Cascade, Colorado on

January 7, 2012. It snowed on their wedding day, which they were told is a sign

of fertility and prosperity. Regardless, it definitely made for beautiful wedding

pictures! Michelle works in Administration as the Coordinator of Procard Compli-

ance.

Al Jones, Director of Alumni Relations, partnered with Central sophomore Madi-

son Berryman at UCO’s "Dancing With The Bronchos” dinner and auction" on Feb. 11 at Hamilton

Field House. The dancing duet were excited to place first among the 21 pairs of dancers, but were

even more thrilled to be part of this event that raised more than $40,000 for athletic teams,

equipment, travel and an awards program.

Congratulations to Head Baseball Coach Dax Leone and his wife Amber on the

birth of their precious daughter Payden Brooks Leone. Payden was born February

7, 2012 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and weighed 8 lbs 8 oz. Coach Leone tells us she is

very alert and strong, almost holding her head up, as well as holding her own with

two-year-old big brother Tal Gunner.

Hats off to Moki Wattanasureepoch, whose personal story of weight loss and

healthy living was featured in the January 24th Journal Record. Moki works as a Database Adminis-

trator in Information Technology. To become more active, Moki decided to take advantage of

Healthy Campus initiatives, including Weight Watchers at Work and free employee membership to

the Wellness Center, which resulted in him dropping 64 pounds and gaining an enjoyment of run-

ning and weight training. Way to go, Moki!

Kudos to Leon Franklin, Central Receiving, for being the first UCO employee

to turn in his Be Broncho Fit! card and receive the Wellness Package

prize. Leon frequently visits the Wellness Center for his workouts and is an

inspiring example of what it means to “Be Broncho Fit”. Congratulations also

go to Elizabeth Overman, Political Science, for being the first UCO woman to

turn in a Be Broncho Fit! card. While Dr. Overman is leading her colleagues to

a healthier lifestyle she is also planning on challenging Leon for the title of being the “first UCO

employee to turn in TWO cards!” Let the fitness fun begin!

Josh Overocker and Emily Griffin-Overocker recently gave a shout out to Marian Spears, payroll manag-

er. In January the Overockers arrived 10 minutes before the official W2 distribution opened. Having to

be elsewhere at 8:30, they were disappointed that they would have to come back later. Apparently Mar-

ian heard what was going on and hurried down the stairs to give them their W2's before they left the

building so they wouldn’t have to make the return trip. This kind of customer service is the perfect ex-

ample of why UCO is such a great place to work!

Best wishes to Christy Vincent, PhD, associate professor of Organizational Communication. Dr. Vincent

has been appointed the Health & Wellness Faculty Liaison for UCO. In this role she will support and

advise faculty colleagues to develop programs and services that will enhance the student learning ex-

perience.

CELEBRATING YEARS OF SERVICE IN MARCHCELEBRATING YEARS OF SERVICE IN MARCHCELEBRATING YEARS OF SERVICE IN MARCH

June Aduddell 3 yrs

MichaelBaer 4 yrs

Ann Barnes 10 yrs

Miles Bruner 2 yrs

Carl Cartwright 1yr

KayClare 3 yrs

Jason Cole 8 yrs

Darren Denham 7 yrs

Patrick Douglas 3 yrs

Paul Dymond 1 yr

Carrie Enterline 7 yrs

Timothy Felton 1 yr

Michael Fenner 29 yrs

Steven Flowers 3 yrs

Janice Ford 11 yrs

Phyllis Fry 10 yrs

Kathryn Gage 19 yrs

Mary Huffman 6 yrs

Eron Jinkins 8 yrs

Barbara Jones 2 yrs

Camille Kilbourne 4 yrs

Brenda Knott 7 yrs

Tina Kurtenbach 4 yrs

Stephen Lanier 9 yrs

Janie Leftwich 5 yrs

Patricia Lesher 15 yrs

Mary Long 4 yrs

Wayne Lord 4 yrs

Debra Mann 4 yrs

James Meadows 2 yrs

Stephanie Mendenhall 2 yrs

Lora Motley 3 yrs

Kimberly Powell 4 yrs

Gilberto Puebla 3 yrs

Judith Reyes-Henderson 4 yrs

Shelley Smith 1 yrs

Name Years of Service Name Years of Service Name Years of Service

David Stapleton 13 yrs

John Stephens 1 yrs

Sandra Stewart 5 yrs

David Storer 2 yrs

Harrison Strunk 14 yrs

Kristen Tate 11 yrs

Tim Tillman 3 yrs

Anthony Tompkins 7 yrs

Rosalynn Wade 10 yrs

Michelle Waggoner 4 yrs

Jesse Warne 1 yrs

Kayle Watkins 2 yrs

Johnny Watley 5 yrs

Robert Wells 4 yrs

Thomas Westendorf 2 yrs

Nathan Woolard 4 yrs

Marvin Wylie 3 yrs

LEAVE SHARE LEAVE SHARE LEAVE SHARE Janet Hostetler, Benefits Coordinator

UCO has a Leave Share Program for employees who have exhausted all annual leave and sick leave due to an ex-

traordinary or severe nature. Employees may join the Leave Share Program each year in the month of March by

meeting these requirements:

must have a balance of at least 88 hours of sick leave to participate

Must donate a minimum of eight (8) hours of sick leave

The donation will allow employees to participate in the program for the upcoming year should a catastrophic need arise. Participa-

tion in the program requires a new donation each year.

2011 Leave Share donations helped many individuals from March 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012. A total of 2,118 donated

hours were shared with UCO employees whose catastrophic illnesses would have forced them to be on leave without pay during

their time off for surgery and recovery.

To be eligible for shared leave in the next twelve months, sick leave donation forms must be completed and turned in to the Human

Resources office by Friday, March 30, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact the Benefits office within Human Resources

at 974-2366.

“RETIREMENT — I'M CLOSE, WHAT ARE THE STEPS?” will be from 2–3:50 p.m. Wednes-

day, March 7, in Room 312, Education building. The session, facilitated by Benefits Coordi-

nator Janet Hostetler and Benefits Specialist Stephanie Webb, will offer information about

when to notify human resources about retirement, requesting an estimate from Oklahoma

Teachers’ Retirement System and more.

Register with the Learning Center at http://learningcenter.uco.edu/uco, or contact Fran Petties

at fpetties@uco.edu or 974-2655

RETIREMENT SESSIONRETIREMENT SESSIONRETIREMENT SESSION Janet Hostetler, Benefits Coordinator

MARCH BIRTHDAYSMARCH BIRTHDAYSMARCH BIRTHDAYS

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1

Farhana Afrin Jo McGuffin Mary Miller Sandra Thompson Hong Zhu

2 Meghan DeWitt Terry French Edward Kabrick Karl Nelson Richard Sneed Weldon Wilson

3 Nathan Wiberg

4

Birendra Coomarasamy Thomas Hancock

5

Paige Mayhew Lee Tyner

6

Equlla Brothers Joaquin Gomez Barbara Jones Jessica Moad

7

Jackie Kabrick 8

Amanda Horton Debbie Jordan Casey Moore Nicole Willard

9

Stephanie Tatum 10

James Creecy Gregory Farnell Wendy Lackmeyer

11

Amy Carrell Garrett Cox Patrick Douglas Magen Malin Darrell Stinchcomb

12

Brittany Ingram Patricia Loughlin Kirk Webster

13

Jeffrey Harp Hayley Thompson Kathryn Toahty Thomas Westendorf

14

Susan Bucher Megan Rountree

15

Jackie Horton Steven Sump

16

Mitchell Bell Shay Rahm-Barnett

17

Maria Aviles

18

19

Abdellah Ait Moussa LaDonna Atkins John Barthell Anthony Cappello Blair Goforth John Martin

20

Tylar Claypool Jason Glass Gladys Lewis

21

Alaeddin Abu-Abed Michael Crowel John Loudermill Hassan Pourbabaee Jeffrey Steele Marvin Wylie

22

23

Robert Doan Michelle Harris Mark Jones Donald Mizell Jennifer Stringham

24

Patti Neuhold

25

Michael Bond 26

Hillary Ashton Elizabeth Crowell Janice Ford Susan Haller Sharon Kelting Stephen Tyler Cayt Walls

27

Merry Buchanan Jennifer Corley Sheri Gaches Ted Jones Kaye Sears Ashley Weingart

28

Christan Derryberry- Smith Emily Herr David Noel

29

Kali Brownell Kay Clare Darren Denham Lyndsay Holder Douglas Hurt Josh Overocker

30

Deborah Baucom Wesley Moreland

31

Todd Milam Terri Winblad

MESSAGES FROM MERCY EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Your EAP is here to help you. Call us at 1-800-413-8008.

Question: My 10 year old son is having trouble in school. Other kids are picking on him and calling

him names, pushing him around. How can I help him cope with the bullies of the playground?

Answer: Bullying is a difficult challenge for many young children. Obviously it is a good thing your son is

telling you about it. Does the school know about it, observe it, etc.? If yes, you can get a better sense of the

schoolyard dynamics; is there anything the teachers can do to help the situation? 1. Support your son as he

tells you his stories 2.Talk with the school. We, the EAP, welcome a parent with these concerns to talk with

us and discuss further ideas, in person or by phone. Please call us to schedule an appointment with a coun-

selor: 1-800-413-8008 extension 2.

Question: My husband and I are constantly having money problems. I can't tell if it's our spending or

life style habits. What do you suggest?

Answer: Our relationship with money is often symptomatic of other issues. There are a couple of approach-

es you can take at this point. First, determine what role money plays in your life. We can provide a money

motivation quiz that could help you clarify. Second, are you following a budget? Budgeting is not a natural

step for many couples, but when money problems occur, it can offer a structure to look at your spending

habits. Lastly, lifestyle issues can often be a part of this complex issue. If that is something you would like

to explore, why don't you give us a call. We would welcome a confidential discussion.

Best wishes to all UCO employees celebrating birthdays

this month. Any employee wishing to have their birthday

omitted from future publication should email their

request to cwalls@uco.edu. Thank you.

Spring Break

Employee Training

TRAINING COURSE TITLE: DATE: TIME:

To enroll for any of the training courses listed below, go to http://learningcenter.uco.edu/

Accounts Receivable March 1 10:00 am

March 5 10:00 am

March 5 2:00 pm

March 6 10:00 am

Adobe Acrobat Pro: Creating and Sharing PDF Documents March 20 9:00 am

Annual Safety Training March 13 1:00 pm

March 27 1:00 pm

Banner Finance Training March 14 1:30 pm

March 28 1:30 pm

Banner Navigation March 14 10:00 am

March 28 10:00 am

Communication Competence March 1 9:00 am

Correction, Not Punishment (Managers and Supervisors Training) March 29 8:30 am

D2L Fundamentals (Pilot Group) March 9 8:30 am

D2L Fundamentals March 12 12:30 pm

D2L Fundamentals March 15 12:30 pm

D2L for TAs (Pilot: Faculty call 5595 to enroll TAs) March 9 2:00 pm

FLSA - Fair Labor Standards Act March 6 2:00 pm

March 7 10:00 am

HR Series: ADA, FMLA, Workers Compensation & First Report of Injury March 30 10:00 am

iPad Strategies: Exploring Instructional Possibilities March 21 9:00 am

IPP and YOU March 13 10:30 am

Managing the Generations March 14 1:30 pm

Microsoft Word 2010: Collaboration and Change Tracking March 19 2:00 pm

New Employee Staff Training: Day 1 Orientation March 12 8:00 am

March 26 8:00 am

New Employee Staff Training: Day 2 Central Technology March 13 8:00 am

March 27 8:00 am

New Employee Staff Training: Day 3 Professional Education Overview March 14 8:30 am

March 28 8:30 am

New Employee Staff Training: Day 3 UCOnnect March 14 9:30 am

March 28 9:30 am

Procard Training March 13 10:30 am

March 27 10:30 am

Power of the 3 R’s (Managers and Supervisors Training) March 29 10:15 am

Retirement: I’m Close; What Are The Steps? March 7 2:00 pm

Time Saver Series: Power Point Tips March 20 2:00 pm

Web CT to D2L (Pilot Group) March 14 9:00 am

March 7 1:30 pm

March 13 1:30 pm

March 13 5:30 pm

March 7 9:00 am

March 14 1:30 pm

Web Content Management (WCMS) Advanced March 15 10:30 am

Web Content Management (WCMS) Essentials March 15 9:00 am

March 14 10:30 am Web Time Entry & Time Keeper Training

March 28 10:30 am