葫芦影

Comprised of Division features, accolades and achievements, as well as valuable "In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)" news you can use, each edition of the newsletter highlights key information and resources across the Division's departmental, operational and service unit areas. Subscribe to the A&F listserv.

Dear Colleagues,

In April, the Division of Administration and Finance hosted the A&F Staff Appreciation Event to highlight individual and team achievements from 2024. It was wonderful to see so many of you connect and network with colleagues from across the division during this event. I enjoyed celebrating and honoring the divisional achievements from the prior year and recognizing colleagues who reached significant service milestones in 2024. Relive the 2024 A&F Staff Appreciation event by visiting the event website to see all the photos from our celebration.

Additionally, this month our featured article is on our student employees in honor of National Student Employment Week, which is observed during the second week of April. Administration and Finance employs 125 student workers, whose contributions to our programs and services are essential.  Please thank the student employees in your department for all the important work they do and read our student employee profiles to learn about some of the student employees in our division.

April is the month for Frontier Fiesta at the 葫芦影业—a three-day event involving cooking competitions, musical performances, and more, bringing together students, faculty, and staff.  Administration and Finance played a key role in ensuring the smooth execution of Frontier Fiesta. Photos of our departments in action at the event are available in the photo gallery.

Other highlights in this month’s newsletter include:

• Feature stories on sustainability efforts by UH Dining Services and the Office of Sustainability for Earth Week at UH.
• A recap from NACAS South CX where colleagues from University Service and Auxiliary Services gave presentations and received recognition.
• An article on how Food Safety, along with UH Dining Services and Auxiliary Services, is increasing food safety transparency on campus.

These are a few of the items featured this month. Please review the various divisional updates, articles, and reminders in this month’s newsletter. Thank you for all that you do to support our university community.

Administration and Finance Celebrates Employees at Annual Luncheon 

The 2025 Administration and Finance Staff Appreciation Event gave the division an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the magnificent individual and team accomplishments in 2024 while acknowledging team members who met years of service milestone. Relive the Staff Appreciation Event by visiting the event page to see all the winners and photos.

Meet Some of A&F’s Student Employees

As part of National Student Employment Week, which was observed April 14-18, the division would like to extend its gratitude to the 125 students who expanded their learning through the services they provided to the 17 A&F departments. A&F’s student employees get resume-building experiences while providing a multitude of contributions across the division. Meet some of A&F’s student employees by reading our highlighted student employee profiles and learn the reasons students value their on-campus work experience.

Teaching Kitchen Serves Learning with Fresh Food Fun

The 葫芦影业’s Dining Services department hosted the Plant-Forward Teaching Kitchen event in the Multipurpose room in the Student Center – South in April. A dozen attendees took part in a learning experience led by Moody Tower’s Executive Chef Benito Gavirio on how to prepare Mexican sopes with delicious, plant-based filling using fresh and readily available ingredients. Read more about this semester’s .

Enhancing Food Safety Transparency with QR Codes 

In an effort to provide transparency on food safety standards at dining commons and university food establishments, the Food Safety department have placed QR codes stickers at each on-campus dining establishment, in partnership with Auxiliary Services and Dining Services.

When scanned with a phone, these QR codes direct users to a website displaying the score for that specific food station or establishment. The scores, based on a scale of 100, also indicate the date of the last food safety inspection. Previously, students, faculty, and staff had to visit the Food Safety website to view these scores. Read more about this food safety transparency effort.

A&F Supports Frontier Fiesta

Frontier Fiesta has come and gone at UH, and many A&F departments were pivotal in ensuring the three-day event was safe and fun for all. Departments like Fire & Life Safety, the 葫芦影业 Police Department, the Office of Emergency Management, the Food Safety department, and UH Dining Services, were instrumental during Frontier Fiesta. View the Frontier Fiesta photo gallery to see how these departments assisted with Frontier Fiesta.

First Fiesta, the Pregame to Frontier Fiesta Weekend

Frontier Fiesta, a 葫芦影业 tradition dating to 1939, is a long-awaited event for students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The three-day student-led event has concerts, carnival rides, and a wide variety of cook-off competitions and more. To give students a pregame to Frontier Fiesta, 葫芦影业 Dining Services created, and hosted, a new event, First Fiesta. The event, held at Cougar Woods Dining Commons the week of Frontier Fiesta, mimicked on a smaller scale, what one might expect at Frontier Fiesta. Read more about First Fiesta.

Office of Sustainability Enhances Earth Week at UH

The 葫芦影业 observed Earth Week from April 21-25 with the Office of Sustainability leading the way and spearheading a greener, and cleaner, campus. Events for Earth Week included, a Plant Forward Teaching Kitchen, a volunteer campus clean-up, a sustainability lunch and learn, a plastic art competition, an e-waste drive, a sustainability maker’s market, volunteer tree planting, and a plant swap to name a few of the events.

The Office of Sustainability partnered with UH Dining Services, UH Energy, student organizations like the Metropolitan Volunteer Program, NextGen America, the American Conservative Coalition, and city organizations like the Buffalo Bayou Kayak Company, and Zero Waste Houston. Read more about Earth Week at UH.

Being Green is Part of the Job at Copy and Print Services 

While April 22 is when Earth Day is celebrated each year, at Copy and Print Services — every workday is a green day. The recycling team has commented that Copy and Print is one of the biggest recyclers on campus. When the bins are full, they receive a call and arrive within an hour or so for pickup.

“We recycle pretty much everything: cuttings from our paper and foam boards,” said Sami Snelling, production manager. “The UH Recycling and Solid Waste Division comes by once a week to pick up our recyclables.”

Read more about being green every day.

Cullen Performance Hall Has Aid for Hearing-Impaired Guests

New technology has made going to a comedy show or event at Cullen Performance Hall even easier and more enjoyable for individuals with hearing loss with the venue’s introduction of its ListenWIFI service. ListenWIFI is an innovative Wi-Fi streaming solution that allows CPH guests to use their smartphones to access audio for assistive listening. The system sends the audio directly to a person’s headphones, hearing aids, or cochlear implants without increasing the surrounding sound. A closed captioning option to view what is being said is also available. Learn more about this initiative from .

Stay Cougar S.A.F.E.

	Map Displays Emergency Call Boxes Across Campus A new interactive map on the UH Maps webpage now has the location of the emergency call boxes across the UH Main campus, as well as Katy and Sugar Land. These emergency call boxes are placed at various locations across UH and can place a call directly to the UHPD dispatch center to request police assistance. See the locations of the emergency call boxes on the interactive map.
	April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month Distracted driving is a habit that can lead to serious accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 3,087 people were killed due to distracted driving in 2022. The NHTSA also noted that being distracted for five seconds at 55 miles per hour is equivalent to driving the length of a football field with closed eyes. April serves as Distracted Driving Awareness Month, reminding us of our responsibilities and decisions on the road. Learn more about distracted driving and read the tips to help you on the road.
	Biannual Shelter in Place Drills Conducted for UH Residence Halls This spring, all residence halls across campus participated in the biannual Shelter-in-Place Drills, aimed at preparing staff and students for emergency situations that require them to seek shelter. The UH Office of Emergency Management, Fire & Life Safety, and Student Housing and Residential Life worked together to ensure the drills (exercises) effectively simulated a real shelter-in-place directive. These exercises help UH Student Housing and Residential Life staff practice notifying residents of a shelter-in-place directive while reinforcing proper procedures for residents to follow. This semester’s drill ran smoothly, demonstrating continued improvement with each exercise by staff and students. By conducting these drills, the 葫芦影业 strengthens its commitment to campus safety and emergency preparedness.

Cougar Cudos

To nominate a fellow staff member, fill out the.

A&F Team Connects at NACAS South CX Conference

Division of Administration and Finance team members from Auxliary Services enjoyed the fanfare and the camaraderie of the 2025 NACAS South CX Conference. The group met and connected with colleagues from other institutions within their region. They engaged in conversations about their roles and shared ideas and experiences that proved to be invaluable for Auxiliary Services. Their interactions provided them with fresh perspectives and innovative approaches that they were bringing back to their own practices. Read more about A&F at the NACAS South CX conference.

Esmeralda Valdez Wins Lifetime Award at NACAS South CX

Esmeralda Valdez, Executive Director of University Services received the NACAS South Lifetime Achievement Award for her excellence in the field of auxiliary services, being a role model for aspiring auxiliary service professionals, and her actions that benefited both the University and higher education.鈥疺aldez, who also serves as the NACAS South regional representative on the board of directors, has been a NACAS member since 2006. 

“Winning the NACAS South Lifetime Achievement Award is truly an honor for me. It represents the recognition of the hard work and dedication I've put into the field of auxiliary services over the years,” said Valdez.

DaNesha Allen Wins Regional Rising Star Award at NACAS South CX

DaNesha Allen, Senior Director at Auxiliary Services, received the Regional Rising Star Award for her innovative and meaningful contributions to improving the efficiency of the University’s campus experience for students and excelling professionally in auxiliary services.

“I am honored to be recognized as the NACAS Regional Rising Star,” Allen said. “This would not have been possible without my team and leadership that continuously inspire and challenge me every day.”

Cougar Card Services Team Attends NACCU Conference 

Cougar Card Services’ Cassie Bruner, Ph.D., director, and Daisy Del Fierro, assistant director, recently attended the National Association of Campus Card Users Annual Conference in Henderson, Nevada, April 6-9. The pair arrived early to participate in the two-day NACCU Preconference Data Summit, where they learned how to better utilize information that’s collected to generate insights to assist in data-driven decision-making.

During the main event, Bruner and Del Fierro led a roundtable discussion: “Ready, Set, Swipe: Navigating Your First Fall Semester in the Campus Card Office.” Bruner also was joined by Robin Black, director program 2, Auxiliary Services Operations, and Grubhub to give a presentation, “A Partnership Journey: How the 葫芦影业 Leveraged Technology to Elevate the Student Dining Experience,” spotlighting the on- and off-campus programs they work on together.

UH Food Safety Inspector has Research Accepted for Publication

UH Food Safety health inspector Karla Acosta, PhD., will have a study she conducted as part of her doctorate, “Synthesis and Effectiveness of a Novel Food Safety Toolkit for Low-Literacy Novice Food Handlers,” published in the Journal of Food Protection. The study found that low-literacy novice food handlers had difficulty completing the required American National Standards Institute (ANSI) certified food handler training.

The two-part study first interviewed stakeholders to determine current food safety training gaps and needs. The second part developed a novel food safety training toolkit (NTK) as a supplementary resource to existing ANSI-certified training tools. Results showed that the participants’ overall food safety knowledge significantly increased due to NTK when compared to the control group. This study is distinctive because it directly responds to the needs of the food service industry, and the study output (NTK) can serve as the cornerstone to fill the gap in current food safety training for low-literacy or novice food handlers in the future.

UIT Wins Three Collegiate Advertising Awards

The University Information Technology department won three awards from the Collegiate Advertising Awards program. The CAA program honors marketing professionals for outstanding excellence in all forms of advertising, marketing and promotion specific to higher education products and services. UIT won two silver and one bronze award. The two silver awards were for UIT’s Strategic Priorities magazine and its social media campaign for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The bronze was awarded for its Cybersecurity Awareness billboard design. Learn more about UIT’s Collegiate Advertising Awards.

Parking & Transportation Recognized with New Accreditation Milestone

The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI), the world’s largest association of professionals in parking, transportation, and mobility, has approved Parking & Transportation as an Accredited Parking Organization with Distinction through December 31, 2027. The accreditation recognizes best practices in responsible parking management and operations, access management, customer service, professional development, security, sustainability and more. Parking & Transportation will be recognized on stage at the 2025 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in June.

GetFitTexas Challenge Wrap-up

This year for the very first time, the 葫芦影业 participated in the GetFitTexas Challenge. Sponsored by the Texas Department of State Health Services, GetFitTexas is a 10-week physical activity challenge for state employees and competition between state agencies to see who can complete the most minutes of physical activity.

The goal for participants was to complete 150 minutes of physical activity per week. If a person successfully completed and logged 150 minutes of activity for at least six out of 10 weeks, the challenge would be completed. Organized by HR POWER UP, Team UH consisted of 345 participants who helped the University achieve a 37% completion rate! Next year, we hope to increase faculty and staff participation and engage different departments in friendly competitions within the overall challenge.

Digital Spring-Cleaning Tips from UIT  

A cluttered digital life not only makes it harder to find what you need, but it also leaves your personal information vulnerable to cyber threats. By taking a few simple proactive steps, you can significantly improve your online security and peace of mind. University Information Technology presents six tips you can take to reduce your risk of falling victim to scams or data breaches. Take a look at the tips to learn more.

Monthly Siren Test

While the 葫芦影业 Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management collaborate on a daily basis, each month they work together to conduct monthly test of the outdoor warning sirens on campus.

These tests, held on the first Wednesday of each month at 1 P.M., are a vital part of campus emergency preparedness. By routinely testing the system, both departments ensure the sirens are fully operational in the event of severe weather, natural disasters, or other emergencies that threaten the safety of those on campus. The siren is designed to alert the individuals that are outdoors to get inside a safe location and shelter-in-place.

OEM and UHPD work together to foster a well-informed, prepared, and resilient community.