From unique events to newly established program offerings, there is always something exciting happening on the RELLIS Campus. Each semester Dr. Shankle rounds up all the most important details to share with you below:
January 2022
Welcome Back!
I hope everyone had a restful holiday break with family and friends. As we begin a new semester, I’m excited to see students on campus.
Kudos
Congratulations to the following faculty and staff for their recent accomplishments:
- Natalee Oliver, Instructor of Social Work at Tarleton State University, successfully defended her dissertation and earned her doctorate in December.
- Eman Hammad, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Information Systems at Texas A&M University-Commerce, was recently named one of the “Top Women in Cybersecurity” by the website ITWorld Canada. In addition, she received the North American Exceptional Service Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Communications Society.
- Dalton Jones, Admissions Coordinator at the RELLIS Academic Alliance, received his master’s degree in higher education from Tarleton State University.
Welcome Kierston Uptmore!
The Office of Student Life would like to welcome Kierston Uptmore to the team. Kierston is the Student Leadership and Activities Coordinator for the Blinn RELLIS Campus. Kierston will be helping with the planning and facilitation of programs and events at the RELLIS Campus. Her primary focus will be first- and second-year students. Please make sure that you all stop by and give Kierston a warm welcome to campus.
Free Lending Library
Looking for a new read? Come check out the Free Lending Library in the Learning Resource Center (ACB2, Room 111), which is stocked with both fiction and non-fiction titles. If you see something that interests you, feel free to take it with you. When you’re finished with it, you can return it or return another book in its place. No due dates, no fines—just some good, old fashioned literary fun!
Ring Orders
Balfour and Jostens will be on campus to do ring sizing and ring orders on January 25 – 27, 2022, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Students interested in participating in the RELLIS Ring Day in April should order their rings at this time.
Student IDs
If you have not already received a Student ID, you can email your picture to studentlife@rellis.tamus.edu along with your name and home institution. For more information on ID cards, see the Student ID guidelines hyperlinked below.
New COVID guidelines for Spring
After almost two years, COVID is still with us. We have updated our guidelines and will continue to follow the CDC guidelines on what to do if you are exposed or get sick.
What you can do to keep healthy
- Keep doing what you’ve been doing—wear a mask, wash your hands, stay six feet away from others, get vaccinated.
- The CDC now recommends KN 95 or N95 masks for the best protection against the Omicron variant. You can pick up one of these masks in our classrooms.
- We have voluntary testing available for students and faculty who do not have any symptoms.
If you get sick,
- Do not come to the building. Instead, go see your health care provider for a test and treatment or make an appointment at Texas A&M Health Family Care, 2900 East 29th Street, Bryan, TX 77802, 979.776.8440
- Contact your professors to let them know what’s going on.
- If you test positive, let Carlos know via Studentlife@rellis.tamus.edu.
- You are also required to use the COVID self-reporting portal.
Texas A&M University System Portal
How long to isolate if you test positive
The CDC has shortened the time of isolation depending on whether your symptoms have resolved and you are fever-free. If you are eligible for the shorter five-day isolation period, you must wear a mask when you are around people for the next five days. See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/index.html or more information.
Curative Testing for COVID-19
We offer Curative testing for all faculty and students throughout the semester on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 AM – 12 PM. The link to sign up for a walk-in appointment in below. For more information, contact Crystal Berryhill at cberryhill@rellis.tamus.edu.
Emergency Plan
RELLIS Academic Alliance has updated its emergency plan with information on what to do in various emergency situations from medical emergency to inclement weather. This plan is available below:
Spring 2022 Registration for RELLIS Courses
Registration is winding down for Spring 2022, there are still important dates for you to know about including add/drop dates, payment deadlines, etc. Here are links to the academic calendars for the RELLIS Academic Alliance universities for Spring 2022:
Prairie View A&M – Spring 2022 – Full Term – Registrar (pvamu.edu)
Stephen F. Austin – calendar-academic-year-2021-2022.pdf (sfasu.edu)
Tarleton State University – Calendars and Final Examination Schedules | Tarleton State University
Texas A&M International – TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (tamiu.edu)
Texas A&M Commerce – updated 2122 Academic Calendar.pdf (tamuc.edu)
Texas A&M Corpus Christi – Academic Calendar | Academics | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (tamucc.edu)
Texas A&M Kingsville – 2022-Spring-Academic-Calendar-16-Weeks.pdf (tamuk.edu)
Texas A&M Texarkana – Academic Calendar and Final Exam Schedule < Texas A&M University-Texarkana (tamut.edu)
West Texas A&M – Academic calendar 2021_2022 Approved by Committee 13 month Calendar Updated 4-27-21.pdf (wtamu.edu)
We continue to offer virtual appointment scheduling and advising. For questions about advising or setting up an appointment, you may email advising@rellis.tamus.edu. For Blinn-RELLIS advising, please email rellis@blinn.edu .
Be well,
Quick Links & Resources
Dr. Nancy Shankle
Have something you’d like to hear about from Dr. Shankle?
Email her at nshankle@RELLIS.TAMUS.EDU
Dr. Nancy Shankle was named Associate Vice Chancellor and Provost of the RELLIS Academic Alliance in August 2019. As Provost, she has strengthened partnerships with Academic Alliance university partners and Blinn College District, expanded degree offerings and student support services, and brought in a new university partner, Stephen F. Austin State University.
Dr. Shankle earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from Texas A&M University-Commerce. She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in English from Texas A&M University, College Station. Her previous academic administration positions include serving as Chair of the Department of English, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Executive Director of the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, and Assistant Provost for General Education at Abilene Christian University; Associate Provost and Interim Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Texas A&M-University-Texarkana; and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at LSU-Shreveport.
In addition to numerous awards for teaching excellence, Dr. Shankle has published on linguistics and grammar anxiety and edited The Transforming Word. She has also presented at international, national, and regional conferences on accreditation, assessment, and American literature. In 2011, Dr. Shankle was awarded the Frances Hernandez Award for Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship, and Service by the Conference of College Teachers of English. Dr. Shankle was named Administrator of the Year at Texas A&M University-Texarkana in 2016.
In 2018, Dr. Shankle was appointed to the national board for Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). She has also served on reaffirmation committees for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).