PAYROLL TIMECARD REMINDER FOR WINTER BREAK

Enjoy winter break, but please don’t forget your timecards!

For the pay period 12/3 – 12/16/23:

• Staff and students please submit timecards no later than Saturday, December 16th
• Supervisors are reminded to approve timecards before noon on Monday, December 18th, and to please ensure that staff and students have submitted timecards.
• Late time submissions may delay your pay due to the short week.

For the pay period of 12/17 – 12/30/23:

• We only have 3 regular days next week for this pay period. Please complete your timecard and submit it before you leave (or complete it remotely if you forget.)
• Supervisors please make sure that your staff has completed their time entry.
• By the time we return to campus, there will not be access to enter time or approve for this period. Late time submission may delay your pay due to the short week.

Thank you, and please contact Dawn Bury at EXT 2159 or payroll@evansville.edu if you have questions.

The University of Evansville will be closed during the holidays to allow our employees to enjoy this special time with their families.

The following holiday schedule will be observed:

Winter Holiday Break

Closed Thursday, December 21 through Tuesday, January 2

Offices reopen on Wednesday, January 3

The University of Evansville African American Alumni Association (UEAAA) proudly presents a special Black History Month event featuring Arnell Hill '80, the award-winning creator of a documentary spotlighting his UE experiences. The documentary, honored at the Indy Fest Film awards and showcased at the Heartland International Film Festival, offers a unique insight into the African American student journey at the University of Evansville. This event will take place at the EVPL Central Library on Walnut Street on February 6th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. free of charge.

UEAAA invites faculty to include this historic event as an extra credit option in their Spring 2024 syllabi. Sponsored by the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, this is a unique chance for students to explore the African American student experience.

For more information, contact UEAAA.

TIAA-CREF Counseling Appointments for Spring 2024 The TIAA-CREF representative will be back on the UE campus for individual counseling sessions.

• January 25
• February 21
• March 20

To schedule an appointment, please visit www.tiaa.org/schedulenow. The sessions are held in the Eades Music Room, SOBA 153.

FREE, confidential HIV testing, performed by Matthew 25, the first Wednesday of every month at the Student Health Center. No appointment necessary. 9-11am

College Mentors for Kids connects UE students from all majors with a local elementary school student in grades 1-5 for a brief mentoring session one day a week. Elementary students come to UE's campus on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:30 to work with their mentor.

A recent MENTOR 2023 study found that 74% of youth who had a meaningful mentoring relationship said their mentor contributed significantly to their later success. However, another study notes that one-third of youth who want a mentor don’t have one due to a lack of formal mentoring programs in their community. Our College Mentors for Kids group currently has students from a local school on a waitlist, and we want to provide all students desiring a mentor with a UE student who can take an interest in their current and future success.

Please help us meet the needs of local students who would benefit from having a UE student mentor by volunteering to serve as a UE mentor during the spring 2024 semester. You don't have to leave campus to make a difference in a young student's life. Mentoring is transformative, and it takes all of us. We invite you to partner with UE's College Mentors for Kids organization to ensure more kids and college students experience this deep connection, leading to many lifelong possibilities. Please get in touch with Lilly Kolley at lk165@evansville.edu or Dr. Lisa Hale at lh241@evansville.edu for more information.

Dr. Phil Plisky, Professor of Physical Therapy and Director of Residency Programs and Dr. Kyle Matsel Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Program Director for PhD in Health Professions Education presented a virtual live continuing education course titled, "ACL Hot Topics: Knee Extension ROM and Open-Chain Strengthening" for physical therapists and athletic trainers via Medbridge learning platform. Additionally, Dr. Plisky organized and hosted a 6 hour summit with professional leaders from around the world including Dr. Clare Ardern, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy and UE DPT Alumni, Dr. Robert Butler, Director of Performance for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Drs. Plisky and Matsel have over 40 years of combined experience in the field and have produced many scholarly works on these topics which has helped numerous patients. We are proud of their contributions to the professions of physical therapy and athletic training and how they represent the University of Evansville.

A span of three games over a span of five days concludes on Wednesday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team faces Tennessee Tech at the Ford Center.  Tip is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network having the coverage.

Looking at the Start

- Sitting at 9-2, the Purple Aces are off to their best start since 2017 when the program won 10 of its first 12 games

- Evansville has won its first five home games for the first time since 2018; UE opened each season between 2015 and 2018 with wins in their opening five home contests

Last Time Out

- Once again, contributions came from everywhere on Monday as the Aces defeated UT Martin by a score of 98-91

- Five UE players reached double figures with Kenny Strawbridge Jr. registering a season-high 21 points

- Tanner Cuff set his career mark with 14 points and came close to a triple double, adding 8 assists and 8 caroms

- Ben Humrichous and Yacine Toumi scored 15 apiece while Chuck Bailey III finished with 12

Make it Three

- When the Missouri Valley Conference announced its weekly awards on Dec. 18, Chuck Bailey III was named the Freshman of the Week for the third time in 2023

- In the win at Bellarmine, he scored 12 points and had a 4-point play that broke a tie in the final four minutes to give the Aces a lead they would not give up

- He followed that up with 12 points against UT Martin while adding 6 rebounds

- Bailey is fourth on the squad with 10.0 points per contest

Doing It All

- Monday’s game versus the Skyhawks saw Tanner Cuff put together the top game of his collegiate career

- He finished with a career-high 14 points along with 8 boards and 8 assists

- With 39 assists against 10 turnovers, he paces the MVC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.90; that tally is 10th in the NCAA

- Cuff has multiple assists in 7 of the last 8 games with his top total of eight coming at MSU and vs. UTM

- Over the last two games, Cuff has gone a perfect 10-for-10 inside the arc

Season-High

- Scoring seven of UE’s first 10 points against the Skyhawks, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. finished the game with a season-high 21 points

- His previous season mark of 17 came in the Nov. 25 win over SEMO

- In the second half of the Nov. 18 win over Ball State, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. reached the 1,000-point mark in his D1 career

Scouting the Opponent

- Tennessee Tech comes to Evansville with a 2-game win streak that has improved their record to 5-7 on the season

- The Golden Eagles are coming off a 70-67 win over North Alabama on Saturday

- Four players average double figures for TTU with Jayvis Harvey pacing the team with 16.4 PPG

- He is a 45.7% shooter from the field and holds the team lead with 37 assists

- David Early posts a 15.5 PPG average while Rodney Johnson Jr. and Josiah Davis average 13.1 and 10.8 points, respectively

- Johnson is the leading rebounder with 6.6 per contest

University of Evansville women’s basketball alum Jenna (Hayes) Alspaugh has been named one of 18 players to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame 2024 Silver Anniversary team.

A 2003 alum of the Purple Aces women’s basketball team, Jenna (Hayes) Alspaugh was announced to the 2024 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary team. The Silver Anniversary team recognizes players with outstanding accomplishments as a senior high school basketball player 25 years ago. As a senior at Roncalli High School, Alspaugh was named a 1999 Indiana All-Star and earned national recognition as a member of the 1999 AP second-team All-State and a 1999 USA Today honorable mention.

Alspaugh played for the Purple Aces from 1999 to 2003 under Head Coaches Kathi Bennett and Tricia Cullop. She currently is second in career blocks among all UE players and 12th in Missouri Valley Conference history with 163 blocks. On the offensive side of the ball, Alspaugh set an Evansville single-season record for field goal percentage at 59.6% during the 2000-2001 season. She is currently third all-time in Aces history for field goal percentage finishing her career at 53.6% on the floor.

The Indianapolis native was also recognized regularly for her work in the classroom. Ending her academic career with a 3.82 GPA in sports management, Alspaugh earned two MVC All-Academic recognitions. She was also named to the 2003 CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-District in District Five. Another national recognition for Alspaugh during her time with the Aces was as a regional nominee for the 2003 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Alspaugh currently resides in southern Indiana after earning her bachelor’s and master's degrees from Evansville. She currently works for Eli Lily as the Senior Director of Market Research on Diabetes and Obesity.

For the second time in three weeks, forward Maggie Hartwig has been named the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Freshman of the Week.

After leading the University of Evansville women's basketball team to their first home win against Lindenwood, freshman forward Maggie Hartwig has been recognized for her performance. This is the second time Hartwig has been named the Valley Freshman of the Week with her first recognition coming on November 27th. Weekly conference awards are decided by MVC staff.

The freshman had her third double-double performance of the season in UE's first home win on Saturday afternoon. Hartwig made 16 points while pulling down 12 boards while leading the team in time on the floor with 38 minutes.

The forward locked in during the second half of Saturday's contest against Lindenwood with 12 of her 16 points and eight of her 12 rebounds. Hartwig in particular helped give the Aces an advantage down the stretch, grabbing an offensive rebound after a missed Evansville free throw. Hartwig then made the second-chance basket to give UE a 1-point lead with two minutes left.

The Aces are back in action this evening at No. 16 Indiana.

In a return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 17 years in the making, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team fell 109-56 to the no. 16 Indiana Hoosiers.

The Purple Aces faced likely their toughest test of the season on Monday night against the ranked Hoosiers. Despite heavy defensive pressure, UE had four players in double figures led by MVC Freshman of the Week Maggie Hartwig with 13 points. Transfer sophomore forward Tamesha Dozier had a season-high in Bloomington with 11 points while going seven of 11 from the floor.

“While the shots didn’t fall the way we would like and we gave up too much in transition, I thought we played with toughness,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells. “It might not show in the box score but this game will make us better. I am very proud of our effort tonight in a tough environment.”

The Aces got off to a strong start in Bloomington as graduate center Barbora Tomancova had the first points of the night on a layup. UE led for a minute and a half in the first quarter following a three from guard Alana Striverson. But the Hoosiers quickly responded with an eight-point run to take a seven-point lead and force an Evansville timeout.

Out of the timeout, Dozier hit her first three of the night getting the game down to four. The teams traded buckets back and forth until Indiana had a short five-point run with four minutes left in the quarter. The Aces added two more field goals but found themselves down by 12 heading into the second quarter.

The Hoosiers put the game out of reach for UE early in the second quarter as Evansville didn’t find a basket until the fourth minute. But the cold stretch was broken with a bang as Hartwig hit her lone three of the night. The Aces had a strong quarter from behind the arc with two threes while also having a perfect 10 minutes at the line. A five-point run for UE in the final 35 seconds from the Striverson sisters made it a 51-28 game.

Evansville started the second half almost as quickly as the first with seven points in the first minute and a half. Mason Striverson made back-to-back treys after having a quiet first half. The Aces kept cutting into Indiana’s offense through the third but a nine-point run to close out the quarter had UE facing a 38-point deficit.

It was a tough offensive fourth for Evansville as the team had an over-five-minute scoreless streak. But the Aces kept fighting to the final buzzer as they made seven points in just under four minutes. The end of the game for UE was highlighted by an Alana Striverson three and free throws from freshman guard Sydney Bradley.

Evansville won’t have much rest until their next game on Thursday morning. The Aces head to Cape Girardeau for their final matchup of the holiday break against the Southeastern Missouri Redhawks. Tip-off for UE against SEMO is set for 11 a.m.

Another total team performance by the University of Evansville men’s basketball team saw five players in double figures as the squad improved to 9-2 with a 98-91 victory over UT Martin on Monday evening at the Ford Center.

Kenny Strawbridge Jr. registered a season-high 21 points with Yacine Toumi and Ben Humrichous finishing with 15 apiece for the Purple Aces.  Tanner Cuff added 14 points while Chuck Bailey III scored 12.  Humrichous paced the team with nine boards while Toumi added seven caroms, two blocks and two steals.  Cuff had another extraordinary all-around game, adding eight boards and eight assists to his 14-point night.

“It is a 40-minute game and sometimes you just need to find a way to win.  UT Martin is extremely talented and they average 85 points for a reason.  It was an up and down game with a lot of points.  We did not plan on playing zone tonight, but had it in our back pocket in case we needed it.  I feel like we are getting closer every day and credit our guys for sticking with it.  Tonight was a complete team win.”

Toumi opened the night with a 3-point play while a jumper by Kenny Strawbridge Jr. gave the Aces an early 5-0 advantage.  Strawbridge added a triple and dunk as he posted seven of UE’s first 10 points as they held a 10-4 lead at the 17:10 mark.

UT Martin countered with a 9-0 run to take their first lead of the night at 13-10 less than three minutes later, but the ensuing two minutes belonged to Evansville.  Five in a row by Joshua Hughes gave the Aces a 17-15 lead.  At the 11:08 mark. Tanner Cuff picked up a second-chance basket to push the lead to 27-21.

Once again, the Skyhawks answered, posting the next 11 to jump back in front, 32-27.  A fast-paced contest continued with Ben Humrichous taking over, connecting on back-to-back triples to put the Aces back in the lead at 33-32.  With 4:20 on the clock, the Skyhawks broke a 36-36 tie with four in a row and would take that same 4-point edge into the locker room with a 44-40 halftime lead.

The furious pace continued in the second half.  Evansville posted the opening six points to retake the lead in the opening two minutes.  Toumi accounted for four of the six tallies.  Antonio Thomas’ field goal at the 16:35 mark made it a 51-48 Evansville lead.  Over the next two minutes, UTM erupted with a 12-2 run to take their largest lead at 60-53.  Jordan Sears, who was held to six points in the opening stanza, registered 12 tallies in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Evansville stormed back with triples by Strawbridge and Chuck Bailey III helping the Aces go back in front.  After a UTM field goal gave them a 66-65 lead with 11:25 showing, UE switched to a zone defense and the adjustment paid immediate dividends.  The Aces reeled off 11 in a row over the next three minutes to take their largest lead at 76-66.  Tanner Cuff scored four in the rally while Bailey knocked down three free throws to complete the run.

Things continued to go the Aces way as the lead hovered around 10 points, but with UE holding an 88-80 lead with under two minutes left.  The Skyhawks made a furious rally, getting as close as three points in the last minute before two late stops and four Thomas free throws clinched the 98-91 triumph.

Shooting 56.3% in the second half, the Aces wrapped up the night with a 45.8% showing.  UT Martin finished the game at 48.6%.  Jordan Sears was the leading scorer in the contest, posting 26 points with 20 of those coming in the second half.  Jacob Crews recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Home action continues on Wednesday when the Aces welcome Tennessee Tech for a 7 p.m. game.

With the calendar turning to 2024 in the coming weeks, University of Evansville head softball coach Mat Mundell has announced the upcoming spring schedule.

Friday, February 9 will mark opening day for the Purple Aces as they will be in Elon, N.C. for the Elon Softball Classic.  A big test awaits UE out of the gate when they face Miami Ohio.  The RedHawks are the defending Mid-American Conference Champions and won two games in the NCAA Regionals.  Miami won 39 games a season ago.  Opening weekend will see the Aces face Kent State on two occasions, Elon and a rematch versus Miami.

Evansville’s home tournament will be held on Feb. 17-18 at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium.  Miami Ohio and Austin Peay will be the opponents with the Aces facing both teams twice.  Another road trip is set for the 23rd-25th when UE travels to Monroe, La. for the Best on the Bayou Tournament.  The opposition that weekend includes Northwestern State, Syracuse, Sam Houston and UL Monroe.

March begins with the Low Country Classic in Charleston, S.C.  Running from March 1-3, the tournament includes Buffalo, College of Charleston and Wofford, who is playing its inaugural season of softball. On March 6, UE returns home for a doubleheader against Lindenwood before making the short trip to Louisville for the Bellarmine Tournament.  Evansville faces the Knights in three games along with one contest versus St. Bonaventure.

Missouri Valley Conference play opens with home games versus Indiana State on March 12 and 13.  The Sycamores tied for 4th in the league last season and won 32 games.  In its first weekend conference series, the Aces play host to Valparaiso from the 15th-17th.  SIU Edwardsville comes to town on the 19th for a single game.

In its first league road trip, the Aces head to Belmont for the weekend of the 22nd and head back home to complete the month with a home series versus UIC.  USI will mark the final non-conference opponent of the regular season.  The Aces host the Screaming Eagles on April 3.  Two MVC road series are up next when UE travels to Drake (April 5-7) and Southern Illinois (April 12-24).

Murray State comes to Evansville for a 3-game series running from the 19th through the 21st.  In their first season in the Valley, the Racers tied for fourth and won a total of 33 games.  On April 24, the Aces head to Terre Haute for a single game at Indiana State before playing their final home weekend, welcoming Missouri State.  The Bears finished second in the conference last year, going 21-6 against league opposition.  Senior weekend is set for April 26-28.

Regular-season play wraps up with a road series at Illinois State from May 3-5.  Normal, Ill. will also be the site of the 2024 MVC Championship from May 8-11.