Texas State’s Staff Council voted to extend its scholarship application deadline and acknowledged staff members who helped during the February winter storm at its March 9 meeting.
Representatives of Texas State’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and Office of Disability Services (ODS) also presented at the meeting. 
After a majority vote, Staff Council extended the deadline for its scholarship application to March 22. The council also voted to award a second graduate scholarship during this award cycle. 
Any full-time staff member enrolled in at least three semester credit hours pursuing a graduate or undergraduate education, as well as non-degree seekers, are eligible to apply. 
Staff Council recently requested a list of university staff who worked during the winter storm and will send out thank you letters to those individuals. 
“We do want to formally recognize all staff members whose efforts maintain the operation of the university as well as the safety and well-being of the Texas State community,” says Staff Council Chair Noel Fuller. 
Co-chairs from Texas State’s QEP presented staff members with information regarding the program which aims to assist students across the university interested in pursuing undergraduate research. 
Dr. Peter Golato, QEP co-chair and world languages and literature professor, says the plan’s primary goals include assisting undergraduates in gaining awareness of research and ethical research practices, helping students synthesize research and enabling students to produce a creative project or research. 
The QEP also seeks to implement the Innovation, Discovery, Exploration, Analysis (IDEA) Center, inside Alkek Library. QEP related events and workshops are slated to begin spring 2022, with QEP courses to begin fall 2022. QEP’s first annual research showcase is anticipated to begin in spring 2023.
Representatives Dr. Harlan Ballard and Hunter Hornsby from ODS met with the council to discuss opportunities to better serve members of historically underrepresented groups and collaborative outreach efforts. 
Hornsby says ODS served over 15,000 students out of nearly 39,000 students enrolled in 2019 and adds 60% of students served were white, 4% Hispanic or Latinx, 7% African American or Black and 2% Asian. 
“This is a pretty large disparity because research shows that one in five students are estimated to have a disability,” Hornsby says. “And this would mean that there are about 7,400 students that should be registered with us. 7,400 students at Texas State that have a disability according to the research estimates, which means 6,000 students are not being served currently.” 
Staff Council members discussed opportunities ODS could pursue to appeal to historically underrepresented students and how it could promote disability awareness among those students. 
The council also announced that nominations for Staff Council elections will open on March 31 and close on April 9. Candidates can be nominated via the council’s survey. Staff Council elections will run April 19-30. Elected candidates will be notified on May 5. 
There is one administrative position vacant, one professional position vacant, one secretary/clerical position vacant, three service positions vacant and two technical/paraprofessional positions vacant.