A Texas State computer science senior beat more than 4,600 students to win an award that will give him an edge in job pursuits.

Miles Nosler was sent on a two-day trip from March 27 to 29 to New York to accept his first place award from the IBM Master the Mainframe Contest.  According to the IBM website, the contest was a set of computer application challenges broken into three parts. The challenges allowed students to become comfortable with navigating mainframes and their basic concepts and use the skills learned to solve real life situations, according to the website. Students participated in the contest from Oct. 1 to Dec. 28.

Mike Todd, IBM Academic Initiative System adviser, said Nosler was the overall winner of the contest because he finished the most challenges correctly. Nosler said the contest started out easy in the beginners’ level and progressively got harder throughout the intermediate and advanced parts.

Laurie Moyer was appointed the city’s new director of Engineering and Capital Improvements April 1. Moyer has held several positions with the city, and was most recently the managing director of Community Services. She will now oversee the engineering behind the city’s development, utilities and infrastructure.

NB: How long have you been a San Marcos resident?

LM: I started with the city in 1988, and I moved away for a short period of time and lived in between outside of the city limits. I would say total, I have lived in the city for 17 years.

NB: What prompted your appointment to this position?

LM: The position was held by Linda Grubbs-Huff.  She left the city to go to work for a consulting firm, so the position became open.  I held this position many years ago from 1998 to 2007.  (The city) asked if I was interested in coming back and I said “Yes, I would love to do that.”

A Texas State couple will make a trip spanning three states and thousands of miles to raise breast cancer awareness—all with their dog in tow.

Students Julie and Matt Swallow, both 28, are planning a bicycle tour of the West Coast of North America with their dog, Jet, to raise money for cancer research.

The Swallows are looking for sponsors for their trip and have set their fundraising goal at $25,000. All money raised for the trip will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. Sponsorship of the tour is provided through various organizations, businesses and individuals, Julie Swallow said. The Swallows aim to have one sponsor for each mile of their trip.

The San Marcos Comprehensive Master Plan is being updated for the first time in nearly two decades to reflect the city’s population growth.

The master plan is up for final approval and adoption at the April 16 San Marcos City Council meeting. Mayor Daniel Guerrero said the plan has not been updated since 1996 because of frequent changes in city leadership. The master plan is divided into six sections and aims to improve San Marcos’ economic development, environment and resource protection, land use, neighborhoods and housing, parks, public spaces and facilities and transportation.

Guerrero said land use, infrastructure codes and public safety guidelines will be reassessed to fit the master plan and prepare for the city’s growth. Code changes will allow for other phases of the master plan to begin, and the process will take anywhere from six months to a year to complete, Guerrero said.

The student made star that was intended to sit on top of Jackson Hall is being stored in a warehouse temporarily due to safety concerns.

The new student-made Victory Star will soon shine at Strahan Coliseum as an indicator of Bobcat success.

The Victory Star committee has chosen to install the structure on the wall above the ticket office at Strahan Colesium. The installation is part of the Lighting the Way initiative, a three-year campaign to find a home for the structure.

The campaign was originally launched to replace the Victory Star above Jackson Hall with a new one. This was not a possibility because of safety concerns—finding a home for the student-made star became the new focus of the campaign.

A new co-enrollment program will attempt to provide an easier transition into university life for students transferring from Austin Community College beginning in fall 2014.

The Pathway Program is designed for students to gain admission to Texas State while acclimating to the campus culture. The program allows students to utilize Texas State’s campus and services while completing the majority of their courses at Austin Community College, said Michael Heintze, associate vice president for enrollment management. Students will have the option of commuting to campus or living in residence halls at Texas State. Full admission to the university to complete a bachelor’s degree will be guaranteed to all students in the Pathway Program who maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA.

“It will provide students an opportunity to come to the university as full time entering freshmen and give them another option of co-enrolling in this specialized program (at Texas State),” Heintze said.

The Associated Student Government is drafting a University Policy and Procedure Statement in an attempt to solve communication problems between the administration and student body representatives.

The statement would outline communication methods that would come into play when there are fee increases and other changes that need to be passed by student votes.  ASG President Nathan McDaniel said the idea for the statement arose after a lack of communication between administration and the student government when the Bobcat Tram Interurban service was canceled and a fee increase was proposed.

“It’s to increase the collaboration in the way that students and administration communicate on important topics, such as (the cancellation of the interurban service),” McDaniel said.

State senators voted unanimously Wednesday to change the university’s name from Texas State University-San Marcos to Texas State University.

Senate Bill 974, authored by freshman senator Donna Campbell (R-25) and co-authored by Judith Zaffarini (D-21), asked to change the institution’s official name for the sixth time in 114 years. The house will now vote on the bill before Gov. Rick Perry can sign it into law.

According to SB 974, the name change was proposed to clear up confusion between Texas State University-Round Rock and the main campus in San Marcos. Texas State University System regents will implement the name change if the governor signs the bill.

Victoria Gonzales, mass comm-public relations junior, holds white roses to be handed out for Bobcat Pause April 10 at the LBJ Ballroom.

Texas State Diamond Sweethearts held each other and wept for their fallen friend as they crowded around a high-school letterman jacket and a collection of photographs. The girls buried their faces into each other’s shoulders and offered hugs and condolences to the family of their friend.

Administrators will select the university’s next bus-service provider after comparing contract proposals and presentations.

Nancy Nusbaum, interim director of transportation services, said the university received four contract bids from service providers: All Aboard America, Veolia Transportation, Groome Transportation and current bus provider First Transit. Of those four service providers, a proposal review team asked for presentations from First Transit and Veolia Transportation. Nusbaum said the presentations took place April 5 and addressed specific issues from the contract proposals in greater detail.

Bill Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services, said the university will be requesting a “best and final offer” from the two companies. The university will select a contract based on the offer to take to the Board of Regents for approval in May, he said.