The Cactus Cafe will have a new manager beginning Monday morning. Matthew Munoz, a recording industry veteran, will replace longtime manager Griff Luneberg, who has run the Cactus Cafe for nearly 30 years.

Munoz was previously director of sales and marketing at Justice Records in Austin, a label manager at Universal Music Group's Fontana Distribution in Los Angeles, and worked in marketing and promotion roles at Warner Bros. & Reprise Records in Los Angeles and with Arista Records in Austin.

Now he's saddled with trying to revive a Cactus Cafe known for its intimate setting and fantastic acoustics but that has been trading on its reputation for years.

"Throughout the interview process, Matt distinguished himself as someone who could carry on and enhance the artistic tradition of the Cactus with an eye toward financial sustainability," said Hawk Mendenhall, KUT associate general manager and program director. "His experience collaborating with booking agents, artist managers and their artists, and record label executives, combined with his experience managing budgets and negotiating music clearance and performance contracts, makes him the ideal fit."

This has been a rocky year for the Cactus Cafe. In February, the Texas Union announced it was closing the Cactus and ending informal classes.

That news didn't sit well with alumni and the Cafe's many devout patrons. An enormous effort to save the Cactus resulted in the University revisiting the decision to close it. The University decided instead to bring it under the management of KUT, UT's publicly supported radio station.

The change was meant to make the Cafe operations financially sustainable. KUT assumed venue management responsibilities Aug. 16. Daytime operations and the bar remain under the direction of the Texas Union.

Munoz didn't attend UT -- he earned a degree in music business at West Texas A&M -- but he is married to a Longhorn, so that makes him part of the family.

Every fall, the Texas Exes Student Chapter does this thing to get students all riled up for the new semester and football season. It's called the Orange & White Welcome, and it is today at the Alumni Center.

There are about 2,000 members of the Student Chapter, making it the largest student organization on campus, but there's room for more. The Orange & White Welcome showcases the benefits of being a member and gives people a chance to sign up.

And just what are those benefits? I'm glad you asked.

First off, you become part of the Texas Exes family. That means exclusive access to the Texas Exes Career Network (read: help finding a job). It means the chance to participate in traditions like the Torchlight Parade and the Hex Rally. You get discounts to local restaurants and stores and, of course, a free burnt-orange T-shirt (below).

Now, as for the Orange & White Welcome, why attend? Answer: free barbecue from Rudy's, Tiff's Treats, and the chance to win door prizes. Students can sign up for the Student Chapter in advance and save themselves the hassle of waiting in line.

The program runs from 4 to 6. Be there!

Are you curious about globalization? Are you a burgeoning business maven? Is it your life goal to take on the world one merger or acquisition at a time?

If you answered yes to these questions, you should attend "How UT Alumni are Impacting Globalization" at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center on Sept. 15.

The Texas Exes Austin Professionals have roped in five leading business folks — executives at Dell, HomeAway, Bazaarvoice, LifeSize Communications, and UBS Financial Services — to participate in a panel discussion on globalization and answer all your questions. Anyone is welcome.

"We get the full spectrum of experience levels, from entry-level to post-retirement," said Jennifer Duncan, director of career services for the Texas Exes. "We've had people attend who haven't been in this building for 25 years."

The program itself is set to run from 6:30-8:30, though there will be free appetizers, as well as a cash bar, beginning at 5:30 and continuing until 9. Previous seminars like this have drawn up to 100 people, and seating is limited.

So sign up right now. It's cheaper if you're a member of the Texas Exes, so if you're not one, get that taken care of first.

Who's speaking:

Guest Moderator

Michael Wyszkowski, MBA ’03, Senior Manager, Global Customer Reporting Solutions – Dell, Inc.

Guest Panelists

Carl Shepherd, MBA ’76, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy & Development Officer – HomeAway, Inc.

Mike Svatek, ’98, Chief Product Officer – Bazaarvoice

Megan Lueders, ’98, Director of Worldwide Marketing – LifeSize Communications

Dustin Elliott, BBA ’05, Account Vice President in Advisory & Brokerage Services – UBS Financial Services, Inc.

On the agenda:

1) How does the global economy impact your business?

2) What is the most amusing cross-cultural misunderstanding you’ve experienced?

3) How do you attract, hire, and retain the best people for global opportunities?

4) How is organizational culture shaped by globalization?

5) How should companies counter threats and sustain competitive advantage?

6) What are the obstacles to success? The obvious, the mundane, and the unexpected.

You may not know this if you didn't go before your freshman year, but Camp Texas is one of the best programs at The University of Texas.

Students who attend the camp consistently report feeling better prepared to start college and go on to have richer experiences on the Forty Acres.

Last year, during some tough budget times, the Texas Exes looked at scrapping Camp Texas 2010. But the response from former campers and counselors was so overwhelming that we thought better of it and found the money to keep Camp Texas alive. Man, are we glad we did!

The folks at UT's Public Affairs office set out to find what makes Camp Texas so awesome. This video shows what they found out. Big props to our friends Christopher Palmer and Mason Jones, the cinematic geniuses who put it together.

Visit the Camp Texas site for more information.

It took all of 68 minutes for the No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns volleyball team to dispense with the TCU Horned Frogs Friday night in the home opener at Gregory Gym.

A rabid crowd of 2,895 fans -- including 1,150 students -- watched as the Longhorns made quick work of the smaller, decidedly outmatched TCU squad.

Senior outside hitter Juliann Faucette led the way with 10 kills and a career-high seven aces, including four consecutive early in the third game.

"There were nerves all around to start," Faucette said after the match. "I just got into a rhythm back there serving."

The Horns jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first game then snoozed while the Frogs hopped back to make it 17-15. Texas came to and went on a 8-3 run to close out the first game and reassert itself.

Texas again sped to an early 8-2 lead in the second game before letting the Frogs come within two at 10-8. That's as close as the Frogs would get.

Texas capitalized on a missed TCU serve to go on an 8-0 run. The Horns won the third set 25-12.

All night, behind a quietly efficient setting performance from freshman Hannah Allison, the Horns kept the Frogs out of system. Allison, who had 32 assists in the match, confounded the Horned Frog middle blockers, setting up several one-on-one opportunities for the Longhorn hitters.

"She's special," head coach Jerritt Elliott said of Allison. "She's so athletic, she just glides across the floor. I've rarely had a player grow so quickly."

While TCU scrambled, Texas attacked. Sophomore Sha'Dare McNeal converted 16 attempts into 10 kills for a lethal hitting percentage of .562. Junior Amber Roberson had 11 kills on 28 attempts.

The team also won the blocking game, registering eight to the Horned Frogs' one.

On the whole, Elliott said he was happy with the team's performance.

"Overall, for the first night, I'm very pleased," Elliott said.

The Horns play a double-header Saturday against McNeese State and the University of Houston.

Photo by Jim Sigmon/UT Sports Photography