Author: Amanda Corrigan

Spring 2024 Parking Permits to be Pro-Rated

If you haven’t purchased a permit yet, beginning March 4, there is pro-rated pricing on our permit pages for Spring 2024:

• Faculty/Staff
• Resident Students
• Off-Campus Students

If you have questions about pro-rated permits, please contact Parking Services at 3-2710 or via email at [email protected].

Deadline Extended, Fairfax/SciTech Shuttle Survey:  Those Who Ride and Those Who Don’t

Parking and Transportation, in partnership with the Shuttle Advisory Committee, invites faculty, staff, and students to complete a short survey on the Fairfax/SciTech Shuttle.  We are interested in hearing from both those who currently use the shuttle as well as those who live in Prince William County or points further west and do not currently use the shuttle.  It should take less than 5 minutes to complete.  This is purely informational, no changes to the route are currently in development.  We will keep the survey open through April 2024.  Complete the survey.

Save the Date: Bicycle Commuting 101

Bicycling to campus can be fun and great for your well-being.  Join Delia Johnson, a League of American Bicyclists certified instructor, for Bicycle Commuting 101. During this session at noon on Monday, April 22 via Zoom, Delia will share information to help you feel more confident about getting to campus on two wheels. This session is open to faculty, staff and students.  Register now.

Transit Driver Appreciation Day: March 18

Mason Shuttles is celebrating Transit Driver Appreciation Day on March 18!  It’s a wonderful time to celebrate our dedicated shuttle drivers.  Help Parking and Transportation say thank you to these folks with whom you share part of your work or school day by sending your kind words about your experiences on Mason Shuttles. Your email compliment will enter you into a drawing for a $20 Starbuck’s gift card.  Find more details, here.

Save the Dates: Celebrate Biking at Mason

Spring will be here before we know it!  Parking and Transportation hopes you’ll save the dates for three upcoming events:

• Bike to Mason Day, SciTech: Tuesday, April 23, 10am-1pm, Colgan Hall Front Patio
• Bike to Mason Day, Fairfax: Wednesday, April 24, 7:30am-3pm, Merten Lawn
• Bike to Mason Day, Arlington: Thursday, April 25, 3-7pm, Van Metre Plaza

Find more information and register, here.

Mason has partnered with Gallup, a leading third-party survey administrator, to administer The Faculty and Staff Experience (FSE) Survey. All faculty and staff at Mason are invited and encouraged to participate in this survey. More information regarding the survey can be found in this slide deck. 

New for the 2024 survey administration is a partnership between Human Resources, Gallup, and Faculty Senate. The Faculty Evaluation of Administrators (FEA) will be launched with the Faculty and Staff Experience survey. After completing the FSE questions, I/R faculty will advance to the FEA portion of the assessment. 

The survey will open on April 3 and close April 23. This survey is separate and different from the COACHE survey. Each survey’s data complements one another and paints a comprehensive picture of support resources and opportunities for Instructional and Research faculty.

When we obtain the most accurate and complete picture of our employees, we can:

• Understand, create space for, and engage in better inclusion and belonging practices.
• Create sustainably high performance.
• Drive innovation.
• Identify areas to celebrate.

After the survey, leaders throughout the university will have access to aggregated team data and can consult with Human Resources for planning. In addition, leaders will be granted access to Gallup’s robust library of action planning resources to address any areas of growth and enact meaningful changes based on feedback. The survey results will play a crucial role in decision-making and metrics for success as we work on Strategic Direction initiatives, including investments in faculty and staff success.

A Town Hall will be held Wednesday, September 18 at 3 p.m. in the HUB Ballroom. President Washington and Mary Lucal, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, will share the results with Mason faculty and staff, discuss related planning, and encourage individual colleges and units to devise action plans based on supervisor results.

 

Join in on an interactive conversation with the Supervision Collective team to learn skills and strategies from one another on how to supervise introverts and extroverts in the workplace. Through these conversations, we hope to create community and belonging for all personality types to ensure efficiency as a team. We will be using excerpts from the book “Supervision Matters: 100 Bite Size Ideas to Transform You and Your Team” (pages 218-224) as a guide. Register now.

 

The Mason Working Moms Support Group is hosting a panel discussion with The Chick Mission on Tuesday, March 19 at 12:00.  This will be a hybrid, brown bag lunch in Merten Hall 3300 or via Zoom.

This candid conversation will focus on fertility in various facets, from the basics and ways it relates to a career in medicine to the challenges of navigating it in the context of a cancer diagnosis and more.  All are welcome to join this session to learn more about The Chick Mission and the work they are doing to ensure every young woman newly diagnosed with cancer has the option to preserve fertility through direct financial support, educational programs, and advocacy efforts.

Contact Heather Aleknavage if you have any questions or need additional information.

 

The Jack Wood Award highlights the outstanding contributions of faculty, staff, students, businesses/not-for-profits, community members, and elected officials/staff who demonstrate leadership in fostering mutually beneficial relationships between the university and the community. This illustrious distinction honors former Mayor Jack Wood, who played an instrumental role in establishing Mason in Fairfax and establishing Town-Gown relations between the university and the community. Awardees will be notified by March 29. The Board of Visitors will honor awardees on May 2. 

 

Nominations are due by March 15. Self-nominations are welcome. Submit a nomination. Community relations/outreach professionals are not eligible. Questions? Contact Traci Kendall.

The March Staff Senate meeting featured guest speaker, Mason Rector Horace Blackman, who leads the university’s Board of Visitors.

For those who missed the meeting, or would like to re-watch the session, the recording is now available, here.

 

Dr. Gregory Washington, president, George Mason University, has been invited as our April Staff Senate meeting guest speaker.

Wednesday, April 3
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.- General Business Meeting and special presentation from Greg Farley, Director, University Sustainability
11 a.m. to noon – Guest Speaker

Constituents are invited to attend in person in Merten Hall, Room 1201, or join the meeting via Zoom*.
Passcode: SS123
Call in: 301-715-8592 or 267-831-0333
Meeting ID: 946 9452 3314 / Passcode: 760740

*The Staff Senate is requiring that virtual attendees join our Staff Senate General Meetings with their Patriot Pass credentials. If you are already signed into Zoom using your Mason-licensed Zoom account, you should not see a difference. If you are not already signed into your Mason-licensed Zoom account, you will be told authentication is required to join, and prompted to sign in. For more information, please access our helpful FAQ document.

The Staff Senate represents all classified and non-student wage employees at George Mason University. Working closely with university administration, we address concerns that have an impact on the quality of work-life for the Mason community. The work of the senate is accomplished through open and continuous communication with its constituents. Find more ways to engage with the senate before, during, and after our general meetings.