A special thanks to Katie Clare, associate director for resilience programs, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, for a conversation on mental health and resilience at the Staff Senate meeting on Nov. 4.
If you missed the session, you can check out the recording and review the slides.
The Staff Senate will host Shernita Rochelle Parker, assistant vice president for Human Resources/Payroll, and Wendi Manuel-Scott, professor of history in the School of Integrative Studies, to discuss updates from the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force.
Wednesday, Dec. 2
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
General Meeting will follow from 11 a.m. to noon (agenda).
From the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM):
During COVID-19, we invite you to view Virginia Credit Union’s (VACU) pre-recorded November webinar, titled Avoiding Identity Theft. View Now
Please check out this month’s flyer to obtain the details of the educational offerings.
Like to bike? Live within biking distance of the Mason location where you work? Thinking that maybe it’s time you changed up your commute to include a few days of biking per month? Consider the Faculty/Staff Bike Commuter Choice program and find joy in commuting to campus on two wheels!
Conditions apply. The program, unlike Commuter Choice, is taxable per the IRS.
Need assistance in mapping a route? We have volunteers who can assist you in finding a biking route that is comfortable for you. More details and regions covered can be found on the Community Biking Resources page.
Because Mason is moving to a virtual class environment after Thanksgiving, there will be no Mason Shuttles service after Tuesday, November 24, until the spring semester begins on Monday, January 25. The CUE bus is available on its regular schedule for transportation to Metro and within the City of Fairfax.
If you have any questions, reach out to Parking and Transportation.
As a result of the ever-changing environment, Zimride, Mason’s ride-sharing service, is indefinitely suspending its carpooling platform for all college and university networks, including Mason, on December 31.
Zimride has an FAQ available. Parking and Transportation is researching other rideshare opportunities for the future.
George Mason University celebrates and honors our Veterans. Veterans Day commemorates Veterans of all wars and is celebrated on November 11. Mason’s ROTC program usually honors our Veterans with a luncheon on the Friday of Veterans Day. Due to safety issues on campus with COVID-19, we are unable to celebrate and honor our Veterans in person.
This year, the ROTC Program, Office of Military Services, and our newly launched Military, Veterans, and Families Initiative are proud to offer a variety of free events, pre-recorded messages of appreciation, and discounts for our Mason Veterans. Learn more here about all Veterans Week local and national FREE events and discounts for our Veteran community.
At Mason we aspire to serve our Veterans with as much dedication and devotion as they have provided to our county. We hope all our Veterans have a wonderful Veterans Day and know that Mason celebrates you daily, not just today.
We want to make sure the Mason community stays safe! Please remember to report all accidents, injuries, or conditions that may cause harm to an individual or the university. When dangerous or potentially dangerous conditions are reported, the university can take appropriate action to protect the community.
Please report the following situations to the university:
Resources Regarding:
Supervisor Boot Camp is a program designed to provide essential information, resources, and contacts to supervisors who are new to Mason or new to supervising.
The updated, virtual format includes four half-day sessions over eight weeks, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., from Thursday, October 22, through Thursday, December 3. All sessions will be conducted via Zoom.
Participants must supervise at least one employee. Space is limited and registrations are first come, first served. Please contact Margaret Vu at [email protected] to reserve your space.
Mason Administrative Professionals (MAP) will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at noon via Webex:
November MAP Meeting
Meeting number: 120 629 6896
Password: LUNCH
https://gmu.webex.com/gmu/j.php?MTID=m67101352f0d239396316f9c29fa73254
Join by phone 1-415-655-0003 US Toll / 1-202-860-2110 United States Toll (Washington D.C.)
Access code: 120 629 6896
MAP Meeting Dates (2020–21)
Tuesday, November 17, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday, December 8, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, January 19, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday, February 16, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday, April 20, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, May 18, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Role: As a videoconference engineer, I help plan, deploy, and support web conferencing solutions in classrooms, conference rooms, and in the cloud. My office (Enterprise Collaboration/ITS) is currently working with a massive pilot using Microsoft Teams telephony. This integrates plain old telephone service into the collaboration tool Microsoft Teams. Pilot users can answer their office phone from anywhere in the world with internet connectivity. Additionally, ITS released Zoom and continues to implement new services to aid in the secure collaboration for healthcare and security-minded customers. Lastly, I am helping to retire Webex at Mason. I am proud to say, the Staff Senate is doing a great job at making the switch to the newest supported platforms MS Teams and Zoom!
Mason Journey: I started at Mason as an undergraduate student, earning my B.S. in Marketing. Within the first week of school, I was seeking a position as a Patriot Leader (formerly Orientation Leader) and a part-time position with ITS Classroom Support. After graduation, I was hired as a non-student wage in Arlington and later hired as classified staff in Fairfax. I took advantage of the free courses and earned my master’s degree in Telecommunications (and a graduate certificate in Telecommunications Forensics and Security). I have worked in the classrooms (Fairfax and Arlington Classroom Support), on the phones (ITS Support Center) and in the cloud (Enterprise Collaboration). When I am not social distancing, you can find me in my office in Innovation Hall.
COVID-19 Transition: I was assisting with the transition to remote work before most people knew what was about to hit us. Working closely with the Environmental Health and Safety Office, we provisioned 16,000 Mason employees for instant messaging and collaboration platform access. The telepocalypse has been exceptionally smooth – despite Earth’s inflammatory response to our human presence.
Best thing about working at Mason: I love working with people who are smarter than me and who are younger than me. They keep me learning, and they keep me young, respectively. The people at Mason who give 110% are my heroes.
Why I serve on Staff Senate: There have been many recent changes at Mason. We welcomed Gregory Washington as the new president, have seen sweeping senior leadership changes, and moved to a hybrid online work/education environment. When we return to normal, experts suspect many jobs will be changed dramatically. During this transition (and in the next), the Staff Senate will be very important in advocating for any new changes needed at Mason.
Favorite comfort food: Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich but I can settle for lunch at Ike’s.
At the end of the day: I am a proud father of two daughters (7 and 2 years old) and the luckiest husband in all of the Mid-Atlantic (and beyond)! I am proud that my career at Mason has landed me so many opportunities to continuously interact with such a diverse and talented population.
