Author: Amanda Corrigan

During August, the Staff Senate usually collects nominations for the Outstanding Supervisor Award.  Until a date has been selected for the Outstanding Achievement Awards, we will pause on our nomination process.  The Outstanding Supervisor award seeks to recognize supervisors who routinely go above and beyond to provide unparalleled leadership, mentorship, and support within their departments or offices. Outstanding supervisors model and promote a positive work-life balance and strive to serve not only their departments or offices but also their personnel. Other actions that an outstanding supervisor demonstrates include:

• Acknowledging exemplary performance
• Supporting innovation and soliciting input from employees
• Being fair and flexible
• Encouraging and providing opportunities for professional growth
• Promoting diversity and inclusion

We look forward to accepting nominations soon.

Questions about dining on campus this fall semester? Wondering what dining locations will be open when? Stop by our website for all the info you need to know. 

Faculty/Staff meal plans are now available. Email [email protected] to set up your plan today. Faculty/Staff meal plans may be used at Southside, Ike’s, and our three newly expanded Simply to Go locations: Pilot House, Gold Rush (Southside Lobby), and the Johnson Center (bottom floor across from Starbucks). 

Check out the following financial wellness resources from the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM): 

Webinars:  During COVID-19, we invite you to view Virginia Credit Union’s August pre-recorded “Managing Debt during COVID-19” webinar. Having to deal with debt in a normal environment can be very stressful. With the added impact of an economic crisis, it can become overwhelming. This webinar will provide answers to key questions you must ask yourself to successfully manage debt during these challenging times. View Now.
After viewing the webinar, please complete this short survey: Webinar Survey 

If you missed July’s Financial Webinar Topic, “Your Credit Score” click here: View Now. 

Virginia Retirement System (VRS): Don’t let an unexpected expense catch you off-guard. Take the new myVRS Financial Wellness course, setting up an Emergency Fund, to learn how you can prepare for life’s financial surprises. You have access to an entire curriculum of financial wellness courses, articles, tools and more directly through your myVRS account. Visit showcase.varetire.org to learn how the financial knowledge you gain and the steps you take today help you build the future you imagine. 

Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Your health plan may offer services from debt counseling to estate planning that is available to you.

Fall Shuttle Schedules Posted

The fall 2020 Mason Shuttle schedules are available. Some important changes to the schedules:

• Please check the schedules carefully as there are service changes – days and times of service and, in some cases, stop changes on the Mason Shuttles routes.
• The routes that will be running this fall are: Burke VRE, Fairfax/SciTech, Gunston Mason, and Sandy Creek to Metro. Due to the impact of COVID-19, we will not be running the Arlington Pilot, Global to Metro, Gunston George, and the West Campus shuttles.

Other COVID-19 impacts to Mason Shuttles include:

• Face coverings (or University-approved exception) are required.
• Shuttle bus capacity reduced to 50% of seats.
• Fill seats from back to front to reduce passengers passing each other.
• Maintain a 6 feet distance while waiting, boarding, and departing the shuttle.
• As in the past, a Mason ID is required to board. We are not accepting visitors on the shuttles until further notice.

Questions? Please contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 703-993-2828.

Return to Campus Car-Free
Join Ken Matthews, manager of Arlington’s Car-Free Diet program, as you get ready for classes and start planning your return trip to GMU-Arlington car-free. At this virtual session on Tuesday, August 18 at noon, learn the procedures for using public transit, what discounts are available to students, faculty, and staff and which stations are open. Ken will cover Metrorail, ART/Metrobus, Capital Bikeshare and e-scooters. Register for the session here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

DMV2Go Canceled Until Further Notice
A reminder that visits by DMV2Go to the Fairfax Campus have been canceled until further notice due to COVID-19.

The election results are in, and we are excited to announce our newly and re-elected senators:

Arlington Campus:

Jennifer Gantt, Arlington Campus Administration (incumbent)

Fairfax Campus:

Matthew Berlejung, Enterprise Collaboration, Information Technology Services
Samantha Cooke, Geography and Geoinformation Science, College of Science
Natalie Davis, Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact
Anthony DeMaio, Undergraduate Education
Alyssa Goff, Global Education Office
Lesley Irminger, University Events