Category: April 2015

Get Your Spring into Well-Being
Spring into Well-Being kicked off with Good Deeds Day and the Ask Me About Well-Being Tents on March 19. The celebration continues every week through April 30. There are lots of terrific ways to build your vitality, purpose, resilience, and engagement. Some events are long-standing favorites, and others are brand new. View the entire schedule at wbu.gmu.edu/spring-into-well-being.

Here’s just a small sample:

• April 2, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Health and Fitness Expo at the Freedom and Aquatic Center at the Prince William Campus
• April 15, 12 p.m.: Who’s Walking Wednesday special team-theme walk. Gather your colleagues and come dressed in a team-theme. It can be something super-simple, like everyone wears the same color t-shirt or hat, to something a little more involved. For example, the Fairfax walk leader is planning to arrive dressed as a carrot. No matter how you are dressed, we hope you will come out to take a walk in Arlington, Fairfax, or Prince William. The largest team dressed in a team-theme on each campus wins a pizza party donated by the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.
• April 23, 12 p.m.: 19th annual Victims’ Rights Run/Walk. Register online.

With supervisor permission, faculty and staff participation is encouraged. A reasonable amount of time spent at Spring into Well-Being events is considered training time and part of the Mason work day.

April is Financial Literacy Month
In honor of Financial Literacy Month, a number of financial education opportunities are available to Mason staff. Attend and upcoming financial well-being seminar:

• April 13:  Confident Investing in any Market (Jeff Jones of Fidelity Investments)
• April 21:  Getting Your Financial Records in Order (Kate DeWitt of Personal Money Matters)
• April 28:  Money at Work #1: Foundations of Investing (Lisa Fulco of TIAA-CREF)
• May 5:  Money at Work #2: Sharpening Investment Skills (Lisa Fulco of TIAA-CREF)

Register for classes at hr.gmu.edu/learning. Click on the Course Calendar tab.

​In our financial well-being portal, there are also a number of online opportunities for staff to engage in financial education at a time convenient to them. We particularly want to call your attention to some resources targeted specifically to women and the LGBT community, including:

From TIAA-CREF:

• Start to Finish: The Early Career Woman’s Guide to Financial Wisdom
• She’s Got It: A Woman’s Guide to Saving and Investing
• Postcards From the Future: A Woman’s Guide to Financially Ever After
• Charting Your Course: A Financial Guide for Women
• Attention to Detail: Financial Finishing Touches for Women
• Equally Prepared: Financial Planning for the LGBT Community (TIAA-CREF)

From Fidelity Investments:

• Women and Investing
• TIAA-CREF offers a site called Woman2Woman and an in-person seminar series for women (men are also welcome). The only hurdle is that we need about 35 people to commit to participate. Ask your staff to preview a TIAA-CREF online session. If they enjoy them and would be willing to participate in a four-session, in-person series held in Fairfax and videoconferenced to Arlington and Prince William, ask them to email worklife@gmu.edu and let us know of their interest. They can select sessions scheduled in summer 2015, fall 2015, or spring 2016. Once we have about 35 interested participants, we can reach out to TIAA-CREF and schedule the sessions.

DMV2Go Schedule
DMV2Go is coming to all three campuses in April! For dates, times, and locations, see hr.gmu.edu/worklife/documents/DMV2Go2015Schedule.pdf.

April is my favorite month of the year. Not only is it my birthday month, but there are so many great events to attend in D.C. and Northern Virginia. I use Mason Transportation daily to get to campus, but I also use it to travel between campuses and to get to the Vienna Metro station. If you like to get some exercise while going to and from campus and around town, don’t forget to register your bicycle with Parking Services and get a free bike lock!

While the weather is nice, enjoy discounted lunches arranged by Human Resources and Payroll and Dining Services. You can “hike” across campus to dine at the Globe or Ike’s, getting some exercise and enjoying a meal with colleagues. For more information, view the Hikes flyer.

Stephanie Payton
Chair, Mason Staff Senate

My first experience at Mason was as a full-time undergraduate student, earning my B.A. in Psychology. While working on my degree, I also had a job on campus− I worked as a receptionist for ITU (now called ITS). I have also worked as an administrative assistant for Telecom Administration. I now work in the Division of Special Education and disAbility Research in the College of Education and Human Development.

I joined Staff Senate because I love meeting new people and sharing a vision with others. Staff Senate provides me with the opportunity to do that. I get to meet new individuals from the Mason community at meetings and events, but I also get to push for the changes they want to see on campus.

My favorite thing about Staff Senate is how well we work together. We are a team, and everyone contributes in different ways based on their own areas of expertise. I have also been able to build relationships with people I may not have met outside of Staff Senate, which is very rewarding.

I serve on the Staff Senate Events Committee, which plans events for staff, like the Staff Appreciation Events that we hold in winter and summer.

When I’m not working, I enjoy cooking and finding new recipes on Pinterest. I also love reading, running, and spending time with my eight-year old!

A heartfelt congratulations to Melvin Parada, Print Services Supervisor with Print Services, for being selected as the March 2015 Employee of the Month award winner.

Read more about Melvin in this Mason News article.

Do you know a superstar? Make sure he or she receives the deserved recognition and submit a nomination for Mason’s Employee of the Month. Additional information can be found on the HR awards page.

Contact Reward & Recognition at awards@gmu.edu with questions.

The Next Steps: Plan for Your Retirement seminar has been rescheduled for Friday, May 8, in the Mason Global Center, Grand Ballroom A. This day-long seminar covers the basics about benefits in retirement: Social Security, Medicare, Retiree Health Insurance, and retirement plans with the Virginia Retirement System, TIAA-CREF and Fidelity.

Register online. If you have already registered, Bridget Peabody will be in touch to move your registration to the new date.

For questions or concerns, contact Bridget Peabody at 703-993-6764 or bpeabody@gmu.edu.

Every three years, Mason surveys all faculty and staff regarding the quality of work life at the university. Important policies and initiatives have resulted from employees’ suggestions in previous surveys, including telework and flextime options, the Prince William Shuttle, and an expansion of the Commuter Choice Program and Child Development Center.

Please note – this survey is different from the “Chronicle of Higher Education – Great Colleges to Work For” survey that some of you may also have the opportunity to complete.  Details for that survey are also available in this edition of the Staff Senate Newsletter.

Look for the Mason Quality of Work/Life survey in your email inbox in April. The survey will be open from April 7 – 30. We hope you will take a few minutes to share your thoughts and suggestions.

Contact Human Resources and Payroll at 703-993-2600 with questions.

Every day is a great day to let colleagues know how much you value their efforts. Spread a little sunshine today and every day! For ideas on how to say, “Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without you,” or “I appreciate your support and kindness,” visit Human Resources & Payroll’s Pinterest page at pinterest.com/workingatmason.

For more ideas on Reward and Recognition at Mason, visit hr.gmu.edu/awards.

Hike to Ike’s was so popular, it is coming back every Friday during Mason’s Spring into Well-Being. This time, we are adding the Globe as another hike destination. Join fellow faculty and staff around campus as they lace up their sneakers and hike to some fun, new dining venues on campus for lunch. Faculty and staff receive a discounted lunch rate of $8 at these locations from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Save even more money when you sign up for a Faculty/Staff BYTE Plan. Cash, credit card, and Mason Money are accepted.

View more details. Contact Wendi Carroll at wcarrol2@gmu.edu for more information.

 

Mason is once again participating in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” program. This is a wonderful opportunity to benchmark Mason as an employer. As part of the process, 600 full-time faculty and staff, along with 300 adjunct faculty, will be randomly selected to complete a survey, which will run from March 16 to April 13.

If you are selected for the survey, we hope you can take a few minutes to complete it.  Thank you for all you do to make Mason a great place to learn and work.

Contact Janet Walker at jwalker8@gmu.edu or 703-993-2604 with questions.