Mason Dining will sponsor two Faculty/Staff Appreciation Days in the month of October, with discounted lunches for Mason employees:
Present your Mason ID between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. for these discounted rates. Contact Mason Dining with questions at 703-993-3313.
Keep your ear to the ground! At 3 p.m. on September 16, the university community will gather in Fairfax for the launch of a bold new effort honoring Mason’s extraordinary forward progress. The public phase of a major fundraising campaign announced on that day will address key areas of need in the university’s long-term Strategic Plan and help to strengthen Mason for the future. Priorities include improving student access to higher education, gathering the community, and bolstering both faculty teaching and research. The renovation or construction of new facilities for concerts and sporting events will support the well-being of everyone who calls Mason home. Details for the September 16 kickoff event will be shared through email and social media over the coming weeks.
Happiest of Septembers to you all! The campus is changing, and we are once again feeling the energy that only students can bring. The advent of the academic year brings new events, new studies, and new chapters to so many of our students’ lives. I hope you know your work for the University is important. Mason staff help make our students’ lives and educations so much better. We are the gears that keep this clock ticking!
It has been a busy first month for me as Chair of the Staff Senate. I’ve received many warm congratulations from the administration and had the opportunity to meet with fantastic advocates for staff. If you don’t already know about the Office of Government & Community Relations, you should certainly put them on your radar. In meeting with Mark Smith and Sabena Moretz, I was able to speak about staff concerns regarding compensation. It was heartening to hear that these two advocates work tirelessly on our behalf in Richmond. If you’d like to hear more about what Mark and Sabena do on behalf of Mason staff in the state capital, and tell them what is important to you, they will be presenting at our October 7 general meeting.
Coming up at our general meeting on September 2, we’ll host Sarah Moran and Heidi Bloom from the Center for Global Education, followed by Mark Kraner of Auxiliary Enterprises and Mason Dining. I hope you will come and discover all of the wonderful opportunities offered by these organizations.
Nicole Roth
Chair, Staff Senate
Outstanding Achievement Awards: Call for Nominations
Human Resources and Payroll is accepting nominations for the 2015 Outstanding Achievement Awards. Nominations are due Friday, October 2, and the ceremony will occur on Tuesday, November 3, at 10 a.m. in Dewberry Hall.
For a detailed list of the awards and nominations forms, visit hr.gmu.edu/awards/award.php. Questions? Contact Beth Baroody at 703-993-2739 or [email protected].
Healthy Campus Week
Healthy Campus Week will be held from September 21-25. “Plug into Your Wellness” with opportunities and events each day, as well as a challenge from Mason Dining to eat more fruits and vegetables. For details, visit Wellness by Mason. A Healthy Campus Week flyer is also available.
October Fun
Join the fun at Family Weekend (October 16-18) and Alumni Weekend (October 15-18). Choose from lots of great events, including the Family Weekend 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, October 18. Details available at Family Weekend and Alumni Weekend.
The Center for the Advancement of Well-Being (CWB) invites Mason faculty and staff to join the fourth installment of the Well-Being University (WBU) Reading Group.
The group will meet six times during the fall semester to discuss Kelly McGonigal’s The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It. Join us for conversation around this familiar topic.
CWB will purchase books for participants who commit to the six meetings. Register by September 16. Meetings will take place in the Johnson Center, Room E, from 12 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. on the following Wednesdays:
For questions, contact Katie Clare at [email protected] or 703-993-7078.
People Finder is Mason’s faculty, staff and student directory, and the new semester is a great time to update any changing contact information. Use the update form on the People Finder website to add or remove faculty and staff members or to update any information.
To add someone to the directory, include his/her name, fill out the appropriate fields, and type New Employee in the comments field. To remove someone from the system, include his/her name and type Remove in the comments field.
If you have multiple changes, send them to [email protected].
For questions, contact University Information at [email protected].
Celebrated on Friday, September 4, National College Colors Day kicks off another school year of Spirit Fridays at Mason. The Mason community is encouraged to wear Mason gear every Friday, wherever they are, to show their pride.
Wear your Mason colors on September 4!
Contact David Atkins, Auxiliary Enterprises, at [email protected] or 703-993-3402.
Mason is participating in the Campus Outdoor Challenge, sponsored by Outdoor Nation, from September 6 through October 17. All Mason faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members can sign up, log points, and help Mason win the title of National Outdoor Champion. We also have an opportunity to win grants for our Outdoor Adventures program and great individual prizes.
If you participated in the last event, it is even easier to participate this year. We came in fourth out of 10 colleges last year!
Visit oncampuschallenge.org to create an account for yourself under Mason’s account. If you sign up now, you can log points as soon as the Campus Challenge begins on September 6.
If you have any questions, contact Susan Johnson at [email protected] or Ryan Murphy at [email protected].
Wednesday, September 2
12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Fairfax Campus: Merten Hall, Room 1201
Arlington Campus: Founders Hall, Room B119 (videoconferenced)
Science and Technology Campus: Bull Run Hall, Room 254 (videoconferenced)
Guest Speakers:
Guest speakers begin at noon, followed by time to ask questions, express concerns, or offer accolades about issues concerning the Staff Senate. Contact [email protected] with questions.
Below are updates from Mason Dining for the fall semester:
Contact Mason Dining at 703-993-3313 for more information.
