Category: May 2017

You are invited to attend when Dr. Cabrera meets with the Staff Senate on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm. 

Fairfax: Innovation Hall, 334
Arlington: Founders Hall, Room B119 (video-conferenced)
SciTech: Bull Run Hall, Room 254 (video-conferenced)

Questions for our guest speaker:

This is your opportunity to ask university leadership about things that are important to you as Mason staff! All who attend the Staff Senate general meeting are welcome to ask questions in-person, during the session.

Heartfelt congratulations to Molly Baldovin, assistant to the director and marketing coordinator at the School of Music, for being selected as the April 2017 Employee of the Month. Read more about Molly in this Mason News article.

Do you know a superstar? Make sure they receive the deserved recognition, and submit a nomination for Mason’s Employee of the Month. Additional information can be found on the Human Resources and Payroll awards page.

Contact Reward and Recognition at [email protected] with questions.

Financial Well-Being: Next Steps – Plan for Your Retirement – Wednesday, May 3

If you’re planning to retire within the next 5 years, please join HR & Payroll for the spring Next Steps: Plan for Your Retirement seminar on Wednesday, May 3 from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm in Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall South. This half-day seminar will cover Social Security, Medicare, state health insurance for retirees and information about the retirement plans; VRS, TIAA, and Fidelity. To register, please visit the Next Steps registration page. For questions, and special accommodations, please contact [email protected] or 3-2600. Please note this year’s spring seminar will be a half-day on the technical aspects of retirement planning. They will have a more expanded, full-day seminar in the fall.

Physical and Financial Well-Being: Update on Open Enrollment for Health Benefits and Flexible Spending Accounts

Open enrollment for health benefits and flexible spending accounts runs from May 1-May 15, 2017.  A communication is sent by mail from the Commonwealth’s Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) to your home address.  Please check the Benefits site at http://hr.gmu.edu/benefits; they will update it as open enrollment information is available.

Financial Well-Being: Get Your Competition On With TIAA’s Square Up Your Savings

Sign up to play TIAA’s “Square Up Your Savings” through May 5.  You don’t have to be a TIAA member to participate; all faculty and staff are eligible. Square Up Your Savings is an online game to build your financial knowledge with 10 missions that highlight savings education.  Did we mention that there’s a chance for faculty/staff to win a prize?  Visit the HR & Payroll homepage at http://hr.gmu.edu for details.

Community Well-Being: Westminster School/George Mason Collaboration Merit Scholarship

The Mason/Westminster School scholarship deadline has been extended to May 15 for the academic year beginning Fall 2017. In collaboration with George Mason University, Westminster School is offering a scholarship opportunity to the children/grandchildren of Mason faculty and staff. The renewable Merit Scholarship is in the amount of $8,000 per year, and is open to students entering grades 3 – 7. The potential value of the scholarship totals $48,000. Westminster School is an independent school located in Annandale, VA just minutes from the beltway. For more information please visit the Westminster Merit Scholarship page, schedule a visit to the school, or contact Nancy Schuler at [email protected].

Community Well-Being: DMV2Go in Fairfax,  May 16

Take care of your Department of Motor Vehicle needs at a convenient Mason location!  DMV2Go will be on the Fairfax campus in the Merten Hall parking lot from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm on Tuesday, May 16 (last time until August).  For the full 2017 schedule, please visit DMV2Go Mason Schedule.

Reminder – Career Well-Being: Payroll Drop-In Meetings

Whatever your payroll-related question, join HR & Payroll at their monthly Payroll Drop-In meeting.  No need to RSVP or register, just drop by Merten Hall, Room 4104 between noon and 2pm (inside the HR & Payroll office) on the dates below.

• Friday, May 19
• Wednesday, June 21

If you have any questions about the meetings, please contact Catalina Wheat at [email protected]

Who’s Walking Wednesday?

Everyone has a standing (or a walking) invitation to join your colleagues for a 30-minute campus walk every Wednesday at noon in Arlington, Fairfax, and SciTech.  It’s also an opportunity to “exercise your leadership” and sign up to be a walk leader.  Visit http://hr.gmu.edu/worklife/lunch and scroll to Who’s Walking Wednesday for details.

Share Your Thoughts: Spring into Well-Being

Spring into Well-Being 2017 ran from March 20 through April 28 and there were a host of terrific opportunities to celebrate well-being opportunities at Mason.  The planning committee welcomes your thoughts on this celebration and awareness campaign via a short (2-3 minute) survey at http://baseline.campuslabs.com/gmu/siwb2017.

Spring into Well-Being and Mason’s Well-Being University initiative are dedicated to helping faculty, staff, students, and alumni build lives of vitality, purpose, resilience, and engagement.  For more information on Mason’s Well-Being University initiative, please see wbu.gmu.edu.

Becoming a Mason Staff Senator is a great way to get involved with the university community and have an impact on your workplace. The Senate provides many opportunities to learn about how the university works and network with administrators and staff members outside your unit.

The Senate accepts nominations each June, and elections are held in July. Terms begin in August and are for two years. 2017 dates are below:

1. Nominations accepted Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 23, 5:00 pm
2. Elections held Monday, July 10 through Friday, July 21, 5:00 pm

The Staff Senate nomination form can be found here: Nomination Form 2017 (Word Format). Completed forms are due to the Staff Senate administrative assistant on Friday, June 23, by 5:00 pm.  All nominations must be submitted electronically to [email protected].

If you have any questions about the responsibilities of being a senator, please contact Megan Kirk, Staff Senate chair. For questions about the nomination or election process, please contact Amanda Corrigan, Staff Senate administrative assistant, at [email protected].

Join us for a conversation about the future of one of George Mason University’s greatest assets.

George Mason University is the largest public research university in Virginia, and it continues to grow. University officials wish to explore options for the future uses of the adjacent “West Campus,” Mason’s Fairfax land west of Route 123.

We would like to hear your ideas for how this space should evolve in the short and long terms. Please join fellow citizens and university, business and government leaders May 22–24 for a strategic campus-planning workshop to share your vision for Mason’s West Campus.

The schedule for the workshop is listed below:

Monday, May 22, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Introduction and Background
• Mason President Ángel Cabrera’s remarks
• Keynote speaker
• Small group working sessions

Tuesday, May 23, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• Presentation of initial findings
• Open house for comments and feedback

Wednesday, May 24, Noon to 4 p.m.

• Overview of days one and two
• Presentation of preferred scheme
• Discussion of implementation

For more information, visit the website. For questions, contact Traci Kendall at [email protected] or 703-993-8846.

 

Take care of your Department of Motor Vehicle needs at a convenient Mason location!  DMV2Go will be on the Fairfax campus in the Merten Hall parking lot from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16 (last time until August).

For the full 2017 schedule, visit the Human Resources and Payroll website.

For questions, contact Mason’s Life/Work Team at [email protected] or 703-993-2600.

As of mid-April, the Staff Senate office has a new home.  Due to some space reassignments in the Provost Office, the Staff Senate has vacated their office space in Merten Hall. Our office is now located on the ground floor of Mason Hall in office D019.  Our mail stop remains 5E5 until the end of May.  Our updated contact information follows:

George Mason Staff Senate
Mason Hall D019
4400 University Drive, MS: 5E5
Fairfax, Virginia 22030

703-993-4141
[email protected]
https://staffsenate.gmu.edu/
https://www.facebook.com/staffsenategmu
https://twitter.com/GMUStaffSenate

Interested in becoming a Mason Staff Senator? Want to learn about how the university functions from a new perspective, network across departments, and contribute to the well being of your colleagues?

The Staff Senate will hold an information session and discussion for Mason staff who are interested in learning about the nomination and election process, the work of the senate and what senators do.  During the presentation, you will learn about the structure of the senate, how committees work, the time commitment expected of senators, and meet-and-greet with current representatives.

No registration is necessary.

The Staff Senate will hold the Staff Senate Information Session on

Wednesday, June 7
12:00-1:00 pm, during the first hour of the June Staff Senate General Meeting.  

You are welcome to stay for the Staff Senate Business Meeting from 1:00 pm-2:00 pm that follows the information session.  The event will take place on the Fairfax campus in Merten Hall 1201 and will be video conferenced to Arlington, Founders Hall B119, and Science and Technology, Bull Run Hall 254.  

If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Corrigan at [email protected].

Congratulations to our Staff Appreciation: Winter Warm-Up Raffle Prize Winners

Arlington Campus

Barnes & Noble gift card: John Wickline
STM iPad carrying bag: Asifa Khan
Manhattan USB mouse: Laura Poisson
Gift certificate to Circa: Xialing Xu
Semester of free parking: Tara Memmen

Fairfax Campus
Coffee cup and iPhone 6/6s phone case: Jane Singleton
Gift certificate to Movement Chiropractic: Teresa Gibbons
iPad Built bag designed and shoelace pouch for shoelaces or belts: Stephanie Belaoula
$25 gift card to Brion’s Grille: Yolanda King
Semester of free parking: Maggie Accardo
Color Yourself Relaxed coloring book, colored pencils and hot chocolate on a stick: Liz Boyen
Sony DVD player: Stephanie Lister
Coffee cup with Apple logo and sunset Mac laptop keyboard cover: Jeff Counts
Gift certificate to Movement Chiropractic: Lindsey Campbell
Two gift certificates to Box Car Tan: Purshara Kiraly
Pink lap saucer Thermapack for laptop and pink Mac laptop keyboard cover: Toshiko Uchiyama
Four tickets to show at Eagle Bank Arena: Tyler Smith

SciTech Campus

Two tickets to the Hylton Performing Arts Center: Robert Hinzman
$25 gift certificate to Rangoli Indian Restaurant: Rizza Villacorte
Semester of free parking: Teresa Kan
One month membership to Freedom Center: Krisztina Roder
Barnes &   Noble gift card: Leigh Anne Nordike
Keep Your Cool insulated lunch cooler and black heat shift Thermapack for laptop: Amy Adams
Coffee cup with Apple logo and one Duolinq charge/sync cable for iPhone/iPad/iPod: Rhonda Troutman

The next Mason Administrative Professionals meeting will be held:

Tuesday, May 16
11:30 – 12:30
Fenwick Library.

University Records Manager, Samara Carter, will do a training session on managing and archiving university records, and then we will enjoy a tour of the new section of the library. The MAP group welcomes anyone working at George Mason who considers themselves to be in an administrative professional role.