October 2014

October 2014
Volume 12 | Issue 4

Employee Appreciation Day Thank-you

The Division of Human Resources and the Employee Appreciation Event Committee would like to send our heartfelt thank-you for making Sept. 11, 2014, a truly memorable day for all Kent State University employees. We had an outstanding turnout of more than 1,600 employees attend the day and evening employee appreciation events. Employee feedback followed a theme of family, appreciation and gratitude for hosting such an event to honor all the employees who make Kent State a great place to work! Of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of supervisors, managers and university leaders encouraging attendance and being a part of the special day! 

We would also like to thank the many departments that donated more than 20 giveaway prizes for the event.

Staying Informed Through the Beyond Compliance Initiative

The Beyond Compliance initiative provides annual training for Kent State faculty and staff starting fall 2014. The goal of Beyond Compliance is to ensure faculty and staff are fully up to date and aware of the relevant laws and university policies regarding unlawful discrimination, harassment and violence prevention. An initiative such as Beyond Compliance keeps the university compliant with Title IX and The Campus SaVE Act; part of the 2013 reauthorized Violence Against Women Act.

While regular training regarding other forms of discrimination and harassment is not required by law on an annual basis, a practice such as Beyond Compliance is considered a best practice for effective prevention.  In keeping with the university’s commitment towards best practices, all university staff will be expected to complete a minimum of two hours of instruction on Beyond Compliance each fiscal year. University faculty members are also encouraged to meet this standard. 

For a list of Beyond Compliance training sessions and webinars, visit the Beyond Compliance website.  October Beyond Compliance webinars include Step Up and Speak Out and Green Dot. 

For questions regarding the Beyond Compliance initiative, please contact the Human Resources Training and Development Office at 330-672-2100 or hrd@kent.edu. 

It’s Open Enrollment Time!

Kent State University faculty and staff are invited to attend the annual Open Enrollment and Wellness Fairs coming to a campus near you! The fairs are an excellent opportunity for individuals to get the information they need to make their decisions for Open Enrollment. The benefit election period for open enrollment is Oct. 12-24.

As part of this year’s open enrollment and wellness fairs, free annual health screenings will be available for all full-time, benefits-eligible employees. Registration for the health screenings is required. Information on how to register for your appointment with Be Well Solutions, Kent State’s wellness partner, can be found at the OneWellU website or by clicking here. In addition, free Movbands will be provided to all employees who participate in the free health screening.

Open Enrollment and Wellness Fairs have been scheduled for all Kent State campuses, and employees are free to attend the fair that is most convenient for them in terms of time and location.

During the fair, employees will be able to meet with representatives from the university’s various benefits providers for 2015, find out more about the voluntary insurance options available to employees and learn more about the numerous wellness resources offered at the university. There also will be opportunities to win prizes.

Questions regarding Open Enrollment or your benefit choices should be directed to the Benefits Office at 330-672-3107 or benefits@kent.edu.

Human Resources Talent Management Enhances Tools to Recruit Top Candidates

For colleges and universities, attracting and retaining top job candidates often depends on finding a position for the so-called trailing spouse or partner. More than a third of university faculty members nationally have a spouse or partner who also works in academia. Another 36 percent have a partner employed outside of higher education. 

This past May, Kent State University became one of 33 founding institutions to launch the new Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC).  This consortium specializes in helping dual-career couples find jobs in higher education and related fields while assisting trailing partners in finding jobs within a commutable distance. 
  
Most recently, HERC expanded its services to allow a limited number of corporations, industries and other non-higher-education institutions to join as associate members. Priority is given to companies with similar goals of recruiting and retaining top talent and that offer job opportunities in disciplines requiring specialized training and advanced degrees.  The Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia HERC announced Cleveland Clinic as the first associate member of a regional HERC.

“The Cleveland Clinic is clearly committed to recruiting and retaining high-quality, diverse candidates, which is a primary goal of HERC nationwide,” says Joseph Vitale Jr., interim vice president for human resources at Kent State and chair of the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia HERC Membership Committee. 

As a regional HERC member, Kent State University benefits through a number of services including a cooperative job-posting service, targeted outreach to minority professional organizations that can reach diverse populations and professional development opportunities. 

To learn more about Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia HERC, please visit the resources on the Talent Acquisition website at https://www.kent.edu/hr/management/talent-acquisition-employment-forms-…. For specific questions on how to enhance or promote your department’s position, please contact the Office of Talent Acquisition and Operations at 330-672-2100 oremployment@kent.edu.  

New University Bursar Selected

Stina Olafsdottir has been named university bursar at Kent State, effective Oct. 1. She has been serving as the interim bursar since earlier this year and was selected after a national search for the position.  Olafsdottir joined the Bursar’s Office in 2007 and served as manager of students accounts receivable until taking over the interim position. Her experience prior to Kent State included over eight years in public sector financial positions. Olafsdottir has two degrees from Kent State, a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Public Administration. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in higher education administration.

Faculty Fellows Program

Recent findings from Kent State's Faculty Professional Development Center Redesign Steering Committee suggested that the center had historically underutilized faculty expertise and would benefit from broader universitywide participation. The Faculty Professional Development Center Faculty Fellows Program is designed to give individual faculty members the opportunity to serve in a leadership role in a professional development area of her or his choosing. Such topic areas may include: online teaching and learning, researching teaching and learning, effective techniques for large lecture classes, adjunct faculty support, peer review, teaching strategies for difficult courses, mid-career faculty development, etc. 

The expectation of the program is that the selected fellows will serve as a mentor/support for other faculty within their chosen topic, create a universitywide workshop on their topic, create a deliverable (article, white paper, learning module) for future faculty use and participate, as much as possible, in the broader workings of the center. 

Applications are due by Oct. 10, 2014, and selections for the spring semester will be made by Oct. 24, 2014. If selected, the faculty member would receive 3 to 6 hours workload equivalency for one semester to work in the center within his or her proposed leadership area.

If you have questions, call the Faculty Professional Development Center at 330-672-1930. 

Election Poll Worker Guidelines

This is the time of year to remind managers and supervisors that the university has a category of paid leave for employees who volunteer as poll workers during a general, primary or special election. Permanent part-time and full-time classified and unclassified employees can request poll worker leave from their supervisor, subject to the following conditions:

• The request must be made in writing, at least 14 calendar days prior to the election;
• The request must include the employee’s intent to serve as a poll worker and specify the county in which the employee intends to serve; and
• The request must be turned in to the employee’s immediate supervisor.

Employees are eligible to receive paid leave only for their time as a poll worker on an hour-for-hour basis, up to the maximum number of hours the employee was regularly scheduled to work on an election day.

Following the election, the employee must submit a Poll Worker Leave Verification form, signed by the employee and a representative from the Board of Elections. More information is also available at our website.

If you have additional questions regarding this option as it relates to classified and unclassified staff, please call the Human Resources Records Office at 330-672-8316. Faculty should call Academic Personnel at 330-672-2220.  

Dates to Remember

LGBT History Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Italian-American Heritage Month

Tell Us What You Think

This e-newsletter is designed to keep you, the managers and supervisors, informed. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think of it, along with any comments or suggestions. You may contact us atmanagersfeedback@kent.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.

For information about events and programs for university employees, please check out the Faculty and Staff calendar and share the information with your staff.