October 2016

State of the University Address – “Living the Kent State Promise”

Kent State University President Beverly Warren will deliver the State of the University address on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva. Kent State faculty, staff, students and members of the community are invited to attend the event, which is themed “Living the Kent State Promise.” A reception will follow in the Kent Student Center. Regional locations will host watch events for their campus communities.

In advance of the State of the University address, you are invited to visit the new web presence for our strategic vision, A Strategic Roadmap to a Distinctive Kent State.  Designed in collaboration with our partners at Ideabase, this site serves as a repository for strategic plan resources and as a place where achievements are illuminated.

2017 Open Enrollment and Wellness Fairs Coming to a Campus Near You

Please encourage employees to attend the Open Enrollment and Wellness Fairs held on all Kent State University campuses. Each fair will include the "Know Your Numbers" health screening, wellness fair, flu clinic and breakout sessions to share with you exciting new changes coming effective Jan. 1, 2017. Additionally, these fairs will include information on the introduction of a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and a Health Savings Account (HSA), as well as the opportunity for all full-time, benefits-eligible employees to earn up to $300 in wellness incentives by participating in a variety of healthy lifestyle activities.
For easy access, we have provided a full schedule of the Open Enrollment and Wellness Fairs, along with links to schedule your health screening and flu shot appointments.

Please check out our interactive calendar for a comprehensive listing of all wellness offerings at http://www.kent.edu/hr/benefits/current-wellness-offerings.

Let’s Clear the Air

Kent State will become a smoke-free, tobacco-free university on July 1, 2017.  University policy 3345-5-21 was approved in May by the Board of Trustees and aligns with the university-level initiative to create a healthy campus environment for all employees, students and visitors. The policy covers all Kent State campuses, locations and properties, both domestic and international and applies to all members of the university community: students, employees, volunteers, vendors, visitors and customers.

Under the policy all smoking will be prohibited. This includes electronic smoking devices, mod boxes or electronic nicotine delivery systems that create an aerosol or vapor. Also prohibited will be the use of nicotine, tobacco-derived or plant-based products and oral tobacco.

Members of the university community who are thinking about kicking the tobacco habit should visit the tobacco-free, smoke-free website at http://www.kent.edu/hr/benefits/smoking-cessation-resources-ready-quit. There you will find a variety of resources for faculty and staff including smoking cessation apps and nicotine replacement therapy and prescription medication that are now part of the university’s prescription drug plan through CVS Health.

Please share this important information with faculty and staff in your area and encourage them to visit the website to learn more about the policy, enforcement and the cessation resources available.  Information will also be shared during breakout sessions at the upcoming Open Enrollment fairs in October and in the months leading up to the July 1 effective date.

Kent State Web Redesign Update – What It Means to Your Department

The Kent State website redesign initiative, one of the springboards that will advance the university's new brand, culminates with the launch of www.kent.edu and the university’s departmental websites late this month, on Oct. 30.

The cross-divisional redesign team and its members from our branding agency 160over90, Information Services and University Communications and Marketing are hard at work finishing development and home page rebuilds.

Next steps and milestones will be critical to attain the Oct. 30 launch date of all university websites. While much behind-the-scenes work continues, please be sure that your department webmaster is aware of these dates and participation commitments:

• Last week through Oct. 11: Clients were or may be contacted to provide materials to complete their home page rebuilds.
• Sept. 29: A first wave of clients was notified to review and approve their new home pages. Review options and the call for review were shared via email with the subject line “Web Redesign: ACTION REQUIRED – APPROVAL.”
• Sept. 30-Oct. 12: Remaining clients will be contacted for home page review and approvals as sites are completed via a forthcoming email with the subject line: “Web Redesign: ACTION REQUIRED – APPROVAL.”
• Oct. 12-Oct. 16: Revisions to home pages will be made, as necessary.
• Oct. 17-Oct. 30: Content freeze for all Drupal webmasters, no content updates can be implemented on live websites to ensure a full content sync with the site that will launch and to allow for performance testing. If an emergency update needs implemented, email ldanes@kent.edu.
• Oct. 30: Websites launch.

If you have questions about the process or timeline, please contact Lin Danes, director of web services in University Communications and Marketing, at ldanes@kent.edu, so that she can partner with Sameer Jaleel , director of systems development for Information Services, to triage your inquiry and reply.

The 2016/2017 Holiday Schedule

Kent State University’s holiday shutdown for 2016 will begin Friday, Dec. 23, 2016. In addition, the university will close Monday, Dec. 26, 2016, through Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. All offices will re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017.

Pay Dates:
The semimonthly and biweekly pays will both occur on Dec. 22, 2016. The January 2017 pays will occur on the following dates:

• Bi-weekly, Jan. 6 and Jan. 20, 2017
• Semi-monthly, Jan. 13 and Jan. 31, 2017

Annual University Teaching Council Celebrating College Teaching Conference

The University Teaching Council’s Celebrating College Teaching conference is one of several opportunities to share and fulfill the main objectives of the teaching mission at Kent State University. This free conference, which includes all eight campuses, takes place every year in the month of October. Visit www.kent.edu/utc/2016-conference for more information and to register.

Title IX Workshops for Faculty and Staff

Advance registration is required for these facilitator-led workshops and dates, which are subject to change or cancelation if an insufficient number of participants sign up. All sessions will be held at Heer Hall in Room 107.

Please choose from the sessions below by selecting the date you are requesting. All sessions can also be found by searching the Human Resources Training Catalog, facilitator-led training, under Title IX Faculty/Staff Training and Title IX Student Workshops.

Save the Date to Honor Our Veterans

All are invited to come and honor America's veterans at this year's Veterans Day program on Wed., Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. on the Student Green at Risman Plaza.

The outdoor program will include a flag-raising ceremony conducted by a joint color guard from the Army and Air Force ROTC programs.

A special invitation is extended to Kent State faculty, staff, students and community members who are veterans, active service members or who have family members in the military.

A reception in the Kent Student Center Kiva lobby will follow the brief program. In the event of inclement weather, the rain location will be the Kent Student Center Kiva.

DATES TO REMEMBER

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Disability Employment Awareness Month

Oct. 9-28 – KSU’s Annual Open Enrollment for Health Benefits

Oct. 10 – Columbus Day