Faculty/Staff News Now Volume 1, Issue 8 – May 13

Heidi Weisel Named Ambassador of Women's Health

Heidi Weisel, clinical experience specialist, recently became an Ambassador of Women's Health for Days for Girls International. Read the full story at KentWired.com.


American Red Cross Crowns Nursing Faculty Member with Call to Action Hero Award

Tracy Dodson, lecturer in the College of Nursing, was standing in a food line with her husband at the Wayne County fairgrounds when the man in front of her began coughing uncontrollably and collapsed. That’s when the former emergency room nurse sprang into action. Learn more.


Kim Hauge Nominated for Top Health Promotion Professional – Cast Your Vote by May 31!

Employee Wellness Director Kim Hauge has been nominated by the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) for the 2019 Top Health Promotion Professional. WELCOA's Top Health Promotion Professionals represents the best and brightest in the wellness industry. The “top spot” will be carefully chosen based on peer voting and the empirical review of a distinguished judging panel.

“There are a lot of people doing great work in this field,” said Hauge. “I’m honored to be a nominee among them but more importantly to be representing Kent State University for the great work that is being done here and to be sharing our story on a national level.”

The Top Health Promotion Professional will go through two additional steps of evaluation by WELCOA before a winner is announced June 30. The Kent State community can help support Hauge’s nomination by casting your vote by May 31.

You can vote more than once between now and May 31. The Top Health Professional, and top 25 finalists, will be announced June 30. The Top Professional will be recognized at the 2019 WELCOA National Summit in Philadelphia later this summer. Nominees will be evaluated on peer voting through May 31. Afterwards, an empirical review will be completed by a judging panel looking at the top nominees. 

“Not all programs are created equally,” said Hauge. “I believe the holistic nature in which we look at wellbeing, the programming that makes up Wellness Your Way, and the respectful nature of our programming that promotes preventive and self-care, and looks at the social determinants that impact health and wellness is significant to being recognized as one of the best. We recognize each person where they are along their wellness journey, and build a supportive environment around them to promote health and wellness.”

“Kim Hauge is a driving force for health and wellness at Kent State University,” said Ellen Glickman, Ph. D., school director and professor for the School of Health Sciences. “I am proud to call her my colleague. Working with her has been a delightful and productive experience.”


Professor Rollick Retires

After 22 years with Kent State University, Math Concepts Professor Mary Beth Rollick is retiring after the spring semester.

Rollick is well-respected and will be sorely missed not only by her math students, but also by students in the Early Childhood Education and College of Education, Health and Human Services departments.

“Professor Rollick is beloved by many Education students in the College of Education and Health and Human Services,” said Mary Kay McElhinny, Academic Advisor, EHHS. “With her gift of teaching, she made the most challenging math courses possible for EHHS students. Her time and dedication to each student always went above and beyond the call of duty by providing individual tutoring and group study sessions. She will be sorely missed.”

The Kent State University family wishes Dr. Rollick a happy and healthy retirement.


Don't Forget the Fiscal Year-End Deadlines

Managers and supervisors should have received information from the Controller's Office regarding the cut-off dates for financial transactions for the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30. View the deadlines for receipt of information and other year-end announcements online. The Controller's Office appreciates timely submissions of documents to ensure that a timely year-end cut-off has occurred.

The FY2019 year is scheduled to close the evening of July 12, 2019 and the final June Flashline reports should be available to departments the morning of July 15, 2019.

Expense Reimbursements

Travel or miscellaneous expenses incurred on or before June 30 are considered Fiscal Year 2019 activity. To ensure these expenses are recorded in the appropriate fiscal year, expense reimbursements must be approved by the final approver on or before June 26, 2019. Any expense reimbursements in draft status or submitted but not approved by this date will not be processed as fiscal year 2019 activity.

Travel or miscellaneous expenses that span both fiscal years or are incurred after June 30 should be considered new fiscal year activity. Therefore, these expense reimbursements should be processed and approved on or after July 1, 2019.

Purchasing Cards

All P-Card reconciliations for the June cycle must be completed by July 5, 2019. All transactions that are not fully reconciled (allocated, reviewed, and approved) by 5:00 pm on this date will be charged to your departmental index under office supplies (72017).  In addition, the P-Card will be suspended for non-compliance and the cardholder and/or approver will be required to repeat purchasing card cardholder or approver training before the card can be reinstated.  

Compensated Absences

All compensated absences should be both reported and approved no later than July 1, 2019 for any remaining FY2019 activity.
 

KSU Foundation

The KSU Foundation reminds department heads that June 21 is the deadline to submit any funding requests for the current fiscal year. This will ensure that the transfer of Foundation funds to a university index will be recorded in Fiscal Year 2019. All requests must be submitted using the Foundation Funding Request form and must have the appropriate signatures and documentation. For more information, contact Jessica Vargo at 330-672-0432.  

Please continue to review and reconcile your monthly Flashline reports to ensure all transactions are complete and proper.  If there are any issues or discrepancies, please contact the appropriate finance department below to resolve them. This includes any issues involving your budget, your actual YTD transactions and your encumbrances.

Budget transactions (position and non-position) and transfers

Budget Office 2-3750

Credit Card Expense Allocations, Expense Reimbursements, Check Requests, and other A/P transactions

Accounts Payable 2-2607

IDCs/COR entries

Contact the initiating department and/or Controller’s Office 2-2392

Other Journal Entries

Controller’s Office 2-2392

Payroll entries

Payroll Office 2-8640

Requisitions, Purchase Orders and Related Encumbrances

Procurement 2-2276

Student Receivable Accounting entries

Student Receivable Accounting 2-8635


College of Public Health Receives Mental Health Grant

The College of Public Health received a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide mental health awareness trainings to faculty, staff and administrators.

The funding provides access to free online mental health awareness trainings that teach employees how to recognize the signs of a student in crisis, and how to engage and assist that student in accessing services.

Faculty, staff and administrators can earn one hour of Beyond Compliance credit for completing a training, which includes Kognito, an interactive role-play simulation; and QPR, which focuses specifically on how to identify and intervene with students who may be contemplating suicide.

Mental health awareness training can be accessed through the Center for Public Policy and Health’s Division of Mental Health and Substance Use. Visit www.kent.edu/mhsu and click on the Screenings and Trainings link at the top of the page to access the mental health awareness trainings.


Summer Faculty/Staff Group X Classes & Free Fridays

Faculty/Staff Group Exercise Classes are provided at no cost to KSU employees and sponsored by Employee Wellness and the Department of Recreational Services. A membership is not required to attend, but advance registration is required, and space is limited for each session.

Below is the summer schedule of offerings. Classes are open to all fitness levels. Pre-registration is required for each session:

Basic Strength Training – Mondays, 12:30 – 1:15 p.m. Designed to break down a variety of basic resistance exercises to learn proper form and technique to get you ready for the next level of your fitness journey.

Lunchtime Yoga – Tuesdays, 12:15 – 1 p.m. This program will take place in Studio I of the SRWC. Yoga instruction is open to all fitness levels.  Participants are encouraged to bring their own mat.

Compound Strength Training – Wednesdays, 12:15 – 1 p.m. This class takes Basic Strength to the next level and puts those individual resistance exercises together to form compound movements. Work the entire body at once to increase caloric burn, improve your balance and coordination, and increase your strength.

Spin 50/50 – Fridays, 12:15 – 1 p.m. Spin 50/50 is an indoor stationary cycling class that focuses on improving your cardiovascular and muscular fitness with biking on simulated flat roads, hills and jumps, followed by off-the-bike strength training and core exercises.

Please register for each class you would like to attend by visiting the Employee Wellness calendar to register for your preferred classes.

All full- and part-time employees are eligible to attend faculty/staff group exercise classes. For full-time, benefits-eligible employees participating in the Wellness Your Way program, each session attended is worth 10 points towards your Tier Two total up to the maximum for the Group Exercise category or Mindfulness category for yoga. 

Please note: All employees MUST pre-register for the faculty/staff exercise classes as space is limited and walk-ins cannot be accepted. A non-registered employee will not take priority over a pre-registered or wait listed employee. Pre-registration and sign in upon arrival is also a requirement for those seeking Wellness Your Way points. If an employee does not pre-register and fails to sign in at the class itself, they will not receive Wellness Your Way points for that day’s class.

As an added reminder, Employee Wellness and Recreational Services continue to sponsor Free Fridays at the Rec for all Kent State faculty and staff. Employees must provide a valid FLASHcard for entry. No prior registration is required. Free Fridays includes complimentary access to Group X classes as well. For more information, please visit the Free Fridays webpage.
 


IMPACT, Employee Assistance Work/Life Program, Walk-In Office Hours

Have a question about what the IMPACT Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can do for you? Want to learn more about resiliency training, online seminars, depression awareness and prevention? Unsure about financial counseling services, eldercare, childcare, smoking cessation or the new Stress Less Center?

Come to the EAP office hours Thurs., May 16, from 10 a.m.  – 2 p.m. in the Employee Wellness Resource Room in 103 Heer Hall on the Kent Campus. Meet with Lisa Kirby, Impact Account Manager, and learn all about the numerous resources available to you and your eligible dependents. 

Office hours are not intended for counseling services but rather for information gathering and knowledge. No appointment or registration is necessary for these walk-in hours. Mark your calendar and come at your convenience.

For more information about Impact, your Employee Assistance Program, visit our Impact information page here or contact Kim Hauge, director for Employee Wellness, at 330-672-7505, or wellness@kent.edu.


Lunchtime Art Walk – May 23

Find expressions of the artistic spirit of the city of Kent and Kent State University quite literally on every corner of the town and campus.

Join the Employee Wellness team and a representative from the Office of the University Architect for second Art “Walk & Talk” on Thurs., May 23, from noon – 1 p.m.

Different pieces of art will be visited on each walk. We will take attendance and provide Art Walk booklets to supplement the pieces that we will visit on our walk and allow you to visit other pieces on your own. The booklet describes and provides the location for 29 points of interest on Kent State’s campus and the surrounding Kent community. Meet at noon at the Squirrel Statue between the Library and the Student Center on the Kent Campus. The walk will begin promptly at 12:10 p.m.  

Register for Art Walk 2 (May 23).

All full- and part-time employees welcome. If you are participating in the On the Move Challenge, these walks fulfill the mini-challenge for weeks 6 and 7. For employees participating in the Wellness Your Way employee wellness program, each walk is worth 10 Tier Two points.


Summer Koru Mindfulness Classes to Begin Soon

If you missed the opportunity to enroll in Koru Mindfulness classes this past school year, here’s your chance to do so this summer. Kent State of Wellness is again offering its free, four-week, 75-minute Koru Mindfulness class to Kent State faculty, staff and students in June.

Koru Mindfulness is an evidence-based training specifically designed for emerging adults, but anyone will find this useful at any age. Participants learn mindfulness and meditation skills that can help them become more resilient, more mindful and more rested, including several other health benefits.

The classes are facilitated by Melissa Celko, director of Kent State of Wellness.

Participants will receive a free Koru Mindfulness book. Classes fill up quickly so register today!
Koru Basic Lunch Session
June 3, 10, 17 and 24 (Noon-1:15 p.m.) 
Kent Student Center, Room 319
Register here

Koru Basic Evening Session
June 3, 10, 17 and 24 (4-5:15 p.m.)
Kent Student Center, Room 319
Register here

Koru 2.0
June 3, 10, 17 and 24 (5:30-6:45 p.m.) 
Kent Student Center, Room 319
Register here

For more information, visit www.kent.edu/stateofwellness/meditation/koru or contact Ms. Celko at mcelko1@kent.edu.

For more information about the Center for Koru Mindfulness, visit https://korumindfulness.org/.


Work Schedules for Graduating Student Employees

Students who will be graduating are permitted to work through the Saturday of the week they are scheduled to graduate. May graduates’ final day of employment will be Sat., May 11. August graduates may work until Sat., August 17.

For additional information on work eligibility, see the Credit Hour Enrollment Requirement.


Dates to Remember:

May 12 - 19    
Campus Steam Shutdown (begins 12:01 a.m. on May 12; ends 11:59 p.m. on May 19)

May 16
Spring Plant Exchange

May 17         
Spring commencement for College of Podiatric Medicine

May 18         
Armed Forces Day

May 27         
Memorial Day (university closed)

POSTED: Monday, May 13, 2019 09:33 AM
Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2022 01:02 AM

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