MyLU Insider

Rochelle Blindauer

Author: Rochelle Blindauer

Summer Employment Update

We are in full swing of presenting job offers to students for summer employment.  Please note that students have 5 days to accept or decline their offer, and we appreciate your timely response.  There are still many opportunities available for students to apply for Summer Employment on-campus!  Please complete the web-form found on the Human Resources page to search and apply for available positions.

If you are interested in spending your summer in beautiful Door County, Björklunden may provide a great opportunity for you.  They are still looking to add several students to their staff with full time positions available completing a variety of tasks.  Please contact Sherri Immel with application instructions.

Connect to Courage: Keeping Our Veterans Alive

Last fall, a small group of Veterans and other individuals met to discuss the issue of Veteran Suicide.  The Department of Veteran Affairs determined that 22 Veterans commit suicide each day in this country.  Further, PTSD is an issue related not only to Veterans, but as you know to many of our Firefighters and Law Enforcement.  A documentary film entitled “Project 22” was released in 2015, with the goal of bringing national attention to this issue. Link to the trailer is: https://vimeo.com/121737934

Wisconsin and the Fox Cities are not immune to this problem. A small group has worked together collaboratively to create an event called Connect to Courage: Keeping Our Veterans Alive.  The event will take place on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 from 1:30-8:30 at the PAC.  This event is for Veterans, their families and ANYONE who works with or cares about our Veterans.

Thank you for your support.

 

March WELLU Update

WELLU Massage Sign-Up

One hour massages for $20?!?  You read the right!  Reserve your spot for a one hour massage at the YMCA for only $20.  Massage appointments can be made for any date during the spring term.  There is a limit of one massage per person per term.  Contact Erin Buenzli beginning March 27, 2017 to  schedule your appointment.

Healthy Living Series – Building Bone Basics

Presented by Kate Harrell on March 24th from noon – 1:00 PM at the Warch Campus Center – Kraemer Room.  Also offered, are you interested in individual help from a dietician? Kate is available to meet with individual with employees and students for 30 minute dietician sessions on March 24th between 1:00 – 3:00 PM. Please email Erin Buenzli to sign up.

Free Personal Training

Interested in free personal training? Kylie Fischer, Healthy Viking Intern, is accepting new clients for spring term. Email her at Kylie.r.fischer@lawrence.edu.

 

 

Mindfulness program on March 7

Mindfulness program on March 7th

The results of last fall’s PHA program found that many of us are interested in finding ways to better manage stress. Consider attending a presentation on mindfulness on Tuesday, March 7. Offered at both 10 a.m. and noon at the Cinema in the Warch Campus Center, this 30-minute program will cover the topic of mindfulness, address how it helps to relieve stress and include a short exercise that you can immediately start using in your daily life. Presented by Laurie Ehlers, RN CDE.

New hires and job changes: March 2

The following colleagues have been hired, rehired or have a new position within the last two weeks. If you see them on campus, please welcome them to Lawrence or congratulate them on their new position!

  • Karen Brennan, administrative assistant (Spiritual and Religious Life)
  • Cassie Curry, director of major and planned giving (Development)
  • Lauren Erlandson, director of digital communications (Communications)
  • Shane Mikkelson, technology specialist (Information Technology)

Laurie’s March wellness tip

Stress: We all experience it.

Stress comes from a variety of sources—work commitments, family obligations, personal expectations. It may be the culmination of several events or commitments occurring at the same time that heightens our stress level. Even events that bring great joy to our lives—the birth of a child, a wedding, a job promotion—can bring about a significant increase in the stress we experience.

For some of us, stress can be a motivator. It revs us up and helps us set priorities. For others it’s exhausting and can be incredibly overwhelming.

Stress can make things feel “out of our control.” Stress is often what keeps us awake at night, makes it difficult to concentrate and has been shown to impact both our memory and mental functioning. Long-term exposure to high levels of stress can negatively impact our health in dramatic ways.

In order to optimize wellness, we need to find ways to manage stress effectively in our daily lives. Fortunately, here at Lawrence we have a number of stress relieving options available:

  • Exercise has long been touted as a great stress reliever. Whether you work up a sweat on your lunch hour at the Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center or take a more leisurely walk around campus grounds, both form of exercise will help to relax you and reduce stress levels.
  • The Mind Spa at the Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center. Take time to make use of this great service, which offers guided meditation, light therapy and biofeedback.
  • The Center for Spiritual and Religious Life is located in Sabin House and offers the opportunity for both quiet personal reflection and engaging conversation. Open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then accessible by your ID until midnight, they welcome drop-in usage for rocking chair sitting, tea sipping, poetry or silence. Also, consider joining the weekly meditation session (Fridays 3:30–4 p.m.), or stopping in for “4th Friday Soup and Salad,” a monthly lunch and discussion for LU employees. A library of resources is available for your personal use as well.
  • Consider using the Employee Assistance Program. This free benefit allows you to receive professional, confidential counseling to help manage stress or address other issues that may be impacting your health and wellness.

Lastly, feel free to contact me directly at laurie.ehlers@lawrence.edu to set up a personal appointment if you’d like to discuss stress or any health-related issue you may be experiencing.

—Laurie Ehlers, RN educator

Update: Brown recluse spiders

You might recall this past summer we dealt with brown recluse spiders at the facilities building. We treated the problem and did not see any further signs of the spiders. With the warmer weather, what appears to be brown recluse spiders have been seen at the facilities building. We are once again treating them. If you see anything that you are concerned about, please contact facility services at ext. 6602. Thank you.

Learning at Lawrence

Each day we see students’ lives enriched thanks to the role you play here at Lawrence. We value learning at Lawrence and we value you. We are excited to introduce a new informational series for staff and faculty called Learning at Lawrence. This series will offer sessions throughout the year on a variety of topics to help each of you learn more about what you need to more effectively do your job, resources available on campus, what various departments do to support our overall mission, tours and more! The average session will last 40 minutes, allowing travel time to and from to keep your time away to one hour. Optional Q&A and/or tours may be offered beyond this timeframe.

Please mark your calendars for the following sessions, and watch LU Insider for additional learning opportunities!

Session one: Introduction to the Annual Budget Process, presented by Jenna Stone, executive director of budget and planning
Wednesday, Feb. 15
1:10–1:50 p.m.
Warch, Cinema

This session is an introduction to the annual budgeting process, from initial department requests to a complete institutional budget. Appropriate for budget managers as well as assistants who enter budget request data in Banner. Whether you’re new to Lawrence and going through the budget process for the first time or a veteran budget manager looking for a refresher and update on what’s new this year, this session will have something useful.

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Session two: Privacy and Information Sharing, presented by Julia Messitte, university counsel

Tuesday, Feb. 28
11:10–11:50 a.m. OR 1:10–1:50 p.m.
Warch, Cinema 

This session is highly encouraged for all staff and faculty to attend. It will address how members of the Lawrence community should respond to requests for student and employee information in a manner that respects individual privacy as well as legal requirements. Suitable for any Lawrence employee with questions on whether, how and with whom to share information regarding students or employees. We will discuss how the answers depend on who is seeking information, why and under what authority; what information they are seeking and in what form; and whether we have discretion to share the information.

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Session three: Understanding Financial Aid, presented by Sara Holman, director of financial aid

Thursday, March 23
10:10–10:50 a.m. OR 1:10–1:50 p.m.
Warch, Esch Hurvis Room 225

This session will provide an overview of the financial aid process, including Lawrence University’s three dependent tuition benefit programs: Lawrence University Tuition Remission, ACM Tuition Remission and National Tuition  Exchange. In addition to highlighting the specifics of each program, Sara will explain how they fit into the admissions and financial aid process, as well as when and how to apply for each program.

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We look forward to learning with you. Please contact your HR team member if you have any questions and watch LU Insider for additional sessions.

Have a great day!

New hires and job changes: Feb. 16

The following colleagues have been hired, rehired or have a new position within the last two weeks. If you see them on campus, please welcome them to Lawrence or congratulate them on their new position!

  • Kathleen Allison, assistant director of alumni and constituency engagement (Development)
  • Nathan Harder, assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach (Athletics)
  • Casey Schneider, campus safety officer (Campus Services)
  • Megan Spranger, associate director of major and planned giving (Development)
  • Jenna Villiesse, assistant softball coach (Athletics)