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Staff Connections Save the Dates: All Staff Meeting and January Drop-In Lunch

Thursday, January 25
Dan Meyer, Director of Facility Services, will be the guest of our next Drop-In Lunch on Thursday, January 25 from noon – 1 p.m. We will meet in the Lower Level Classroom in Brokaw Hall. Bring your own lunch and have a conversation with Dan about facility happenings around campus, including an update on the on-going conversations surrounding street parking around campus.

Thursday, February 8
Our next All Staff Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 8, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the Somerset Room in the Warch Campus Center.  Coffee and snacks will be provided.

Please submit questions for Mark Burstein and Katie Kodat to staff_connection@lawrence.edu.

MLK, Jr. Day of Service at Lawrence University

What does MLK Jr Day mean at Lawrence?

MLK, Jr. Day of Service at Lawrence University is an annual event that invites the entire Lawrence community to continue honoring the ideas of Dr. King and the civil rights movements that continue to this day.  Students, staff and faculty will honor the continuance of the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr through learning, serving, and celebrating.

Volunteering on MLK Jr. Day provides an opportunity for you to:

  • Give something back to an organization that has improved our community
  • Make a difference to the lives of others (including our students!)
  • Address disparities of access to basic human rights
  • Step away from work to think about your own commitment to civic engagement

In addition to a speaker who will address an important social justice issue impacting our health, a variety of both on-campus and off-campus opportunities are available to all.  Each activity is a student led initiative that benefits the community and helps Lawrentians solidify the value of learning as you serve. Select from a number of options, any of which will benefit a variety of agencies in the Appleton area.

Register by Jan. 12 at https://givepul.se/bf5ow and click on “events.”

 

MLK, Jr. Day of Service at Lawrence University

What does MLK Jr Day mean at Lawrence?

MLK, Jr. Day of Service at Lawrence University is an annual event that invites the entire Lawrence community to continue honoring the ideas of Dr. King and the civil rights movements that continue to this day.  Students, staff and faculty will honor the continuance of the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr through learning, serving, and celebrating.

Students have much to gain from civically engaging in the community. Volunteering on MLK Jr. Day provides an opportunity for you to:

  • Enrich your degree: Learn how your intellectual and personal talents can address a need in the community while allowing you to apply the knowledge you are gaining in your coursework.
  • Gain invaluable work experience and network: Many volunteering opportunities that are there for you as a student allow you to develop the skills you need for a job out in the ‘real world’ without having to get grilled in an interview first.
  • Make a difference and be empowered: By volunteering, you are making the decisions and doing what you can in order to improve the environment around you. If you think you can do better, why not give it a go?
  • Step away from coursework to think about your own commitment to civic engagement.

In addition to a speaker who will address an important social justice issue impacting our health, a variety of both on-campus and off-campus opportunities are available to all.  Each activity is a student led initiative that benefits the community and helps Lawrentians solidify the value of learning as you serve. Select from a number of options, any of which will benefit a variety of agencies in the Appleton area.

Register by Jan. 12 at https://givepul.se/bf5ow and click on “events.”

Life After Lawrence Open Forum

Life After Lawrence Open Forum
January 23, 2018 • 4:30 to 6:00 pm
Somerset Room, Warch Campus Center
Light refreshments will be served

“The world of work is rapidly changing. Help the Life After Lawrence Task Force determine which types of programs, services and technology are appropriate to best prepare Lawrentians for the next step in their lives. Attend this interactive session on January 23 to voice your thoughts on how Lawrence prepares students for life after college.”

Topics of interest include:

  • Curriculum and Learning
  • World of Work
  • Discernment and Career Exploration
  • Career Services Programming
  • Internship Opportunities
  • Fellowships and Pre-Professional Advising
  • On-Campus Student Employment
  • Research Opportunities
  • Supporting Students of All Backgrounds in Their Career Journeys

 

New Year’s resolutions in the Office of Communications

We have taken a hard look at our processes and workflow, looking for opportunities to improve efficiency. As a result, we’ve made a few changes for the new year.

Events calendar: We’ve eliminated a crucial step in the process for posting coming events to the online events calendar and homepage listing. Calendar listings will no longer require Communications approval. Room reservations that request a listing will automatically display after approval by the usual room manager. Please be sure to check your event description for accuracy, spelling and grammar since it will display publicly. For event listings that need to be added directly to the calendar, without an associated room reservation, please work with the person in your department who has calendar access and training. For areas without such a person, contact the helpdesk for calendar access and training.

Promoting faculty achievements/performances/achievements: Our faculty are consistently recognized by students, parents and alumni for their expertise. Therefore, we want to make certain that the world knows when they’ve written a book, are giving a performance or speaking to a broad audience. We are working with IT and the Provost’s office this week to create a system to assure that the Office of Communications is aware of these accomplishments, well in advance. We will carefully curate those to conform with scheduled activities and then promote them as appropriate – typically using social media channels. More to come when this process is finalized.

Student, faculty and staff photos: We want to assure that those who need professional quality photos can have them taken. We will schedule photo sessions with Liz Boutelle (Brokaw 214) every Friday. However, be sure to submit requests online several weeks in advance because time slots fill fast.  You will be notified of your scheduled photo appointment within one week of you request. Preference will be given to seniors during spring term.

Workzone Projects: When projects are submitted through Workzone, Kelly Coenen develops a production schedule. To improve speed and efficiency, we will no longer begin design and production until all final copy has been submitted. Designing projects with incomplete copy has resulted in as many as 15 revisions – causing other projects to be delayed. We will, however, build in two revisions/approvals, each of which will be proofed for AP Style. This new procedure will assure that we produce as much work in as short a time as possible.

Social Media transition: Kasey Corrado Schumacher, our social media director for the past 3 years, resigned at the end of the year. We are actively searching for a replacement. Until that position is filled, social media monitoring, response and content creation will be handled by two student interns (Resonance Fellows) supervised by Lauren Erlandson and Craig Gagnon. They will support a content calendar but will be alert for unforeseen opportunities. If you’re aware of news, photos or videos that might be of interest to the unique audiences who follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, please notify Lauren or Craig.

Hometown news: We have changed vendors to distribute student accomplishments to their hometown newspapers. The new service will also allow students to have their own web page upon which those achievements can be posted. They can then share their achievements via their own social media channels. Notices will also be sent to their high school guidance counselors, reminding them the successes of their alumni at Lawrence. This service has been used successfully by Bates, Colgate, Carleton and dozens of other colleges. If you are aware of student achievements, please notify Rick Peterson. Watch for more information in the next few weeks as we implement this system and notify students.

Faculty and staff PR: We continue to encourage faculty and staff to write for national publications. Our national media consultant met with several staff and faculty members in early December to discuss their ideas, provide advice and pitch stories. (One article already appeared in Inside Higher Ed). A good deal of writing took place during the holiday break and we look forward to reviewing drafts soon. However, if anyone has timely ideas that they believe belong in national publications, now or in the future, please call Rick Peterson or me.

With your help, we believe these changes will further enhance the Lawrence reputation, reach larger audiences and improving efficiency without adding resources.

 

January Cultural Competency Lecture Series

Cultural Competency Lecture Series

January 11, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Esch Hurvis Room (225)

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Mark R. Jenike

Fat Stigma: Why All of Us Are Stakeholders in Obesity

Fat stigma is real; it is worldwide; and it has real consequences, including worsening health outcomes and exacerbating obesity. Americans’ understanding of the causes of bodyweight variation is dominated by a personal responsibility frame. This session will draw on research, as well as personal experience, to provide a more complex and nuanced exploration of the causes of bodyweight variation in the contemporary world. Preliminary results from a recent focus group study with large-bodied individuals in the Fox Valley will be presented and discussed. The purpose of the session is to help us develop more productive ways to understand this element of diversity so that we can engage in less counterproductive stigmatizing and blaming in order to show more respect and inclusion for people of all sizes.

Please RSVP to div-inclusion@lawrence.edu by January 9!

Upcoming Career Services Events

Tuesday, Jan. 9
Internships 101:  Before starting the internship search process, attend one of these sessions to learn about support, search techniques and tools available to start your internship search.
*11 a.m. – noon; Alice G. Chapman, Career Services Conference Room

Boy & Girls Club of the Fox Valley Info Table:  Looking for experience working with youth? Stop by to learn more about part-time jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities with the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley.
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.; WCC, West Lobby Table near Commons

Wednesday, Jan. 10
Strategies for Career Success:  Setting Goals/Resume and Cover Letter Writing:  A successful launch to your career depends on setting goals and knowing what you want in a job.  We’ll discuss how to set those goals and also go over how to prepare your resume and cover letter.
*11:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.; WCC, Cinema

Career Services Pop-Up Table:  Chat with members of Career Services about upcoming events, see the latest internship postings and more!
3 – 5 p.m.; WCC, Lobby Table near Mail Room

Editorial Internships with Fox Cities Magazine:  Hear first-hand about Fox Cities Magazine’s Editorial Internship from Senior Editor Amelia Compton Wolff. Gain magazine publishing, writing, web and social media experience while getting an inside look at the workings of a monthly publication.
*5 – 6 p.m.; WCC, Kraemer Room

Thursday, Jan. 11
Internships 101:  Before starting the internship search process, attend one of these sessions to learn about support, search techniques and tools available to start your internship search.
*4:30 – 5:30 p.m.; Alice G. Chapman, Career Services Conference Room

* Registration through LUworks is appreciated.

Office Hours with Kimberly Barrett on January 11th

Dr. Kimberly Barrett, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion is hosting open office hours. The first open office hours for Winter Term are being held on January 11th, 2018. Drop by Sampson House, 2nd floor and share ideas, concerns, comments, etc. Appointments are not required, people will be accommodated on a first come-first serve basis.

 

Travel and Business Expense Policy

The new Travel and Business Expense Policy document will become effective February 1, 2018.

Financial services encourages everyone attend one of the scheduled policy review sessions to hear more about the details of the policies and to have your questions answered.

Employees who have administrative roles or assist others on campus with expense reimbursement forms or purchasing card transactions,  your attendance is highly recommended.

Please click on the link below to sign up for one of the sessions to be held on January 12 or February 8, 2018.

http://go.lawrence.edu/12094

Below is a link to the policy.

http://go.lawrence.edu/7569

Thank you!