Inside Gustavus September 24, 2015 | Volume 48, Number 4

 

President's Cabinet Summary 

1. Vice President VanHecke gave a brief update on the circumstances surrounding the hiring of a Director of the Diversity Center.  The College will re-initiate a search for a Director.
2. Chaplains Brian Konkol and Siri Erickson were present to discuss a Multifaith Advisor position in the Office of the Chaplains.  Members approved the hiring of a part-time (4-5 hours per week) advisor position.
3. Members approved the hiring of custodial replacement positions (totaling 120 hours per week).
4. Members approved the hiring of a full-time replacement position of an Assistant Director for Faculty Grants.
5. Discussion was held regarding the agenda for the upcoming Internal Budget Committee.
6. A special Cabinet meeting was scheduled on October 1, 10:30 a.m., to discuss FY 2017 budget initiatives.
7. Vice President Westphal offered a number of beginning-of-year reminders, including the following:
   1. The President and CFO, as approved by the Board of Trustees, are the only authorized contract signers.
   2. Refer to the Accounts Payable section of the Finance Office website for important information about disbursements, travel policy, gift policy, honorariums, etc.
   3. Remind staff of the timelines for the processing of bi-weekly time cards.
   4. Notify the Human Resources Office if an employee ends their employment.

News & Announcements 

Insurance Reminder...Employees covered under the dental insurance offered by Gustavus should have received a Coordination of Benefits Questionnaire in the mail from EBSO, Inc. Please be sure to complete this information and return to EBSO, Inc. Failure to complete this form could result in your dental claims not being processed. Please direct any questions regarding this questionnaire to EBSO, Inc. Customer Service at 800-486-7664. 

TIAA-CREF Individual Counseling Sessions…A TIAA-CREF representative will be on campus on November 23, 24, and 25. Schedule an appointment, online or contact (800) 732-8353, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Thank You...We are so grateful for the wonderful support nursing was given by the Gustavus community during our accreditation site visit last week! We deeply appreciated your time and effort in meeting with the site visitors. Your support was very important in helping us receive an excellent report. Thank you again and again.
--- The Department of Nursing.

Come and join Wellbeing for Employees Support "ME" with WE! Earn over $80 towards your Wellbeing from WE.  Attend four different speaker series from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. on Fridays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, and 30. These sessions will be held in the Jackson Campus Center Konferensrum. The sessions are completely free for employees and will include a free wellness gift every week along with a healthy snack.

The four sessions include:
1. October 2: Informational Session with Interactive Activities
-Come and start your wellbeing journey and become acclimated to the next three speaker series. Receive a wellness welcome gift if you attend.
2. October 9: Physical Wellbeing
-Come learn about the importance of nutritional and physical wellbeing. Exercises you can do at work or right at your desk will be taught and each participant will receive a free resistance band.
3. October 16: Relational Wellbeing
-Come learn about compassionate care and treat yourself and a friend with a $10 gift card to the Courtyard Cafe.
4. October 30: Financial Wellbeing
-Don't let your finances haunt you! Come for a "frost your own" and a no-trick way to healthier finances.

*If you attend ALL four speaker series you will receive a $25 gift card to the St. Peter Co-op.*  Please pre-register for each speaker series to ensure that you will receive a free gift. If you do not pre-register you can still come, all employees are welcome. Register online here.

Online Backup service available...We are pleased to announce that Gustavus Technology Services is providing a CrashPlan PROe online cloud backup service for Gustavus-owned computers.

Once you install CrashPlan PROe, this will back up your data from anywhere you have an internet connection, and is replacing the external (or extra internal) hard drive backup solution. You will no longer need to use the external backup drive after setting up CrashPlan PROe on your computer. CrashPlanPROe will also allow staff and faculty to use their credentials to back up student stations, workstations in faculty labs, or any other Gustavus owned machines.

By default, the GTS CrashPlan PROe service will back up the entire system drive to the CrashPlan PROe cloud, excluding certain file types and directories. If you are unsure where your data is located, please contact the Technology Helpline to schedule an appointment to configure CrashPlan PROe.  To learn more or set up your CrashPlan PROe backup, please visit the CrashPlan webpage.  If you have questions or concerns regarding CrashPlan PROe, please contact the Technology Helpline at 507-933-6111 or helpline@gustavus.edu.

Two Weeks and Counting...The 51st annual Nobel Conference is less than two weeks away. Be sure to visit gustavus.edu/nobel for information and answers to most of your questions. Faculty, staff, and students are reminded to secure their one complimentary ticket by going online to gustavustickets.com. Students without a ticket will be asked to view the conference from Lund Forum in the overflow viewing area.   

Campus Happenings 

Save the Date...All members of the Gustavus community are invited to attend the All-Campus Strategic Action Conference to discuss a draft action plan outline and questions posed by the Strategic Action Team (SAT). This planning conference is scheduled for Friday, September 25, 2015 at 2:30-4:30 p.m. in Lund.

Weekend Home Athletic Events

Support the Golden Gusties at one or more of these home athletic events this weekend:

• The women’s tennis team hosts the 2015 ITA/USTA Midwest Regional Championships on Sept. 25-27.

• The football team hosts Augsburg College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

•  The men’s soccer team hosts the University of St. Thomas at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

•  The women’s soccer team hosts the University of St. Thomas at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Off-Campus Events of Interest

David Fienen, Emeritus Professor of Music and former Provost, will play an organ recital at Elliott Chapel, Presbyterian Homes, Evanston, IL, on Monday, September 28, 2015. The venue houses a tracker pipe organ built by Lynn Dobson and sponsors monthly noon-time recitals, including international organists from 21 countries. Fienen's program will include works by Mendelssohn, Jan Bender, Larry Long, and Bach.
He recently was substitute organist at Union Presbyterian in St. Peter (Sept. 13) and guest organist (Sept. 20) for the 160th Anniversary Service, including Installation of their new Pastor at First Lutheran Church in Red Wing (where Eric Norelius started a school in 1862 that eventually became Gustavus Adolphus College).

In The News 

• The New York Times included Gustavus on their list of the Top Colleges Doing the Most for Low-Income Students. Gustavus ranks 33rd in the nation and first in Minnesota.
• Chris Gilbert (Political Science) was quoted in Jeff Greenfield's Aug. 4 article for Politico Magazine, "What If Trump Wins?"
• Gustavus alumna Esther Mulder's '08 path from foster care to Harvard Law School was featured in the Star Tribune on Sunday, Sept. 20.
• The Mankato Free Press covered the walking play, "Nature," that will take place in Linnaeus Arboretum Sept. 25-27.
• President Bergman, Perry the Corpse Flower, and Gustavus were featured in a Twin Cities Live segment that aired on KSTP on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
• Students Ben Rorem, Tanner Sonnek, Nick Beck, and Chaplain Brian Konkol were pictured on the front page of the Mankato Free Press on Wednesday, Sept. 23 as part of the "7 Days - 7 Pages" program. Throughout the week, the College is displaying The Saint John's Bible in Christ Chapel to commemorate the Pope Francis's visit to North America.
• Chaplain Brian Konkol's latest op-ed, "Pope Francis and an Olive Agenda for America," was published by the Star Tribune and MinnPost on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Social Media Updates

Celebrate the Great Gustie Gathering by using #GoGusties during Homecoming! Remember to follow @gustavus on Twitter and @gustavusadolphuscollege on Instagram for updates throughout the day.



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Inside Gustavus is a newsletter for Gustavus Adolphus College employees produced by the Office of Marketing and Communication. It is published weekly during the academic year (except during the week of Thanksgiving, the Christmas break, Touring Week, and the Spring and Easter breaks). Anyone may submit items by filling out an online submission form. While online submissions are preferred, items may also be submitted typewritten on a letter-sized sheet of paper. Send "snail mail" items to: Inside Gustavus, Office of Marketing and Communication. Items must reach the office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication. For more information, contact Lorie Siebels (lsiebels@gustavus.edu or x7520).

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