SAC Officer Elections Opens
April 17, 2015
Heroes Behind the Scenes
Our very own SAC Chair, Barb Juknialis (Administrative Director, Department of Bioethics), has been recognized in Cleveland Magazine as an employee who works "diligently to create a kind and productive workplace and community"! Download the article.
President Barbara R. Snyder invites the campus community to nominate a non-faculty staff member for the President’s Award for Distinguished Service. This annual award honors staff members whose outstanding contributions to campus culture have a transformational effect on university colleagues, students or visitors.
Nominations (due March 27th) may come from any university staff, student or faculty member. The Staff Recognition Committee of the Staff Advisory Council will review nomination materials, select outstanding candidates and forward the names and information about those individuals to the Office of the President. The honorees each will receive a $1,000 cash award, have their names engraved on a plaque on display in Adelbert Hall and be honored at a luncheon in June.
On December 16th, Crafters @ Case held their inaugural sale of handmade hats, scarves and mittens, and in just two hours collected more than $500 in sales, and with cash donations and a double-your dollar match via WKYC TV-3, the group was able to donate funds to the Cleveland Foodbank to provide more than 5,400 meals! In addition, the Crafters donated 62 items to Care Alliance and another 65 items to City Mission. Their efforts helped individuals and families from three organizations thanks to your support!
The Staff Training & Development Committee of the Staff Advisory Council would like to extend their most sincere thanks to the campus community for supporting the 2015 Valentine's Day bake sale. The sale raised a record-breaking $879 to support the Staff Educational Enhancement Fund (SEEF)!
This newsletter is published by the Communications Committee of the Staff Advisory Council. To provide comments/feedback, email: sac-communications@case.edu.
Committee Highlight: Communications
Providing information about issues and events that affect staff members
The Communications Committee works to inform CWRU employees regarding issues and events that affect staff members. The team provides a means for staff to express concerns, ideas and feedback to the appropriate University body. Some highlights of actions taken by the SAC Communications Committee within the last year:
- Development of the Constituency email lists: each elected SAC representative has been assigned a group of staff people to whom he/she reports updates/news from the Staff Advisory Council. This initiative has served as a conduit of communication between individuals within departments/schools and the larger university.
- Publish a quarterly newsletter
- Maintain and update the SAC Webpages: currently transferring content to the Terminal 4 format
- Provide mechanism to promote feedback from staff to CWRU administration through surveys within the newsletter.
The Communications Committee meets at 2:00pm on the second Thursday of each month, either by teleconference or in lunchtime meetings. If you are interested in this committee, please visit the website; you do not have to be a member of SAC to serve.
Questions? Email co-chairs: Diana Fox (diana.fox@case.edu) or Shannon Swiatkowski (shannon@case.edu).
Member Highlight: Robert Slovenec
Accountant, flight instructor, and avid golfer
Bob Slovenec has worked at CWRU for the last seven years as a financial manager and purchasing agent for over eleven infectious disease labs in the Molecular Biology department. Bob says that he is inspired daily by his co-workers: creative, dedicated researchers who work tirelessly to eradicate illnesses such as HIV. Bob brings a wide range of professional experience to his work at CWRU. Trained as an accountant, he has also worked as a professional flight instructor, and was employed through the automotive division of Sherwin Williams for 14 years.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Bob has been married to his wife, Linda, for 36 years. Together they have three adult children. When he’s not at work, Bob can be found on the ski slopes, the golf course, or playing “handyman” around his house.
Elected in the fall of 2014, Bob got involved in the Staff Advisory Council when a co-worker nominated him to be a representative. He appreciates that SAC keeps staff members aware of what is going on within the university, and he has been an active member of the SAC Communications Committee. He encourages others to “not be afraid to jump in” because “You just might be surprised at the contribution you are able to make.” Thanks for your participation in SAC, Bob!
Fringe Benefits Highlight: Wellness Benefits
Are you leaving money on the table?
The Wellness programs highlighted here all have an “incentive” associated with them. In addition to the incentive of “being more healthy,” you can receive $100 - $200 in cash at the end of the year for your participation.
All faculty and staff may participate in wellness programs even if they are not part of the Benelect plan.
The University’s 2015 Wellness offerings are:
- Health Risk Appraisal, Biometric Screening, and Tobacco Attestation completion in 2015 will lead to $25 incentive paid monthly, reducing your health care expense.
- “Get Fit Together” is an 8-week class on nutrition basics to help improve your eating habits. It is paired with exercise tips to help attain healthy living goals and is offered by CWRU’s health care plan.
- “Weight Watchers” offers weekly sessions to motivate and inspire weight loss goals. Discounts are available to University employees enrolled in participating health care plans.
- “Stress Management and Resilience Training” is an 8-week interactive class on managing stress to improve overall health and well-being. The focus is on evidence-based strategies for building stress resilience. Weekly meditation sessions help reduce stress, improve focus and concentration, and improve general wellness.
- "Mindfulness" is a program designed to improve your ability to focus and positively impact your overall health and well-being.
- “Tobacco Cessation” is an 8-week class that helps participants achieve the goal of ending tobacco use. This program offers individual coaching and/or over-the-counter nicotine replacement products. Employees can also use “Quitline,” a free telephone service that is coupled with a 4-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy.
Get Fit Together, Stress Management, and Tobacco Cessation seminars are FREE. Completing them will qualify you for the $100 Program Incentive payment at the end of the year.
Did you know?
The following are applicable to all staff members:
Printing Services’ Thwing Center location is a full-service FedEx facility
Thwing Center Printing Services location has transitioned to a full-service FedEx facility. FedEx Office offers a complete line of services relating to copying and digital printing. Options include binding and finishing services that make it easy to create, produce and distribute presentations, brochures, manuals and other printed documents. FedEx Office is also the leading provider of signs, graphics and banners. The purpose of this relationship is to give CWRU access to the programs that FedEx Office offers. Spend some time reviewing each section on their website to see how you can benefit from the FedEx Office Network. FedEx Office can be contacted at 216.229.2111 or by emailing usa5686@fedex.com.
Weight Watchers subsidy available for benefits-eligible employees in 2015
Beginning Jan. 1, a 50% subsidy is available for benefits-eligible faculty and staff interested in joining Weight Watchers. The subsidy is available for Weight Watchers Meetings (at work or in the community; includes online access) and for Weight Watchers Essentials (online program).
Weight Watchers Meetings
Monthly Pricing: $36.50
Subsidy: 50 percent
Your Monthly Cost: $18.25
Weight Watchers Essentials
Monthly Pricing: $16.10
Subsidy: 50 percent
Your Monthly Cost: $8.05
The subsidy is taxable for members.
To purchase either offering, or for more information, visit wellness.weightwatchers.com and enter:
Employer ID: 21123
Employer Passcode: ww21123
One weekly meeting on campus occurs Thursdays from noon to 12:45 p.m. in the Thwing Center’s Cleveland Room. A new weekly meeting—Wednesdays from noon to 12:45 p.m. in the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Room 2280—will be added if enough participants join.
Sign up online for the 2015 Farm Food Program
The Case Western Reserve University Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program has officially launched for its fourth season.
A CSA allows community members to invest in local farms and receive fresh produce in return. Better yet, when shareholders join, they support the university’s farm, located just 10 miles east of main campus.
At the CWRU Farm, the staff is committed to growing only organic (chemical-free, non-GMO) products.
The CSA will run from mid-June to late October. New this year, shareholders can sign up online and can also sign up for one month at a time. To read more about the program and to claim your spot, visit students.case.edu/farm/food/farmcsa.html
New LGBTQ research group to be formed at CWRU
The Office of Faculty Development in cooperation with the LGBT Center and the CWRU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies (LGBTA) Committee, will sponsor the formation of an LGBTQ research group on campus.
This new interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff and administrators will focus on scholarly endeavors and research projects and/or initiatives related to LGBTQ studies. Those interested in, or currently conducting research in, LGBTQ studies or diversity content areas related to LGBTQ studies should consider participating in this new research group.
An initial meeting will take place in late February or early March. Any faculty, staff or administrator who wishes to be involved with the new research group and notified of meetings may join the list serve by emailing Hadassah Sweet at hadassah.sweet@case.edu
Questions? Contact Amanda Shaffer, director of the Office of Faculty Development, at 216.368.8874 or amanda.shaffer@case.edu; Matthew Garrett, co-chair of the CWRU LGBTA Committee at 216.368.2496 or chorus@case.edu; or Liz Roccoforte, director of the LGBT Center, at 216.368.5428 or liz.roccoforte@case.edu.
New second password field when using the VPN
The Case Western Reserve University Virtual Private Network (VPN) underwent a significant change on January 26th.
What changed?
Case Western Reserve incorporated two-factor authentication into the VPN. Two-factor authentication provides added security by prompting you for a unique code in addition to your password. The unique code is usable only once, and it is accessible from the device of your choosing (typically your cell phone). Each time you log in, you are issued a new code.
You will now see a “Second Password” field when you access the VPN using the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client. This purpose of this new field is to accommodate the two-factor authentication code.
What do I need to do?
Right now, enrollment in DuoSecurity (CWRU’s two-factor authentication service) is optional. If you are not enrolled in DuoSecurity, simply enter some arbitrary text in the “Second Password” field and log in normally. You will be unable to log in if you leave this field blank.
If you are enrolled in DuoSecurity, you enter your unique code. To learn how to access this code, visit securityaware.case.edu.
Why is this change occurring?
Two-factor authentication protects your account in the event that your password is stolen. VPN is the first university service to receive this added protection, with others soon to follow on a mandatory basis. All members of the university community are encouraged to enroll in DuoSecurity two-factor authentication today. For more information, visit securityaware.case.edu.
Assistance is available anytime by contacting the ITS Service Desk at 216.368.HELP (4357) or help@case.edu.
T&E Hotel Itemizer in Hotel Expense "Detail"
Hotel Itemizer allows the entry of hotel bills that need to be split for things like parking, internet/telephone charges and food through one process. There are screen shots available to guide you through. Please let Michael Kurutz know if you have questions.
Export Compliance Program can help when engaging in a project with an international connection
Case Western Reserve University supports the dissemination of knowledge and technology in ways that are consistent with U.S. national security objectives. Federal export control laws, which restrict transmissions of certain information, technologies, materials, and equipment to foreign nationals, affect a broad range of university activities such as research, international shipping, purchasing products from foreign vendors, and international travel.
The Case Western Reserve University Export Management Program is dedicated to providing centralized resources and assistance for all university export control-related activities. Crucial to maintaining compliance is faculty, staff, and student awareness of export control issues to be able to recognize potential problems as they arise.
Please contact us at exportcontrol@case.edu if you need more information or have specific questions.
Free Tobacco Cessation Program For Faculty, Staff & Students!
This program is open to any CWRU faculty, staff or student who has the desire to end their tobacco use. Participants will:
- Assess their readiness to end tobacco use
- Identify personal motivations and obstacles
- Develop awareness of techniques to avoid possible triggers
- Engage in a step-by-step program for ending tobacco use through self-discovery and group support, including behavior change, importance of good nutrition, exercise and stress management.
Participants should plan on attending all eight, one-hour sessions: April 1 - Crawford 720 (12:30-1:30 pm)
- April 8 - Crawford 720 (12:30-1:30 pm)
- April 15 - Adelbert M2 (12:30-1:30 pm)
- April 22 - Crawford 209 (12-1 pm)
- April 29 - Crawford 209 (12-1 pm)
- May 6 - Crawford 209 (12-1 pm)
- May 13 - Adelbert M3 (12:30-1:30 pm)
- May 20 - Crawford 720 (12:30-1:30 pm)
The program requires no out-of-pocket cost, but registration is required. Register by Friday, March 27th, to Valerie Clause atvclause@easeatwork.com or 216.325.9323. The series is presented by Ease@Work and is facilitated by Clause, a smoking cessation program facilitator certified by the American Lung Association.
SAC General Council Minutes
Minutes are posted on the SAC Website. All staff are invited to attend General Council Meetings. The 2014-2015 meeting schedule is as follows:
April 17, 2015, 10:00-11:30, Toepfer Room
June 12, 2015, 10:00-11:30, Toepfer Room
August 14, 2015, 10:00-11:30, Toepfer Room