UMBC Faculty and Staff: Are you or your child or spouse graduating this spring? Get reserved seating!

If you are a member of UMBC faculty or staff and you or your child or spouse are graduating this spring, we are offering reserved seating!

You and up to six of your guests are eligible for reserved seating at the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 23 at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Md.

For more information and to make your reservations, please contact Liz Lander in the Office of Institutional Advancement at elander1@umbc.edu or 410-455-1725. We would like to hear from you as soon as possible so that we can plan accordingly.

2013 Campus Technology Survey

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) encourages the campus community to complete this brief (10 min) annual survey of information technology services and support. Help us help you by telling us what’s important to you and how we’re doing.

Open Enrollment Correction Period

The State Department of Budget and Management’s Employee Benefits Division has announced an Open Enrollment Correction Period beginning May 8-15, 2013. The correction period allows participants to correct any election mistakes made during the initial open enrollment. This is also an opportunity to make changes if you forgot to call during the initial open enrollment period. Some things to remember:

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system: will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the correction period; current enrollees must use the IVR to make changes; instructions for IVR use are available on the HR website, or in the Benefit Summary book ; the IVR will close 11:59 p.m. on May 15, 2013.

Employees Not Enrolled: if changes are desired, a blank open enrollment form must be submitted (with supporting documentation, if applicable) to the Human Resources Department no later than 2:00 p.m. on May 15, 2013. Blank forms are available by selecting the Open Enrollment link at www.umbc.edu/hr.

Flexible Spending Account: if enrolled in a health care or dependent care spending account and wish to continue coverage, you must re-enroll; remember, spending accunt maximums have been adjusted by half to accommodate the short plan year; please be sure to calculate your healthcare FSA election over 12 pay periods.

Coverage Level Changes: if you added or deleted a dependent, remember to change your level of coverage to ensure the appropriate premiums are assigned for deduction (for example, if adding a child, change coverage from Individual to Employee + 1).

Coverage for the new plan year will be in effect 7/1/2013 through 12/31/2013.

Power Outage in The Commons and Academic Services Building, May 8

The Commons and the Academic Services Building are currently without power due to issues with the generator that was servicing them.

Because many members of our community will be impacted by the outage, Facilities Management, the University Police, the Office of Student Affairs and the Provost’s Office are working to develop a plan to support the services and the faculty, staff and students affected.

We will provide updates here as those plans develop. We sincerely apologize for any difficulties caused by the outage and appreciate your patience as we work to return these buildings to full operation.

Erickson School Presents Institute for Leaders in Senior Living

This week, UMBC’s Erickson School is spearheading the Executive Director Leadership Institute (EDLI) at the annual conference of the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) in Charlotte, North Carolina. The program has expanded from 40 to 200 participants in just one year. It offers a rigorous curriculum designed for rising community leaders in the senior living industry.

Chris Hollister, Southern Assisted Living co-founder and senior fellow at the Leadership Institute at the Erickson School, serves as EDLI 2013 co-leader; Erickson School Dean Judah Ronch serves on the EDLI faculty. Their curriculum will address topics from senior community culture to best practices for memory-impaired residents.

SkillSoft e-Learning Upgraded to SkillPort Version 7.2

We are pleased to announce that our SkillSoft e-Learning system has been upgraded to version 7.2, a change that will offer new and improved features such as streamlined navigation, visual aids and cues, and the ability to place any type of learning asset into “My Plan.”

Log in now to check out the changes for yourself. If you are experiencing any login issues, contact hrtraining@umbc.edu. For technical difficulties, contact SkillSoft at 866-SKIL-HELP (866-754-5435) or support@skillsoft.com.

Search for UMBC Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation

FROM: Nancy Young, Vice President for Student Affairs

As you may remember, Charles Brown has announced that he will retire as Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation on June 30, completing a 24-year tenure that has elevated both the Retrievers’ athletic and academic performance.

We have begun a national search for Dr. Brown’s successor, and I have appointed a search committee to assist the University in identifying a new Director of Athletics. I am pleased to announce that Jack Suess, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO, has agreed to chair the search committee. In 2009, Mr. Suess led our successful NCAA Division I decennial certification process, and through that work, he has a detailed understanding of Athletics. The members of the full committee are listed below, and each member has my sincere gratitude for their willingness to serve.

We have employed Collegiate Sports Associates, a nationally recognized search firm, to work with the committee to help recruit the best and most diverse pool of candidates. As the committee and search firm work to recruit candidates, they would like to hear from members of the campus community about the desired qualities and professional experience of our new Director of Athletics. The committee has already begun reaching out to the community for input. It also will hold an all campus forum on Friday, April 26, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in ITE 229 to gather input that will shape the search process.

Due to the search firm’s recommendation to maintain confidentiality and the fact that the search is starting late in the semester, we are focusing our campus efforts on the qualities we should use to evaluate candidates. We encourage you to attend Friday’s open forum and share your suggestions. While Friday’s forum will be the only open campus forum during the search, you are also invited to share input directly with Vice President Suess or with any of the committee members listed below. The committee and I greatly value community input.

I know that all of us will support the search committee in this important task.

Search Committee Members:

Jack Suess (Chair), Vice President for Information Technology and CIO
Dale Bittinger, Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Stanyell Bruce, Professional Staff Senate Representative
Jesse Fox, Graduate Student Association Representative
Aly Gazarek, Student Athlete Advisory Committee Representative
Hannah Khan, Student Government Association Representative
Cindy Kubiet, Director of Sports Medicine
George LaNoue, Athletic and Recreation Policy Representative
Kim Leisey, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs
Marvin Mandel, NCAA Faculty Representative
Charles Nicholas, Athletic and Recreation Policy Chair
Chase Plummer, Student Athlete Representative
Greg Simmons, Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Valerie Thomas, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
Don Zimmerman, Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach / Pete Caringi, Head Men’s Soccer Coach (Co-Representatives)

Internal Controls Education Session (4/24)

The Auditors are Coming! The Auditors are Coming! Are you ready? Recognizing the benefits of internal controls and understanding internal controls is the responsibility of the campus community. We are having a two-hour session to cover the information you need to be prepared in case the auditors come to your area! This session is appropriate for faculty and staff and is highly recommended for new employees and existing employees who would like a refresher course on Internal Controls.

The session will be Wednesday, April 24, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in the Commons, Room 331.

Register by Tuesday, April 23, at: www.umbc.edu/training (locate the event and click “I can attend.”)

Please contact Sharon Doherty-Ritter in Management Advisory Services at doherty@umbc.edu or ext. 5-1620 for any additional information.

Support URCAD by Encouraging Your Students to Attend

It’s not too late to integrate the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) experience into your classroom!

Encourage your students to take time during class to explore the world of undergraduate research and learn about all the great work their fellow students are doing. Many faculty members have already made URCAD part of their syllabus as extra credit and have reported that their students found the event interesting, engaging and educational.

Some ideas to consider are:

• Specific extra credit, such as a short essay describing the event
• Brief write-up on a student poster or oral presentation
• Q&A for a student’s research project

URCAD gives UMBC undergraduates an opportunity to share their research with colleagues, faculty and staff members and alumni. The projects feature research, scholarship and creative work shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits and performances and film.

The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24,
in the University Center (third floor) and Fine Arts 221 and 317. For a complete schedule of presenters, go to www.umbc.edu/urcad. For specific questions contact Janet McGlynn, Office of Undergraduate Education, at mcglynn@umbc.edu or 410-455-5754.

Roy Meyers, Political Science, on WPR and in the Gazette

In today’s Gazette, Roy T. Meyers, professor of political science, explains his expectation that Gov. O’Malley’s final legislative session will focus on job creation — an issue that will continue to be relevant to any office O’Malley might pursue in the future. Meyers suggests that O’Malley’s decision to run for president in 2016 will likely depend on whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chooses to run, but that in the meantime he should work on building his national visibility on key issues.

For now, the governor’s administration notes that in 2014 he is likely to focus on the economy. Referencing O’Malley’s investments in education, biotechnology and cybersecurity, Meyers says, “He’s adopted a more intelligent job-building strategy, rather than the smokestack-chasing policies of some states.” He continues, “That being said, there are limits to what a governor can do. The reality is it’s going to be a long slog [to recovery].”

Earlier this week, Meyers appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio, discussing the specifics of President Obama’s $3.8 trillion federal budget proposal with CQ Roll Call White House Correspondent Steven Dennis and host Kathleen Dunn.