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| Staff Newsletter | May 2021 |
Dear colleagues,
This is an exciting time at Northwestern! Our clinics have made COVID-19 vaccines available to any employee or student who wants one, we’re preparing for in-person Graduation Weekend celebrations, and the University recently announced that we are extending the Fourth of July holiday by two days this year.
While we still need to keep our guard up against this pandemic, we are planning for as much in-person activity as health guidance allows in the fall. As you saw in last-week's message to employees, the path from our current, largely remote operation to a mostly in-person operation begins in earnest this month and will carry through the summer.
For many staff in the Office of the Provost, this will mark a change in your personal and professional routines of the past 14 months. The return to campus will be a significant—and perhaps challenging—adjustment for some. That is why we are approaching the return deliberately and strategically. I encourage all of you, whether you are eager to get back to your office desk or feeling a bit hesitant, to carefully read the guidance that will be distributed in the coming weeks and months, and to work closely with your supervisors to ensure a shared understanding of your individual expectations.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the work we do to support this world-class institution. In this month’s staff newsletter, we celebrate TiShaunda McPherson’s promotion and meet our first featured colleague, Dreana Rubel, who just might know your birthday. We also highlight the Best Practices Forum, a new interim director of the Women’s Center and much more.
Thank you,
Kathleen Hagerty |
Awards and recognition |
Senior Associate Vice President for Equity
In recognition of her outstanding work and Northwestern’s enhanced emphasis on equity issues, TiShaunda McPherson has been promoted to Senior Associate Vice President for Equity, effective May 1. As part of the promotion, she now has a dotted-line reporting relationship to Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Craig Johnson, further reflecting the Office of Equity's portfolio of responsibilities across the institution. |
All about the staff |
Meet Dreana Rubel
This week’s featured colleague is Dreana Rubel, the center manager at the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching. Dreana has worked at Northwestern for 17 years, all of them in her current role.
What is your favorite thing about Northwestern? One of my favorite things about NU is the campus location on the lake. I do not take advantage of this benefit often enough, but when I do get the chance, it never disappoints.
What do you enjoy about working here? My favorite thing about working at the Searle Center is the great people I have had the honor of working with over the years. I have had so many opportunities to grow and learn from the many great colleagues I have worked with during my time here. Even though I have been here for many years—and for the most part doing the same type of work—there is still always something to learn or a new challenge to conquer. All of these things have kept my work at NU enjoyable for all this time.
Can you share a personal fun fact about yourself? I will never forget your birthday. I have an uncanny ability to remember someone’s birthday after only hearing it once. I may not always remember the birth year, but I easily remember the month and day. This hidden talent has amused many of my colleagues.
Brag about your teammates! We will feature one staff member in each future newsletter. Nominate someone by emailing the Office of the Provost and telling us, in a sentence or two, how your colleague contributes to Northwestern’s mission and why everyone in the Office of the Provost should get to know them.
New staff arrivals
Buffett Institute for Global Affairs
Undergraduate Education
2020-21 Performance Excellence
We’ve reached the time for staff to complete their self-reviews as part of the Performance Excellence process. This is a great opportunity for reflection and documentation of all of the work you have done this year. As a reminder, staff should complete and submit self-reviews electronically to their supervisor in myHR Learn by May 26. Prior to submitting, goals should be edited and attachments added as needed. Here are few resources to help guide you in the process: |
News and notes |
Open Educational Resources Faculty Grants
The Affordable Instructional Resources initiative, which is housed in the Office of Undergraduate Education, recently awarded six Open Educational Resources (OER) Faculty Grants totaling $45,000 that will save students thousands of dollars in textbook costs. These grants provide resources for faculty to create teaching materials that are free, distributed online, and allow anyone to copy, use, adapt and remix the materials for free. OER are commonly used as alternatives to expensive textbooks by providing students with high-quality course readings at no cost. Since the program started in 2019, Northwestern has invested $100,000 in 17 grant awards that will save 3,665 undergraduate students over $350,000 in textbooks costs per year.
Best Practices Forum
The Office of Organizational Strategy and Change will host the annual Best Practices Forum, a staff-focused series of webinars on a variety of topics, beginning on May 4 and continuing through June 3. The forum showcases the exceptional work that occurs across the University, ranging from operational best practices to innovative and inspirational initiatives. View the full schedule and register for webinars online.
Women’s Center Shujaa Award
On International Women’s Day, March 8, the Women’s Center presented its annual Shujaa Award to Facilities Warehouse Manager Trina Whittaker. The Shujaa honors a member of staff whose service to the work of gender justice, equity and inclusion demonstrates courage, tenacity and an ethic of care.
Website redesign
The Office of the Provost continues to engage with the Office of Global Marketing and Communications to launch a redesign of the office’s website. If you would like to share your thoughts about the website, please take two or three minutes to fill out the online survey.
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Help us build future newsletters! If your unit is working on a project that is relevant to the entire Office of the Provost, or if you have awards, honors or accomplishments to share, send an email to officeoftheprovost@northwestern.edu. |
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