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Northwestern Office of the Provost

Staff Newsletter | October 2022

 

Dear colleagues,

 

From supporting academic conferences to visiting speakers to food truck visits, the Office of the Provost regularly promotes programming for the professional, intellectual and personal benefit of students, staff and faculty. This year, with the World Cup men's soccer tournament taking place on the doorstep of our Qatar campus, we're trying something else new and exciting: More Than a Cup: Outside the Touchlines of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

 

This academic series, put together with partners across Northwestern's campuses, will address the intersection of sports and society from the perspectives of gender, race, human rights and sports journalism. I hope you are able to participate in one of the events.

 

I also am pleased to share that President Michael Schill will join us tomorrow for the Fall Quarter Office of the Provost all-staff meeting in the Norris University Center's McCormick Auditorium. After President Schill's brief remarks, Women's Center Director Sarah Brown will give a presentation on the center's new strategic plan. And remember, following the all-staff meeting, The Block Museum invites all of us to a special private viewing of the new fall exhibition, "Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s – 1980s."

 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

 

Thank you,

 

Kathleen Hagerty
Provost and Professor

All about the staff

 

Bob Klaszky smiles into the camera while wearing a military uniform.

 

Meet Capt. Bob Klaszky

 

This month’s featured colleague is Capt. Bob Klaszky, professor of naval science and commanding officer of the Naval ROTC Chicago Area Consortium. The Consortium consists of NROTC units at Northwestern and Illinois Institute of Technology with cross-town university participation from Loyola University Chicago and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Bob has served in this role since 2020.

 

What is your military background?

I was commissioned in May 1992 and have more than 30 years of Naval service. I am a career surface warfare officer whose primary duty is to serve on U.S. Navy ships at sea. I have served on seven different ships including two frigates, a destroyer, a cruiser, an aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship, and commanded the U.S. Navy's first-ever afloat forward staging base ship. When not on shipboard duty, I served in a variety of shore commands including tours at Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and Commander, Carrier Strike Group Eight in Norfolk, Va.

 

What do you enjoy about working with students?

Each day I am simply amazed at the hard work and dedication of our NROTC students (termed midshipmen). Life as a college student is already very demanding, but add in life as an NROTC midshipman with early morning physical fitness requirements and other military duties and it can become very stressful, especially for our new freshmen. They all take it in stride, lean on each other for support, and consistently give 100%. To see our students progress through the NROTC program then commission as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps has been the highlight of my tour here at Northwestern.

 

Can you share a personal fun fact about yourself?

I grew up in northern Illinois (Libertyville) and commissioned through this very same NROTC Consortium back in 1992. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be back here more than 30 years later as the professor of naval science and commanding officer. It is a such a bittersweet way to complete my naval career as I prepare for retirement in September 2023.

 

Brag about your teammates! We feature one staff member in each 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

  • May Malone, Assistant Director of Global Communications and Engagement
  • Ashley Murrow, Program Assistant (Office of International Student and Scholar Services)
  • Zachary Shulman, Program Coordinator

Center For Civic Engagement

  • Augustin Haffner, Northwestern Public Interest Program Fellow

Health Professions Advising

  • Kayla James, Operations Assistant

Office of Equity

  • Patrice Arnwine, Equity Specialist

Office of Undergraduate Research

  • Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley, Education Program Manager

Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching

  • Laura Ferdinand, Postdoctoral Scholar

Undergraduate Admission

  • Sofia Bening, Assistant Director of Admissions
  • Abigail Feenstra, Transfer Student Specialist

University Registrar

  • Alison Phillips, Business Systems Analyst Associate
  • Atanas Maximov, Research Analysis and Reporting Associate Senior

 

Ask the experts: Cyber safety, security and privacy

 

Is this link safe to click? Is this offer legitimate? Is it OK to share or download this file? Have you found yourself asking these questions? Learn how to determine the answers. Drop into the Security and Privacy Office Hours from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 25 and ask a panel of experts these and other questions about navigating the sometimes-confusing cyber world. Panelists include Brandon Grill, senior director for technology planning and security; Kate Cosgrove Booth, assistant vice president for risk and compliance; and Amy Weber, senior director of export controls and international compliance.

 

A new employee assistance program

 

Northwestern recently launched a new employee assistance program, SupportLinc, for faculty, staff and their household members, which offers free, confidential and 24/7 access to mental health and well-being services and resources, including short-term counseling.

 

Performance goals due Oct. 26

 

The first Performance Excellence deadline for 2022-23 is approaching. By Wednesday, Oct. 26, all staff must have goals entered in myHR Learn. Additional information and job aids to help staff (i) determine goals with their supervisor, (ii) enter/edit/delete goals in the system, and (iii) track goal progress can be found on the Human Resources website. As a reminder, the recommendation is to set two to four goals that follow the SIMple framework: 

 

S = Specific or objective measurable
I = Important or aligned with our unit goals
M = Meaningful or motivating to you

 

As noted in our August newsletter, the Office of the Provost recently refreshed its strategic priorities, which are guided by the University's goals. Individual goal-setting provides ample opportunity for staff and supervisors, together with unit leaders, to consider how your work and your unit support and contribute to these commitments.

News and notes

 

Professional development program on internationalization

 

Assistant Provost for Faculty Celina Flowers and Director for Native American and Indigenous Affairs Jasmine Gurneau joined 11 other university administrators from the Big Ten Academic Alliance for a week in Germany as the capstone to a six-month professional development program on internationalization in higher education. The goal of the program is for higher education professionals to gain a greater understanding of best practices for campus internationalization and partnership development while reflecting on how their own roles intersect and support international efforts at their university.

 

Women's Center fall activities

 

After hosting open houses in Evanston and Chicago, the Women's Center continues to plan an active fall:

  • The annual fall reading group launched Oct. 20 and takes place every Thursday for the remainder of the quarter. The reading is the recently released "Saving Our Own Lives: A Liberatory Practice of Harm Reduction" by Shira Hassan.
  • The Queer Parenting Group, co-hosted by CARE, meets every first Tuesday of the month. The next meeting will be Nov. 1.
  • The Earth Seed Black Family Archive Project: Roots and Reflections will take place virtually on Nov. 15. This event is a partnership between the Women’s Center, the Earth Seed Black Family Archive Project and One Book One Northwestern and is co-sponsored by the Department of African American Studies, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, The Department of History and the School of Communication.

 

In case you missed it

  • Julio M. Ottino, dean of the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, will step down as dean at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. 
  • Alicia Löffler, executive director of the Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO), will step down at the end of the 2022 Fall Quarter after 12 years in INVO and more than 20 years at Northwestern. 
  • Mike Raab has been named executive director of Northwestern University’s hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation, The Garage.
  • Northwestern announced the formation of a search committee to identify the next dean of the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music.
  • View more news from around the University.

Mark your calendar

 

Featured University events

Key dates

More resources

 

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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