5.13.24

Happy Monday—

We did it! We completed another successful academic year at UIS. Thank you to everyone who helped at or attended Commencement. It was amazing to see all the happy faces of graduates, their families and friends. To continue the celebratory atmosphere, I hope to see you in the Student Union Ballroom from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today for our End of Academic Year Party. Thank you to Human Resources for planning the festivities. 

New Information

FAFSA Update

The first round of 2024-25 aid offers were emailed and mailed to more than 1,100 new freshmen and transfer students last week. Returning students and graduate students’ aid offers will be packaged beginning later this month. Thank you to the Office of Financial Aid for their diligent work to get offers to students as soon as possible, and thank you to Campus Services for the boots on the ground to execute this important mailing.  

New Opportunity to Comment on UIS Policies

The Chancellor’s Cabinet is establishing a new opportunity for the university community to comment on proposed university-level policies or significant policy revisions. For at least two weeks prior to taking final action on a proposed policy or significant policy revision, the draft policy will be made available for review and comments.

Protection of Minors

UIS is committed to protecting minors. To ensure the safety of minors while involved in university activities, no adult may be part of any event where they would be in close contact with minors who are not enrolled as university students, without first submitting to and passing a criminal background and sex offender registry check unless such checks have been performed within the past two years and are on file with Human Resources.

After ensuring proper adherence to the planning checklist, the department must submit an event form to Jé Greer in HR for approval, along with any needed background check requests. Please plan on submitting the event form and relevant background check requests to Human Resources at least 30 days prior to the event. 

May Employee Development Series

The next installment of our HR Employee Development Series is Building a Positive Workplace Through Customer Service Values. The workshop will be held 9-11 a.m. May 29 in the Student Union Ballroom. Please RSVP.

Business and Finance Employee Orientation

University Outreach is offering Business & Finance Employee Orientation to all UI System employees every other month. The orientation provides an overview of the units within the Office of the CFO such as University Payroll & Benefits, University Payables, and University Accounting & Financial Reporting, etc. Registration and more info is available here. Questions may be directed to Bernadette Rossmoore or Stacey Ballmes.

Title IX Updates

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education issued new Title IX regulations. Currently, AEO sponsors a sexual violence prevention taskforce composed of UIS students, faculty, staff and local community-based organizations. Members of this taskforce will consider the new regulations and make recommendations for changes to the university’s sexual misconduct policy and procedures for implementation by Aug. 1. 

Information that Bears Repeating

Annual Employee Evaluations

Evaluations for CS and AP employees must be submitted to Human Resources by the end of day June 7. For additional information about HR’s updated electronic evaluation form and more, visit Orbit.

Celebrating Our Star Power

The UIS Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) team demonstrated outstanding performance at the recent SAM International Business Conference in Orlando. Led by Sevilay Onal, assistant professor of management, marketing and operations, the team secured awards in every category of its division.

The College of Business and Management awarded nearly $4,000 in prizes to local high school students who competed in a virtual stock trading competition. Spearheaded by UIS Assistant Professors of Finance Serkan Karadas and Tammy Schlosky, the competition included more than 80 students.

At the recent faculty honors reception, the following individuals were recognized for their outstanding contributions. Tenure, promotions and sabbaticals were also announced.

• Pearson Faculty Award: Tiffany Neilson, chair and associate professor of counseling and social work
• Spencer Faculty Service Award: Jason Piscia, director of the public affairs reporting program and assistant professor in the School of Communication and Media
• Burks Oakley II Distinguished Online Teaching Award: Serkan Karadas, assistant professor of accounting, economics and finance
• Faculty Engagement Award: Devin Hunter, associate professor of history
• Early Career Scholarship Award: Sara Lupita Olivares, assistant professor of English
• Faculty Award for Diversity and Inclusion: Lan Dong, professor of English
• Scholarly Impact Award: John Transue, associate professor in the School of Politics and International Affairs

You’ll hear from me one more time in our every-other-week format, and then once in June and July, respectively. This spring has been fast moving, and sometimes hectic. I hope you’re planning time this summer to unwind and reflect on your accomplishments this academic year.

Janet

Janet L. Gooch, PhD
Chancellor
University of Illinois Springfield