Upcoming project request deadlines

If you have a project request for Q4 2026 (May-July) or beyond, please submit project requests as early as possible to allow time for review. Full details of the project request process, complete ASR Quarterly Planning Calendar, and additional resources are available on the ASR Staff Site.

Dates and deadlines for Q4 2026:

• Project request deadline: March 12
• Project prioritization meeting: April 22
• Start of ASR planning quarter: May 3

Reach out to osi-projects@umn.edu with any questions.

Sports wagering

As we approach basketball and March Madness season, please be aware of the laws on sports wagering and gambling. All ASR employees are prohibited from sports wagering per the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) because we certify student athletes to play, administer their financial aid, and participate in faculty governance for oversight. Any bracket where there is a bet is considered a wager, whether it’s for money or something as simple as an ice cream cone.

The NCAA bylaw prohibits “student-athletes, athletics department staff members, and conference office staff from engaging in sports wagering (Bylaw 10.3). NCAA rules also prohibit non-athletics department staff members who have responsibilities within or over the athletics department, such as chancellors or presidents and faculty athletics representatives from engaging in sports wagering. NCAA national office employees are also prohibited from engaging in sports wagering.” If you have questions or concerns, contact Colleen Harms (harms231@umn.edu).

Take a virtual vacation

Are you feeling the winter blues, but can’t get away for a vacation? If so, a virtual vacation might be the perfect solution. Virtual vacations make tourism accessible to all, regardless of disability, age, or financial status. You can use the power of technology to experience challenging-to-reach terrain, explore heritage sites without navigating steep steps, walk through historic buildings without limitations, and preview destinations before booking—all from the comfort of your own home.

Popular virtual travel experiences:

• Virtual museum tours—Explore museums around the world, like the Vatican or the Louvre.
• Virtual city tours—Walk through the streets of iconic cities such as Tokyo, Rome, or Seoul.
• Virtual nature walks—Experience virtual tours of national parks, gardens, and natural wonders, such as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone.

ClickUp Tips & Tricks: Use tags across lists, folders, and spaces

Clickup tags are perfect for when you need to group, view, or manage related tasks that don't have a strict status, location, or custom field. Tags can be used across folders, spaces, or the entire ASR Workspace. More flexible than custom fields, tags have slightly different functionality:

• You can use a tag for information that applies to a small subset of tasks. A tag takes up less space than an entire column dedicated to a field.
• You can use a tag when information needs to be filtered but does not need to be grouped. For example, if one task is tagged “dog” and another is tagged both “dog” and “small dog,” grouping by tag will separate them.

You can see the ClickUp Help documentation for more information about tags or the ASR ClickUp Tips & Tricks documentation.

ASR Staff Engagement February 19 Survey

This week’s ASR Engagement Survey asks about pets. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences.

Most respondents aced our Valentine’s Day themed quiz. Many were right that it takes about 400 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate (47.8%). In addition, 60.9% of respondents were correct that the heart beats around 100,000 times per day. Finally, California and Pennsylvania are home to the most chocolate makers in the US (82.6%). Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated.

February 5 survey results

According to the National Confectioners Association, how many cocoa beans does it take to make a pound of chocolate?

• 50 (4.3%)
• 200 (4.3%)
• 400 (47.8%)—Correct answer
• 1,000 (43.5%)

On average, how many times does the heart beat per day?

• 25,000 (13%)
• 100,000 (60.9%)—Correct answer
• 500,000 (13%)
• 1,000,000 (13%)

According to the U.S. Census, which two states are home to the most chocolate makers?

• California and Minnesota (4.3%)
• California and Pennsylvania (82.6%)—Correct answer
• California and Colorado (8.7%)
• Pennsylvania and Colorado (4.3%)

Where in the world is ASR?

🎶 From the sunny back offices of Bruininks to the future study spaces of Appleby, where in the world is ASR (Where could they be)? 🎶

With our friends in Facilities Management working hard to get Williamson Hall back up and running from the flood, we’ve gotten creative with our temporary office locations. OTR Service Operations is currently enjoying the beautiful sunlight streaming in from Bruininks and working from the 333 back office. Student workers will be set up in a BruH conference room.

CTS set up a temporary working location in Appleby 9 (a future study space) while OCM onsite staff have utilized Appleby 5 (a service space) as a functional landing place. They’ve been, otherwise, working out of various service spaces and classrooms. They found a kitchenette they could use in Appleby as well, which is helpful. Because during their first week displacement, they had to carry all our food, laptops, various chargers, etc., from space to space. We pride ourselves in our creative resilience, but we hope to return to Williamson soon. Windows sure are nice, but we miss our basement dungeon.

Q3 2026 project prioritization update

ASR is starting 4 new projects for Q3 2026 (February-April). This is in addition to the 19 projects that are currently in the analysis or implementation phase. Refer to the Executive Project Dashboard for a summary of all active projects and accepted project requests.

You can follow the #ASR Project Portfolio ClickUp channel to get updates from the quarterly prioritization and planning process. See the ClickUp help documentation for more information on channels.

Any project requests that were not prioritized for the upcoming quarter will be held in the project backlog for reconsideration. Please submit project requests for the next quarter (Q4 2026) through the ASR Project Request form.

Community outreach opportunities

It’s difficult to go about our daily work when our community is grieving. But grief, anger, fear—whatever emotion you're experiencing right now—is great motivation to help others. No action is too small. If everyone does something, it can have a major impact. We recommend checking out the following local mutual aid networks and organizations and sharing them with others:

• Donate to the MN Community Aid Network. This mutual aid organization serves 200-300 families weekly through food pantries, grocery deliveries, baby supplies, and more.
• Feed families through Dios Habla Hoy Ministries. This South Minneapolis church provides crucial food delivery services throughout Minneapolis. Donate through the Community Food Drive donation page, and help the church continue their efforts.
• Help families pay their rent. Immigration Response Network, a coalition of trusted, local funders in Minnesota, is raising funds to help families meet basic needs, such as rental assistance, food, and health care.
• Shop for Twin Cities Pride. Twin Cities Pride is an organization dedicated to amplifying LGBTQ+ voices across Minneapolis. They also provide community aid through food and supply support. Purchase items from the Twin Cities Pride Community Aid Amazon wishlist, and your donation will support direct outreach.

ClickUp Tips & Tricks: Customize your Home Sidebar

If Clickup feels overwhelming, you can customize your Home Sidebar to minimize distractions and clutter. The Home Sidebar has four default sections: Spaces, Favorites, Channels, and Direct Messages. You can rearrange the default sections and/or add custom sections. To do this, select “More” from the sidebar, then “Customize.” For full instructions, see the ClickUp Help documentation or the ASR ClickUp Tips & Tricks.

ASR Staff Engagement February 5 Survey

This week’s ASR Engagement Survey is a Valentine’s Day-themed quiz. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences.

According to the last survey, most respondents have a vacation planned for this year (73.1%). When asked which new language you would choose to learn this year, most said Spanish (42.3%), followed by Italian (11.5%) and French, Mandarin Chinese, and German (7.7% each).

Finally, we asked what you are looking forward to in 2026. We received many varied responses, including trips both within and outside the country, weddings, time spent with family, and more. Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated.

January 22 survey results

Do you have a vacation planned for this year?

• Yes (73.1%)
• No (26.9%)

You are tasked with learning a new language this year. Which language would you choose?

• Spanish (42.3%)
• Italian (11.5%)
• French (7.7%)
• Mandarin Chinese (7.7%)
• German (7.7%)
• Japanese (3.8%)
• Norwegian (3.8%)
• Vietnamese (3.8%)

What's one thing you are looking forward to in 2026?

• Visiting MN State Parks and historical sites with our kids
• A lot of new book releases!
• Peace
• Trip to Iceland!
• Becoming an aunt!
• Trip to Chicago
• My best friend's wedding!
• Seeing Lady Gaga in concert!