The people in your neighborhood: Cosmin Tarau

Originally from Cluj, Transylvania, Romania, Cosmin Tarau loves to travel. He's been to Europe, Asia, and several states in the U.S. He even owns a vacation home in Oahu, Hawaii and a cabin in Wisconsin.

While in high school, Cosmin took one of the most important trips of his life. He moved to Orange County, California to be with his parents, who had moved there six years prior. "I didn't know any English, and I didn't like being there," Cosmin said. "But things fell into place, and I'm really glad that my parents had us come to the U.S., even though we were separated for six years."

Now, Cosmin's parents still live in Orange County, while he moved to St. Paul seven years ago. Cosmin and his wife have been married seven years and have an 11-month-old son named Sam.

This past December, Cosmin got his bachelor's in business management from Metro State University. He is considering getting his master's of business administration from Carlson School of Management.

This past May, Cosmin started working in ASR as a principal collections representative supervisor for Student Account Assistance (SAA).

"This is my first time working at a University and dealing with student debt," Cosmin said. "I work with students to make sure they have money to pay back their loans." Before ASR and his tour in Iraq, Cosmin worked in collections dealing mostly with credit card debt and repossession services.

In his spare time, Cosmin loves to travel, swim, ski, and snowboard. "Now that I have a kid, I spend most of my time taking care of my son," Cosmin said. "But I love doing anything in the water. I grew up in the water." In fact, he has been certified in SCUBA diving since 2007.

Cosmin is also a veteran. He was in the military for six years and did a tour in Iraq for a year as a motor vehicle transportation operator. "When I was deployed overseas, I was in a supervisory role in the military," Cosmin said. "I drove the lead vehicle in a convoy of over 50 trucks."

After being deployed overseas for a year, Cosmin remembers feeling happy to see his family again and incredibly proud of himself. "That first day back in Minnesota was amazing," Cosmin said. "Everyone was greeting us and thanking us for our service. It was a moment that made me proud to be American."

Crux of Cosmin
1. Cosmin's first concert was Coachella.
2. Cosmin swam competitively for more than 12 years.
3. If Cosmin could be any superhero with any superpower, he would be Aquaman, so he could swim fast enough to beat Michael Phelps.
4. His favorite food is Sarma.
5. His dream house is one of the homes off East River Road.
6. His wife attended the U of M and is now a chemical engineer at 3M.
7. His hometown of Cluj is known for having one of the biggest medical schools in Europe.
8. His favorite show is the Simpsons, and he has seen every episode.
9. Cosmin doesn't read unless he has to, but the last book he read was Legends of Olympus, and his favorite book is an insurance law textbook.
10. He dressed as Count Dracula for Halloween one year. "Given my background, it seemed appropriate," he joked.

U of MN selected as a military friendly school

The University was named by G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School for 2013. This means the U ranks in the top 15 percent of all colleges, universities, and trade schools nationwide. Way to go, us!

Representing ASR at the University Senate

The 2012-13 academic year marks a century of shared governance at the University of Minnesota. ASR is represented on the University Senate by Travis Trautman (Academic Professional Senator), Carolyn Davidson and Paula Seeger (Civil Service Senators). Several events are planned to highlight the centennial achievement and you are invited to participate. There are also several Senate committees and subcommittees that are still actively seeking members. Find more information online or contact one of your representatives for more information about how you can participate.

Changes to U of M sign-in pages

On Friday, September 28, 2012, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) updated the University of Minnesota sign-in page. Due to feedback from the University community, the guest account creation and student account initiation links now send users to a new page that provides more detail about how to choose the proper account.

Enterprise System Upgrade Project kick-off on October 16

Save the date for the the Enterprise System Upgrade Project (ESUP) Kickoff Event on Tuesday, October 16, at 1 p.m.

The event will begin with an opening session that provides an overview of the project for ESUP team members, as well as managers, University leadership, and other key stakeholders. This will be followed by more detailed sessions specifically for ESUP team members, discussing methodology, roles and responsibilities, and more.

Kickoff planning is underway, and more details about the location and agenda will be shared as they are finalized. For now, staff who will be working on the project full-time should plan to attend from 1 to 4 p.m. University leaders and others not formally on the project team can plan to leave after the opening session or follow the discussions online via streaming video.

PeopleSoft, related applications unavailable on October 13 & 14

Beginning Saturday, October 13, the Office of Information Technology will upgrade the critical software (PeopleTools) that supports PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and Financials. To accommodate this upgrade, all PeopleSoft systems (e.g., Financials, HR, and Student Administration) and related applications (including One Stop self service), will be unavailable from 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 13 until 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 14. Batch jobs will not run during the upgrade. Full functionality will be restored by 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 14.

This upgrade will allow the University to continue to receive technical support from Oracle, and is a critical building block for the Enterprise System Upgrade Project. More information is available on the PeopleTools Upgrade page.

Schedule Builder launched on October 1

A new scheduling tool called Schedule Builder launched October 1, 2012. Students and advisers can use this tool to create class schedules based on selected courses. Students using Graduation Planner will be able to include the courses they've placed in their graduation plans as well. It also allows students to email possible schedules to their inbox and then print for reference during registration.