ASR spring staff event

We're gearing up for a great ASR Staff Event! As a reminder, the event is on Wednesday, May 21 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. in Science Teaching & Student Services (STSS). Check-in any time between 8-8:30 a.m. outside of STSS 230. The morning will kick off with an update from Sue Van Voorhis, ASR Director & University Registrar, followed by a keynote address from Dr. Danita Brown Young, Vice Provost for Student Affairs & Dean of Students.

Staff will then head off to a breakout session followed by two mini-breakout sessions. Lunch from The Lunch Cube will be served at noon in STSS 412.

A few reminders:

- The River Walk tour is rain or shine - pack an umbrella if needed!
- Both River Walk sessions are first come, first served and capped at 50 people. If you plan to attend either River Walk session, please mention it to staff at check-in.
- If you plan on attending the "Apply Your Strengths" breakout session, you must have completed the StrengthsQuest assessment before the session begins. If you need to do so, please contact Christa Nicols at nicol072@umn.edu.

The full agenda, including session details and speaker bios, can be found on the ASR Intranet. Copies of the agenda, including session locations, will be available at check-in.

Used equipment lottery winners

Thank you to all that entered the Used equipment lottery! Two winners were drawn: Diego Garcia and Eric Topping. Twenty-seven people entered the drawing. Congratulations to Diego and Eric!

ASR cleaning day

Get ready for the ASR cleaning day on June 5! Beginning at noon and ending at 4:30 p.m., you are encouraged to spend the afternoon organizing your workspace. You may choose to organize your files (paper and electronic), wipe down surfaces, and get rid of old or unused equipment. Clearly labeled hampers will be available for paper and office product recycling. Any confidential recycling should be disposed of in the locked confidential recycling container in your office.

New Astra Schedule tutorial

Have you recently submitted a room request? If so, you may want to check on the status of your request. To do so, you can now watch a quick Astra Schedule tutorial that shows you how to view and manage room requests. It is available on the Astra Schedule homepage and on the Office of Classroom Management (OCM) website. Please feel free share these links with anyone else who may be interested.

Disability Services name change

The name of Disability Services has changed to Disability Resource Center. The change in name is intended to better reflect the center's mission of "advancing access for everyone" by removing barriers in the learning and working environments of the University. As the name change is rolled out during May and June, ASR will be updating its communications, including forms, to reflect the new name.

Don't forget to enroll for Duo Security

As previously mentioned in News & Notes, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) announced the University's transition to a new cloud-based, two-factor authentication solution, Duo Security. Please remember to set up your office telephone, cell phone, or another device to use Duo, or request a new Duo hardware token by Wednesday, May 21. For more information regarding this change, visit the News & Notes blog.

Amount vs. number

This is an easily confused grammar rule! Amount refers to things that cannot be counted. For example: loyalty, faith, heartache, water, and snow. Number, on the other hand, refers to things that can be counted. For instance, users, timelines, ships, pebbles, and tips. Here's a helpful diagram remember the difference. (Thanks to Dan Delaney in OTR for suggesting this grammar tip!).