Thursday, July 25! ASR picnic and raffle

The ASR picnic and raffle is on Thursday, July 25, 11:30-1:30 p.m. on the Bruininks Plaza. Remember to bring cash for raffle tickets if you’d like to bid for items (or donate to the Student Success Fund). One ticket equals one bid and you can bid on as many items as you like, or all your tickets on one item. Up to you. Tickets are priced as follows:

• Get 1-9 tickets and pay $1.00 each
• Get 15 tickets and pay $10
• Get 35 tickets and pay $20

The raffle will help raise money for the Student Success Fund. You can donate items for the raffle any time between now and the day before the picnic (you have four business days!). Print a donation form to go with your items. Drop your donation and form with one of the following:

• Megan Wollner in Fraser Hall 253
• Julie Selander in Bruininks Hall 225
• Eleanor Pijut in Williamson Hall 160M

Students received 2019-20 aid awards

Staff in the Office of Student Finances have completed the first round of 2019-20 financial aid packages. A total of 17,066 undergraduates and 4,125 graduate and professional students received aid award packages. We sent emails to them in groups of 5,000 on July 15 to let them know they can view their aid in MyU. We will continue to package aid awards as students continue to submit financial aid applications for 2019-20.

Kudos!

Our financial wellness program for students was ranked #15 in the nation by lendedu.com in their list for the top 50 college financial literacy programs. ASR’s Financial Wellness Committee is made up of members from One Stop Student Services and the Office of Student Finance, with financial wellness being an overarching initiative of ASR. The focus of the programming is to provide education and resources to students around academic and personal finances. Way to go!

Thank you cards

Giving someone at work a thank you card is a nice way to take a moment to share your appreciation. We have three varieties of ASR-branded thank you cards that you can use any time. Stamps are also available if you need them. The cards are available in supply areas in our different buildings:

• Fraser: near the Ricoh copier cube in 200, adjacent to the walk stations
• Williamson: in the filing cabinet under the outgoing mail bins
• Bruininks: in Student Account Assistance and One Stop supply areas

Registration is open for fall 2019 OED workshops

The Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) offers free workshops for staff including the opportunity to earn the Equity and Diversity Certificate. The certificate helps participants develop tools for advancing equity and diversity in their personal and professional lives. You can also take individual workshops; they do not need to be completed in any order.

New employee affinity group

A new affinity group on campus called Disabled Employees at the U (DEU) was recently established by the University’s Disability Resource Center. The purpose is to build an inclusive and accessible community led by and for disabled employees. They promote personal, professional, and educational development. Disability includes, but is not limited to, vision impairment, deaf/hard of hearing, mental health conditions, intellectual disabilities, acquired brain injury, autism spectrum, and physical disabilities.

The DEU’s first event will be a meet-and-greet on Wednesday, July 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the U’s Farmer’s Market outside McNamara Alumni Center (look for the big balloons). If you can’t make the event but would like to stay informed, email deu@umn.edu so they can add you to their email list. Read the DEU’s mission and values.

Merit compensation

Last week the Board of Regents finalized the budget and approved a 2.25% compensation pool for civil service and P&A staff. If you are civil service or P&A, were hired before January 1, did not have a reclass after January 1, and received a 2 or 3 on your performance appraisal, you received a 2.25% increase. (Bargaining unit increases are determined by contracts.) Merit increases were effective as of June 10, appearing on the July 3 pay date according to the pay period schedule. You can review your compensation history in MyU, navigate to My Pay, and click on “Compensation History” near the bottom.