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This is a guest post written by Dr. Barbara Roberts, Executive Director, MSU WorkLife Office.

Fall has always felt like the real new year to me. The heat begins to abate and cozy fall clothes come out of the closet. Summer flowers make way for the more hearty autumn foliage, and barbecue menus give way to crisp apples. School starts, with new courses, books, apartments and friends, and as faculty and staff, we gear up to meet the new class and a year full of challenges and triumphs shared, both at home and at work.

This fall in particular, many of us look forward to a fresh start, after tumultuous spring and summer semesters. I want you to know that the WorkLife Office is here to help you with all of those transitions, added stresses and busy fall tasks as you start afresh. From relocating to a new home to locating care for children or elders, we can help.

Studies show we are more inclined to spend the same amount of money on objects that don’t provide happiness than on help that would save us time and energy. Turn over a new fall leaf in your favor, and try logging in to Care.com to find the support you need with in-home services like housecleaning, fall garden clean-ups, pet care, errands, etc. Let someone else help so you can do more of what brings you joy in this new academic year.

The WorkLife Office is also committed to helping connect you to the resources you need and connecting you to your community in meaningful ways. We are dedicated to helping you start this new year smoothly, honoring your work and personal lives with fresh approaches.

We encourage you to join our email list to keep updated on the many educational opportunities available to you through our office as well. Stay tuned for information about this year’s Fatherhood Forum, Women’s Networking Association and Academic Women’s Forum schedules, our annual WorkLife Conference – this year’s focus is on “Building Community in a Culture of Change,” and several Lunch and Learn workshops to help set you up for success this year!

This week’s job of the week is a Health Information Technician (#522955) for the MSU Health Team Health Information Management/Medical Records department. This position is seeking an individual to analyze patient records, release health information and interact with insurance and legal agencies, among other duties. The responsibilities for this role include verifying handwritten medical notes, indexing and classifying documentation, and interacting with health care facilities and university personnel.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a high school education, one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in typing, word processing, database, spreadsheet and/or data entry applications, using archival equipment and knowledge of medical terminology and/or technical training related to the field of employment; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Will you be engaged in research this fall or spring semester? There are several services to help you get to and from your research activities. You can take advantage of the free on-campus bus service with CATA. But if you’re concerned about being able to transport your research animals and materials, the Research Ride Shuttle can assist you.

The Research Ride Shuttle is a complimentary service for faculty, staff, and students that are engaged in research activities. It allows you to bring animals and research materials on the ride. To ride the shuttle, you must make a reservation due to limited seating. To make a reservation, visit the shuttle’s website. Once you’ve confirmed your research activity, you’ll have access to the shuttle’s app on your phone and a GPS feature that allows you to track the shuttle at all times.

Shuttle locations and departures include the Administration Building, Anthony Hall/Trout, Biochemistry/Biophysics building, Vet Medical Center, the Clinical Center, and URCF. If you have any questions, contact shuttle@ora.msu.edu or access their website here.

Do you know about the discounts offered through MSU Benefits Plus? All benefits-eligible MSU faculty and staff have access to these special savings. Here you’ll find discounts and special offers on a variety of products and services, such as hotels, car rentals, theme parks, entertainment and more!

To access all the discounts, visit MSU Benefits Plus and sign-up for a free account using your ZPID number (located on your Spartan Card ID badge), or you can find the number in EBS.

Here is a sample of some of the discounts you’ll find on the MSU Benefits Plus website:

Apple – Enjoy employee pricing on your favorite Apple products, including select SONOS systems! Take advantage of these exclusive prices.

AT&T – Take 17% off qualifying service plans including Mobile Share Flex. To register online, follow this link or visit any corporate-owned AT&T wireless store and refer to FAN number 2392567.

AVIS – Don’t pass up exclusive savings when renting a car for business or personal use. Save 10% on your AVIS rental when you book in advance. Use corporate code V947031 at any corporate AVIS location, or call 517-323-9132 or 517-372-8972.

Chrysler – MSU faculty and staff have access to exclusive rates on Chrysler vehicles. Get Preferred Pricing on all new Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram Truck brand vehicle purchases or leases when you use company code DU8FT3. Enter the code on their website.

Disney – Save big on ticket packages to the house of mouse! Find deals for up to $60 off multi-day park admission or get free days when you buy Park Hopper passes in advance. Get more information on this deal.

Douglas J – Get ready for the new school year with the right look. MSU faculty and staff will receive 20% off services at the Douglas J Salon in East Lansing Exchange and East Lansing Aveda Institute locations. Present your MSU ID at checkout to redeem, learn more about Douglas J.

Enterprise Rental – Stay mobile when you’re on the road with 5% savings on Enterprise car rentals. Shop discounted rates automatically.

Connect Your Home – New customers receive up to $200 in Visa Gift Cards when they open a home-service account through AT&T, CenturyLink, COX, DIRECTV, DISH, Earthlink, Exede, Frontier, HughesNet, Spectrum, Vivint, Windstream, or Xfinity. Learn more about your rewards.

The Learning Care Group – Take advantage of exclusive savings of 10% off care for children ages 2-12 at all Learning Care Group schools. Eligible brands include Childtime Learning Centers, La Petite Academy, The Children’s Courtyard, Tutor Time, Montessori Unlimited, Creative Kids Learning Center, and Everbrook Academy. Learn more here.

Lenovo – Lenovo PCs are classroom ready! Now through September 19th, receive up to 38% off select A+ technologies and up to 50% off accessories that are sure to make the grade. Take care of your entire Back to School tech shopping list with special bundle pricing too. For more information check out their website.

Target – Shop for school supplies online from your favorite big red retailer and enjoy exclusive discounts. Save $5 off one item priced $50 or more when you shop Target online. Some exclusions apply. Discounts automatically applied with this link.

For more information on MSU Benefits Plus, visit the HR website. If you have any questions about the discounts, please call MSU Benefits Plus at 888-758-7575.

This week’s job of the week is a Producer/Host Radio II (#523034) for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. WKAR Public Media, the NPR & PBS affiliate at MSU, is seeking a passionate, experienced and dedicated journalist for its AM/FM broadcasts and digital media.

This person should have extensive knowledge of local, regional and national current events and issues. Responsibilities for this role include researching, reporting, writing and producing multimedia spot and feature stories for WKAR’s air and digital platforms. The candidate must be able to cultivate sources and consistently pitch creative, thoughtful and original story ideas that demonstrate an understanding of the issues facing the communities served by WKAR.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in Telecommunications, Journalism or Broadcast Production; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in radio production, broadcast operations, rules and regulations and interviewing; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Community Festivals 

Lansing Eastside Folklife Festival

Mason Sun Dried Music Festival

St. Johns Mint Festival

2018 Greater Lansing Balloon Festival

Michigan Chicken Wing Festival  

Community Events

Oldtown ART Feast

FRIB and NSCL Open House

DeWitt Ox Roast

Old US 27 Motor Tour

Food

Wednesday, August 8

Summer Spirits Tasting

Tuesday, August 14

Garden Chefs from Garden to Table

Wednesday, August 15

Food Fight Dinner

Thursday, August 16

Spartan Cork Masters: Varieties of Sangria

Saturday, August 25

Food Truck Mash-up

Friday, August 30

Zoo Brew: Country Night

Arts

Saturday, August 4

Field Station: Scott Hocking Opening reception

Wednesday, August 15

Art History: Capturing the Moving Image

Saturday, August 25

REO Town Art Attack

Tuesday, August 28 AND Wednesday, August 29

MSU Broad Celebrates Fall Welcome

Thursday, August 30

Celebrate Lansing Sidewalk Poetry Project

Music

Friday, August 10

Nkwejong Through Spacetime: An Exhibition by Beth LaPensee

Saturday, August 11

Summer Sizzle Hafla! At Lansing Brewing

Friday, August 17

Jimmy G and the Capitols ft. Kidd Cincinnati at the LBC!

Family/Kid Friendly

Saturday, August 4

MSU Broad: Family Day

Thursday, August 9

Studio (IN)Process

Friday, August 10

Moonlight Movies-Wonder

Saturday, August 11

Sundown Safari Camping

Saturday, August 11

Celebration Cinema Sensory-Showtimes: Christopher Robin

Wednesday, August 15

Stories for Sprouts and Seedlings

Thursday, August 16

Studio (IN)Process

Thursday, August 16

Bubble Day

Thursday, August 16

Chipmunk Story time: Turtle Splash

Wednesday, August 22

Stories in the Garden

Sports/Fitness

Tuesday, August 7

Lansing Brew Run                 

Wednesday, August 8

2018 Lansing Lugnuts Baseball vs. Dayton

Saturday, August 11

BWL Hometown Power 5k

Saturday, August 11

Lansing 5:01k

Saturday, August 18

Red Paddle Kayak Race

Sunday, August 19

Yoga at the MSU Broad

Saturday, August 25

Goat Yoga & Wine Tasting

Professional Development Opportunities:

Wednesday, August 8

Accounting in EBS

Thursday, August 9

Supervisor Strategies for Performance Planning

Tuesday, August 14 AND Wednesday, August 15

Process Mapping and Analysis

Wednesday, August 22

Engaging Teams for Maximum Performance

Thursday, August 23

Advanced Travel Policies & Reimbursement

Do you love showing MSU pride? Would you like to work one-on-one with Sparty? Our job of the week may be for you! This week’s job of the week is working as the Sparty Mascot Program Manager (#520808) for the University Advancement office. This position is seeking an individual with high energy and good communications skills to find new and creative ways to enrich and advance the Spartan community.

Sparty is a national mascot and will make appearances for 600 athletic events! The responsibilities for managing Sparty include supervising his schedule and making sure Sparty is providing great levels of customer service and high energy at all performances. Other responsibilities include maintaining a high level of student engagement at sporting events, appearances, campus events, etc. and help build relationships with campus and community partners.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in a related field; one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in the planning and production of institutional and/or events; contractor and vendor contract negotiations, and developing event budget reports; experience in customer service; and experience in database, spreadsheet, word processing and presentation software; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

“Alexa, ask MIBlue for a healthy tip.” Are you interested in learning new healthy recipes? Trying to find new ways to get you and your family active? Just ask Amazon Alexa! Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan now offers MIBlue Skill for Amazon Alexa. The MIBlue Skill is made to be an easy and efficient way to get answers to any health and wellness questions. You can add MIBlue Skill to any Amazon Alexa devices for free.

You can use this MIBlue Skill to understand and answer questions about common health insurance terms, learn a quick workout activity for you and your family, and do a quick guided meditation. It will also guide you towards a healthy lifestyle with healthy and dietitian-approved recipes, advice on how to quit smoking, and health-related news from Blue Cross.

Here are some commands you can use:

“Alexa, ask MIBlue for a healthy tip.”

“Alexa, ask MIBlue what is an HMO?”

“Alexa, ask MIBlue for a healthy recipe.”

“Alexa, ask MIBlue for health-related news.”

The MIBlue Skill for Amazon Alexa, you have access to any general health, wellness and lifestyle questions directly from your voice-enabled Amazon devices. Learn more about the MIBlue Skill for Alexa and how to enable it on your device here.

As a note, with the MIBlue Skill, you can’t ask any personal health-related questions. To access your member coverage information, you can always go to the Blue Cross Blue Shield website or download the Blue Cross mobile app. For more information about MSU health plans, visit the MSU HR website.

This week’s job of the week is a Veterinary Technician I (#519382) for the College of Veterinary Medicine. This position is seeking an individual to provide patient care for ill and injured animals at the Veterinary Medical Center.

Responsibilities for this role include helping with medical procedures, drawing blood, instructing and demonstrating techniques to students, assisting students with veterinary techniques, and assisting veterinarians in their work.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by the first two or three years in college, technical or vocational school in Veterinary Technology; six months to one year of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in extensive patient care, surgery, anesthesia, drug-dosing, and sterilization; or an equivalent combination of education and experience; licensed as a Veterinary Technician with the State of Michigan or attainment of such certification within one year from date of employment.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS portal.

Have you missed work due to last minute changes in the availability of your regular child or elder care provider? Did you know there is an MSU Backup Dependent Care Program available to faculty, staff, and students? The MSU WorkLife Office has collaborated with Home Instead Senior Care, a franchised national home care agency, to offer subsidized dependent care services to help care for your child or elder. The rate for staff and faculty is $7.00/hour. Home Instead Senior Care is available 24 hours a day.

What you need to know about this program:

• It provides in-home backup emergency care for dependents, including children and elders
• MSU subsidizes approximately 70% of the cost
• Contact Home Instead directly to request care
• Requests must be made at least four hours in advance
• Pre-registration is required
• MSU families are eligible for up to 20 hours of subsidized dependent care per MSU fiscal year

You can contact Home Instead Senior Care at 517-333-0610. For more information on MSU Backup Dependent Care, visit the WorkLife Office website. You can access the pre-registration form here.