Commuting Options: Be “Spartan Green” and save money getting to campus

Are you considering commuting to campus for work or school, but unsure about your options? Would it be helpful to have more information so you can make a decision that fits your needs? Coming soon is the opportunity to join a discussion and learn from experts who will share information about services that can be used to get to and from campus. These options will enable you to save money, save the environment and “Be Spartan Green!”

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Photo courtesy of Communications and Brand Strategy.

A panel discussion will take place Wednesday, January 18 from noon – 1:00 p.m. in Room 110 Chittenden Hall. Participants will learn about:

  • CATA Clean Commute Options – a free service that helps interested individuals find alternative ways to commute to work; including car/vanpooling, bus, bike and walking. Learn about the options that fit your commute and the Emergency Ride Home program, which acts as “commuter insurance” if you’re ever left without transportation.
  • CATA bus service on and off campus, including the Spectran service for individuals with physical mobility concerns in the tri-county area.
  • MichiVan vanpool program – sponsored by MDOT and operated by vRide and Enterprise Rideshare, this program supplies fully insured passenger vans to commuter groups.
  • Biking – with support from MSU Bikes to help navigate your way safely to campus.

In addition to receiving information about commuting options, participants will also hear experiences from two commuters: Jen Bruen a Michivan driver/coordinator who has been commuting from Novi to Lansing since 2011 and Layne Cameron who rides his bicycle from Williamston to campus ( a 12-mile commute one way).

This informational session is free and open to all! RSVP to the MSU WorkLife Office by emailing worklife@msu.edu (subject line: “Commuting Options) or by calling 517-353-1635. For additional information about this event, visit the WorkLife Office website.

Fitness Assessments are Half Price This December!

Want to get a jump on your fitness related New Year’s resolutions? We have some exciting news that will help! This month, there is a Fit and Festive promotion running which will cut the price of fitness assessments in half for any faculty or staff member. These assessments are conducted through the SPARTANfit program at Student Health Services.

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Photo courtesy of Communications and Brand Strategy.

For only $20, you will receive a comprehensive assessment of your current fitness level and an individually tailored three-month fitness plan

During the comprehensive assessment, a series of resting and exercise measurements helps to establish your fitness baseline. This baseline will be used to set goals, monitor performance and assess progress throughout your fitness program. After your fitness baseline is determined, you will meet with a SPARTANfit staff member to discuss the results of your fitness profile. Together, you will create a personalized three-month, goal-oriented fitness plan.

Remember, you can only receive the reduced rate of $20 during the month of December. There are a limited number of appointments available, so be sure to sign up as soon as possible! If you want to schedule an appointment or need more information, contact Sarah Kort at sarah.kort@hc.msu.edu or 517-353-7868. For additional information about these fitness assessments, click here.

Job of the Week 11/25/16

This week we are highlighting an Engineer Architect II (posting #4484) with the Infrastructure Engineering and Architectural SVCS. This position will provide project leadership and oversite planning, design, construction and renovation of campus building systems. Duties associated with this position include but are not limited to managing design consultants and constructors. The selected candidate will serve as project manager or team member on collaborative design teams on campus and as owner’s representative in leading the team to resolve complex planning, design and construction issues. Other duties will involve working at construction sites. This position will engage in High Performance, leading edge practices, which are Innovative in their approach to increased Stewardship and Service Excellence.

MSU Jobs IconFor a complete description of this position, and to view all of our current postings, please go to www.jobs.msu.edu and select Support Staff under the Fast Jobs Search.

Reminder: Open Enrollment Benefits Fair Oct. 11-13

The Michigan State Benefits Fair is here again and will be held at the Breslin Center. For three days, benefits vendor representatives and MSU Human Resources staff members will be available to answer any questions that faculty, staff or retirees may have about insurance, retirement or other benefits. Computers will also be available for enrollment assistance. MSU Benefits Open Enrollment Masthead

The dates and times for the Benefits Fair are as follows:

October 11, noon to 6 p.m.

October 12, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

October 13, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Free flu shots are being offered once again this year for eligible faculty, staff, retirees and their dependents. To find out more, click here. Chair Massages are also offered courtesy of the Health4U program.

Read more about the vendors who are attending this year’s Benefits Fair and find information about parking here.

Job of the Week 9/9/16

This week we are highlighting a University Academic Event Coordinator (posting #3967) with the Office of the Provost. This position will report to the Associate Provost for Academic Services and Enrollment Management and the Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources to plan, manage and oversee university-wide academic events, programs, seminars, etc. Examples of such events include commencement exercises, University Convocation, and the Scholarship Recognition Program. This position will interact with faculty, staff, students, and many other groups in order to promote the university and coordinate events. Desired qualifications for a candidate include knowledge of university policies and procedures, excellent communication and organizational skills, the ability to handle multiple tasks, and excellent grammar, writing, editing and proofreading skills.

MSU Jobs IconFor a complete description of this position, and to view all of our current posting, please go to www.jobs.msu.edu and select Support Staff under the Fast Jobs Search.

Ask HR is Ready to Help

Getting answers to your HR questions has never been easier. We are excited to announce that our new feature on the MSU Human Resources website has launched. Ask MSU Human Resources, also known as “Ask HR,” is an instant answer service found on multiple pages of our website. The service offers answers to hundreds of commonly asked questions. Simply type your query in the search bar and receive answers, along with links to supplemental information that could assist in your understanding of the issue. Ask HR also offers links to the top 10 most frequently asked questions to further simplify your experience.

To ensure users are getting the most out of this experience, the program uses widespread data analytics to track and monitor the types of questions being asked. We will be able to add and update answers as we receive questions from you. If Ask HR doesn’t have an answer for your question yet, it will provide contact information to our HR Solutions Center. We hope this service makes life a little easier for everyone. Get your questions answered today with Ask HR.

Ask MSU HR
The Ask MSU Human Resources service found on hr.msu.edu.

 

 

 

It’s Almost Time for Summer (Camps)!

With the school year coming to a close, K-12 students are dreaming of what they’ll get to do this summer. Luckily for them, MSU offers just about every variety of summer camp under the moon for them to participate in! Check out Spartan Youth for student opportunities this summer: everything from Filmmaking to Ice Skating, Poetry Writing to Video Game Design, Rock Camp to Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing and many more exciting programs will be held at MSU! A host of language-learning camps, such as German, Hebrew, and Japanese are also being offered, no experience necessary!

A team of boys speak with their basketball coach before heading back into the game.
Kids participate in games and drills on the last day of the 2015 Tom Izzo basketball day camp on Wednesday June 24, 2015.

If your student is an athlete, be sure to take a look at Sports Camps at MSU to keep them moving through the summer! There are individual sign ups or whole teams can go together, and there are opportunities for younger players as well as varsity athletes.

Remember that not all camps are residential, so some will require your student to be picked up and dropped off each day. Many sign ups are already open, so make sure you secure a spot before MSU’s exciting camps fill up!

Spartan Marketplace: Your One-Stop University Shopping Experience!

Spartan Marketplace was developed as a shopping cart experience for your college or department purchasing needs and designed for flexibility and your ease of use. If you haven’t been an avid user since its introduction in fall 2015, take a look at some of its features!

  • Spartan Marketplace logoCurrently 14 suppliers, such as Dell, OfficeMax, and Fisher Scientific, are connected through Spartan Marketplace, and more are steadily being phased in.

  • The single portal allows you to search across catalogs for what you’re looking for and uses one cart to consolidate and hold your orders from multiple suppliers.
  • For users ordering from different accounts, it is easy to save and manage multiple accounts instead of having to plug them in manually each time.
  • Any active employee can access Spartan Marketplace by selecting its tab in EBS. Fiscal officers approve each purchase. The application requires updated versions of many browsers to work well, so be sure to check if yours is compliant with requirements.
  • The contracted pricing shown in Spartan Marketplace is the correct cost; unlike Open Orders, there will be no administrative markup. In addition, most shipping costs are already factored into the pricing, making your process more streamlined and efficient!

There is more information, a webinar recording and a FAQ available through University Services. Be sure to check out Spartan Marketplace for a seamless online ordering experience!

Job of the Week 3/11/16

This week we are highlighting a Greenhouse Coordinator (posting #2937) position, which will serve as the facility and equipment coordinator for the Horticulture Teaching and Research Center. The successful candidate will manage and oversee the maintenance of field plots and farm facilities in order to support horticulture research and teaching programs; will act as a resource person to faculty, research associates, staff, and students in order to coordinate the daily operations of the station; prepares and maintains field research plots (tilling, grading, disking, mowing), planting, irrigation, fertilization, and pest management in order to maintain plants and field plots for research and teaching; oversees and conducts improvements and repairs to station facilities and equipment including trucks, tractors, and other equipment and implements; will train, schedule, and supervise student employees; will requisition equipment and supplies for the station; will move, load, and unload supplies, materials, tools, and equipment; involves safety and tracking facility, equipment, systems, and supply usage in order to ensure that proper procedures are used (especially pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation use for mandatory reports); assists with preparing station equipment, plots, and facilities for faculty, staff, and graduate students and help in setting up research projects as duties allow; occasional snow removal – plowing main farm roads, shoveling for building and greenhouse access.

MSU Jobs Icon

For a complete description of this position, and to view all of our current postings, please go to www.jobs.msu.edu and select Support Staff under the Fast Jobs Search.

Kicking Off America Saves Week!

Whether you’re counting down the days or have barely thought about it, retirement is coming for all of us, and this week is dedicated to educating you about the best practices in saving for your future. America Saves Week was started to keep the workforce informed and offer options for developing good savings behavior. If you invest with Fidelity and have questions about how much you should be saving or what you should be investing in,you have access to several online workshops to point you in the right direction for whatever stage you’re at in your career:

Change scattered in front of a piggy bank.
Photo courtesy of 401k Calculator.
  • Confident Investing in Any Market
  • Get Started and Save For the Future You
  • Preparing Your Savings for Retirement

In addition, TIAA-CREF Financial Services encourages developing a strategy and creating a timeline to plan out how much you should be saving now and offers some important guidelines on how to prepare for an emergency, saving for retirement, and starting with a strategy, as well as many more tips freely available on their website. For answers to all the questions you may have and even more information you may not have known about, be sure to take advantage of all the resources available to you this week!