Job of the Week – Editorial Assistant II

This week’s job of the week is an Editorial Assistant II (#602934) for the Vice President for Student Affairs & Services, specifically for the Service Learning Center. This position is seeking an individual to edit and proofread materials, research and compose articles, develop printing specifications, oversee production schedules and provide clerical support in order to facilitate the production and distribution of marketing materials. Other responsibilities for this role include creating content for and coordinating the center website and social media accounts.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired from the first two or three years of college, technical, vocational or business school with coursework in journalism, English, and writing; one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience including familiarity with printing processes, publication design; word processing, desktop publishing, database, spreadsheet, web design and maintenance, and presentation software; 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.

Start the New Academic Year with a Professional Development Course!

Welcome to a new academic year at MSU! Organization and Professional Development (OPD) is offering new courses this fall to help you reach your personal and professional development goals.

NEW Upcoming Courses:

Managing Meetings – Tuesday, October 15
With company resources tighter than ever, and staff and management busier than ever, frivolous meetings are simply not an option. Yet they continue to occur more often than ever. And too many unproductive, wasteful meetings create a major drag on staff morale and motivation, thus affecting productivity, turnover, and the corporate “bottom line”. And, if you are the organizer or leader of meetings, you simply cannot afford to look unprofessional when you are “on stage” in a competitive or political environment. Use this program to better plan, lead, and follow through on your meetings and enhance team productivity, coordination, and cohesion.

Communication Strategies for Supervisors – Thursday, October 24
One of the non-negotiables for successful leadership is being an effective communicator. Many leaders believe they do communicate effectively, but what most leaders do not understand about communicating with their team is that it is not just about what is said. To lead successfully today, leaders must be able to persuade, inspire, listen, articulate the big picture, and create teams of people who buy into and trust the sender.

Manager as Coach – Thursday, October 24
Successful managers today understand the importance of coaching in the workplace to improve productivity, loyalty, and results. Instead of telling team members what to do, or just expecting them to perform, it is important to guide, discuss and encourage – in other words, coach.

Presentation Skills 101 – Wednesday, November 20
You may have a great deal of knowledge or important information to share, but if your presentation is not engaging, you may lose your audience and opportunity for influence. Whether you’re a training professional, an executive, a manager who leads meetings, or anyone who needs to communicate clearly to more than one person at a time, this workshop will show you strategies to create and deliver effective presentations with confidence and enthusiasm.

Support staff should note that their Educational Assistance benefit resets with the fall semester – be sure to use these funds to help cover costs for any registration fees.

You can find all current OPD courses on the HR website. Sign-up through the EBS Portal. Questions? Contact HR Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

Job of the week – Senior Purchasing Agent

This week’s job of the week is a Senior Purchasing Agent (#600044) for the Department of Purchasing. This position is seeking an individual to use extensive knowledge and expertise to execute or negotiate complex, large dollar purchases that support multiple operations, as well as to use advanced analytics to evaluate spend and activity data and determine sourcing opportunities.

The responsibilities for this role include utilizing performance measurement tools, partnering with MSU legal and risk management offices, and developing and reviewing complex RFPs, among other duties. Other responsibilities for this role include negotiating supplier contracts, managing supplier relationships and evaluates proposals. The Senior Purchasing Agent will also develop and maintain awareness of changing commodity-related business trends in the market and their impact to the university.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a four-year college degree program in Business Administration with relevant coursework in marketing, business law, finance, public relations and computer science; five to eight years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in sales, purchasing/buying and accounting; 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.

Visit the Surplus Store for all your office or home furnishing needs!

Are you looking to spruce up your office with some new furniture or decorations? Are you a new employee who just moved to the area and is looking for items to furnish your new house or apartment? Or are you helping your college student get ready to move back to campus and in need of some dorm or apartment dĂ©cor?  The MSU Surplus Store is your one-stop-shop. The Surplus Store has all your needs from office furniture, home furniture, electronics, textbooks, bikes to MSU gear. Wondering how the Surplus Store works?

The Surplus Store receives most of its items from the university when items are no longer needed; Surplus Store team members go out and collect items from the residential halls, offices, and lounge areas. The Surplus Store is connecting surplus operations with recycling operations on campus. They take multiple steps before throwing an item out. The first step is to try to resell the item or give it away; if it can’t be sold or given away, then they will recycle it. If the item does not sell or can’t be recycled, then it will eventually go to landfill. However, the long-term goal is to help the university get to a zero-waste policy with these actions.

The Surplus Store is open year-round, Monday through Friday, to the public, MSU departments and employees. If you’re an MSU employee, you can purchase items with your account number. Just grab the item you’re looking for, head to the counter and give them your account number. If you purchased a large item, they also offer an on-campus delivery service to your office or department.

If you don’t have time to stop at the store, you can always look online at the MSU Surplus Store website. You can also find items on eBay from the store. Did you know that you can find textbooks at the Surplus store? Whether you’re using you’re continuing your education or have a student in your house who needs to buy their books, the Surplus Store may have what you need. You can also find textbooks available through the Surplus Store on Amazon.

If you’re looking for unique items, the Surplus Store also partners with MSU Forestry and Infrastructure Planning Facilities (IPF) to turn downed trees into products called the MSU Shadows. They have a variety of items from custom tables, wall art, diploma frames and more!

The Surplus Store has also partnered with MSU Dairy, MSU Meat Labs and MSU Horticulture Farm. You can find a variety of items from fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products. By shopping at the Surplus Store, you’re supporting students and helping the university reach its goal of zero waste.

If you have a request, don’t be afraid to reach out! With over 4,000 items collected from campus each week, the Surplus Store is your one-stop-shop. Want to know more? Just visit their website at MSU Surplus Store or stop by in-person at 468 Green Way, East Lansing.

Job of the week – Training Program Developer

This week’s job of the week is a Training Program Developer (#600097)  for the Associate Provost for Academic Services, specifically for the Student Information Systems (SIS) Modernization Project. This position is seeking an individual to consult with the Office of the Registrar senior leaders, managers and staff on instructional needs for technology training, as well as designing instructional development classes, seminars, and workshops. Other responsibilities for this role include producing courseware including manuals, quick reference guides, FAQs, PowerPoint presentations and web-based materials.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a four-year college degree program in Educational Systems development, instructional Technology Systems, Instructional Science or a related educational programs development area; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work in the design, development and presentation or instructional programs using software or tools related to the educational programs being conducted; 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.

Welcome to the new academic year

On behalf of Academic Human Resources and MSU Human Resources, welcome to a new academic year at Michigan State University. There is no better season than the fall to represent the season of change MSU is in. Students begin to appear on campus once more; construction signs start to disappear, and the campus begins to turn into the vibrant and beautiful fall at MSU. This fall we’re also experiencing a change in leadership, with President Stanley officially taking office as of Aug. 1.

We’re very excited to have President Stanley leading the university, and we look forward to learning more about his vision for MSU in the days and months ahead. Your work and leadership are vital components of this new chapter in MSU’s story. Thank you for all you do for our students – whether it’s behind the scenes or face-to-face. Not all of you may interact with students on a regular basis, but each of you contributes to their success through the work you do every day.

Human Resources is here to help support you as you go about this important work. The HR Solutions Center is your main point of contact for questions regarding benefits or employment. This team is dedicated to customer service as their number one priority. You can reach them via phone, email, or in-person at 110 Nisbet Building.

You also can share feedback with Sharon at hrmail@msu.edu or Terry at ahr@msu.edu.

If you are a new faculty or academic staff member, we look forward to seeing you at Faculty Orientation on August 20.

Thank you for all you contribute to the continuing success of MSU and accept our best wishes for a successful academic year.

Sincerely,

Sharon E. Butler
Associate Vice President of MSU Human Resources

Theodore H. Curry II
Associate Provost & Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources

Job of the week – Chief of Staff

This week’s job of the week is a Chief of Staff (#598922) for the College of Education. This position is seeking an individual who will be responsible for financial, human resources, and technology operations for the College of Education.

The responsibilities for this role include assisting in directing and implementing policies, procedures, and programs of the human resource function for academic and non-academic employees. Other responsibilities for this role include managing external and internal financial data requests, working with colleagues in other academic colleges and administrative offices across the university and supervising facilities and classroom managers. The Chief of Staff will report to the Dean of the College of Education.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a four-year college degree program in Education, Business Administration, Accounting, Management or related field; five to eight related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in financial management and analysis, personnel management, and computer systems use and development; effective interpersonal skills, as well as experience with supervising professional and support staff; experience working with faculty required; 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.

Give your children a healthy start for back to school with VSP Vision

August is National Eye Exam Month! As you’re getting ready for back to school, don’t forget to schedule annual eye exams for your kids. Are you an MSU benefit-eligible employee? Are you enrolled in VSP Vision Care for 2019? Then you have access to coverage for everything from the annual eye exam to new prescription glasses. Make sure your family starts the new school year right with a healthy vision!

According to VSP Vision studies show that 84% of parents agree that regular eye exams help their kids in school, but they often wait until their child complains to make an eye doctor appointment. Getting an eye exam before school starts can help your child start the school year off right.

And while you might be soaking up those last moments of summer, keep this in mind:  your eyes can get sunburned. After being in the sun all summer long your eyes can get damaged from the sun. The best way to protect your eyes is by wearing sunglasses while outside. An eye exam can see if your eyes were damaged by the sun and consider the next steps to take care of them.

Whether or not you’ve already used your coverage for your annual eye exam or prescription, you can start planning ahead for next year. MSU Benefits Open Enrollment starts October 1, which makes now a great time to start thinking about what you might need for vision insurance next year and make sure you pick the plan that’s right for your family’s needs. VSP Vision Care offers two different plans – standard and premium. You can check out the benefits of both plans here. Note: Information is currently based on the 2019 plan year; check back in October for updated information for 2020.

For more information on VSP Vision Care, visit MSU Benefits Plus.


Start your back to school shopping with MSU Benefits Plus!

Have you started your back to school shopping for you and your family? Don’t worry, MSU Benefits Plus has you covered! All benefits-eligible MSU faculty and staff have access to a variety of discounts and savings with MSU Benefits Plus through Corestream. At MSU Benefits Plus you’ll find discounts and special offers on a variety of items for back to school from computers, laptops, shoes and clothing!

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.

Check out some of these deals that you can find through MSU Benefits Plus:

Apple

Enjoy employee pricing on most Apple products when you shop through their exclusive link! Save on select iPhones, MacBooks, Apple Watches and more! Use this link to receive your employee discount.

Dell

MSU faculty and staff can enjoy exclusive savings of up to 30% on select systems when you shop through Dell EPP link! Shop Laptops, 2-in-1s, gaming PCs, accessories and more.

HP

The HP Employee Purchase Program (EPP) offers HP consumer products at discounts typically up to 10% off starting prices. You can also take advantage of instant rebates, coupons and HP Home & Home Office sales promotions that combine with your EPP discount – for a typical savings of 20-30% off. Find your next printer for your college student’s dorm or your home office here!

Target

Whether you’re looking for school supplies or want to add something extra to your office, Target is your place to go! Take $5 off any item priced $50 or more at Target online! Discount automatically applied to cart with the link. Some exclusions apply.

Learning Care Group

Save 10% on childcare at all Learning Care Group schools including La Petite Academy, Childtime Learning Centers, Tutor Time, The Children’s Courtyard, Montessori Unlimited, Everbrook Academy, Creative Kids Learning Center, and Pathways Learning Academy.

To redeem this discount, identify yourself as MSU faculty or staff to at your preferred Learning Care Group school at the Learning Care Group website.

Foot Locker

Get 15% off orders of $75 at Foot Locker with code LKS18H3M at checkout. Offer valid online only. Some exclusions apply! Get your next pair of shoes here.

Shoes.com

Save 20% off sitewide plus get free shipping with code SHOESDOTCOM at checkout! Visit Shoe.com to use your discount.

Aѐropostale

If you’re looking for uniforms Aѐropostale is your place. Save an extra 15% off 5+ uniform items and get free shipping with code UNIFORM at checkout! Visit Aѐropostale website to find your perfect fit.

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