Announcements
June 2017
Watch for Lincoln Way overnight lane closures July 5 and 6
Hydro-Klean crews, contracted by the city of Ames, will be working on the sanitary sewer line that crosses Lincoln Way at Beach Road during the nights of July 5 and 6. This will require lane closures, including turning lanes. Drivers and pedestrians in the area are asked to be alert to traffic control cones and signage. During the same two nights, a westbound Lincoln Way lane also will close between Welch and Hayward avenues for the same type of work.
P&S reminder: Job Profile Tool is due this week
The deadline is near for professional and scientific staff to complete their Job Profile Tool, an early data collection piece of the broader review of the P&S classification and compensation system. University human resources staff offer a few reminders:
- Employee submissions are due Friday, June 30
- Supervisors have until Friday, July 14, to submit their comments to UHR
- Even for employees who recently reclassified or updated their position description, UHR would like your input. Some of the fields in the JPT are not encompassed in a position description.
- P&S employees hired after June 1 who didn’t receive an email about the JPT still may complete one by downloading the Excel document available on the review website (scroll down to Job Profile Tool Information)
GoldSheet has new research category section
Effective June 27, the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration added a section to its GoldSheet, research categories/keywords, for all proposals that declare research as the activity type. The intent is to better track how much of the university's research falls into each of three levels of research.
Memorial service for Mahayni is June 29
A memorial service for former College of Design faculty member Riad Mahayni will be held Thursday, June 29 (5 p.m., Lightfoot Forum, College of Design). Mahayni, professor emeritus and former chair of the community and regional planning department, died June 23. He was buried June 24 in accordance with Muslim tradition. He chaired the department 1979-83 and 1995-2002, and retired from Iowa State in 2012. He also served on Ames' planning and zoning commission and city council. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Riad Mahayni Civic Planning Scholarship in the community and regional planning department. Obituary.
Plan ahead for first-floor access to Marston elevators July 3-14
Floor work in Marston Hall during the first two weeks of July will restrict first-floor access to the building's elevators. The week of July 3-7, individuals who need to use an elevator should enter the east door of Marston. The week of July 10-14, those individuals should enter the building through the north door on the west side to have access to an elevator. The floor work affects only elevator access; throughout the project, all exterior doors will be open and the building's stairwells will be accessible.
Basmajian named CEAH director
Carlton Basmajian, associate professor and director of graduate education in the community and regional planning department, has been named the director of the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities, effective July 1.
Campus mental health training offered in July
In July, the Student Counseling Service will offer the eight-hour training, RESPOND: Partnering for Campus Mental Health, for faculty, staff or administrators who want to learn more about how to respond to students or colleagues experiencing a mental health crisis or developing a mental health problem. ISU Wellbeing is covering registration costs. For more information or to register, go to the RESPOND website. The three July training options are:
- Tuesday, July 11, and Thursday, July 13 (8 a.m.-noon daily)
- Tuesdays, July 18 and 25 (1-5 p.m. daily)
- Wednesdays, July 19 and 26 (8 a.m.-noon daily)
Hort farm strawberries are for sale
The university community produce program at the horticulture farm north of Ames is selling strawberries, Russian kale and garlic scapes this week. Use your NetID to log in and see the weekly offerings, posted each Monday afternoon during growing season. Place your order online by noon Thursday, and pick it up Friday between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. near the east entrance of Curtiss Hall. Cash and check are the acceptable payment forms. More info.
Arthropod, nematode research proposals sought
The Center for Arthropod Management Technologies (CAMTech) announces a call for proposals for research projects that begin Jan. 1, 2018. Proposals are due July 19 and should be for pre-competitive (i.e. not leading to patentable information) research related to arthropod or nematode management. The use of economically relevant organisms is encouraged. More information, including an executive summary template, is online. CAMTech is a National Science Foundation industry-university cooperative research center.
PeopleAdmin system adds mobile-friendly portal
University human resources has added a smartphone-friendly portal for PeopleAdmin 7 that allows users to approve and move items related to position requests, applications and hiring proposals from their mobile devices. It's a simplified version of the standard homepage intended to speed up the approval process. Once they're logged in, users may review and look at postings or actions awaiting approval and move them on. They also are able to view, evaluate and move applicants within a workflow. However, users can't make edits in the mobile device portal; they'll need to log in to the full site to do that. An online guide shows you how it works. An FAQ will answer many of your questions, or email employment@iastate.edu.
Training sessions highlight changes to merit employee system
University human resources, in partnership with other units, is offering two workshops related to merit employee changes that take effect on July 1. The first is for supervisors of merit staff (both AFSCME-covered and supervisory/confidential employees); the second is for time entry staff who have timekeeping responsibilities for merit staff. Register online via Learn@ISU.
- Supervisor Workshop (2 hours), offered 8 times June 16-29
- Time Entry Staff Workshop (1.5 hours), offered 4 times June 29-July 7
Find out what's new with WorkCyte
Monthly updates on the WorkCyte initiative that will streamline campus systems and processes are being posted on the WorkCyte website. The June update includes:
- A WorkCyte progress tracking tool
- An overview and schedule for Okta
- Service delivery guiding principles, model and activities
- Upcoming initiatives (data collection, readiness workshops)
Questions and feedback about the WorkCyte initiative can be submitted online.
Business services June 14 open forum canceled
The June 14 open forum for the assistant vice president for business services search has been canceled due to the withdrawl of the third and final candidate. Evaluation forms (PDF) for the two candidates who interviewed must be submitted online, returned to 27 Armory or emailed to search committee chair Mark Miller by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14.
Nine more volunteers sought for state fair exhibit
University Marketing has just 9 volunteer shifts to fill at its state fair exhibit, Aug.10-20. Volunteers repesent Iowa State and either roll and hand out athletics posters or apply the new waterless temporary Iowa State tattoos. There are two volunteers shifts daily, 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m. and 2:45-9 p.m. Volunteers receive a specially designed T-shirt, admission to the fair and a parking pass. University employees interested in volunteering may sign up online or contact Disa Erickson in the University Marketing office, 294-3969.
Faculty contributions sought for museum initiative
University Museums, in partnership with the research and university services offices, is developing the ReACT Gallery initiative for the Christian Petersen Art Museum. Faculty from all academic areas are encouraged to provide curatorial content and share their research in the exhibitions. Lectures, open forums and more will supplement each exhibition. Themes for the upcoming academic year are: leadership, water, Green Dot and the First Amendment. If you are interested in collaborating or have suggestions for future exhibition themes, contact Nancy Gebhart, nancyg@iastate.edu.
Altered sequence for Pammel-Stange traffic lights should ease congestion
Facilities staff reprogramed the traffic signals at the Pammel Drive-Stange Road intersection June 5 to reduce traffic delays caused by a summer-long intersection improvement project. The new traffic sequence is time-based (not vehicle-based) and allows just north/south traffic to proceed, followed by just westbound traffic and then just eastbound traffic. The signals will remain in this sequence (with tweaking if traffic patterns warrant them) until the new signals are operational. The anticipated completion time for the project is the first week of August. The signal reprogramming should alleviate some traffic congestion due specifically to:
- Traffic control barriers that force vehicles into lanes from which they can't trigger the left turn arrows
- Fewer in-pavement traffic detection loops as pavement is removed and replaced (the new traffic system will use radar, not pavement loops, to detect vehicles)
UHR launches new website
University human resources has launched its new website (www.hr.iastate.edu). In collaboration with the information technology staff, UHR studied where employees spend time on the website, what they're looking up and what content they're using. The site redesign also focused on usability features, a customer-focused navigation and standards for organizing and displaying content.
Benefits webinar for merit staff is June 12
The benefits team in university human resources will provide a detailed explanation of the plans and premiums offered to merit staff during a live webinar on Monday, June 12 (9:30-10:30 a.m.). If merit employees are unable to attend the live event, a link to the archived recording will be provided, via both an email to all AFSCME-covered staff and a link from the merit employee changes website. Additional questions may be emailed to benefits@iastate.edu.
Human resources leadership search is canceled
Interim President Ben Allen has decided to cancel the search for a vice president for university human resources. In a letter to the search committee members this week, Allen noted the frequent turnover in this position in recent years and said it's important that the next vice president for UHR is an individual who can bring longevity and stability to the position and the division. He said a new search will convene once Iowa State's next president is on the job. In the meantime, interim VP Kristi Darr has agreed to continue serving in that role. An eight-member search committee had been working since January to identify a successor to Julie Nuter, who left the university last summer. In mid-April, four finalists were announced and interviewed on campus.
P&S staff are invited to June 16 social
Professional and scientific employees are invited to meet with P&S Council representatives, network with peers and register for a prize drawing during a June 16 meet-and-greet event at Christian Petersen Art Museum (1-3 p.m., 1017 Morrill Hall). Visitors also can enjoy the museum's "Red" exhibit and refreshments provided by ISU Dining.
Bissell Road section to close June 12-25
A section of Bissell Road will be closed Monday, June 12, through Sunday, June 25, for underground utility tie-ins for the future Student Innovation Center. The impacted road section is from just south of Osborn Drive to just north of the entrances to parking lots 3 (south of Howe Hall) and 8 (south of Hoover Hall). Access to Osborn Drive and those lots will remain open. CyRide routes that normally use Bissell will instead use Sheldon Avenue or Morrill Road.
Business services candidate to interview June 5
The first of three candidates for the assistant vice president for business services post in the university services division will interview on Monday, June 5. The open forum for Cory Harms, interim director of procurement services at Iowa State, will be from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. in the Memorial Oak Room. Evaluation forms will be provided on site.
P&S employees are encouraged to complete job tool this month
All professional and scientific employees will receive an email, via Constant Contact, on June 1 from university human resources with the subject line "Classification and Compensation Review -- Job Profile Tool." It will contain instructions and a link to the Job Profile Tool, which each employee will use to provide information about his or her position. This is not a phishing email and the safety of all links and attachments has been verified by IT services. This job collection process is an early component of a review of the university's P&S classification and compensation structure, and employees’ participation will help shape the future classification structure. Temporary P&S employees will not need to fill out the tool. Questions may be directed to uhrcc@iastate.edu.
Arts and events
'Die Fledermaus' is a farce of mistaken identity, flirtation and a practical joke with unanticipated consequences. It opens Nov. 7 in Fisher Theater.
