Help us welcome the Class of 2020 as the newest members of the Brandeis Alumni Association by raising a glass in their honor! Share your well wishes, words of encouragement and advice so our graduates feel the support of the Brandeis network, even when we can't gather in-person to celebrate.

Snap a photo, write a quick toast, and share them with us through this online form by May 17.

Tip: Use your next Zoom staff meeting to do a screen grab of your team or department collectively raising a glass!

On May 24, we'll share your submissions online and on social media to celebrate our graduates virtually. Post on your personal and departmental social media accounts, too, using #BrandeisGrad!

As we approach our fiscal year-end on June 30, the Division of Business and Finance would like to remind everyone of the important deadlines related to financial transactions and reports. Please refer to the year-end close memo provided on the Division of Business and Finance website, which lists various milestones and deadlines for fiscal year end 2020. 

Budget managers and others with financial transaction responsibilities should regularly review their department’s financial reports. Any adjusting entries pertaining to fiscal year 2020 should be submitted via Workday no later than July 17. For questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail any member of the Division of Business and Finance team. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

The Department of Facilities Services will be performing its annual electrical shutdown Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. This work allows the Department of Facilities to exercise and test equipment that is vital to the electrical infrastructure supporting Brandeis University.

Please visit the Department of Facilities Services web site for more information and to see if your building is affected.

In an effort to ensure safe and secure computing practices, ITS will be updating the content and sharing settings in Brandeis Box. Box is a cloud-based collaboration tool for securely storing and sharing documents. Currently, when generating a ‘share link’ in Box for a folder or file, the default selection is to share the content with ‘Anyone with the link’ which enables anyone without a Box account to access the content. While sharing is caring, open access presents a security risk for the university. Starting May 20, shared links will now default to ‘Invited people only’ which will improve the security level when accessing shared content. You can change the share link setting if needed. This change does not affect shared links that were generated prior to May 20. ITS will also set the default auto-expiration date for shared content (when enabled) to 60 days; content owners can manage the auto-expiration date as needed. To learn more about the change or how to share content in Box, contact the Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4357.

A unified effort of the Alumni Association, the Alumni Relations Office and Brandeis campus partners, the strategic plan for alumni engagement showcases the lifelong value of a Brandeis education and bolsters opportunities to give back in meaningful ways, including volunteer time, expertise and philanthropy. Closely aligned with institutional priorities and the Framework for the Future, the plan builds alumni engagement for the benefit of Brandeis, and relies on campus partnerships, coordinated communications, impact metrics and constituent-centered technologies. 

This alumni engagement plan articulates a vision and mission, along with five strategic objectives, each of which contains near and long-term program initiatives. Although the official launch date is July 1, 2020, implementation of the plan is already under way in light of our rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plan is a guide for the Alumni Association and Alumni Relations for three years based on quarterly and annual goals.

The full Strategic Plan is now online, and may be accessed here.

Please direct any questions to Patsy Fisher, Vice President of Alumni Relations.

If you have high school teens, Precollege Programs is offering outstanding online courses this summer that provide an opportunity for students to experience college-level work, and the exceptional community that Brandeis offers. All programs - App Design; Genesis; Global Health: Science, Medicine, and the Social Determinants of Health; Queer Academics and Activism; Race, Inequality and Social Justice; and Service Leadership - will run in July.

High school students who are dependents of Brandeis staff are eligible for one-third tuition remission. Please contact precollege@brandeis.edu with questions.

The deadline to register is Monday, June 1.

Explore your academic passion by taking a class online this summer.

Eligible employees may enroll in Brandeis Summer School courses on a space-available basis and receive up to 100%t tuition remission. Qualified spouses are eligible for 75% tuition remission, and college or high-school aged dependents are eligible for 50% tuition remission. Access forms and learn more about the tuition remission benefit.

The Summer School offers courses from a wide variety of academic disciplines with a range of course schedules. Session 1 (June 1 - July 3) and Session 2 (July 6 - August 7) will offer five-week courses via "remote learning," and Session O (June 1 - August 9) will also offer a number (now greatly expanded) of 10-week asynchronous online classes.

Summer registration is now open in Sage - view our course offerings and enroll today!

The Office of Human Resources will be holding performance review workshops for managers and non-managers.

How to Conduct an Effective Performance Review: The workshop will provide managers with the tools and information necessary, even while working remotely, to conduct an effective performance review. Participants will learn how to accurately document performance
, how to provide effective feedback to employees
, how to write a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
, how to assess professional development and training needs
, how to continue to motivate your employees
 and how to conduct difficult conversations with employees who need to show improvement.

How to Make the Most of Your Performance Review: This workshop will provide employees with the tools and information necessary to make the most of the performance review, even while working remotely. Participants will learn how to accurately document your performance, create a file highlighting your accomplishments, think about what would be helpful for professional growth, and how to have a productive conversation with your supervisor.

For more information and to register please visit the Human Resources website. For questions please contact Cynthia Farqhuar.

It's fresh, it's fun, it’s CUSTOMIZABLE!

Sign up today for the brand new customizable Warner Farm CSA program, and receive a personalized box of fresh, delicious, locally grown vegetables, delivered right to the Brandeis campus. Our new CSA program offers the option to customize your shares and your delivery schedule, so you’ll receive all the produce you love and nothing you don’t! Choose from three sizes of vegetable shares, as well as fruit, flower, mushroom and egg shares. Deliveries take place from June through October every Thursday from 2:30-7 p.m. right to a new location, Gosman Athletic Center. It's the best way to eat healthy and local this season without breaking the bank! Visit www.warnerfarm.com/csa or email csa@warnerfarm.com to learn more.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Here at Warner Farm, we are carrying forth with our CSA for the 2020 season. We are eager to provide a fresh and reliable source of local produce in order to support and feed folks through these difficult times. We have been growing food for our community for over 300 years, and are prouder than ever to continue to do so. We want you to know that we are taking all steps required this season to grow, pack, and distribute our produce safely and responsibly. We are staying up to date with Mass.gov's resources and information, and are fully complying with all recommended precautions and procedures.

Please consider joining our farm family and signing up for our 2020 CSA program. Your support of our farm (and of local agriculture) means so much to us. We hope you will give us the opportunity to show our appreciation, and support you as well with fresh, delicious produce throughout the 2020 season. Hope to see you in June!

Zoom recently released a new version (5.0) to address and enhance the security and privacy of the video conferencing tool. All Zoom users are required to update to the new version (5.0) by May 30. Zoom's improved security measures include stronger encryption, complex meeting IDs, and default passwords when scheduling a meeting. In addition, meeting hosts will have a new easy-access Security button on the meeting menu bar which will enable the host to quickly lock meetings, remove participants, and restrict screen sharing and chatting in meetings.

The update applies only to the installed application on your computer, not the web login. For some users, Zoom may automatically prompt you to update. To apply the update manually: open the Zoom desktop application, click on the user icon on the top right then select 'Check for Updates' from the drop-down menu. If new updates are available, you will be prompted with an 'Update Available' message; click 'Update' to install. Alternatively, visit zoom.com/download and follow the prompts to update or install Zoom. 

To learn more about protecting your Zoom session, visit the ITS website. If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4638.

Please join the ODEI mailing list to receive periodic updates and announcements about our programs and events.  Alternatively, send an email to odei-request@lists.brandeis.edu, with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

In the midst of these extraordinary times, the Brandeis Ombuds Office remains available on a daily basis as a confidential, impartial, independent, and informal resource for undergraduate and graduate students, campus staff, alumni, and anyone with a connection to the Brandeis community.  In our role as Ombuds, we support the dignity, well-being and safety of each person by providing a safe space to talk confidentially and off the record about difficult situations and offer conflict resolution support. 

The onset of COVID-19 has brought shifts in policy, academic and professional expectations, changes in our communication and interpersonal engagement with social and physical distancing. As a team, we are available to the entire campus community. We are a community resource to process any type of challenging situation, a bridge to navigate campus resources, and to serve as a coach to help, support, and empower you. 

Ombuds, are available to help in many ways. For more information please visit the University Ombuds website.

Do you miss connecting with your colleagues after a meeting, passing each other on campus, or water cooler conversation?  Although you have email, video conferencing and the traditional phone call to connect, ITS would like to share that there are alternative communication tools to consider to stay connected and engaged with one another during this time. Google Hangouts and Slack are two chat platforms for individuals and groups to connect through direct messaging with an individual or a group; helps keep conversations organized, and is accessible from anywhere, anytime.  Google Hangouts is a click away in Gmail - available at no cost to the community and allows you to send instant messages to individuals or groups. Slack is an alternative chat platform that offers both free or paid tiers; in addition, to direct messaging, you can create public or private channels around a specific topic or project, files, and links can be shared too. 

The use of these collaboration tools are not intended to replace emails, but rather gives the option of instantly messaging a Brandeis colleague. To learn more about each of these tools including a comparison of features or to get started, visit the ITS website.

Providing feedback on a regular basis is critical for the development, retention and success of our employees. Given the current external environment and the impact on our campus operations, providing feedback, being engaged and managing expectations with employees is vitally important during this period of uncertainty.

It is important to continue with the annual performance evaluation process which provides valuable performance feedback to employees. Performance reviews for the period July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 are due to Human Resources on or before June 30.

For more detailed information please visit the Human Resources website.

• Additional Family Supports for Benefit Eligible Employees – With the current strain on working parents’ work/life routines, we want to remind you that you have a free premium membership ($150 value) to Sittercity, which provides access to a comprehensive database for finding sitters, nannies, elder companions, pet care, and housekeepers.
• Updates to COVID-19 Policies – For updated guidelines on back-up care related to COVID-19, visit: http://www.brighthorizons.com/covid19.

Please visit Human Resources website to view detailed information about the Dependent Care Resource & Referral Pilot Program.