With senior leadership support, ITS launched an information technology (IT) governance program at the start of 2020 and is incrementally expanding its scope and refining its processes. The program was established to facilitate decision-making processes about technology strategies, priorities, services, and investments by engaging stakeholders across the University. Four primary committees - Workday Production Advisory, Workday Student Advisory, Academic Technology Advisory, and IT Strategic Advisory - consisting of representatives across campus have been established to support the university’s administrative, academic, and operational technology needs. To learn more about the objectives, responsibilities, and membership of these committees, visit the ITS website.

When the magazine team was developing the Summer issue of Brandeis Magazine, it was still in pre-COVID-19 times. By the time the magazine went to press, the pandemic was in full swing. The team reworked the magazine in mid-production to capture stories of Brandeisians fighting the coronavirus: doctoring at the frontlines of the pandemic, researching the molecular structure of the virus, bringing communities together as they were torn apart.

Read a fascinating interview with one of Brandeis’ most beloved professors, Steve Whitfield, PhD’72. Find a compelling and timely story about African Americans living in Civil War-era refugee camps and how they imagined — and constructed — their futures after slavery. And if you’ve ever wondered what dark matter is, travel a mile underground to the cavernous, blasted tunnels of an old gold mine in South Dakota.

Catch up with friends and classmates in Class Notes, read up on faculty and alumni publications and find out what’s on President Liebowitz’s mind. It’s all in Brandeis Magazine, plus much more.

All managers and supervisors who need to update a job description, should now use the new Job Profile Template found on the Human Resources website. If you have any questions regarding the new form, please contact Lori Dougherty or Erika Chin.

Tufts Health Plan is sponsoring a live Well-Being Webinar Series. Every Wednesday from 12:15-1 p.m., a new webinar focused on maintaining your well-being through the COVID-19 pandemic will be presented via the Zoom platform. This series is open to all employees, not just Tufts Health Plan members. For a list of webinars and more information please visit the Human Resources website.

In these uncertain times, Fidelity and TIAA are offering both live and on demand webinars this summer. Watch and participate in practical conversations to help you live well financially, today and tomorrow.

Topics include but not limited to important information about Medicare, keeping personal information safe, retiring in the “new normal” and guiding you through turbulent times.

Visit the Human Resources website for a comprehensive list and registration details of upcoming webinars.

Looking to hone some new skills this summer? The Library is offering an exciting slate of workshops over Zoom. We hope you’ll consider signing up for workshops to learn more about:

• Data Services & Software, including R, Python, Qualtrics, SPSS, R, Stata, Automate with Shell, git and GitHub, and Atlas.ti
• LaTeX for Math & Science
• Library Research Skills
• Zotero and Citation Styles
• Arduino Electronics

• The New PubMed: What Do You Need to Know? Automate with Shell Git Version Control

We’re also happy to provide group workshops on a variety of topics. If you'd like to request a workshop for a group, please fill out our request form.

Throughout the end of the spring semester, the Department of Athletics featured the home fitness routines of staff members in their Feature Fridays. We're looking for more faculty and staff to feature over the summer. Check out the Home Fitness Friday Feature webpage to see who's been featured so far. If you want to share your routine to help motivate your fellow Brandeisians, send an e-mail to Kat Page or Adam Levin.

Throughout the summer months, the Brandeis Food Pantry is partnering with Healthy Waltham to distribute meals to folks within the Waltham community. Distributions occur twice a month on Thursdays and Saturdays, providing an estimated 600 families with food resources at each event. A call for volunteers will go out for each event with duties including sorting food, organizing the set up and break down, and distributing food to attendees. All volunteers will be trained on safety procedures and job functions.

If you are interested in helping to volunteer, please email Steven Weglinski to be added to the volunteer call list.

As you may be aware, there is an emerging nationwide issue involving criminal enterprises who may be in possession of stolen personal information from earlier national data breaches and have been attempting to file large amounts of illegitimate unemployment claims through various states’ systems. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development issued a statement providing more information.

At this time, we are not aware of any Brandeis faculty or staff who have been impacted. However, if you receive a letter or any other similar correspondence and have not submitted a claim, immediately contact the Department of Unemployment Assistance and complete the fraud contact form. The customer service number for the Department of Revenue is 877-626-6800.

If you are the subject of a false claim, we ask that you also notify the Office of Human Resources (humanresources@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4474) so we can be aware of incoming fraudulent claims and continue to monitor the situation.

The new Workday Financial Transactions and Reporting course is now available. This is an online, self-directed class that will help users navigate financial reports such as the Statement of Activities (SOA), Journal Detail, and Grant Details Reports. To register for the class, visit the Workday@Brandeis website. You will receive a confirmation email for the training that will include the link to access the self-directed class. Please set aside an hour to take the class. While an instructor will not be leading the class, any questions about the course content can be directed to workday@brandeis.edu and you will receive a response within 1-2 business days.

In addition, several job aids have been updated or added to the Workday Resources webpage as processes have been streamlined and optimized within Workday. Check out the ending student employment, compensation changes for student employees, or changing costing allocations job aids. Please check the website periodically to make sure you have the right version of the job aids. For any questions or issues using Workday, contact workday-help@brandeis.edu.

In the upcoming months, the on-campus analog cable service including foreign language channels (e.g., Hebrew, Italian) will be discontinued due to aging technology and equipment. ITS will continue to offer digital cable via the Xfinity On Campus wireless streaming service to students in residential areas. Xfinity provides live streaming and on-demand offerings through superior picture and sound quality. For faculty who are interested in continuing use of the foreign language channels as part of course assignments or on-campus students who wish to subscribe to the premium channels, please contact the Technology Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu.

With the shift to distance learning and working remotely, ITS provided the community with access to Adobe Creative Cloud (ACC) apps. Adobe Creative Cloud suite includes Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign which supports creation tools for graphic design, photography, video content and editing, and much more. Please note that the free offer for students will expire on July 6. Students can buy Adobe directly by visiting the Adobe website. Faculty and staff will continue to have access to ACC when maintaining an active Brandeis status. For more information, visit the ITS website. For questions, please contact help@brandeis.edu.