The Department of Student Engagement is recruiting volunteers to support the Campus Activities Board's Spring Fest concert on Sunday, April 14. If you are interested in working a shift during Spring Fest, please sign up by adding your name to one of the yellow cells in this spreadsheet. We ask that folks sign up by April 8. Volunteers will be provided with food/refreshments during their shift, as well as a SpringFest t-shirt, while supplies last. This event is a great opportunity to connect with students as they celebrate the end of the academic year. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Matt Galewski or Teri Tozzi.

Sign up today for a Warner Farm CSA share and receive a personalized box of fresh, delicious, locally grown vegetables, delivered right to the campus of Brandeis University. Our 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, eggs, mushroom, bread, pork, and flower shares. Deliveries take place from June through October, every Thursday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. 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.

On May 19 Brandeis will recognize and celebrate the achievements of graduates at the 73rd Commencement Exercises. Staff not already scheduled to work Commencement should respond on this form by April 12 and indicate your availability for either or both the Undergraduate Commencement ceremony in the morning and the Graduate Commencement ceremony in the afternoon. Non-exempt staff will be paid for their assignments and exempt staff who volunteer will be eligible for one day off per ceremony worked, up to two, to be coordinated with their manager and used by the end of the calendar year. An opportunity for students to serve as paid Commencement Ushers is posted in Workday.

Information regarding ceremonies, schedules, and answers to frequently asked questions is available on the Commencement page. University Events is grateful for your support in this enormous celebratory production! Please direct any questions you have to commencement@brandeis.edu.

Our April ITS Spotlight is on the Networks Team. Led by Chris Yingst, the Networks Team manages several core services, including internet access for all students, faculty, and staff. The team supports the data centers, telecommunications, Wi-Fi, and wired networking, which includes routers, switches, and controllers, in addition to the structured cabling that connects all of campus. Please visit the Networks Team Staff Spotlight to read more about this accomplished team (including an honorary furry team member), what brought them to Brandeis, and how they enjoy spending their time outside the office.

The financial aid renewal application deadline for the 2024-2025 academic year has passed.  Students who would like to apply for need-based scholarship funds must submit 2024-2025 CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and copies of 2022 student and parent Federal Income Tax Returns.  Students who wish to apply only for federal sources of financial aid need only complete the FAFSA (taxes will be requested upon receipt of this application only if necessary).  

 SFS began receiving FAFSA applications from Federal Student Aid (FSA) in the second half of March.You may check your Financial Aid Portal, which you can access via the link on the Financial Aid page in Workday, to see if your FAFSA has been received by Brandeis.  If you have not yet filed your application, please do so as soon as possible.  If you have filed your FAFSA, there may be some additional actions that you may need to take to finalize your application.  Please check the FSA FAFSA portal to view if any actions may be required.

FSA is expecting to enable students to submit updates and corrections to their FAFSA forms in the first half of April.  FSA is working to resolve a number of issues with FAFSA data and they expect to begin reprocessing applications, and sending updated information to schools, by the end of April. We will continue to monitor any updates from FSA on the accuracy of the FAFSA data.  Please check our Changes to FAFSA page for updates.  

Sign up for one of our 30-minute, one-on-one financial literacy sessions!  We hope that you will take advantage of this great opportunity to ask questions about budgeting, managing debt, understanding your paycheck, W-2’s etc. Book an appointment today.

SFS hosted a webinar regarding the 2024-2025 financial aid application process for continuing undergraduate students on January 29. The webinar included details about the 2024-2025 financial aid application process, changes to the FAFSA, the appeal process, emergency funding, and other related topics. A recording of the webinar is now available.

We are excited to offer an opportunity for faculty, staff and postdocs to purchase Bruins playoff tickets. To enter your name into the drawing for Bruins playoff tickets, please go to this form, and fill out the required information. The form will be active from today, to Friday, April 12 at noon. If you are selected to purchase tickets, you will receive an email with additional information. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Office of Finance and Administration.

On May 1 the university will host its annual Staff Service Recognition Ceremony to honor employees who have attained 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service in 2023. If you have achieved this milestone anniversary, you and your supervisor will be receiving an invitation in your inbox within the next few weeks. Please be sure to keep an eye out.

There is still an opportunity to purchase Red Sox tickets. For a complete list of available games and pricing please visit the The Office of the EVP, Finance and Administration website.

Seats are in section RF box 97, row RR, seats 6 - 9. Tickets will be sold in pairs of two.

To purchase tickets please email Gail Jordan. First come, first serve.

We are delighted to announce a Faculty Mortgage Program (FMP) for tenured faculty at Brandeis.  The purpose of the program is to make home ownership more affordable to newly tenured faculty and to make Brandeis a more attractive employer to recruit and retain exemplary talent.  A secondary goal is to have the beneficiaries of this program live in relative proximity to campus to allow them greater engagement with campus activities. For additional information, please visit the faculty mortgage program page.

Brandeis is rich with religious diversity. Holidays celebrated by the Brandeis community during the first part of April include:

• Eid al-Fitr (Evening of April 9 or 10, until sundown the next day): Eid al-Fitr is one of two major holidays celebrated by Muslims and commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in which Muslims fast daily from before dawn until sunset. It is commemorated by a large, community-wide prayer service in the morning, followed by meals and conversation with friends and family. A mandatory charity called Zakat al-Fitr is collected before the prayer and distributed to the poor and needy, to ensure all can participate in the festivities. Eid al-Fitr is the Arabic name for the holiday, though it goes by many other names in other languages.
• Songkran (April 13 - 15): Songkran, also known as the Thai New Year, is a vibrant and joyous Buddhist holiday celebrated in Thailand and several other Southeast Asian countries. Lasting for three days in mid-April, the festival marks the transition from the dry season to the traditional Thai New Year and is characterized by its exuberant water rituals. Songkran is also a time for paying respects to elders and visiting temples, where offerings and prayers are made to bring good luck and prosperity for the year ahead. This cherished celebration embodies the essence of unity, joy, and spiritual reflection, making it an unforgettable experience for all who take part in its festivities.
• Rama Navami (April 17): The Hindu holiday of Rama Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama, who became king of Ayodhya, was known for his exemplary qualities. He was popular, brave, kind, just, intelligent, patient, loving, obedient, and dutiful. Rama Navami celebrations include reading the great epic Ramayana and staging plays of the Ram Lila, or the pastimes of the life of Lord Rama.

For more information on these and other holidays, visit the Center for Spiritual Life's Guide to Religious Observances. Did we miss a spiritual observance that is important to you? Please reach out to slife@brandeis.edu.

The monthly billing for Facility Services work requests from the fall are now charged to the budgets. This is due to a key vacancy in our Operations and Administration organization along with a technical issue. We are happy to say that this key role is filled and the issue has been remedied. We have submitted all of the charges to finance and they have processed the journals. Normal monthly billing is now resuming. Thanks for your understanding. If you have any questions or concerns please send an email to facilities@brandeis.edu with details.

The Office of Admissions will be welcoming admitted students and their families to visit Brandeis this spring for three different events, one of which takes place on Friday, April 19. Families who drive to campus will be instructed to park in the Theater Lot. To alleviate congestion in the Theater Lot, we kindly ask Brandeis staff, who usually park there, to utilize Lot J (located across from University Office Park on Angleside Road). Our campus shuttle operates from the South Street @ Brandeis Commuter Rail Station on weekdays for convenient transportation. Walking from the Brandeis/Roberts Commuter Rail Station to campus takes approximately 10 minutes, but if you prefer, our shuttle service reduces travel time to less than 5 minutes.

For additional transportation information, please see the campus shuttle page. The "Inside Deis" admitted student events are scheduled for April 7, 13, and 19.

Thank you for your support in helping us bring the next class of Brandeis students to our community.

The Hornstein Professional Leadership Program is excited to announce the launch of a new online master’s certificate designed for working professionals. The four-course program is designed for Jewish professionals who wish to become effective leaders within the complex and ever-changing landscape of today’s Jewish nonprofit space. Registration is now open, enroll today for an October start!

Eligible staff and faculty may enroll and receive up to 100% tuition assistance. Please contact Brandeis Online with questions.

An upgrade to Windows 11 was prematurely pushed to some Brandeis PCs on March 27 during routine Microsoft Windows System maintenance. ITS has taken steps to prevent additional PCs from being impacted by the forced update, but it was not possible to roll it back on machines that received Windows 11 at that time. For more information on the Windows 11 update, please visit Windows 11 on the ITS website.

Plans are in place for all domain PCs across campus to receive a Windows 11 update over the summer months. If your computer offers the option to update, you can get a head start by manually requesting “Windows Update” to start the process. If you have questions about Windows 11 or would like assistance in upgrading early, please contact the ITS Help Desk.

To address the challenges and opportunities presented by Generative AI, a campus Working Group has been formed and invites all members of the campus community to provide input about their use and perceptions of AI. Please complete the 7-minute survey which corresponds to your role on campus by April 12:

• Faculty survey
• Staff survey
• Student survey (undergraduate and graduate)

Your responses will be valuable as the Working Group develops recommendations for the University's leadership on developing a framework of generative AIs at Brandeis, including learning opportunities and professional development for the campus community. For questions, please contact Laura Hibbler.

At this hybrid event, Brandeis faculty and teaching staff from various disciplines will share their experiences of integrating AI tools into their courses, both to enhance student learning and to support their teaching. Please RSVP for in-person or online attendance to help us plan.

For upcoming professional development workshops and to access LinkedIn Learning, please visit the HR Training Website or email us at farquhar@brandeis.edu.

With nearly 1.6 million new cases of cancer in the United States each year there are very few individuals who have not been personally impacted by a cancer diagnosis.  Learn about steps you can take to lower your risk and improve outcomes with cancer screening. Cancer screening may find cancers such as breast, cervical, and colorectal (colon) cancers early, when treatment is likely to work best. Learn more. 

Let's keep our community healthy! Human Resources and Occupational Health Services will be bringing the pharmacy to you on Monday, April 22, 2024, 9 a.m. -1 .p.m.. Faculty, staff, and their adult family members (ages 18 and older) are welcome to meet with licensed pharmacists on campus to receive seasonal, scheduled, and recommended vaccinations. Be sure to check your insurances' pharmacy coverage ahead of time. Get vaccinated. 

The Division of Emergency Management is continuing to offer the "Until Help Arrives" training.  The next session is scheduled for April 11 at noon (virtual).

"Until Help Arrives" is a community based training with the overall goal of teaching participants basic skills to keep people with life threatening injuries alive until professional help arrives.  Participants will learn: 

• Situational Awareness: Stay alert, identify threats, stay safe.
• Identifying Life Threats: Know what to look for and act fast.
• Bleed Control: Techniques like tourniquet use and wound care.
• Injury Management: Proper ways to move and position the injured.
• Psychological Support: Comforting the wounded in distress.
• Efficient 9-1-1 Communication: Ensure the right info gets through, fast.

Visit the Emergency Preparedness website for upcoming dates and times and to get more information on this training series.

Webinars:

• The Sandwich Generation and Beyond: How to Be a Caregiver While Taking Care of Yourself – 4/17 at 1 p.m.  register
• KGA Support Overview for Managers – 4/11 at 2 p.m.  register

Personal Development Courses:

Did you know that KGA offers online Personal Development Courses on topics such as Stress Management, Critical Thinking, Goal Setting and Emotional Intelligence? To access courses on a variety of topics, go to the KGA Website (log-in password: brandeis) and view Online training under the Learn tab.

Exciting Member Deals for Summer Vacation Plans:

KGA provides member deals on everything you need for your summer vacation plans, including flights, hotels, car rentals, theme parks, concert and movie tickets and more! Just go to the KGA Website (log-in password: brandeis) and view Member Deals under the Learn tab.

Get an overview of the services KGA provides by viewing: KGA Support for Family, Home and Work or call 1-800-648-9557 or visit the KGA Website (log-in password: brandeis).

This month begins the shoulder months for heating/cooling. This is the time when temperatures range between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooler mornings followed by warmer afternoons make maintaining temperature comfort in our facilities a challenge. 

Most of the campus operates on a dual HVAC system. This means our system has to either be in heating mode or cooling mode and it can't not easily change between the two. It takes Facilities Services about 5 weeks to transfer from heating to cooling mode. Currently, we are in “heating” season but we will be switching to cooling mode starting April 1.

During April and the beginning of May, there will be days when your office/room temperature is not as warm, or cool, as you want it to be. We ask that everyone dress in layers to accommodate this. We also suggest using operable windows when the weather outside is more suitable to your liking.    

We understand that at times this may be uncomfortable but we ask for your patience during these New England shoulder months and this switch-over. On April 1, facilities will start to switch over to cooling first in the Science Buildings (~3 weeks), then will move to the Residence Halls and Academic Buildings. The complete switchover should be done the first week in May.  

Please review the building temperature policy located at on the Brandeis sustainability website.