Staff Senate Announcements: November 18 Meeting

 

Academic Affairs

  • John Maxon and Rosemary Robinson are officially retired as of November 1st
  • CAHSS is recruiting a new Senior Administrative Assistant (application open)
  • Student Success Center is recruiting student workers for spring and preparing for the fall tutoring blitz

Advancement/University President’s Office/ODEI/Athletics

  • The new Director for Alumni Relations and Special Events is Kelly Myers. She will be joining UAH on December 16.  She has extensive experience in Higher Education working with Advancement departments and most recently serving as the Executive Director at KCC Foundation at Kankakee Community College.

  • VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion provided an update on changes to Title IX

Facilities and Operations

  • BEV Center Cooling Tower replacement:
    • Contractors have made good progress since the start of the construction September 14, 2020 expected end date December 21, 2020
  • Morton Hall Addition & Renovations:
    • Contractors are completing final punch list items pending receipt and approval of project closeout documents.
  • Spragins Hall Exterior Renovations:
    • Pre-construction conference for the front entry column, bean & Soffit Cladding project was conducted on October 23, 2020 substantial completion is scheduled for February 23, 2020
  • Partial Campus water outage:
    • We will have several water main line valve replacements happening on the 14th. This will affect BEV, CRH, CTC, WIL, LIB, ROB and NUR. There will be no water on these buildings for most of the day.
  • CTC Kitchen:
    • We have several drains which need alteration in the kitchen area of CTC which leak into the Army basement section. These will be cut out and replaced then sealed back to prevent water from seeping around the drain body. Start date is Dec. 14th and ongoing on or before the 4th of January.
  • CTC
    • We have some water line replacements in the mechanical room of CTC. This will effect the hot water system which will be down for several days possibly, plus several outages on the cold line while we tie the new system back in. This will also start on the 14th and completion by the 4th of January.

Finance & Administration

Research

  • The Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR) research center published a paper that models the nature of solar switchback from the data that arrived from NASA’s Parker solar probe.
  • The Propulsion Research Center (PRC) is working on their liquid-fueled engine. They plan on test firing their rocket at the end of November.
  • New atomic layer deposition process invented by UAH researchers (Dr. Jang and Dr. Lei).

Student Affairs

  • Dining Service:
  • Housing
    • The new Director of Housing and Residence Life has been selected, Neil McMillion will be joining us from the University of West Florida and starts on January 4th

Events

  • Take Your Child to Work Day
    • Holding off on any planning or discussion until we receive updates regarding the “No Children on Campus” policy and the onboarding of the new Director of Alumni Relations & Events
  • Staff Senate T-Shirts
    • We coordinated with OMC and got a final design proof; will be sending it out to the vendor to print.
  • Holiday Party
    • We received 14 responses to the previous survey, indicating indifference for “in-person” or “virtual” or “in-person,” with COVID guidelines adhered to. Our committee has decided to offer two different “parties”, so everyone can get their fill of holiday cheer! 
      • On Wednesday, December 9th, we will host a virtual Holiday Party during the regular hours of Staff Senate general meeting (11:00 AM to 12:00 PM)
      • Half of the meeting will be meant for getting to know each other through icebreakers, while the other half will be dedicated to a friendly trivia game!
      • On Thursday, December 10th, we will host an in-person Holiday Party at Stovehouse, off of Governor’s Drive. As an outdoor venue with spaced out seating, we figured this would be the best option for an in-person gathering. This will be OPTIONAL.
      • In lieu of secret Santa or gift exchange, we ask that you bring a toy donation that will be given to a chosen charity (e.g., CASA, Foster Child, etc.)  Food will be on your own, but join your fellow Senators for a socially-distanced celebration! New Business/Discus

To submit an announcement, contact omc@uah.edu.
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