October 26, 2021 Here are the notes from the October 2021 Staff Senate meeting: Dr. Dawson attended the October meeting and gave some updates to the Staff Senate. Discussed COVID protocols and evaluating mask requirements The Altenkirch Greenway extension is underway ($12 Million bond is allowing for several infrastructure projects) Enrollment is down by about 300. Many universities are seeing the same drop of 3-15%. We are rallying in the spring to increase enrollment. Steering Committee for Strategic Plan has 6 sub committees. Proceeding with input by the end of November. Provided overview of recent change regarding the Graduate School under the new Associate Provost Graduate Admissions has been aligned under Student Affairs to modernize the admissions process, with an emphasis on master’s degree output as something we should excel at. Reminded staff members of the inclusion of Special Events with Alumni Relations, under Advancement Reminded staff members of the move of Parking Management under Auxiliary Services, apart from Campus Police Patricia Ackers, with Human Resources, also attended and gave an overview presentation regarding Open Enrollment. Open Enrollment ends November 3. NO Action is Required if you do not want to make changes to health, dental, or vision coverage. Action IS Required to participate in a tax favored account. Dependent Care Account (DCFSA) Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) Health Savings Account (HSA) You must re-enroll for the 2022 plan year, annual elections DO NOT carry over from year-to-year. No premium increase No plan design changes for dental and vision Some noted changes are to pharmacy benefits, mail order provision, insulin procedure change and split pill program. Charger Fit enrollment ends October 31. The Student Success Center is recruiting tutors and PASS leaders for the Spring 2022 semester. Students can visit our website to learn more and apply. Please share this information with any students who may be interested Presentation Coaching is now available through Academic Coaching to improve students' presentation skills Andrew Ruiz is joining the Registrar’s Office as the new Records Coordinator Spring 2022 registration is now open Flu Shots continue to be available in the Faculty and Staff Clinic. The charge is $20.00 and payments can be made by cash, check or payroll deduction. COVID19 Vaccines and Boosters: Johnson & Johnson - 18 and older, one dose only. No booster at this time. Moderna - 18 and older, 2 doses 4 weeks apart. Booster for IMMUNOCOMPROMISED ONLY Pfizer - 12 and older 2 doses 3 weeks apart. Booster for HIGH-RISK and FRONT-LINE WORKERS 6 months after second dose. COVID19 vaccines and boosters are FREE. They are still being given at the Vaccine clinic at Executive Plaza Room 818. Call extension 2400 for an appointment. The clinic is open to the public. Please bring your original COVID19 vaccine card to the appointment. Alumni weekend is October 27-30. Join us for Charger Tipoff on Friday, October 29th! This unique event will take place at Campus 805 and will feature a basketball court on the Butler Green. Charger Tipoff will feature a preview of the men's and women's 2021-2022 basketball teams and guest appearances from Mayor Battle and Mayor Finley. Charger Classic will take place October 30th in Hampton Cove on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. All revenue will benefit the Alumni Association Fund which supports alumni and student programming. For more information: uah.edu/alumni/alumni-weekend UAH PRIDE events: visit uah.edu/diversity to learn more UAH Magazine and FOCUS magazine will be out soon. Keep an eye out for those to read and see all the different ways that our campus community continues to grow, succeed and make an impact in our world. UAH hosted the 14th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium Student Poster Competition from 10/12 to 10/14. This is the third year the competition was open to academic researchers from any university. Dr. Kevin Knupp, a Professor of Atmospheric and Earth Science at UAH, in conjunction with Dr. Lawrence Carey, and Dr. Ryan Wade, is leading a 5-year, $1.23M NSF-funded project to leverage UAH equipment and instrument to increase collaboration with external organizations. UAH has partnered with the Army Educational Outreach Program to provide historically underrepresented students with hands-on experience in the STEM fields in conjunction with UAH’s Research or Creative Experience for Undergraduates. Dr. Gabe Xu is developing a new concept for solid fueled ramjet using a rotating detonation engine for hypersonic air-breathing propulsion as part of a 3-year, $1.5M grant funded by the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics, a U.S. Dept. of Defense initiative. This work will take place at UAH’s Propulsion Research Center. David Haliczer, a third-year doctoral student in atmospheric science, is 1 of 65 graduate students selected for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research fellowship program.