DECEMBER 17, 2007
News
EMPLOYEE SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN
ALUMNET WILL GET A FACELIFT
UNICCO CHANGES NAME
WHEN THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL….
MYERS CENTER ANNOUNCES BOOK WINNERS
SIMMONS STYLE GUIDE AVAILABLE
SEND US YOUR NEWS!
EMPLOYEE SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN
The results of this year’s Employee Opinion Survey are now available on the Human Resources website. The results, which are compiled in separate documents for faculty and staff, include a summary of the analyzed data and easy-to-read charts.
Survey results will be presented to each department/division by Jan. 28. Using the survey results, each department/division will be asked to provide one or two recommendations on which the Simmons community should focus, as well as one or two recommendations on which the department/division itself should focus.
On Jan. 29, based on these recommendations, President’s Council will agree on one or two items for community-wide focus, which President Scrimshaw will share with employees through In the Loop and other communications vehicles. Stay tuned for updates.
ALUMNET WILL GET A FACELIFT
Alumnet will have a new look in the New Year. In January 2008, Simmons will launch a redesigned website for Alumnet — the online community for alumnae/i — to be more user-friendly and consistent with other College websites.
The new site will feature several new additions, such as:
• calendars specific to each regional alumnae/i group in both a list and traditional calendar format
• class notes sorted by school and class year
• customized personal pages
The class notes section also will be updated. In addition to sorting online class notes by school and by class year, new fields for searching include maiden name and company name.
Class notes also will be included on each registered user’s personal page. The personal pages, similar to a Facebook or MySpace page, also allow alumnae/i to post photos and include their various groups and affiliations.
Visit Alumnet now for the latest in alumnae/i news and alumnae/i events, and then come back next month to view the new site and experience all these exciting features.
UNICCO CHANGES NAME
UNICCO, Simmons’s buildings and grounds vendor, recently was purchased by United Global Limited (UGL) and is currently in the process of changing its name to UGL-UNICCO.
UGL is a leading diversified services company providing maintenance, engineering, manufacturing, facility management, and corporate real estate services to blue chip companies and governments throughout the world.
“The name may be changing, but UNICCO will still be providing the same services to us and throughout North America it has offered for many years,” said Bill Concannon, director of business affairs.
The company is also introducing a new logo. “It is similar to UNICCO’s previous logo, but incorporates UGL in order to highlight the strength of UNICCO’s membership in United Group Limited’s international family of companies,” he said.
For more information, visit www.ugl-unicco.com.
WHEN THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL….
…Check ahead before you leave for work.
In the event Simmons needs to close due to hazardous weather conditions, the College will inform employees through the following methods:
WBZ 1030-AM Radio and WBZ-TV Channel 4 — WBZ NewsRadio will read the list of school cancellations twice per hour (5 and 35 minutes past the hour) during its Storm Center operation, and during the local news updates on CBS’s The Early Show. Every effort will be made to ensure that a Simmons closure is made beginning with the 6:35 a.m. newscast. Those commuting from long distances are advised to delay their departure from home until complete cancellation information is available.
A voicemail message will be broadcast over the College’s telephone system. You can call 617-521-3463 and select the menu choice for school closing information. If possible, the College also will announce storm and other emergencies through email messages and an announcement posted on the home page of the Simmons website.
Every effort will be made to keep the College open during a snowstorm, including making use of delayed openings. If appropriate, the broadcast and voicemail announcements will specify delayed opening times for day classes. Most closings will be for day closings only. In the event that evening classes must be canceled, a separate announcement will be made by mid-afternoon.
Judgments for weather related closings are based upon the best information available from the Boston office of the National Weather Service. Each employee should make his or her own decision about whether to travel to work, based on weather conditions in his/her area. It is strongly suggested that public transportation, if readily accessible, is used to get to and from the College during snowy and icy weather.
If the College is open and an employee is not present, this absence will be charged either as vacation time or as unpaid time, based on the employee’s preference. Employees deciding to stay home should notify their supervisor as soon as possible in the morning. It is the responsibility of deans, vice presidents, department chairs, directors, and department heads to establish telephone trees if they so desire.
Please do not call the Department of Public Safety to ask whether the College is open. During snow, storm, and other emergencies the dispatcher is extremely busy, and calls of this nature may impede the handling of serious problems.
MYERS CENTER ANNOUNCES BOOK WINNERS
Each December, in observance of Human Rights Day, the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights celebrates authors and books that challenge bigotry and discrimination and address the rights and compassionate responsibilities within a community.
“The center identifies recent books that speak to too-often erased histories, too-little heard stories and analyses, and too-scantily noticed strategies for social change,” said Loretta Williams, director of the center.
The 2007 Myers Center Outstanding Books Winners are:
• The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin’s Theory (Carroll & Graf, 2007) by Kenny Fries
• Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007) by Saidiya Hartman
• The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (South End Press, 2007), edited by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
• The Secret Powers of Naming (University of Arizona Press, 2006) by Sara Littlecrow-Russell
• Dancing on Live Embers: Challenging Racism in Organizations (Between The Lines, 2006) by Tina Lopes & Barb Thomas
• Clinging to Mammy: The Faithful Slave in Twentieth-Century America (Harvard University Press, 2007) by Micki McElya
• Anti-Arab Racism in the USA: Where it Comes From and What it Means for Politics Today (Pluto Press, 2006) by Steven Salaita
• Getting It: A Novel (Simon & Schuster, 2006) by Alex Sanchez
• The Cost of Privilege: Taking on the System of White Supremacy and Racism (Camino Press, 2007) by Chip Smith
• Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (Doubleday, 2006) by Harriet A. Washington
For further info, visit the Myers Center at www.myerscenter.org.
SIMMONS STYLE GUIDE AVAILABLE
The updated, official Simmons Style Guide is available online as a PDF for downloading. This style guide for Simmons employees is a handy reference tool to be used when creating documents of institutional importance — particularly for external audiences. This guide not only contains Simmons-specific rules, but also discusses general grammar and usage rules, as well as commonly confused rules.
To download the Simmons Style Guide, visit http://my.simmons.edu/services/marketing/index.shtml.
The Style Guide will be updated periodically. If you have a suggestion for an addition, change, or correction to the document, or if you have any questions, please contact Elyse Pipitone at pipitone@simmons.edu, or x2361.
SEND US YOUR NEWS!
It’s no secret: your department does great work. But that good work may be a secret to others. Please share your news and accomplishments with the Office of Public Relations, so its staff can spread the word and further advance the College’s reputation.
•Are you doing interesting research, or have you recently received a grant?
•Have you just published a book or article, or made a presentation to a professional organization?
•Are you involved in collaborations with other departments or community agencies?
•Are you hosting an interesting event that is open to the Simmons community and/or the general public?
If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, contact In the Loop Editor Elyse Pipitone at pipitone@simmons.edu, or Public Relations Director Diane Millikan at millikan@simmons.edu, with the details. Who knows? You could end up in In the Loop, in the Simmons alumni magazine, on the Simmons website, or even in regional or national media!
DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR NEWS TO US TODAY!
» Academic Accolades
Are you doing interesting research, or have you recently receive a grant? Have you just published a book or article, or made a presentation to a professional organization? Share your accomplishments here.
» Loop Listings
Do you have something to sell or a service to provide? Submit your listing to Loop Listings.
» Grapevine
Do you have something to brag about? A new marriage or baby? Civic award or athletic achievement? Share your news with Simmons!
» Unsung Hero
Is there someone at Simmons who goes above and beyond the responsibilities listed in her/his job description? Someone who makes your own job easier? Give your Unsung Hero some much-deserved recognition.
» Secret Lives
Are you involved in an off-campus hobby or diversion that’s an extreme departure from your day job? Reveal your “other life” to your colleagues.
» Community Service Highlight
Are you or your program/department involved in a community service project on campus or in the community that could use faculty and staff volunteers? Recruit help here.
