Thanks to the support of many, many people across campus and in the wider community, the Gwen Hale Resource Center has been serving a LOT of folks this year. We have provided food, toiletries, clothing and more to community members – logging over 350 visits so far this academic year. (For comparison, last year by this time we had logged about 75 visits). We are also serving over 150 people every other week when the Food Bank comes to campus for a Fresh Market produce distribution on Thursdays, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Lee Hall. ALL are welcome and encouraged to come get fresh fruits and veggies!

We want to:

-make sure we all know that our students still have significant resource needs
-THANK YOU for your support (in donations, in volunteer time, in spreading the word)
-and ask for yet more support in the Spring.

There are several opportunities for support coming up in Spring 2023:

1. Our Food Bank Fresh Markets will occur the first Thursday and third Wednesday of each month, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. We aim to have student volunteers at these distributions, but help from fac/staff would always be so welcome. Please just let me know if you’d like to join – or show up on the day, that is great too.

2. Through the Food Bank, we have developed a partnership with the Giant in Eagle Village, and we pick up donations there every Tuesday morning at 9. I am recruiting volunteers who would be willing to take a turn doing this pick up, and dropping off at GHRC. If you’re interested, please let me know and I’ll send more info and a link to a sign-up form.

3. We can always use more donations, honestly. “In kind” donations are the easiest for us to handle – you know, food. We have a steady need for bars (granola, breakfast, snack, you name it), snacks of any kind, breakfast food. But anything you’d care to provide, we would be delighted to receive. Donations can be dropped off outside of the Center for Community Engagement (UC 320) or at the GHRC itself (Lee Hall Attic).

Thanks again for your support.

Leslie Martin
Associate Professor of Sociology

Hello Colleagues!

Over the past several semesters, an evolving group of faculty and staff have gathered a few times a semester to discuss a book we all agree to read. We talk informally about the reading, and about how it relates to the work we do together here at UMW. We have read Kendi’s How to be an Anti-Racist, McGhee’s The Sum of Us and Wilkerson’s Caste.

We are hoping to reconvene in the spring semester, and we invite any interested folks to join us! Let us know you’re interested by completing this short google form. Please respond by Friday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m., so we can begin to plan for spring.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Leslie Martin or Shavonne Shorter.

December’s Women’s Leadership Colloquium Coffee Talk will be held in person on Tuesday, Dec. 13, from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Jepson Alumni and Executive Center Board Room, 1119 Hanover St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. Parking is available on Hanover Street. The Coffee Talk will be led by Janel Donohue, President, Rappahannock United Way, discussing Celebrating Your Excellence! What better way to end the year than with an empowering conversation that will leave you feeling ready to take on anything in 2023. Your excellence is a powerful tool you can utilize to have the best year yet. Register for the event.

The Virginia Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) has updated Policy 4.20 – Family and Medical Leave . Effective January 10, 2023, Policy 4.20 changes the 12-month measurement period from a fixed 12-month period to a rolling 12-month period.

What’s the Difference?

Fixed 12-month period (Current):

Currently, the FMLA calendar is based on the DHRM leave year: January 10 – January 9, and eligible employees may take up to 12 workweeks (480 work hours) of FMLA leave during that period.  When FMLA leave is requested, the amount of available leave is determined based on how many hours of FMLA leave the employee has taken since the start of the leave year (Jan. 10).

Rolling 12-month period (effective January 10, 2023):

Eligible employees will still have 12 workweeks of FMLA leave available within a 12-month period, however, the calculation method we use to determine available leave will change.  In order to determine the number of FMLA hours available to an employee, we will look back at the 12 months immediately prior to the requested period of FMLA leave.  We will calculate the amount of FMLA taken during those previous 12-months and determine the amount of remaining FMLA available for the current request. Each time an employee uses FMLA, the remaining unused balance of the 480 work hours is adjusted.

First-Year Transition:

·         During the first year of this policy change (1/10/23 – 1/9/24)  we will use the 12-month measurement method that is the most beneficial to the employee.  The transition will take place in such a way that employees retain the full benefit of their leave entitlement.

·         Employees who are on an approved FMLA leave during the current Leave Year (prior to January 10, 2023) will continue to be in a certified and approved status through the end of the FMLA event. For these employees, there is no need for any action to be taken until the time already approved leave has ended, or additional FMLA is requested by the employee.

·         Employees who have not used FMLA in the prior 12-month period are eligible for the 480 FMLA hours, or the prorated number of hours corresponding to the percentage of hours they normally are scheduled to work.

Please refer to DHRM Policy 4.20 – Family and Medical Leave for additional information about FMLA, such as eligibility and medical certification requirements.

Please contact Denise Frye (Dfrye2@umw.edu) or Janet Hudgins (jhudgins@umw.edu) if you have questions.

Thanks,

Beth Williams
Executive Director for Human Resources
540 654-1294
bwilli22@umw.edu

UMW Police & Public Safety Offices is moving to South Hall. This relocation will allow for inspection and repairs in the current headquarters of Brent House, addressing water damage in the basement and ongoing issues with the roof, gutters and windows.

Until the move is complete, UMW Police & Public Safety services can still be accessed in Brent House. The on-campus emergency number 540-654-4444, off-campus emergency number 911, and non-emergency number 540-654-1025 remain the same. UMW’s police station will continue to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Public safety services and police response will continue uninterrupted during the move, and all campus community and public access will be via South Hall when the move is complete. We will update the campus community on the date of the move.

Accessible parking will be available in Lot 26 in front of South Hall, and anyone needing to access the building without steps can call the non-emergency number 540-654-1025 for service. Lot 26 will be reconfigured primarily as police parking, with some faculty and staff spaces. Faculty and staff parking will then be available in the spaces surrounding Brent House as well as existing parking around Jefferson Square. Please note that this parking reconfiguration also takes effect with the move.

This temporary relocation is a first step as the University considers options for a long-term solution. Brent House will be closed to the public and campus community following the move.

Contact Chief of Police Michael Hall with questions at mhall2@umw.edu or call the non-emergency number 540-654-1025 for general information.

The next meeting of the President’s Council on Sustainability (PCS) will be on Friday, Nov. 18, from 1 to 2 p.m. The guest speaker for this meeting will be Sarah Stalcup-Jones, Research and Heavy Duty Vehicle Programs Manager for Virginia Clean Cities (VCC). Sarah will be sharing an overview of VCC as well as her work on UMW’s fleet assessment projects and Drive Clean Rural. PCS meetings are held each month of the fall and spring semester and are open to employees, students and the public. Please consider attending and sharing this information with other members of the UMW and Fredericksburg community. To attend on the 18^th, go to https://umw-sso.zoom.us/j/81635523370.

In other news, have you checked out umwsustainability on Instagram? Connect with them to get involved by going to linktr.ee/UMWSustainability. Be sure to follow them and help take UMW toward a greener future!