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!

Dear members of the UMW community:

With deep sadness, I write to let you know that we have learned about the death of one of our students, Jessica Gentry, who passed away recently from medical complications after an illness. Jessica was a nurse, dedicated to the profession that worked to save her and one in which she showed great promise.

Jessica was in her final semester of the Nursing (BSN) Program at Mary Washington. She took most of her classes online, and in addition to pursuing her passion, she was mom to a six-year-old son. We know she will be dearly missed by friends and family, and we are sharing these details with you by permission of the family.

A service for Jessica will take place this Saturday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m. at Preddy Funeral Home, 301 S Main St, Gordonsville, VA 22942, with more information available on their website soon.

This news of the untimely death of a member of the campus community comes just after the tragic news and loss of life at our peer institution, the University of Virginia. Our hearts are already heavy, and even so, the Mary Washington community has extended care and concern, supporting classmates across the state and reaching out to colleagues any way we can. Please reach out if you need support too.

The staff members at the Talley Center for Counseling Services are here for any student who may need immediate support this week. Please call (540) 654-1053 to schedule an appointment or connect with after-hours services. Visit the Talley Center website for additional resources. For faculty and staff, information about the Employee Assistance Program, which is available at no cost, may be accessed through the Human Resources website.

We extend our sympathies and support to the University of Virginia and all who have been impacted by the tragedy this week. We also mourn the passing of a member of our campus community. These students have been taken from the world too soon, and we will miss them.

Sincerely,

Troy D. Paino, J.D., Ph.D.
President

The COAR Gift Box Drive has started! The UMW community fills gift boxes with hats, gloves, and books for 3 to 5-year-old students in the Head Start program in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania. The boxes will be delivered to the students by COAR staff during finals week.

1. Gift Box Pick Up: Email coarumw@gmail.com and the COAR students can deliver the empty gift boxes to you. Or, you can stop by the Center for Community Engagement in Suite 320 in the CRUC and pick out your boxes.
2. What goes in the boxes?: Each box should include a small toy, hat, gloves, toothbrush, and toothpaste.
3. When are boxes returned?: Boxes should be returned to the CCE by Nov. 30, if possible.  COAR students can pick up boxes if needed! Just email coarumw@gmail.com.
4. Thank you: Thank you for helping our Fredericksburg community by participating in this gift drive for area Head Start students.

Bartlett Tree Repair will be on campus to perform necessary tree work Monday, November 21 – Thursday, November 24, 2022.   Parking will be impacted as follows in order to provide adequate space for the work:

9:00 PM, Sunday, November 20 – November 24, 2022:

• The Inbound Lane of Double Drive will be closed for parking
• 10 spaces closest to College Avenue (5 on each side) of Double Drive Outbound will be closed to parking while work is under way.  Once the work in this area is complete, these spaces will be reopened.
• Tree work taking place in Jefferson Square may create temporary traffic flow restrictions
• Be alert for traffic pattern changes in all areas while work is progressing

All vehicles must be moved from Double Drive inbound and parts of outbound before 12:00 PM on Sunday, November 20. Signs and traffic cones will be in place by Sunday afternoon, marking the areas that will be closed.

Additional parking locations for faculty, staff and visitors can be found on the Campus Parking Map.

As a reminder:

• Accessible parking spaces are available in all open lots to any vehicles with DMV-issued accessible placards or license plates.
• The UMW Police Department provides escorts when needed and may be reached at ext. 1025. Please visit the Safety Escort webpage for more information.

For a calendar view of lot reservations visit the Parking Lot Reservations Calendar.

Please contact Maie Makin in Parking Management with any parking related questions: mmakin2@umw.edu, 540/654-1129.