Staff Forum Meetings
Meeting times and places are set when the academic year begins. Meetings are called by the co-chairs at these designated times. Additional meetings may be called by the co-chairs as necessary. The agendas for the meetings are set by the co-chairs in consultation with the advisory group. Attendance at Staff Forum meetings, although voluntary, is encouraged and considered work time. While essential services need to be considered, supervisors should notify employees of Staff Forum meetings and encourage participation.
Save the Dates!
Staff Forum Meeting Calendar for the 2022-2023 Academic Year
- August 31 (Wednesday)
- September 30 (Friday)
- October 26 (Wednesday)
- December 7 (Wednesday)
- January 25 (Wednesday)
- February 22 (Wednesday)
- March 22 (Wednesday)
- April 19 (Wednesday)
- May 24 (Wednesday)
Location of these dates will be taking place in Baird Lounge, with a virtual option to attend via Microsoft Teams (to be included in the agenda sent to staff ahead of time)
Join us at a staff forum advisory committee meeting!
All meetings of the Staff Forum Advisory Committee are open to all Berea College employees! To join us at one of these meetings, click here to see our lists of upcoming meeting dates.
Other Events, Services, Benefits, and More Open to All Employees of the Berea Community
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Events
Check out upcoming events for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion here: https://calendar.berea.edu/events/category/diversity-equity-inclusion/list. For more information, contact Beth Taylor (taylors2@berea.edu).
Berea College Calendar
Want information about lectures, events, Convocations, and activities across campus? If so, please visit the Berea College calendar, available here: https://calendar.berea.edu.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The EAP benefit provides up to 6 free counseling sessions for eligible employees and their dependents. These sessions are with certified counselors from The Lexington Group and are completely confidential (they do not inform Berea College of who is using this benefit). Traditionally, employees could get counseling face-to-face or by phone. However, the Lexington Group now offers the option for online counseling (video and messaging). For more information about video counseling and the EAP benefit, please see the documents linked below (you will be asked to provide your Berea College credentials to access them).
TIAA Monthly Webinars
TIAA has monthly webinars covering a variety of topics related to preparing for retirement and they are completely free to Berea College employees. If interested, please sign up by going to TIAA.org/webinars.
Smoking Cessation
Sometimes you start to believe you just might be better off as a non-smoker. If you fit into that category, send Jill Gurtatowski an email (gurtatowskij@berea.edu) to discuss if this is the right program for you.
Weight Watchers
WW is back! Berea College has partnered with WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined) to help employees meet their health and wellness goals. This new offering involves a monthly digital membership (formerly called eTools) for only $9.00/month. This Program is open to all employees. Spouses/partners on a College medical plan are also eligible.
Here is how myWW+ works:
- Take the new personal assessment for a holistic view of what impacts weight loss for you—from food to sleep to how you think.
- You will be scientifically matched with a food plan (Green, Blue, or Purple) that guides you toward food choices geared to your preferences.
- Your WW app will be personalized with trackers, FitPoints®, tips & tricks, recipes, and tools designed to help make losing weight easier.
Take a look at the new program here: https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/blog/weight-loss/myww
To sign up for WW for $9.00/month, visit: https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/wwhs click on see discounted rates, enter Access ID: 15891332
Employees enter your BNumber – please include “B” and leading zeros. Spouses will enter employees’ BNumber with an “S” in front. Ex. SB000111. If you have an active eTools account, cancel your existing account by calling WW Customer Service at 1-866-204-2885. For more information, please email Jill Gurtatowski (gurtatowskij@berea.edu).
Coffee and Cream Chats
Besides a great way to get your morning cup of coffee, Coffee & Cream Chat is a monthly meeting designed for supervisors to be able to hear about the Labor Program’s new initiatives and any updates, as well as ask any questions they may have for the Labor Program team. Topics that will be covered are usually included in the reminder email we send out to all supervisors. Always feel free to come ready with any questions you may have.
Fall 2022 Coffee & Cream Chats are TBA.
For more information, please email Rosanna Napoleon (napoleonr2@berea.edu).
Green Dot Training
Green Dot is a Bystander Intervention Program designed to help reduce power-based violence, including: sexual violence, domestic abuse, child abuse, stalking, and bullying in our community. Find out more about Green Dot.
The next scheduled Green Dot training for employees is TBA.
For questions, concerns, to RSVP, or for more information visit the Title IX webpage, email Joslyn Glover, or Beth Taylor, or call 859-985-3606.
Safe Zone Training
Berea College is one of hundreds of colleges and universities that provide training to promote inclusive spaces for LGBTQ students. More specifically, this Safe Zone Training Program provides participants with an opportunity to gain knowledge and awareness about gender and sexual identity development. Participants will be engaged in experiential activities that promote a space for dialogue and questions related to gender and sexual identity. Upon completion of the training, participants will leave with educational materials and an optional window cling or sticker to place in your office/workspace. Should you choose to take the Safe Zone sticker you will be communicating that your office is a safe, friendly, respectful, and non-judgmental space for our LGBTQ students. Each training is limited to 25 people per session.
The Fall 2022 date for the SafeZone Employee training is TBA.
For more information about this training opportunity or to RSVP, please contact Joslyn Glover, Berea’s Title VII/IX Coordinator, at gloverj@berea.edu.
Title IX Training
Covers Berea College’s policies and procedures on Sexual Misconduct, how to identify and prevent sexual violence, How to report and incident, and the impact of trauma on victims. All new employees are required to attend one of these sessions. For more information about upcoming sessions, please contact Joslyn Glover via email or phone. These trainings typically cover important information about Berea College’s Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures and Nondiscrimination Policy, how to prevent and identify sexual violence, appropriate methods for responding to reports of sexual misconduct, and how and to whom such misconduct must be reported.
Employee trainings for the Fall 20222 term are TBA.
For questions, concerns, to RSVP to trainings, or more information email Joslyn Glover, or Beth Taylor, or call 859-985-3606.
Programming at the Forestry Outreach Center
View a full listing of upcoming events at the Forestry Outreach Center.
First Thursday Club
First Thursday Club is a monthly gathering where we build community around discussions and deeper reflection about race, racism, understanding and rooting out white supremacy, and lifting up racial justice. Bring either an appetizer of a main dish to share if you can (dessert is provided). On-site child care will be available.
- 6 PM on the first Thursday of every month at the Berea Friends Meeting House (300 Harrison Road).
Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
Participation in the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). More information about the IDI can be found here. To take the IDI as an individual, area, or office, please contact Dr. Dwayne Mack (mackd@berea.edu) or Dr. Scott Steele (scott_steele@berea.edu).
Run/Walk with the Presidential Trio
The Appalachian Seminar & Tour
General Faculty Assembly Meetings
The Gender Talk Luncheon Series
Center for International Education Events
The Celebration of Traditional Music
Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education Programs and Events
Programming at the Willis D. Weatherford Campus Christian Center
Events at the bell hooks Institute
Loyal Jones Appalachian Center Events
Participation in Dean’s Reading Groups
With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the continuation of Dean’s Reading Groups for the 2022-2023 academic year. Both staff and faculty are invited to participate. Books are below.
| Book or Series | Date, Location, and Discussion Leaders |
|---|---|
| High Conflict: Why we Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. That’s what “high conflict” does. It’s the invisible hand of our time. And it’s different from the useful friction of healthy conflict. That’s good conflict, and it’s a necessary force that pushes us to be better people. High conflict, by contrast, is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. In this state, the normal rules of engagement no longer apply. The brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority and, at the same time, more and more mystified by the other side. New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free. | Sept. 26 & Oct. 3, 2022; 3:00-4:00pm Knapp Hall Library Lead by Rochelle Arms-Almengor & Matt Saderholm |
| Relationship Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College by Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert In Relationship-Rich Education, Felten and Lambert demonstrate that for relationships to be central in undergraduate education, colleges and universities do not require immense resources, privileged students, or specially qualified faculty and staff. All students learn best in an environment characterized by high expectation and high support, and all faculty and staff can learn to teach and work in ways that enable relationship-based education. Emphasizing the centrality of the classroom experience to fostering quality relationships, Felten and Lambert focus on students' influence in shaping the learning environment for their peers, as well as the key difference a single, well-timed conversation can make in a student's life. They also stress that relationship-rich education is particularly important for first-generation college students, who bring significant capacities to college but often face long-standing inequities and barriers to attaining their educational aspirations. | Oct. 31 and Nov 7, 2022; 3:30-4:30pm Draper Conference Room on the third floor (307) Led by Sarah Adams & Chris Lakes |
| Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms by Joe Feldman “…[O]ur inherited system of grading was originally set up as a sorting mechanism to provide or deny opportunity, control students, and endorse a "fixed mindset" about students' academic potential--practices that are still in place a century later… [The book describes] Specific grading practices that are more equitable, along with teacher examples, strategies to solve common hiccups and concerns, and evidence of effectiveness. Each one of us should start by asking, ‘What do my grading practices say about who I am and what I believe?’” Goodreads.com | Early spring 2023, dates and location will be announced later Lead by Megan Hoffman & Julian Viera |
| Netflix series "The Chair" Creators: Amanda Peet and Annie Julia Wyman The plot summarized on Wikipedia as “Professor Ji-Yoon Kim is the newly appointed chair of the English department at Pembroke University. The first woman chosen for the position, she attempts to ensure the tenure of a young black colleague, negotiate her relationship with her crush, friend, and well-known colleague Bill Dobson, and parent her strong-willed adopted daughter.” | Mid spring 2023, dates and location will be announced later Lead by Deborah Martin & EJ Stokes |
Let Sam Cole know about any events that should be added to this list!