Berea College Community Strengthening Initiative (BCCSI)
The Berea College Community Strengthening Initiative (BCCSI) is a program meant to encourage Berea College staff to attend at least one on-campus event per month, if possible. For more information, please visit this webpage.
FERPA Training PowerPoint
Want to learn more about FERPA here at Berea College? If so, please login to review a PowerPoint created by the Office of the Registrar for all Berea College employees. Also be sure to check-out the FERPA webpage on the Office of the Registrar’s website: https://legacy.berea.edu/registrar/ferpa/.
FERPA Quick Guide
Want a brief rundown of FERPA at Berea without looking through the entire PowerPoint, above? If so, click here and login to view the new FERPA Quick Guide document from the Office of the Registrar.
***NEW*** 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.
Professional Development Request Form
Do you want to request professional development funds from your Vice President for a conference, training, certification, etc.? If so, simply fill out the form at this link:
https://berea.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byhY7UzY7DXsZ7L
The College’s Administrative Leadership Council (made up of the Administrative Committee, Associate Vice Presidents, and Directors) and Staff Forum leadership indicate that the top five requests for professional development from staff members are:
- Funds to attend or present at conferences and workshops;
- Increased frequency and levels of technology training;
- Certification training;
- Job-specific skills training; and
- Leadership skills development, including tools for running an effective meeting.
Priority allocation for staff development funds is given to 1) strategic professional development of staff to ensure that employees with promotional potential receive training to prepare them for the next step in their career progression at the College; 2) staff with credentials that require continuing education; and 3) staff presenting at a conference; and 4.) Technical skills training for new job related technology.
Instructions for Professional Development Proposals
Proposals should describe the activity, provide a budget, and indicate the amount of funding requested. Obtaining the support of your immediate supervisor is a required part of the application process. Awards are made on a first-come, first-served, basis and are subject to the availability of funds.
Travel Policy
Please note that all who receive funds involving travel must adhere to the Berea College Travel Policy. The updated travel policy can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/y5dsu5yj.
Report on Completion
Staff who receive Staff Development Funding are to submit a report via email within 30 days of the completion of the project via email to a designated staff member within the Division (Staff members in the academic division are not required to complete a report after their project has been completed, but their requests initially are sent to Jim Strand). Those staff members are as follows:
- Alumni, Communications & Philanthropy: Kelly Linville
- Financial Affairs: Scotty Abney
- Information Systems & Services: Yvonne Williams
- Student Life: Carla Roberts
- Operations & Sustainability: Malissa Blair
- President’s Office: Judy Mott
- Strategic Initiatives: Andreea Teban
- Labor: Brittany Ash
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Beth Taylor
Please note that your direct supervisor’s electronic signature is required on this form.
If you experience any technical difficulty with this form, please contact Sam Cole via email at colesa@berea.edu or via phone by calling ext. 3210.
If you are not sure about which Division you are in as a staff member, please consult this handy guide.
Professional Development Initiative Documentation
Vision Paper (PDF) (includes definition of professional development)
Staff Forum Presentation to A.C. in December 2015 (PDF)
Staff Professional Development and Climate Survey Instrument (PDF) (administered in 2015)
On and Off-Campus Professional Development Opportunities
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).
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).
Something to Chew On
Something to Chew On is a monthly event hosted by the Labor Office where a different department from campus has the opportunity to promote their program and give information to the staff and faculty about how their work affects the campus community.
For more information, please email Brittany Ash (brittany_ash@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 2022 term is TBA.
For questions, concerns, to RSVP to trainings, or more information email Joslyn Glover, or Beth Taylor, or call 859-985-3606.
The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
Participation in the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). 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).
LinkedIn Learning
Labor Program How-To Training Videos
Information about the Staff Development Fund
Information about Tuition Reimbursement
The Gender Talk Luncheon Series
The Civil Rights Seminar & Tour
Loyal Jones Appalachian Center Events
The Appalachian Seminar & Tour
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 |
For more information please email Shannon Montross at montrosss@berea.edu or call her at 859-985-3487. If you have suggestions for future groups, please contact Dean Matthew Saderholm at saderholmm@berea.edu.
Participation in Community Reading Groups
For more information on Community Reads, please email Shannon Montross at montrosss@berea.edu or call her at 859-985-3487
Lunch & Learn Workshops (Contact Jill Gurtatowski for more information).
Other On-Campus Events/Groups:
Run/Walk with the Presidential Trio
Graduation & Commencement (tickets required)
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
NEW: 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.
Let Sam Cole know about any events that should be added to this list!