To all our December graduates, congratulations on your accomplishments, and all our students, you have made it! Finish strong this week, and we look forward to your return to campus. As we prepare for the winter break, our work across the university continues preparing for a busy Spring semester.

UI Learning & Development is pleased to offer a number of professional development awards for spring 2022 for-fee workshops. All UI staff members in a regular appointment, 50% time or greater, are eligible to take part in this special opportunity. The spaces available for no-cost attendance will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dear Regent university community: There has been a lot of attention regarding President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 on Ensuring Adequate Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors and what it means for the university. Governor Reynolds recently signed into law HF902, which establishes additional statutory requirements for employee COVID-19 vaccination waivers in the State of Iowa. During its meeting on Nov. 4, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, authorized me to direct the Regent institutions to take actions I deem necessary to comply with the requirements of Federal Executive Order 14042. The Board of Regents also approved a new policy that adopts the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s broad definition of religion for the purposes of a request for accommodation or exemption from any COVID-19 employment vaccination or face-covering requirement. The Office of the Board of Regents, in consultation with the Regent institutions, is evaluating and preparing for the impact of each of these actions.

International Programs is proud to announce the Grand Opening Celebration of the University of Iowa Passport Office, Wednesday, November 17, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. in 1111 University Capitol Centre. Open to the public, festivities will include remarks from Russ Ganim, associate provost and dean of International Programs, a ribbon-cutting, free UI luggage tags, light refreshments, and a visit from Herky, who will be applying for a passport and posing for selfies.

The University of Iowa’s liveWELL programs and services are designed to support you in your health and wellness efforts, no matter where you find yourself on the health continuum. Access to available mental health resources and ways to build resiliency is ‘top of mind’ for so many of us these days. We’d like to ensure you are aware of a new offering about an upcoming liveWELL program, Be Kind to Your Mind. Students in the Department of Health and Human Physiology have teamed up with liveWELL to deliver this three-week mental well-being program that starts November 1. The upcoming program is focused on positive, mindset, resilience and other “protective factors” against stress and burnout. The program runs November 1-23! Persons registered by November 3 will get a gratitude journal in campus mail and you earn liveWELL Points for participating.

The Employee Assistance Program recently implemented a new service to support staff with a temporary financial hardship. The UI Emergency Hardship Fund supports costs, up to $1000, related to an emergency event or crisis, resulting in financial hardship. Temporary financial hardship means a hardship event rather than a pre-existing financial concern or obligation.

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Diversity Councils, and the Graduate College are pleased to announce this semester’s Hawks of Color event schedule. Hawks of Color is a place of welcome and community building while celebrating excellence! Formerly Faculty and Staff of Color, Hawks of Color is a re-envisioned community space to support and promote conversations among historically underrepresented, global majority, and/or marginalized faculty, staff, postdocs, and students at the University of Iowa. In addition to uplifting our voices and brilliance, attendees will have an opportunity to gather with others.

In the liveWELL Fall 2021 newsletter, we explore the benefits of a regular gratitude practice to protect mental and emotional well-being. You can also find more information about our upcoming liveWELL trainings which feature resources and tips for resilience, mindfulness, financial well-being, and caregiving.

An international celebration of sustainability in higher education! The goal of Campus Sustainability Month is to raise the visibility of campus sustainability and provide campus sustainability advocates with a platform to deepen campus engagement around sustainability. In that spirit the Office of Sustainability and the Environment encourages everyone on campus to connect with sustainability on campus, and beyond.

The David J. Skorton Staff Excellence Award for Public Service is given annually to individuals who have made significant contributions and have shown “exceptional imagination and dedication to improving the university community.” Service must include activities of high quality in staff governance, committee work, policy improvement, program creation, etc. and must be outside normal job responsibilities.