Celebratory smiles

UFV Today:  Fri, Dec 10, 2010

Contact us: ufvtoday@ufv.ca

News
• Christmas closure
• Human Rights Day
• Thanks for supporting the United Way
• Payroll notices
• Abbotsford parking advisory
• Year-end reminder
• Employee Services closure
• Food for Fines 2010
• Student Activity Centre hours

Events
• Gift announcement
• Crash — Visual Arts exhibit
• Holiday receptions
• Abbotsford Heat fundraising opportunity

Opportunities
• Winter 2011 work study opportunities
• Webcast — Cultivating the Potential in At-Risk Students
• Learn how to de-bone a turkey
• Blackboard workshop
• Introduction to Powerpoint 2007 workshop

Deadlines
• Submissions to the Louden Singletree due Dec 14
• Professional Development meeting
 

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News

Christmas closure

The university is pleased to extend to all UFV staff and faculty the opportunity to relax with family and friends between Christmas and New Year’s. UFV will close for three business days during the week of Dec 27 to December 31. Please plan some rest and relaxation for the week that ends 2010 and welcomes in the New Year.

2011 promises to be another busy and exciting year at UFV.

Diane Griffiths
AVP, Employee Services

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Human Rights Day

Today is the United Nations Human Rights Day. Human rights defenders acting against discrimination, often at great personal risk to both themselves and their families, are being recognized and acclaimed on this day.

Human rights defenders speak out against abuse and violations including discrimination, exclusion, oppression and violence.  They advocate justice and seek to protect the victims of human rights violations.  They demand accountability for perpetrators and transparency in government action.  In so doing, they are often putting at risk their own safety, and that of their families.

Some human rights defenders are famous, but most are not. They are active in every part of the world, working alone and in groups, in local communities, in national politics and internationally.

Human Rights Day 2010 will highlight and promote the achievements of human rights defenders and it will again emphasize the primary responsibility governments have to enable and protect their role.

The day is also intended to inspire a new generation of defenders to speak up and take action to end discrimination in all of its forms whenever and wherever it is manifested.

The story does not end after today. The focus on the work of human rights defenders will continue through all of 2011.

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Thanks for supporting the United Way

Thank you to all who participated in the United Way campaign this year. The campaign total is $34,246.91. With a few donations coming in, the total is still rising.
 
Congratulations to the participation prize draw winners:
UFV Cascades season family passes — Bertha Dewan, Michelle Rhodes, and Elaine Harris
Two nights in deluxe lake-view room at Harrison Beach Hotel — Shelley Engen
Olive Garden gift card — Lori Wirth
The Keg gift card — Suki Grewal
Winners gift card — David Chu
HMV gift card —Gayle Ramsden
HMV gift card — Ron Laye
Cineplex Odeon gift card — Elizabeth Stadnyk
Canadian Tire gift card — Maple Melder Crozier
Canadian Tire gift card — Sandy Hill
Earls gift card — Adrienne Chan
Earls gift card — Ian Fenwick
East Side Marios gift card — Tara Rozenek
East Side Marios gift card — Cindy Rammage
Winners gift card — Anne Koch
Chapters gift card — Mary Rigby Jones
M&M Meat Shops gift card — Tricia Thomson
M&M Meat Shops gift card — Bao Van Hill
Sport Chek gift card — Joan Kilbride
Sport Chek gift card — Irene Yim
Future Shop gift card — Marv Newland
Gap/Old Navy gift card — Lorette Clement Smith
Blockbuster gift card — Anne Russell
Blockbuster gift card — Jackie Hogan
Old Navy gift card — Margaret Nickelchok
Old Navy gift card — Colleen Gingerich
ABC Country Restaurant gift card — Debbie Dyck
ABC Country Restaurant gift card — Karen Evans
ABC Country Restaurant gift card — Laurie Klesh
White Spot gift card — Pat Bullock
White Spot gift card — Kathy Gowdridge
 
Thank you to everyone for making this another successful campaign.
 

Tara Rozenek

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Payroll notices

Net pay may be reduced
If you elected to have your Health Spending Account (HSA) benefit rolled into an RRSP this year, please be reminded that this taxable benefit will be processed on the Dec 15 pay (the actual RRSP contribution was made earlier in the year). Your Dec 15 pay may be lower than usual if you have not yet contributed the maximum Canada Pension of $2,163.15 or maximum Employment Insurance contributions of $747.36 as these two deductions are mandatory on this taxable benefit.
If you have any questions, please contact Gail Hull at local 4525.
 
Christmas payroll deadlines
Again this year, UFV will be closed over the Christmas season. The final pay of the year, Dec 31, will be paid on Thurs, Dec 23.

All employees who are paid by time sheet are encouraged to estimate the number of hours up to Dec 24 and submit your time sheet to the payroll office by Thurs, Dec. 16.
 
All time sheets received after Dec 15 will be processed and paid on Jan 15.
Times sheets are due in payroll by Fri , Jan 7 for payment on Jan 15.
 
If you have any questions regarding the Christmas deadlines, please contact Linda at local 4018, Julie at 4594, or Gail at 4525.
 
Part-time employees — record of employment
Just a reminder that a Record of Employment is issued only upon request and only when your position has been terminated.

Please contact the payroll department — Linda at local 4018, Julie at 4594, or Gail at 4525 — if you required a ROE.

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Abbotsford parking advisory

Abbotsford Heat host Chicago Wolves, Fri, Dec 10 and Sat, Dec 11. Please keep these parking tips in mind when coming to campus on these days.

Daily Parking: Students and employees may purchase daily parking and park in lots 1, 4- 6, 8-10, or on city streets at Gillis Avenue, College Drive, and McKenzie Road. Note: UFV parking permits are not valid on city streets.

UFV parking permit holders: Student and employee parking permit holders may park in lot 10b (gravel lot), or in designated (employee/student/public) lots 1-10. Note: UFV parking permits are not valid on city streets.

Come to campus early.
1. Enter and exit from McKenzie Road.
2. Park at regular rates all day and evening in designated (employee/student/public) lots 1, 2 and 6-10. UFV parking permits are valid in these lots.
3. Park at regular rates before 4 pm in designated (employee/student/public) lots 2a, 4 and 5, and remain parked throughout the evening. Park after 4 pm, and pay the event rate. UFV parking permits are valid in these lots.
4. Park in lot 10b (gravel) designated (employee/student) permit parking.  UFV parking permits only are valid in this lot. Note: this lot will also be used for sold-out AESC events.
5. Park at regular rates until 6 pm on city streets at Gillis Avenue, College Drive and McKenzie Road. After 6 pm, either move your vehicle, or pay the event rate. UFV parking permits are not valid on city streets.
6. Student/Public Early Bird and Overflow pay parking at AESC will be unavailable for students and employees.

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Year-end reminder

Reminder to all employees: all sick leave taken in 2010 should be reported to Employee Services by the first week in January.
 
Thank you,
Debbie Dyck
Pension & Benefits Officer, Employee Services

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Employee Services closure
 
Employee Services will be closed at 1:30 pm on Fri, Dec 10 for a departmental function.
 
Employee Services will re-open Monday morning. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Food for Fines 2010

UFV Library is organizing a campaign to collect food items for the local food banks. Library patrons donating food will receive a reduction of their library overdue fines.

Food for Fines stars Wednesday, Dec. 1 and runs until Friday, Dec. 24. Please bring non-perishable food items into the Abbotsford, Chilliwack or Mission libraries. Please, no non-food items, such as candy.

Each food item donated will be credited with a value of $2. The maximum amount of overdue fines to be forgiven is $20 per patron.

For complete details, please see the Food for Fines webpage:
http://ufvlibrary.blogspot.com/2010/11/food-for-fines-december-1-24.html
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Student Activity Centre hours

The Student Activity Centre will have reduced facility hours during the semester break Dec 16 to Dec 24.

Mon,–Thurs, 7 am–9 pm
Fri, 7 am–8 pm
Sat, 10 am–4 pm
Sun, noon–4 pm
Fri, Dec 24, 7 am–noon
 
The Student Activity Centre will be closed along with the rest of the university during the holiday break. Regular facility hours will begin again on Sun, Jan 2 when the centre will be open from noon–4 pm.
 
Thanks,

Cheryl Van Nes
Envision Athletic Centre Operations Coordinator

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Events

Gift announcement

Please join the Development Office and the School of Social Work and Human Services for a special gift announcement in Alumni Hall on Monday.

Dec 13
2:15–3 pm
Alumni Hall, Abby

There will be brief speeches and cheque presentation followed by a coffee and tea reception. We hope to see you there.

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Crash — Visual Arts exhibit

Please come and view art work from students in VA332 Sculpture. The exhibition runs from Mon, Dec 13 to Fri, Jan 14.

The artwork is in Abby B136 Gallery. Follow this link to see the poster:

http://www.ufv.ca/faculty/visualarts/florend/resources/crash/crashz.jpg .

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Holiday receptions

To all faculty and staff

The Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Associate VP Research and
Graduate Studies, and Deans would like to invite you to rejoice the year's end and the New Year’s beginning.

Abby
Tues, Dec 14
University House
2–4 pm

Chilliwack
Thurs, Dec 16
Chilliwack (Yale Road), Theatre Foyer
2–4 pm

Come celebrate at one — or both — receptions

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Abbotsford Heat fundraising opportunity

UFV’s Alumni Association & the Development Office have partnered again with the Abbotsford Heat to get you affordable tickets to one of the most anticipated game of the season!
 
Abbotsford Heat vs. Manitoba Moose
Tues, Jan 4
Puck drops at 7 pm
 
Tickets start at $17 and are available in a variety of sections.
 
To purchase your tickets, contact Nick at (604) 743-5021 or email
nbiagioni@abbotsfordheat.comand reference UFV.
 
Proceeds from each ticket sold to UFV donors and alumni will be donated back to the university for scholarships and bursaries.
 
Order now! Tickets are selling fast!

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Opportunities

Winter 2011 work study opportunities

The Career Centre is now accepting applications from staff/faculty interested in hiring students for the upcoming Winter 2011 semester. Work study positions are available to current UFV students who enroll in a minimum of nine credits and hold a minimum GPA of 2.0 while holding the position. You may apply for a position(s) up to a maximum of 140 hours. A student is permitted to work a maximum of 10 hours per week.

The first day that a student may work is Jan 4 and the last day is April 15.

There are a very small number of work-study positions available for Winter 2011.  To apply, please request an application form from baljit.dhaliwal@ufv.ca.

All applications will be reviewed and decisions sent by mid-December.

To aid in the application process please click on the following link

http://www.ufv.ca/Jobs/Work_Study.htm#Work%20Study%20Process%20for%20Faculty%20and%20Staff

Please direct any questions to Baljit.Dhaliwal@ufv.ca or local 4665.

Deadline is Mon, Dec 13.

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Webcast — Cultivating the Potential in At-Risk Students
 
UFV’s Academic Advising Council will participate in the next web cast in the Academic Advising for Student Retention and Persistence series offered by NACADA, the Global Community for Academic Advising.

Wed, Dec15
11 am
Abby B163

Anyone interested in learning about what is meant by at-risk students, identifying general group characteristics, learning about strategies in which advisors can enhance their effectiveness in helping this population reach their potential, and discussing student responsibilities in this process are welcome to attend.
 
Please RSVP to Rhonda Colwell, Chair, Academic Advising Council, ext 4037 or rhonda.colwell@ufv.ca in order to receive the presenters' handouts prior to the web cast or to get more information about the event.
 
Mark your calendars — the next web cast in this series, ‘Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Adult Learners,’ will be presented on Feb 2, 2011.

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Learn how to de-bone a turkey

Have you ever wanted to learn how to properly de-bone a turkey? Come on out to this session where Sodexho’s Director of Dining Services Doug Fowler will show you just how to do this.

Wed, Dec 15
1:30–2:30 pm
Cascade Café Abby

If you are interested in attending, please contact Tara Rozenek at tara.rozenek@ufv.ca or local 4536 by Mon, Dec 13 so we know the number of people attending.

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Blackboard workshop

Advanced Blackboard: Developing your fully online or supplemental course
This is a drop-in event, for those with basic familiarity with Blackboard, who are developing either fully online or supplemental courses in Blackboard. Participants will continue to work on their own course shell. We will cover developing learning modules, media libraries, and content pages. 

Thurs, Dec 16
1–3 pm
Abby G180

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Introduction to Powerpoint 2007 workshop
 
We will be covering the basic features of PowerPoint including the use of templates, different layouts, basic formatting, as well as the incorporation of multimedia elements such as clipart, sound, movie clips, and photographs.

You are also invited to bring specific questions related to your current work so we can add those to the agenda as needed.

Fri, Dec17
9 am–noon
Abby D223

or
 
Fri, Dec17
1:30–4:30 pm
TTC Chilliwack, room 2001

To sign up, please contact Tara Rozenek at tara.rozenek@ufv.ca  or local 4536.
 

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Deadlines

Louden Singletree submissions due Dec 14

The deadline for submissions to the Louden Singletree (a student lead literature and visual arts magazine) is coming up on Tues, Dec 14.
 
Submission guidelines can be found at:
http://www.ufv.ca/english/Louden_Singletree.htm

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Professional Development meeting
 
The next PD meeting will be held on Wed, Jan 26. Please have your PD
application submitted to Employee Services by Wed, Jan 19. 
 
Please note: PD applications must be submitted and approved prior to attending an activity or making a PD purchase. For more information on PD funds please contact Laura Chomiak, Professional Development Assistant at laura.chomiak@ufv.ca or local 5133.
 
For a complete list of meeting dates and deadlines, please visit:
 
http://www.ufv.ca/Assets/Employee+Services/PD+Dates+2010+-+2011.pdf

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UFV Today on the web:
 http://www.ufv.ca/MarCom/UFV_Today.htm

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