Dear Colleague:

Welcome back to campus, and welcome to 2015! I hope that each of you enjoyed a safe, relaxing, and happy holiday season with family and friends, and that the New Year brings you much happiness and success, both at home and here at work. I am pleased to share with you our first 2015 issue of HR News. In addition to containing important Human Resources information and updates, you'll find details on sessions and programs our campus is offering to help you live healthier and work more efficiently.

Many of these programs focus on CSUN's 7 Campus Planning Priorities, including Student Success, and Focus on Employees for Success – so I am confident you will find several sessions of interest. For example, on February 2nd, as follow up to their successful Fall workshop featuring Dr. William Watkins, Student Affairs will sponsor a panel of representatives from various campus offices to provide you with information on resources and answers to questions to assist you in Understanding and Helping Students. On February 5th, Human Resources will host a workshop to help you learn about the CSU/CSUN Fee Waiver and Tuition Reduction Benefit. On February 23rd, Greg Moore, Head Coach of Matador Baseball will host the first of a three-part session on his "Diamond University Leadership Series" which highlights the principals our student athletes learn and how you can carry these over into your daily work life. And to get you moving toward a healthier you in 2015, Matador Athletics, the Department of Kinesiology, and the Office of Human Resources have partnered to launch 1.5 Alive, a new wellness program aimed at getting faculty and staff more physically active. Join us on the "big" track every Friday beginning Jan. 30 at noon for 30 minutes!

The 48th Annual Staff Service Awards and Recognition of Excellence Event will take place on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. This event honors staff, managers and auxiliary employees on their 5, 10, 15, and other five year service increments. In addition, the event recognizes the outstanding contributions of staff and administrators through the presentation of awards, including the Presidential Award, Award of Merit, Jolene Koester Team Award, the Alumni Relations Award, and the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. Additional information about the awards, and links to the nomination forms – which must be submitted by April 17th, is available on the Employee Enrichment website. If you would like the University to celebrate the contributions of a colleague or team of colleagues, I encourage you to submit your nomination form as soon as possible.

The University community is also invited to submit nominations for the 2015 Faculty Awards. In general, all CSUN Faculty (both full-time and part-time temporary) are eligible for the Outstanding Faculty Award; Distinguished Teaching, Counseling, or Librarianship Award; Preeminent Scholarly Publication(s) Award; Exceptional Creativity Award; Extraordinary Service Award; and the Visionary Community Service-Learning Award. Nomination forms for the Faculty Awards are due February 20, 2015. More information about the awards and the Honored Faculty Reception is available on the Faculty Senate website.

Among all of the important items in this issue of HR News, there are two items I would like to highlight. The State Controller's Office will print/mail 2014 W-2 Forms no later than January 23, 2015. Also, if you made any change to your health plans during the Fall Open Enrollment Period, your new plan(s) and premium should be reflected on your January Pay Warrant.

Finally, I would like to share with you an instance of how together we all help make CSUN shine. President Harrison recently received a letter of gratitude from the San Fernando Valley Mission and expresses her sincere thank you to each of you for your participation in the holiday toy drive. Because of donations like ours, 127 children received gifts from their parents this holiday season. Thank you.

Again, welcome back to campus. Please take a moment and read the January/February 2015 Issue of HR News.

Sincerely,

Kristina