Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Brenda Elliott, assistant professor in nursing and Jessica Lahr, adjunct faculty in nursing (UG online), along with their colleague Sue Burt (Shenandoah University), published their research study examining home care providers (therapy, nursing, and social work) experiences caring for patients during the COVID pandemic. The study is published in the Jan/Feb issue of Home Healthcare Now and is titled “Walking into a COVID petri dish: Home care providers experiences during a pandemic.” https://doi.org/10.1097/NHH.0000000000001141

Brenda Elliott, assistant professor and coordinator of MSN, CAGS, and RN to BSN programs co-authored a research manuscript titled “Faculty perspectives of teaching and facilitating learning transfer in VBSN programs” in the Jan/Feb issue of Journal of Professional Nursing.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.12.001

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Todd Goranson, professor of music, presented an invited lecture titled
“Mental and Musculoskeletal Health for the Saxophonist: Performance Anxiety and Injury Prevention” at the 43rd annual US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium on January 14. The lecture provided an evidence-based approach to the understanding and prevention of anxiety symptoms during performance, as well as prevention of injuries that are common to woodwind instrumentalists. This year’s International Saxophone Symposium was hosted by the George Mason University Center for the Arts.

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The Office of Faculty Development is genuinely pleased to welcome Elise Buchanan as our new administrative assistant. Elise completes our support team in an integrated Office of Faculty Development, alongside Lauren Allen who serves as program coordinator for faculty development. Elise’s responsibilities include support for teaching and learning programs, the Inclusive Excellence in Teaching Academy, and the faculty development website. Please join us in warmly welcoming Elise into the Messiah community!

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Nathan Bos will speak on “Chat-GPT: where it came from, what it does, and how to realize its potential for the liberal arts” on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in Parmer Cinema. Bos is most suited to address this timely matter as a result of his wide-ranging AI-related research over the past 25 years at MITRE’s Innovation Center for Data and Human-Centered Solutions, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics laboratory, and the University of Michigan’s School of Information. The event is open to all members of the Messiah community.

 

AROUND CAMPUS

The Bridge is here!

The latest issue of The Bridge has published! Check out the coverage of our campaign celebration, a feature about employees who left the corporate world to work in academia at Messiah and more. You can find hard copies in the common areas of Boyer, Eisenhower and the Kim S. Phipps Admissions and Welcome Center. Also, you can read the entire issue online at messiah.edu/thebridge.

Upcoming Passport Service Day 1/31

The Agape Center for Local & Global Engagement is hosting another Passport Service Day on campus at the end of January!

Representatives from the Cumberland County Court House will be on campus at the Eisenhower Commons between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to process passport applications. PLEASE NOTE: the current time for processing passports is 6-8weeks.

Applicants need to bring the following documents:
• Original birth certificate, PLUS A PHOTOCOPY OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
• Driver’s license PLUS A PHOTOCOPY OF THE DRIVER’S LICENSE.
• Copy both front and back of the driver’s license on the same side of the page
• Non-PA residents also need to bring their Messiah ID along with a photocopy of their ID
• Completed application
• Fees ($130 check or money order written to the U.S. Department of State and $35 cash or check written to the Prothonotary’s Office)

Applications can be found at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport.html

Photo services will also be available. Cost is $10 in cash or check written to Messiah University. IMPORTANT NOTE: if you need your photo taken please do NOT wear a white or very light colored shirt or camoflauge.

Please contact agapecenter@messiah.edu if you have questions.

Benefits – Who to Contact

We begin 2023 without Su Deitch managing our benefits. While we miss her, we’re happy for this milestone in her career and wish her all the best in retirement. Please see the following important information regarding contacts in Human Resources for your benefits related questions.

Jennifer Smithmyer, employee health and wellness coordinator (jsmithmyer@messiah.edu), has been working closely with Su to transition responsibilities and this week officially assumes responsibility as employees’ first point of contact for most benefits questions. Specifically, Jen is our employee contact for the following:
• health, vision, and dental plan enrollment questions. Questions related to plan details, network providers, etc. should be directed to the website: https://www.highmarkbcbs.com/home/ or call the appropriate number on the back of your insurance card.
• maternity/paternity leaves
• short-term disability
• workers’ compensation and information regarding the reporting of on-the-job injuries
• family medical leave and general leaves of absence

Retirement – Don Lerew, assistant director of human resources (dlerew@messiah.edu)

Educational assistance programs – Karen Blair, HR data manager (kblair@messiah.edu)

New employee benefits orientations – There are also changes as it relates to benefits orientations for new employees, as well as for faculty who are interviewing. If you are in the process of or anticipating hiring full-time, staff, administrators, or faculty, please contact Staci Davis, HR specialist (sdavis@messiah.edu), for information related to these changes.

Still not sure who to contact? You can always email humanres@messiah.edu or call x5300 and we’ll be happy to direct your inquiry to the appropriate person.

Open house for new physical therapy clinic at Winding Hill

This fall Messiah University and Phoenix Physical Therapy announced a partnership that brought an inter-professional outpatient clinic to Messiah’s Winding Hill, the same facility that hosts Messiah’s accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy and Master of Occupational Therapy programs.

You are invited to an Open House on Thursday, Feb. 2 from 8 -10 a.m. to tour the new facility at Winding Hill and enjoy refreshments as we publicly open this new clinic. Feel free to invite a friend or colleague along to this event who you think may have interest in learning more and touring this space. The event is free, however we need folks to RSVP so we can best plan – to register please visit the West Shore Chamber of Commerce Events Page at https://wschamber.org/.

Hiring summer student employees

In order to assist students with obtaining summer on-campus employment, the Student Employment Office will be holding a summer job fair on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.in Eisenhower Commons. Departments hiring summer student workers should plan to have a representative available at the Job Fair unless all summer workers are already actively working for the department during the academic year or are being rehired from the prior summer.
Please keep the following dates in mind as you plan your summer student hiring:

Ø February 3: Summer position requests/modifications due

Ø February 10: RSVP for Job Fair due and summer postings due

Ø February 22: Summer Job Fair

Ø March 31: Summer hiring proposals are due. A hiring proposal must be submitted for each student who will be working this summer.

If your department plans to hire student employees for the summer of 2023, please read the summer hiring information found here prior to proceeding with the summer hiring process or making employment offers.

If you have any questions about summer student employment, please contact Belinda Conrad, student employment coordinator, at ext. 2900 or studentemployment@messiah.edu.

Procurement made easy

In the spirit of communication and education, the Procurement Services Office will be supporting a “Did you Know?” section of the Intercom.  Keep a look out each week for helpful facts and tips about Procurement at Messiah University.

Did you know…Some products require approval from different departments on campus prior to purchase if they fall into certain categories?  For example, all IT equipment must go through IT.  Purchasing the wrong charging cord for a device can cause damage.  Refer to the Purchasing Product Approval guide for reference, or call x6010.

Employee video devotional

Please use the following link: https://messiah.yuja.com/V/Video?v=7139798&node=30202825&a=3604192&autoplay=1 to watch Stephen Gallaher’s new employee devotional.
If you would like to contact our community pastor, please email Stephen at sgallahe@messiah.edu or for a faster response, call his cell phone at 717-503-7222.

CLASSIFIEDS

Job opportunities

Dining Services has several part and full-time positions including a catering supervisor and cooks. For more information and to apply, please visit: jobs.messiah.edu. Job-related questions may be directed to Mark Wirtz, at mwirtz@messiah.edu.

Dining services has part-time openings for Lottie Nelson workers. Available shifts are daily from 5-7 p.m. and between 9 a.m. and 7p.m. on weekends- perfect for high school students. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/hr/postings/23252.Job-related questions may be directed to Mark Wirtz, at mwirtz@messiah.edu.

Campus events has several openings for all shifts. For more information and to apply, please visit: jobs.messiah.edu. Job-related questions may be directed to Laura Price, at lprice@messiah.edu

Groundskeeping has an opening for a full-time groundskeeper/crew lead. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/23614. Job-related questions may be directed to Mark Graybill, at mgraybill@messiah.edu

The Employee Referral Bonus Programs provides a cash incentive of $500 for employees who provide referral assistance that leads to the successful hiring of qualified staff, administration, or full-time faculty. For more information and to see if you qualify for the position, please visit: https://www.messiah.edu/info/20587/applicants/969/employee_referrals