Category Archives: Human Resources

November EFAP News: Mindful Eating During the Holidays

Human Resources, Wellness

The holidays are a great time for getting together with family and friends. Many holiday traditions revolve around eating, which can result in people overindulging during the holiday season. Practicing mindful eating during the holidays will help you to savor all the delicious food without overindulging, or feeling guilty.

Below are a few tips for practicing mindful eating:

  • Before eating, check in with your body to determine if you are really hungry. Often times we eat for emotional reasons rather than for biological reasons.
  • Take a couple of slow, deep breaths before starting your meal. This will help slow you down and draw your focus to your meal.
  • Before you take your first bite, notice your food. What does it look and smell like? Part of truly enjoying food is noticing its appearance and smell in addition to its taste.
  • Slow down your speed of eating. Often times we eat so fast, our brains do not have time to signal to us that we are full. Try putting down your fork or spoon between each bite.
  • Chew your food well. Many people eat so fast that they barely chew their food enough to break it down. This puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on the rest of the digestive system which can result in digestive problems and bloating.

This month be sure to register and attend the webinar, “Family and Personal Budgeting.”  Learn more about setting financial goals and setting priorities for you and your family. A full description and registration information is listed in the sidebar to the right. If you’re unable to attend you can log on to the website at a later time to view the archived presentation.

MONTHLY WEBINAR

Wednesday, November 28th
Family and Personal Budgeting

This workshop will help you examine your views on money and money management, review financial goals for yourself and your family and learn to set spending priorities accordingly. You will also assess your “money personality” in order to help control unnecessary spending, put away more for savings and establish positive budgeting habits that will last a lifetime.

TO REGISTER:

– Click HERE 

– Select the time

– Or – click on “Upcoming Webinars” from the homepage of the website and follow the easy instructions

e4health administers the College’s EFAP program.  To access their comprehensive web site, with many tools and articles, go to the e4health web site.
Username:  middlebury college
Password:    guest
Or call them at: 800-828-6025

MSA Webinar: Family Finances: From Toddler to Teen

Human Resources

Family Finances: From Toddler to Teen
December 4, 2018 | 9:00 AM (PST) & 12:00 PM (PST) |  Register Here.

Some of the biggest expenses for families are the costs associated with raising children. Whether it’s needing a bigger home, day care, extracurricular activities, or food and health care, the expenses add up and can put tremendous pressure on any budget. Our presentation will help you review the costs and develop a plan that makes you feel mentally and financially prepared.

Note:  If you register and cannot attend, a recording of the webinar, along with a copy of the session presentation and handouts, will automatically be sent within 24 hours.

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You work hard for your money, but is your money working hard for you?

When it comes to our finances, we always wonder if we are making the right moves, and searching for answers can feel overwhelming.

Middlebury College provides employees* access to financial well-being thru My Secure Advantage (MSA).

MSA helps you make the most of your hard earned dollars!  When it comes to living a financially stress-free life, every decision you make adds up.  Through MSA, employees and their covered dependents can work with a personal Money Coach and utilize website services to make financial stress a thing of the past.

What’s Included

  • 90 days of personalized money coaching with a personal, confidential, unbiased, and guilt free Money Coach.  Coaches don’t sell products or services: their only job is to provide expert guidance and improve your financial life.
  • Guidance on financial topics, goals, challenges, or questions.  Whether you’re getting by, digging out, or saving big, connecting with a Money Coach to discuss options, identify things to consider, and build out a plan can only help

Work with MSA to tackle questions like “Should I be saving more or paying down debt?” “When will I be able to retire, and how much do I need?” “What type of portfolio is best for me?” “How do I balance enjoying life now with saving for the future?” and more.

  • Online tools include videos, calculators, articles, and budgeting software to help you stress less and save more.

Questions?  Learn more about MSA here. To get started, sign up, and schedule your first appointment with a Money Coach call 888-724-2326.

*Benefits-eligible faculty and staff are eligible for MSA benefits.

25 Years @ The Middlebury Institute with Nukhet Kardam

25 Year Club, Human Resources, Institutional News, MIIS News & Events

Nukhet Kardam, Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, recently passed her 25-year mark of employment.  Nukhet took a few minutes to share her thoughts of “Life at the Institute” over the past two and a half decades.

1. What did you do prior to coming to work at the Middlebury Institute and where were you located?

I was working as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pomona College in the Department of Politics in Claremont, California.

2. What job titles have you held while working at the Middlebury Institute?

I think I came as Associate Professor, and then became Full Professor. I was the Program Chair for the MPA Program for several years.

3. Take us back to your first year as an employee at MIIS. What were the most significant things happening in your life outside of work then?

It was 1993, my son was 6 years old and started elementary school in Pacific Grove. We moved as a family to Pacific Grove and rented a house and hoped that my husband would find a job in this area, but it never happened. The first year I was at MIIS, he was on sabbatical from Scripps College in Claremont and he continued working there as a faculty member until he retired in 2008.

4. What are the most significant things happening in your life outside of work now (that you’d like to share)?

I am putting on “Aging Creatively” workshops for people in my generation. I absolutely love it and would like to expand these workshops, perhaps offering them to faculty across Middlebury who are close to retirement or already retired.

5. Have your interests/hobbies/athletic endeavors changed over the past 25 years? Have any of these been influenced by your work at MIIS or due to your association with others who work here?

I have realized that I don’t just want to be an intellectual and focusing on my mind, but become a ‘whole person’. So, I have become a Qi Gong and Zumba instructor. I am convinced that to live a fulfilled life, one has to combine all faculties and functions (imagination, thought, feelings, sensations) and trust one’s heart. I am on a Sufi spiritual path and I would like to combine my creativity, philosophy, and spirituality to offer to others and learn from others.

6. What is your fondest memory or experience that you’ve had while working at MIIS?

I don’t have a fondest memory. What I enjoy most is hearing form my former students and having a continuing relationship with them.

7. Many people change jobs/careers multiple times in their working life. Something must have kept you here for 25 years. Is it anything that you can put into words?

Yes, the ability of the school to allow me to change and grow. As I changed, the school accommodated me and allowed my creativity and different ideas to take shape and blossom. As the school changed, I stuck with it. What school would have given me the chance to write a book about my grandfather, go to Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and ultimately publish a book on Identity (from Ottoman to Turk and Beyond: Watercolor Identities)? This research was very close to my heart and also led to a successful seminar I still teach called Powerle Identity and Multiculturalism.

8. What are your plans for the next 25 years?

Offer “Aging Creatively” workshops around the U.S and in Turkey; teach Zumba Gold and Qi Gong classes, continue playing the piano and learn jazz piano and composition.

9. Do you have a favorite place on campus?

My office is perfect – large, great view, and all.

10. Is there any person on campus (or retiree, former employer) that mentored you, or you feel helped you grow into your job, grow to enjoy your work and your time at the Institute?

Yes, I could mention Ed Laurance who mentored me when I first came. We taught a couple of courses together which helped me a lot. Amy Sands, as Dean and then later Provost, always supported me and provided space for me to change. Amy McGill has been and is a great supporter.

11. If you could give one piece of advice to a new employee at MIIS, what would it be?

Give yourself time to grow into the job, make sure to get to know people from different programs, including staff, faculty, and students. Become part of the community and ENJOY it.

12. Is there anything else that you would like to share about your time at MIIS?

I have loved it!!

CHANGE IN PAYROLL DEADLINE FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY (BW24 2018)

For Faculty, For Staff, Human Resources, Midd Points

CHANGE IN PAYROLL DEADLINE FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY (BW24 2018)

To accommodate for the short workweek during the week of Thanksgiving, the following change has been made to the time entry/time approval deadline:

Pay period BW24 (11/05/18 – 11/18/18)

  • Deadline for submitting/approving time – Friday, 11/16/18 10:00am (time entry and ALL approvals)

 

  • Paychecks and direct deposits issued and dated – Wednesday, 11/21/18

Please inform all your staff of this change in the payroll schedule

Payroll/Human Resources

 

Open Enrollment

For Faculty, For Staff, Human Resources, Midd Points
Open Enrollment for Middlebury’s 2019 Health & Welfare Benefit Plan is being held from November 1 – 14, 2018.  All benefits-eligible employees are required to complete the open enrollment process within this time period even if they do not intend to make benefit changes for 2019.

Open Enrollment is your opportunity to:

• Continue your current medical, dental, or vision elections into the new year OR add coverage for yourself and/or dependents OR terminate your own or your dependents’ coverage.
• Continue your current voluntary life and/or accidental death and dismemberment coverage for the new year OR increase OR decrease the amount of existing coverage in these plans OR apply for new coverage (subject to approval).
• Enroll in the healthcare and/or the dependent care flexible spending account(s) for next year. If you do not make an FSA election, you will not be contributing for 2019 even if you participated in 2018.  For more information, including Healthcare FSA rollovers, please click here.

Open Enrollment must be completed, using BannerWeb, between November 1 – 14, 2018.  Benefits-eligible employees will be able to access the open enrollment module from any computer with internet access.

Getting Started

1. Access the Open Enrollment System:
• Click this link: http://go.middlebury.edu/bannerweb OR
• On the bottom right-hand corner of the Middlebury homepage, http://www.middlebury.edu/  click “Quick Links” and then “BannerWeb.”

2. Enter your BannerWeb User ID (your Midd ID number) and your PIN and click “Login.”

3. Click “Employee”, then “Benefits and Deductions”, and then “Open Enrollment.”

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Open Enrollment Hotline: (802) 443-2320. You may also email Nancy Lindberg or Franklin Daniel at nlindberg@middlebury.edu or fdaniel@middlebury.edu.

 

New Employee

Human Resources

In this post, we’ll introduce you to a new member of the Middlebury College staff. Please join us as we welcome Charlotte to campus!

Charlotte X.C. Sullivan is the new Social Entrepreneurship Program Associate at the Innovation Hub. She co-founded May West, a design studio specializing in milkweed-based textiles. She serves on the Board of Directors at Cabin-Time, a roaming artist residency program to remote places. Previously, she co-founded the Frontier Fellowship with Epicenter, a rural design resource center in Green River, Utah. For several years she worked at Queens County Farm, the longest continuously operated farm in the state of New York on the largest tract of undisturbed farm land left in New York City. A graduate of Bennington College, she lives in Bristol and volunteers with the Vermont Pollinator Protection Committee.