UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Sandy Chung

Human Resources Coronavirus Updates, Directives for March 13

The following information was shared with the campus community by Sandy Chung, Human Resources, on Friday morning, March 13:

Dear staff colleagues,

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, this is a time of uncertainty and stress for all of us. On behalf of UP’s leadership, I want you to know that we care about you, your families, and our communities. Our goal is to work together, support each other, and navigate this situation as a united campus. As a community of care and support, we can handle anything that comes our way.

An important goal is to prevent and slow the spread of the Coronavirus. In support of this, the University requests that departments and units work on the following:

  • The University encourages supervisors and employees to work together to determine those employees who can work from home, full-time or part-time, on a temporary basis while we respond to the Coronavirus situation. Please carefully review and follow the COVID Telework Policy and the COVID Telework Agreement Form, which are attached at this link (Human Resources Policy – COVID TeleWork Policy for Staff Employees – Final – 3.13.20). These documents will also be uploaded to www.up.edu/hr and the Human Resources section of PilotsUP. The COVID Telework policy does not cover employees who are requesting telework because: they may have been exposed to the Coronavirus, they have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus, they are quarantined due to the Coronavirus, they have childcare or family care difficulties related to the Coronavirus, or they or a family member is more vulnerable to the Coronavirus due to a health situation. Employees in these situations should work directly with Human Resources at hr@up.edu or (503) 943-8484. The COVID Telework policy does not apply to student employees. My goal is to get you guidance about student employees by Monday, March 16, 2020.
  • For employees who need to come to campus to do their job duties, we ask that supervisors and employees work together to create social distancing measures as possible and reasonable. This can include things like changing work spaces to create more distance and lessening in-person meetings.
  • Please remember that all University-sponsored and/or reimbursed travel must either be canceled or postponed until further notice, unless a written exception is granted by the Provost and/or a University Vice President.

To support UP and our communities, each of us needs to do our part, and how each of us contributes may be different. Please know that we cannot treat everyone the same; for example, some positions will require that work be done on campus and cannot be approved for telework. However, we can treat everyone in our community with care and support, with fairness and equity.

If you need help navigating personal or work situations – related to the Coronavirus, illness, childcare or family care, stress, and other situations – I encourage you to reach out to Human Resources (hr@up.edu, 503-943-8484) or to the confidential, free Employee Assistance Program (www.up.edu/hr/benefits/eap.html).

Also, please support the non-UP communities that you are engaged with. This includes acting responsibly with social distancing measures like not going to large gatherings of people. For some of us, this may also mean checking in with our K-12 schools, which will be closed the next two weeks; there will be families and children who will need food or other forms of support.

Please remember that the University is uploading Coronavirus resources and FAQs at www.up.edu/coronavirus and in the Human Resources section of PilotsUP.

Thank you everyone. Please take care of yourself, your families, and each other.

Sandy S. Chung

Vice President for Human Resources & Title IX Coordinator for Compliance

University of Portland | 504 Waldschmidt Hall

5000 N. Willamette Blvd. | Portland, OR 97203-5798

T 503.943.8987 | chung@up.edu

Human Resouces: Mandatory Professional Development Session on Oct. 14

The University will present professional development opportunities for all staff during the week of fall break (October 14-18, 2019), according to Sandy Chung, Human Resources. All sessions on Monday, October 14 are mandatory for staff. Exceptions to this requirement are as follows:

  • Certain departments due to operational necessity, as pre-approved by the University
  • Staff with a vacation day or other off-campus day, as pre-approved by the supervisor
  • Staff with an absence related to sick time related reasons or a HR-approved leave of absence.

Faculty members are welcome to attend as well.

Human resources will provide more information about the presentations on October 14, as well as other workshops available that week, via email.

Please email hr@up.edu if you have any questions. Also, an Outlook save-the-date which you can copy to your Outlook calendar is available to download at this link.

Title IX Informational Session for Faculty: Feb. 13

Title IX Informational Session for faculty members will take place on Wednesday, February 13, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Theater. Sandy Chung (vice president for human resources and Title IX coordinator for compliance) and Matthew Rygg (associate vice president for student development and Title IX coordinator for education) will be present, as will Tom Greene, provost. Chung and Rygg will provide an overview of the work done this year by the Title IX team, and will respond to questions. Please submit questions in advance using this form.

Mandatory Professional Development Day, Oct. 15

This year, the University will be presenting professional development opportunities for all staff during fall break, October 15-18, 2018, according to Sandy Chung, human resources.

The sessions scheduled for Monday, October 15 are mandatory; all other sessions are optional and subject to availability. Please arrive at the Beauchamp Center by 9:15 a.m. HR will be recording the day’s activities and will make the recordings available in a couple of weeks for those who were unable to attend.

The mandatory Monday October 15 session is centered on diversity, inclusion, and equity. There will be a keynote by Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of first years at Stanford and author of Real American and How to Raise an Adult. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with lunch provided. All optional sessions are listed in the RSVP form linked above.

Please email hrtraining@up.edu if you have any questions.

Administration Promotions, President’s Leadership Cabinet Appointments Announced

University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., has announced that Andrea Barton, general counsel, and Sandy Chung, associate vice president for human resources and interim title IX coordinator, will be promoted to Vice President and General Counsel, and Vice President for Human Resources, respectively, effective July 1, 2018.

Barton joined the University of Portland in January 2017 as General Counsel and Special Assistant to the President. She oversees all legal matters on behalf of the University and advises the University and members of the campus community in connection with higher education issues.

Chung joined the University of Portland as Director of Human Resources in December 2015. In 2017 she was promoted to Associate Vice President for Human Resources and in May 2018 was named Interim Title IX Coordinator. She has extensive experience in human resources, and is also a member of the California and Oregon State Bars.

There are also four new appointments to the President’s Leadership Cabinet: Rowena Bramlette, who has been promoted to associate vice president for budgeting; Eduardo Contreras, assistant provost and studies abroad; Elise Moentmann, associate provost; and Matthew Rygg, associate vice president for student development.

Staff Forum, April 25, Noon-1 p.m.

A staff forum will take place on Wednesday, April 25, from noon to 1 p.m., in Bauccio Commons, according to Sandy Chung, human resources. The goal of the forum is to uncover shared learnings since the Sunday, April 22 Wally Awards. Our path forward is one that reinforces our values and all that is best in our UP community. We invite input from as many community members as possible. There will be time for an open microphone, although time will be limited so that we can hear from as many staff community members as possible. In addition, there will be a handout available asking for specific recommendations about what our priorities might be for the University as we go forward.

Time spent attending the forum is work time, and staff may schedule a 30-minute lunch period before or after the forum, whichever works best for each staff member and his/her office. If you are unable to attend, we encourage you to share your thoughts and suggestions via the methods noted at the bottom of this email.

Anonymous Reporting Address:

Email: hr@up.edu

Interoffice Mail: Office of Human Resources

US Mail: Office of Human Resources, University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Portland Oregon 97203

HR Policy and Process Reminders: Please Review Now

Sandy Chung, associate vice president for human resources, sent an email on March 1 to all exempt and non-exempt staff regarding policy and process reminders from human resources. HR is requesting everyone take some time to review these policies. The following links can be used:

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact human resources at hr@up.edu or x8484.

Please Apply for Summer Tuition Remission by April 15

Eligible employees who intend to use their tuition remission benefit during the summer semester are encouraged to apply using the online request tool no later than Sunday, April 15, according to Sandy Chung, human resources.

It is required that remission requests be approved at least 2 weeks before the first class, or late charges may be applied to an employee’s account. There are separate application forms for undergraduate and graduate course work tuition remission. Any graduate level tuition remission benefit will be taxable to the employee on the value above $5,250 for attempted credits and subject to applicable withholdings and will be reflected on the W-2 of the tax year the remission was applied. Time away from an employee’s regular work day must be approved in advance by the supervisor. Tuition exchange at other universities is not available to employees.

See the Tuition Remission Policy Summary at this link for further details. If you have more questions and/or need more information contact Sandy Chung, human resources, at chung@up.edu.

HR Asking for Updates to Employee Info

The Office of Human Resources has begun a project is to update staff job information and job related qualifications and experiences, according to Sandy Chung, HR. The projects is being implemented because Oregon recently passed legislation that requires employers to gather and update certain types of information to remain in compliance with Oregon employment law.

As part of this project, all staff employees need to complete a “UP Job Information Analysis Form–Staff Employee.” All staff employees are asked to complete this form by no later than February 5, 2018.

The “UP Job Information Analysis Form–Staff Employee” is available at this link. If you have trouble downloading the form, please email hr@up.edu and they will email the form. The form is in Word format to make formatting and editing as easy as possible. When ready to submit the form, please save the completed form and upload it at www.bitly.com/up-hr-upload. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email hr@up.edu or call x8484. An FAQ is available at www.bitly.com/up-jiup-2018.

HR Supervisor Workshop, Oct. 21

chungThe next Third Friday Supervisor Workshop will be held in the fifth floor conference room in Waldschmidt Hall on Friday, October 21,  from 10 to 11:30 a.m. HR director Sandy Chung will lead the session, which will be focused on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) changes to the test for exempt status for employees.  The changes to the act are scheduled for implementation on December 1, 2016. Chung will provide an overview of the changes to the regulations, the impact of the changes, and practical guidance for supervisors on managing staff in the new environment.  We hope that supervisors will attend this important workshop.