News for Employees

May at the UA brings a planetarium show, a go-kart race, the UA's 154th commencement ceremony and a workshop geared toward ensuring safe travels for employees heading abroad this summer.

Applications are open for the UA's fourth IT Leadership Academy. "ITLA is giving participants a more holistic understanding of the University ecosystem and their roles as technology leaders," says Allison Vaillancourt, vice president of business affairs and human resources.

Employees and teams that have gone above and beyond their usual responsibilities to advance their units and the University will be honored Friday at the Awards for Excellence ceremony. The awards are sponsored by the Classified Staff Council, the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council and the President's Cabinet.

This was only the second marathon for Sarah Sellers, who was an accomplished runner at Weber State University but a virtual unknown before the race.

More than 1,000 employees will be honored for reaching service milestones of up to 45 years at the annual Service Awards ceremony. The honorees include several deans and Regents' Professors.

Construction projects on main campus and the UA Health Sciences campus will affect commutes for some employees this summer.

The "Caregiving Connections" series offers UA employees who take care of older adults a chance to connect and share resources. "To be with people who really do understand and who really can say 'I know' – and you know that they do know – that's very comforting," says math department employee Melanie Bowman, who cares for her 78-year-old mother.

At Malcolm Compitello's junior high school, the top students studied Russian, German or French. The lowest students, including Compitello, were sent to Spanish class. To his surprise, he excelled. "This was the only class I'd ever taken where I knew the answers before everybody else," he recalls.

Melissa Fitch, a second-generation Chicana, was born in Los Angeles and raised in San Francisco. Her work crosses a variety of disciplines, including women's studies, border studies, Luso-Brazilian culture and global and cultural studies. She recently was honored as a University Distinguished Professor.

It's tempting to suspect that there's something in the water at the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences. In just a little over two years, a whopping 14 babies have been born to faculty, staff and graduate students in the school. Eleven of the new additions are boys. Another one is on the way – a baby girl set to arrive in July.