12/6/2024 EMSS Division Communication

EMSS Team Members:

Happy Friday, EMSS team - I enjoyed seeing many of you at the Holiday Sweater Party on Tuesday, and was so appreciative for the joy and laughter that made our time together fly by that day. I know many of you are dealing with the shock and aftermath from yesterday's earthquake - I am in Long Beach at a multi-day Chancellor's Office meeting, but was in touch with campus as initial reports came in, and following the alerts and impacts closely. I am hoping that your homes and families experienced similar good fortune as our campus and escaped significant damage. My heart and thoughts were and continue to be with all of you, while I am away from Humboldt during this time, and I encourage you all to continue checking in with and supporting each other. As we all know, aftershocks can provide additional challenges in the coming days, and we should remain vigilant in the coming days.

As your time allows, please read the below updates related to campus and division efforts.

Help Needed: Career Expo and Volunteer Fair

The Career Development Center has appreciated recent involvement in our three Fall events and are gearing up for another exciting iteration of the Career Expo & Volunteer Fair on February 13 in the West Gym from 11am to 3pm. This event is organized by the Career Development Center in partnership with the Center for Community Based Learning. As many of you already know, this event is quite an undertaking, and we could not do it without your support. Please consider volunteering to help us with various day-of responsibilities including set-up/tear-down, shuttle drivers, recruiter attendants, greeters, and more.

CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER FOR THE CAREER EXPO & VOLUNTEER FAIR (Note: You can use the last short-answer box to share additional availability :)

As we receive sign-ups we will create the schedule for volunteers, and send two calendar invites. One will be an invitation to a brief orientation of the event and responsibilities. Second, there will be an invitation for the event itself. We look forward to another exciting event that helps students with career and experiential learning opportunities!

Don’t Forget Annual Training

Please remember to schedule time to complete your required training before your last day of work this month, and make sure you have allotted sufficient time to do so. I completed some training in November, and just received two additional notices yesterday of required trainings that expire by Jan. 3 that I need to complete soon! Supervisors, please talk with your teams about this, and make sure we are all working towards the goal of 100% completion. Thanks to all who have completed their training, and to all of you I know will make a plan for doing so in the next few weeks.

Spring Registration Underway

New student registration for Spring 2025 begins this week! Students are completing the online registration tutorial, connecting with advisors, and registering in classes. Please encourage new students you encounter to complete registration as soon as possible, in order to secure choice course selection and to help our campus maximizes course registrations.

Affordable Course Materials

In January, we are launching a trial with 3 classes for The Campus Store (Follett) to provide Immediate Access course materials for students as part of a campus pilot program. Students in SOIL 260, BA 250, and ENGR 417 will have their course materials ready for them almost a week prior to classes starting. It will be seamless through their Canvas registration process with reduced cost charges automatically placed on their student account. An opt out option is also available, and this is in addition to our campus efforts related to Open Access materials and rentals through the library program. This pilot is focused on providing affordable course materials for students, while ensuring early access to the books and other materials required for the course – similar programs in the CSU and across the country have shown significant positive impacts on student success. A cross-divisional work group is monitoring the pilot to help determine what role a broader Immediate Access program could play on our campus.

New Hires

Please join me in welcoming Michael Pitts, Publications Specialist in the Office of Records & Registration, to the EMSS team. Michael is a Humboldt alum who is already making magic happen with our commencement list, websites and more. and has really hit the ground running. We are so thrilled to have him on the team!

Accolades

Congratulations to Associate Dean of Students Heather Honig for the successful awarding of a Rapid Rehousing Grant from the CSU in the amount of $400,000 per year for four years ($1.6 million), as well as a one-time capacity-building award of $100,000. The funds will support Cal Poly Humboldt’s efforts to develop and enhance programming for students facing homelessness and housing insecurity. In doing so, students will have access to the support needed to persist in their education and earn a degree. The grant includes partnership with community based organizations that also focus on housing needs, in an effort to fill gaps in campus housing availability, such as that for family housing needs.

As part of efforts to increase awareness of Cal Poly Humboldt’s commitment to student success and attainment, Dean of Students and AVP of Student Success Dr. Mitch Mitchell recently served as a panelist for The Inside Higher Ed and Times Higher Education Student Success US 2024 Conference.

EMSS’ own Augie Valdez, coordinator of the Diverse Male Scholar Initiative, was nominated and named a finalist for "Transfer Champion" award by the Transfer Student Organization for his advocacy in empowering students towards success at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Events

Late Night Breakfast: students can grab free breakfast, served by our own faculty and staff, and take a break from studying for exams on Monday, December 16, 6:30-9pm at the J.

Cal Poly Humboldt Presents Shows: Don't miss Pink Martini featuring China Forbes, 30th Anniversary Tour, tomorrow, Sat., Dec 7 at 8pm and Tomaseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas on Fri., Dec. 20 at 7pm, both in the JVD. Get your tickets by visiting https://tickets.humboldt.edu/.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. As always, if you have items for inclusion in this division communication, share them with me via e-mail, or with the EMSS Leadership Team member in your area.

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Chrissy Holliday

Vice President, EMSS

Cal Poly Humboldt