I&S Employee Newsletter - February 2023

Dear Infrastructure and Sustainability team,

I hope you were able to get some much-deserved rest over the holiday break. For many of you, I know your time off was impacted by the flooding we experienced on campus. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate your hard work to get our buildings back and operational. Because of your efforts, the semester started off without a hitch and many who just came back to campus were completely unaware of the issues. Our campus response team, made up of members from FacOps, EH&S, PD&C, and Business Services, continues to work together to ensure the impacts of the floods are corrected as timely as possible.

Thank you for joining us at our annual luncheon and awards last month. I hope you were able to pick up a copy of our inaugural community cookbook; thanks Nancy Portner for compiling it all. If you did not get one, please reach out to Nancy. I am excited to try all of your recipes!

There are so many exciting things happening around campus this semester, but I want to mention three projects that are happening specifically within I&S:

1. Hellems renovation – the Hellems project consists of a comprehensive renovation of the building. Currently in the document phase, this project is slated to begin over the summer.

2. Assetworks – our IT and web teams have been working tirelessly to ensure we have a seamless migration from FAMIS to Assetworks. Expect to hear more about this new system over the semester before we fully launch over the summer.

3. Res 1 – demolition of some old university buildings is beginning north of Boulder Creek to make way for one of our new residence buildings.

Finally I want to mention some of the benefits we have coming up for employees. The first annual SRS Breakfast Burrito Day is on February 13. Read more below to see where you can get your free burrito. We also have many new health and wellness initiatives for staff that I encourage you to utilize. We are also still offering IDP sessions. Reach out to your supervisor or Kelsey Draper to schedule a session.

Thank you for your endless hard work. I look forward to a successful, productive semester.

Happy New Year!

Chris Ewing, interim vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability

As declared by Chief Operating Officer Pat O’Rourke in the January SRS Insights message, Monday, February 13 is SRS Breakfast Burrito Day (aka SRS Breakfast Burrito Bonanza). To recognize staff and express our deep gratitude for all you do for our campus, Pat and the SRS Employee Engagement Committee invite all SRS staff to visit one of the locations listed below between 8:30-10:30 am on Monday, February 13 to pick up a breakfast burrito. Pat will spend half an hour at each location as specified below and other SRS leaders will join as well.  

• Folsom Stadium, Room 127 (Pat between 8:30-9:00 am) 
• ​ARCE, Room 346 (Pat between 9:15-9:45 am) 
• Regent Second Floor Lobby (Pat between 10:00-10:30 am) 

In addition to the above locations, some frontline staff units will have burritos delivered to their workplaces. Staff in those units will be notified by their departments with more details. 

Thank you for being part of what makes CU Boulder a world-class institution!

Brave the elements, ride your bike to work February 10th! Several breakfast stations will be in town and the CU Bike Program will be hosting a breakfast station with baked goods, coffee, and hot chocolate at the UMC Bike Station. Breakfast stations are open 7:00-9:00 am. Find more breakfast stations and all the event details on the Winter Bike to Work Day website.

Health and Wellness Services has launched a number of new programs and services for CU Boulder employees. Check out all the programs that are available this spring.

Current CU Boulder employees can elect to receive certain emergency and campus closure messages in Spanish, Chinese (simplified and traditional) and Hindi, making it easier for native speakers and readers of these languages to process crucial information quickly, without having to translate it. Learn more here.

We’ve added some new ways for I&S employees to earn points this quarter in the WorkTango (formerly called Kazoo) online recognition platform. Once you log into the platform, click on the ‘incentives’ tab on the left column, then click on the ‘earn’ button to let us know which incentives you have completed. For more information on the WorkTango platform, check the campus HR webpage.

The PSC will host a Concur 101 webinar on February 23, 2023 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm MST (via Zoom).  The course will cover information you need to know before you travel, how to create a report, travel reconciliation, expense entries, and report review/report submission.  There will be time at the end for Q&A. This course is recommended for new employees as well as anyone needing a Concur refresher. Register for the Zoom session here.

The IRS has released the standard mileage rate for business travel in 2023. The State of Colorado allows mileage reimbursement at 90% of the prevailing IRS rate for actual necessary travel while on official business. Review the updated rates.

Take advantage of two free airport parking days when you join the University of Colorado parking discount program by April 18, 2023! Learn more and sign up here.

Nominate outstanding individuals and departments who demonstrate a sincere commitment to transforming the CU Boulder campus into a living laboratory for sustainability through innovation that directly reduces the university's ecological footprint, enhances social equity and cohesion in the campus community or integrates sustainability into the culture of our local communities.

Campus Sustainability Award Nomination Form

Green Labs Award Program

People like you who work toward zero waste are, in fact, social justice warriors.  People with concern for the environment have the desire to be the ancestors that fight for the well-being of future generations.  Recent research by CU scientists finds there may be many reasons we become engaged with environmental issues.  Some of the reasons might surprise you.

An engaged warrior knows how to best use the tools at their disposal.  The fight can get complicated.  For reasons too complex to cover here, recycling and composting properly is intricate work.  Our friends at the CU Environmental Center have worked hard over many decades to clarify where your discards need to go after you take care to separate them appropriately.

When you know where to find and how to use appropriate learning resources you can carry on the fight for social and environmental justice, shoulder to shoulder, with your friends and allies.

On January 19, 2023 several outstanding team members were recognized for their significant contributions to the university this past year. View recipients of the 2022 I&S annual awards.

Robert Allen (Recycling) – nominated by Jason Tavares

Robert has been helping with the football games and noticed a pretty serious safety hazard in the stadium. While working during the games Robert noticed that raising and lowering the field goal nets creates a tripping hazard for the university marching band. Robert also noticed some large metal conduit brackets protruding from the stadium wall. A plan is now in place to prevent further incidents. 

Michael Najera, Darren Brown, and Craig Perez (Pipe Shop, Fire Systems Shop) – nominated by Rich Trujillo

During the campus closure the Pipe Shop received a call from the service desk reporting a steam leak at the Event Center. Michael Najera, Daren Brown and Craig Perez responded. When they arrived on site, it was about 300 degrees Fahrenheit in the mechanical room. Michael contacted Johnny with Fire Systems isolating the smoke alarms preventing the fire department from being called in. They installed some fans in the mechanical room, providing some fresh air and prevented the sprinklers from discharging. These team members' quick thinking and immediate action helped to minimize the damage to the building.

Chris Dobis (Fire Systems Shop) – nominated by Jay Marler

An employee on Team 3 fell yesterday and injured her ankle. Chris Dobis sprang to action and made sure that she was taken care of until the ambulance arrived.  He contacted police and fire. He was the primary witness. He made sure that our employee had something to sit on since the ground was cold. He also made sure that she had something covering her to keep her warm while she waited. 

Sushila and Kalsang (Team 6) – nominated by Rubi Andazoloa

Sushila and Kalsang were working the night shift in the ATLAS building on campus when they noticed an individual that they had never seen before in the building. They called their supervisor and their supervisor called CUPD. These team members did the correct thing by calling CUPD and not approaching the individual. 

Charles Holstein and Adriana Charbonnet (Outdoor Services) – nominated by Trent Wilson

Mice found our native seed stockpile in one of our sheds and decided to move in and make an absolute mess! Charles and Adriana took on the nasty job of getting everything cleaned up, and with safety in mind by wearing the appropriate PPE.  We are now going to store any seed we have in mouse-proof containers.

The CU Boulder Employee Passport—an initiative launched in August to foster faculty and staff engagement—is back for spring 2023 with a new set of prizes up for grabs for those who “stamp” their passports. The passport is fully online this semester, with no hard copy passports to be distributed. Each time employees participate in an event or other engagement on campus—not just those listed on the website—they can stamp their passports at colorado.edu/srs/passport to be entered into the prize drawing. The more engagement and stamps, the more chances employees have to win!

Health and Wellness Services has expanded access to AcademicLiveCare to faculty and staff. AcademicLiveCare (ALC) is a free telehealth platform that allows students, staff and faculty to schedule and attend mental health and medical appointments from home, the office or wherever you are on the go.This service is free regardless of your health insurance plan. Services include therapy, psychiatry, nutrition counseling, urgent (non emergency) virtual medical care, and financial wellness.

OIT has provided an easy-to-follow video that demonstrates how to configure your voicemail greeting on Teams Calls.

During January’s FM safety committee meeting, our main topic of discussion was slips and falls. This time of the year please be extra careful commuting to and from work. Give yourself plenty of time in the morning when preparing to come to work (i.e., dress for the weather, clear off your car and be careful where you park on campus).

Our safety committee also recognized multiple team members for their efforts during the severe freeze we experienced prior to Winter Break. One common theme for those recognized was keeping safety for themselves and their team members as their main priority while working or completing a task.

The FM safety committee is preparing for their Spring Retreat. We will invite guest speakers from various departments to participate and share their experiences about how safety involves all departments and divisions. We hope to include an OSHA representative as well so they may share safety-related stories so the committee may focus on these real-life examples going forward.

The FM safety committee meets the third Tuesday of every month to discuss general safety concerns, review safety reports, on-the-job injuries and recommend training needs and resources.  If you are interested in attending a meeting or bringing an issue or idea that is safety related, reach out to our Safety Specialist Don Fitzpatrick.

The Center for African and African-American Studies will be hosting presentations by Professors Yogita Goyal and Cherene Sherrard-Johnson on Friday, February 24 as part of Black History Month. Goyal’s talk, “Rethinking Failure: Genres of Anticolonial Thought,” and Sherrard-Johnson’s talk, “Celestial Bodies and Black Ecologies,” will take place from 12:00 to 2:00 pm at the Center for British and Irish Studies on Norlin Library’s fifth floor, followed by a reception. Expand your knowledge by checking out these reading recommendations from CU Faculty and Alumni.

The 2023 Women’s Leadership Symposium is on March 1. The symposium’s theme is, “The Stories We Need: Claiming Rest, Roots and New Realities,” and organizers said the event “seeks to explore a variety of ways women build their leadership skills and feel empowered to become tomorrow’s leaders.” Participants seeking additional information may reach out to cisc@colorado.edu.

NEW HIRES

• Christina Sumaya-Orozco, HR Generalist/Payroll Specialist, I&S Human Resources
• Zachary “Zach” Borngraver, Grounds & Nursery I, Outdoor Services
• Susmita K C Karki, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Jacob Gerwig, Grounds & Nursery I, Outdoor Services
• Matthew Markle, Plumber, Facilities Maintenance Operations
• Saraswoti Lama, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Titiana Gomez, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Diego Fierro, Electronic Security System Specialist, Facilities Maintenance Ops
• ​Joshua Budry, Plant Operator - Control Room, Utility and Energy Services

PROMOTIONS/TRANSFERS

• Jon Klarich, Structural Trades Shop Supervisor, Facilities Maintenance Ops
• Chad Solano, Materials Handler II, Distribution Services
• Rickie Pettaway, Custodial Manager, Housing Facilities Services
• Lu Xiong, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Juvenal Corchado Najera, Grounds & Nursery II, Outdoor Services
• Jorge Arellano Morales, Grounds & Nursery II, Outdoor Services
• Scott Redder, Interim Asst Director, Campus Building Services
• Robert Allen, General Labor III, Campus Building Services
• Claudia Acosta Lopez, Custodian III, Campus Building Services
• Osei Simmons, Materials Handler II, Distribution Services
• Joshua “Josh” Turnquist, Materials Manager, Distribution Services
• Alma Valenzuela, Custodian III, Campus Building Services
• Alan Slinkard, Projects Specialist - Technician IV, Campus Building Services
• Hannah Baker, Admin Student Svc Assistant, College of Music

MOVING ON

• William Parr, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Alejandro Aviles, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Abigail Jordan, Campus Bus Driver, Transportation Services
• Benjamin Montez, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Michael Donohue, Grounds & Nursery I, Outdoor Services
• Maximillian “Larry” Leiss, Custodian I, Campus Building Services
• Jason Ketcherside, HVAC Technician, Facilities Maintenance Ops
• ​Premika Rai, Custodian I, Campus Building Services

• I&S Employee Website
• I&S Homepage
• I&S SharePoint Site
• Kazoo employee recognition platform
• Employee Recognition Program