Thursday, November 12, 2020

submitted by lewisgg@augsburg.edu

Do you have something to say in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd? Do you have questions about how we exist in the Twin Cities after the killings of Philando Castile, Jamar Clark, Brian Quinones, Terrance Franklin, Alfred Abuka Sanders, Cordale Handy, Phil Quinn, Tycel Nelson, Isak Aden, Fong Lee, and others? Do you have concerns about the United States after the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Freddie Gray, Botham Jean, and more?

Make your voice heard! Join the Minneapolis Moment!

The Minneapolis Moment is a one-minute play project attempting to continue dialogue rooted in the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting uprisings in a time of pandemic and divisive federal elections. We’ll borrow the model of the Every 28 Hours Plays to create, select, and perform one-minute plays over Zoom or other video media to share with the Augsburg and Minneapolis communities.

The Minneapolis Moment will engage student, staff, and faculty in order to perform selected one-minute plays from the Every 28 Hours Plays and to write and perform new one-minute plays based on experiences since the murder of George Floyd. The goal is to facilitate critical dialogue and reflection by providing multiple viewpoints and multiple experiences.

The design of the project allows participants to start working in December 2020 and continue into the spring semester of 2021 with three or four performances building on each other and able to be broadcast virtually to be in alignment with essential health measures to protect against the pandemic. The idea is to have three or four performances with several one-minute plays and then ultimately to collect and edit them into one larger video. Participants can be involved in only one writing and performance cycle or in them all—it will be up to them. All Augsburg students, staff, and faculty will be welcome to participate.

Sign up or show your interest here!

submitted by leess8@augsburg.edu

Looking for a dynamic and engaging course this spring? Want to hear from people all over the world to deepen your knowledge of international perspectives? If yes, we encourage you to register for an online course taught by CGEE staff this spring!

These courses are taught by Augsburg CGEE faculty from Mexico, Central America, and Southern Africa and will also bring in a variety of guest speakers and unique voices from around the globe using our community connections in those countries. Several courses also fulfill LAF graduation requirements.

Courses for spring 2021 semester include:
COMMUNICATION, FILM, & NEW MEDIA
COM 329-X: Intercultural Communication (Fulfills Augsburg Experience Requirement)

CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES
CCS 495: Cross-cultural Perspectives: Feminisms in the Americas

HISTORY
HIS 156: The Crisis in Nicaragua: U.S. Destabilization or a Democratic Movement? (Fulfills LAF Humanities)
HIS 195/387: Apartheid, Mandela, and Post-Apartheid in Southern Africa (Fulfills LAF Humanities)
HIS 195/387: Mexican History, Cultures and Cosmovision (Fulfills LAF Humanities)

POLITICAL SCIENCE
POL 353: Political and Social Change in Namibia (fulfills LAF Social Sciences)

RELIGION
RLN 100-C: Religion, Vocation and the Search for Meaning I (fulfills Search for Meaning I)
RLN 409-B: Virtual Immersion: Topics: Faith, Vocation, & Social Change (fulfills Augsburg experience, Search for Meaning II OR Humanities LAF)
RLN 480-A: Virtual Immersion: Vocation and the Christian Faith (fulfills Augsburg Experience, and keystone)

SPANISH
SPA 112-F: Beginning Spanish II (fulfills Modern Language I)
SPA 212-A: Intermediate Spanish II (fulfills Modern Language II)

All of these courses will be available in records and registration, per your usual registration (https://terra.augsburg.edu/recreg/Pages/frmCourseSearch.aspx)

List of Global Courses, Descriptions, and Schedules

submitted by carlson2@augsburg.edu

Augsburg recently expanded our wellness and mental health services to give the Augsburg community access to a free service called TAO. The TAO app includes over 150 brief, effective educational sessions that include videos and interactive worksheets, that can be accessed 24/7 on your computer or smartphone. Two of the units focus on skills for coping with depression: “Leave Your Blues Behind” and “Improving Your Mood”.

To sign up use link below and sign up using your Augsburg email to access the free services.

Follow CWC on Instagram for more mental health and wellness resources: #augsburgcwc

TAO Online Mental Health Skills Training

submitted by grayk2@augsburg.edu

The Strommen Career & Internship Center has adjusted their virtual drop-in hours for the remainder of the Fall 2020 Semester. Starting Tuesday, November 10th – Friday, December 11th, our Career Peer Advisors will be available to review resume and cover letters via Zoom the following days/times:

Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00am-4:00pm
Wednesdays 11:00am-1:30pm
Fridays 11:00am-3:30pm

Zoom meeting link and updated hours can be found on our Strommen Community Moodle Site.

Strommen Community Moodle Site

submitted by vachta@augsburg.edu

Google has enabled the ability to move entire folders from your personal Google Drive to a shared Google Drive and manage folder level permissions on shared drives. Up until recently files had to be transferred individually between drives, making for a very arduous process. Now entire folders, including folders containing nested folders or Google-type documents can be transferred.

Departments are encouraged to use Google shared drives for storing files because they are not tied to one singular owner, simplifying employee departures. For more information please contact your LFC.

submitted by cswanson@augsburg.edu

Routine Benefit or Payroll Forms Deadline: Friday 11/13 at 12pm
To ensure timely processing of payroll for the November 6 pay date, please submit any change forms for current 2020 benefits to HR by noon Friday, November 13. This includes routine HSA, retirement, direct deposit and tax withholding (W-4 form) changes. Email hr@augsburg.edu if you have questions or need help.

2021 Open Enrollment deadline: Friday 11/13
The DEADLINE for benefits-eligible staff and faculty to complete the virtual 2021 Open Enrollment form is also Friday, November 13. Please submit your form before then. You’ll find your link on Inside Augsburg, Administrative Tasks, Open Enrollment.
For your convenience, your current 2020 benefit elections will be pre-populated in the open enrollment portal. Even if you are not making changes, we ask that you submit the enrollment form to confirm your selections will remain the same for 2021, even if you are declining coverage. Please note, 2020 pre-tax HSA and FSA elections will end in December, so you must elect an amount for 2021 to continue participation.

Open Enrollment Presentation Recording
Click the link below (“2021 Open Enrollment Information”) for information on accessing the Open Enrollment Session recording.

Secure Link to Human Resources & Payroll
To protect your information, forms containing sensitive data such as banking or social security numbers should not be emailed. For a secure delivery link go to https://augsburg.leapfile.net/ for submission. Please contact hr@augsburg.edu for questions.

Thank you so much! -Your HR & Payroll Team

2021 Open Enrollment Information

submitted by carlson2@augsburg.edu

Are you struggling to pay for a medication because you either don’t have insurance, or your insurance charges a big co-pay for the prescription? Check out GoodRx. This is a coupon-based discount website available for anyone paying out of pocket for a prescription. You can shop around and often find a pharmacy that will provide your medication at a much lower cost through this website. You don’t need to sign up for an account or pay any fees to participate in GoodRx. Check it out!

Follow CWC on Instagram for more mental health and wellness resources: #augsburgcwc

GoodRx