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Oct. 22, 2020

Contents

  • A Note to @PimaNews Readers
  • College Updates
    • Info for Students, Employees and Community on Pima’s COVID-19 Web Page
    • Pima’s Months of Caring Start Oct. 23
    • First Striving for Excellence in Teaching Award
    • What is Academic Freedom?
    • Employees Urged to Join Virtual New Student Welcome Oct. 30
    • College Simplifies the Purchase Card Process
    • Volunteer to Be Trained to Support New Title IX Compliance
    • UA Special Offer for Taking Arizona Online Courses
    • Pima Employment Opportunities for Internal Candidates
    • Faculty Services and Resource Centers Available Virtually
    • New Online Access Requests
    • Exempt Employees: Consider Joining the ACES Group
  • Employee Wellness
    • Sign Up for Employee Wellness Virtual Workshops
    • Employee Wellness Resources and Program Info

A Note to @PimaNews Readers

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, @PimaNews is highlighting recent COVID-19-related policy and procedure changes. These will be revised and updated as the situation warrants. College leaders are committed to communicating with employees early and often during this uncertain time. However, they realize that the amount of information and details sometimes can be overwhelming.

College Updates

Info for Students, Employees and Community on Pima’s COVID-19 Web Page
The latest information and employee notices at pima.edu/covid19 include a link to the FAQs about the self-reporting requirement under the temporary COVID-19 personnel policies, plus a link the Employee Handbook.

Also at pima.edu/covid19 are Student Notices. Employees and students should regularly check their College email.

For health-related info visit:

Pima’s Months of Caring Start Oct. 23
The College kicks off its United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona Months of Caring on Oct. 23, with its Day of Caring at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Following COVID-19 safety protocols, volunteers will help dig out invasive buffelgrass. Volunteers who complete their work will be mailed a commemorative T-shirt and ticket for free admission to the Desert Museum on Nov. 14.

College employees will be receiving emails detailing this and other activities – Virtual Impact Tours of United Way beneficiaries, Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona and Goodwill Metro, on Oct. 27 and Nov. 5, respectively, and a food drive for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on Dec. 7, 8 and 9. If you have any questions, email collegeevents@pima.edu.

First Striving for Excellence in Teaching Award
The Provost and the Teaching and Learning Center present the Striving for Excellence in Teaching Award. This award will recognize 10 teaching staff members (full- and part-time faculty, and staff instructors) who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to improving teaching and learning at the College.

Each recipient will receive a monetary award of $100, courtesy of the Pima Foundation, be honored at All Faculty Day, and have their name engraved on a plaque displayed in the Office of the Provost.

Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m., Nov. 16.

What is Academic Freedom?
As we move through the review process for the Board Policy on Academic Freedom, the office of Faculty Affairs and Development and the office of General Counsel invite you to a conversation about Academic Freedom. Seth Shippee, the College’s Deputy Counsel, will be giving virtual presentations on the history of Academic Freedom, and will talk about how it intersects with the First Amendment and freedom of speech, and how it contours in current times.

The schedule is:

  • Oct. 28, 3-4:30 p.m.- meet.google.com/uvw-ibts-njv
  • Nov. 2, 10-11:30 a.m.- meet.google.com/uvw-ibts-njv

Each presentation includes a 30-minute question-and-answer session.

Employees Urged to Join Virtual New Student Welcome Oct. 30
Pima employees are encouraged to be part of the First Year Experience Virtual New Student Welcome to celebrate the new school year and welcome Pima’s new students.

The event is on Zoom from 4 to 6 p.m., Oct. 30. Activities include games, costume contests and other competitions for prizes. The highlight of the event is a special candlelighting pledge ceremony! Everyone must register to attend.

College Simplifies the Purchase Card Process
In an effort to improve the purchasing card (P-Card) reconciliation and internal auditing process, the College is implementing Concur Company Bill Statements. With this program, P-Card transactions automatically will be captured in detail and pre-populate Company Bill Statements based on a monthly reconciliation period.

Some of the benefits include:

  • One central location to access, review and reconcile all P-Card transactions
  • Elimination of unassigned P-Card transactions
  • More detailed and accurate spending data
  • Greater transparency to card approvers and administrators

The Company Bill Statements will go live during the first week of December. If you have questions, contact Graciela Dominguez, gdominguez@pima.edu.

Volunteer to Be Trained to Support New Title IX Compliance
The College is seeking employee volunteers who are familiar with College policies and employee and student processes to serve as advisors or hearing officers in the event a hearing is needed in response to a formal Title IX complaint. Volunteers must be willing to serve in either role. Administrators, faculty, exempt staff and nonexempt staff are all welcome to participate.

Title IX dictates how institutions must respond to incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. Although Title IX is commonly associated with students’ rights, recent updates to the regulations extend protection to employees and prohibit sex-based discrimination in an institution’s hiring and employment practices. As a result of the changes, the College is required to provide live hearings and cross examinations, and follow very specific processes. A live hearing must take place at the conclusion of the formal grievance process and the College must provide and train advisors and hearing officers to participate in the process.

If you have questions or would like information on training or to volunteer, email:

  • Diane Deskin, Title IX Deputy Coordinator (Student Affairs - Students), sddeskin@pima.edu
  • Staci Shea, Title IX Deputy Coordinator (Student Affairs - Students), sshea1@pima.edu
  • Michelle Wiltshire, Title IX Deputy Coordinator (Human Resources - Employees), wiltshire@pima.edu

UA Special Offer for Taking Arizona Online Courses
The University of Arizona is partnering with the College to offer 15% tuition discounts on online bachelor programs and 10% tuition discounts on online graduate programs and an application, placement test and student ID fee waiver for Pima employees, their dependents, spouses and domestic partners taking Arizona Online undergraduate and graduate courses. Classes begin in January and March. Learn more online.

Pima Employment Opportunities for Internal Candidates
Pima values its employees and wants them to advance their careers at the College, which is why some positions are open only to internal candidates. To view, go to MyCareerCenter > Internal Jobs (menu on the top banner) > Career Center > Explore Open Jobs > Search. Or, follow this link > Explore Open Jobs > Search. Part-time staff and adjunct faculty, refer to AP 2.02.01 sections 1.2.3 and 1.2.4 for eligibility.

Faculty Services and Resource Centers Available Virtually
Campus staff from the Faculty Resource centers and Campus Resource centers are available to assist you. Faculty services and resource centers also have new contact information, Faculty-Services@pima.edu and 520-206-6511.

New Online Access Requests
Pima employees can request access to a campus, and retrieve and declare work assets using the online Asset or Access Request form. You can:

  • Request access to pick up assets, for example, a chair or a computer monitor, for use while working remotely (this does not include PCs or network printers)
  • Request access for other reasons, such as to look up a file or do something that cannot be done remotely.
  • Declare College assets already in your possession.

To access this form, visit MyPima > Employees > @Work > Quick Links > Requests & Approvals > Asset or Access Request. If you have questions, contact Human Resources, hr@pima.edu or 206-4624.

Exempt Employees: Consider Joining the ACES Group
The Association of Classified Exempt Staff (ACES) invites exempt employees to join ACES. ACES represents all exempt employees to College administration on matters related to wages, salaries and working conditions. For more information about how ACES can support you in your networking and professional development goals, visit pccaces.org.

Employee Wellness

Sign Up for Virtual Workshops
Sign up online for Employee Wellness virtual workshops:

Employee Wellness Resources and Program Info
Visit the Employee Wellness Intranet page to access free resources and tools. Employees also are encouraged to visit the Employee Wellness website for additional resources, news and information on the Pima Healthy Rewards Program and wellness-related activities that qualify for Pima Wellness Activity points. You also can keep current on the latest wellness news.

@PimaNews is an electronic newsletter for employee news of Pima Community College. It is published by the Pima Community College Marketing office. @PimaNews is published Thursdays, except when the College is closed, during the semester and every other week during the summer. Please send announcements and news items – 75 words or fewer ─ to pimanews@pima.edu by noon on Monday. Back issues are available on the @PimaNews Web page. The newsletter also accepts submissions about Pima employee accomplishments.

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