November 6, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are all looking forward to Fall Break; you have all worked so incredibly hard this semester on behalf of our students and to support our transformative research, our service to our community, and our land-grant mission. I am delighted, therefore, to announce that the university will observe three paid professional development days during the week of our scheduled Fall Break: November 23, 24, and 25.  

We encourage all of you to use this time to explore strategies and resources that can help you maintain your own well-being and mental health. Please note that, due to the impact that COVID has had on the university’s budget, unfortunately, the university is not in position to fund professional development opportunities, but there are a number of existing university resources, including self-paced e-learning classes and focused reading lists that are included at the bottom of this message; these are by no means comprehensive or proscriptive. We encourage everyone to engage in whatever professional development activities feel most valuable to them.

I know that some of you are deemed essential employees and may therefore not have the flexibility to take professional development time during the week of November 23. If you are an essential employee, we still want you to benefit from this opportunity; please work with your supervisor to schedule three professional development days before the end of the 2020/21 fiscal year. Note that these days are not eligible for a payout in lieu of time observed nor will they carry forward into the following fiscal year.

If you have questions about the opportunities that these days present, (e.g. eligibility, timekeeping), you can find answers on the Covid-19 Human Resources FAQs page.

I hope you all enjoy your upcoming Fall Break, and that with this new time set aside for wellness-focused professional development during that week, you will truly have a chance to take care of yourselves during these challenging times.

Warmly,

Joyce

 

Suggested CSU Resources for Professional Development

 CSU Center for Mindfulness

Keep Teaching

Vice President of Diversity Office Resources

CSU Talent Development Team

This office offers self-paced eLearning Courses. You can find them in the Learning Library through My Learning or click on the link below. The link will take you to the course to see a description and enroll if you desire.