Dear Colleagues,

Due to the forecast of 90 degrees tomorrow, we are changing the venue for this reception below from the Wind Family Fireside Terrace to McKenna Hall Atrium.

Office of Gift Planning

Cocktail Reception at Reunion 2018

Thursday, May 31, 2018

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

McKenna Hall Atrium

It is with gratitude and enthusiasm that I write to inform you that Thomas E. Fuja, Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering, has agreed to serve as Interim Dean of the College of Engineering effective August 1, 2018. Tom will serve until a permanent dean is appointed.

You are all aware of Tom’s enormous talent, considerable administrative experience, high standards, and commitment to Notre Dame and its distinctive mission. Please join me in thanking Tom and giving him our full support.

Please also join me in once again thanking Peter Kilpatrick for his selfless commitment to Engineering over the past decade as dean. With characteristic generousness, he has
already started to work hard to ensure a smooth transition to Tom.

As many of you heard during the quarterly all-staff meeting last month, Gerek Meinhardt has decided to pursue medical school at the University of Kentucky.  Gerek has been a valuable member of the Prospect Management team for the past two years and he will certainly be missed.  With his departure, the collective athleticism and the depth of our PM bookstore basketball team has taken a substantial hit.  We are crossing our fingers that we can find another Olympian through the hiring process.

We are also pleased to announce that Kevin McMannis will be stepping into the Consultant role and partnering with the West region.  Kevin recently joined us in late March, and may have the record for fastest job change in the history of Development.  He brings a terrific attitude, strong work ethic, and some much-needed height to our team.

We recently posted the Prospect Research Analyst role to the university’s jobs board.  If you are interested in exploring this position, please visit jobs.nd.edu or reach out to me with any questions.

Thanks,

Mark

The Fall cohort (Cohort 17) of the Frontline Supervision program is ready for enrollment! Please encourage those of your staff who are interested to read about the program on the HR website or review the one page reference guide so they fully understand the requirements of the program prior to registering themselves in Endeavor.

The program is limited to those who currently supervise staff (i.e., are responsible for their performance review in Endeavor).

_____________________________________________________________

Reminders of Program Changes Effective February 2018:

1. 1. There are two concurrent groups instead of one:AM group that meets 8:30am – 12pm, and PM group that meets 1:00pm-4:30pm.

2. There is a corequisite: Participants must complete ND Essentials for Managing Peopleworkshop in order to receive their certificate of completion. If they have completed the workshop anytime within the previous 3-year period prior to enrolling in Frontline, they are excused from the corequisite.

3. There is a charge for unexcused absences/late withdrawal: Participants cannot miss more than two sessions due to unexcused absence. Each unexcused absence will result in a charge of $100/session to their department, and they must make up the missed session with the next cohort. If they withdraw from the program after it has started, their department will incur a $300 late withdrawal fee.

4. Participants must submit a signed Letter of Commitmentform:This form states the requirements of the program as well as the fees incurred. It must be signed by the participant and the participant’s manager. The form is accessible on the HR website.

Interested staff may enroll themselves directly in Endeavor.

The Regional Development team is delighted to welcome former employee, Noell Stohler. Noell departed Development three years ago and has found “the grass isn’t always greener.” She is thrilled to return and will be supporting Bill Kempf, Tom Molnar, and Tom Cummings, beginning May 23^rd.

Noell and her husband Bill, will soon be empty-nesters. Their son attends the University of Wisconsin and their daughter will be a freshman this fall at Columbia College in Chicago. Noell enjoys fat tire bikes, outdoor sports, skiing, and hiking. And…she does not have a December birthday; she was born in April!

Please join me in welcoming Noell!

-Laura Midkiff

Dear colleagues:

I am delighted to announce that Megan DePrimio has been promoted to Assistant Director, Donor Communications, Recognition & Stewardship, effective immediately. Megan began with the Special Events & Stewardship team in 2016, after serving as a marketing intern for Notre Dame’s Department of Athletics for a year. She has had an incredible impact on our stewardship efforts during this tenure — she has enhanced our public recognition offerings for donors and taken responsibility for capital reports and many additional mailings and offerings. She has married a past passion for Athletics and a new passion for stewardship and in doing so, moved the dial in enhancing donor engagement, especially for Athletic donors. Megan is the first person to step up to help her teammates, as evidenced with her leading year-end acknowledgments this past winter when we experienced several holes in staffing. Megan is a hard-working, creative and joyful team member, and we are thrilled to give her this new opportunity for growth.

You may recall that Megan earned her bachelor’s degree from Saint Vincent College and her Master of Science in Sports Management from the University of the Incarnate Word. Please join me in congratulating Megan on this well-deserved promotion.

In Notre Dame,

Katherine Lane

Friends,

We have exciting news regarding our progress on reimagining the space we share every day.  We have partnered with Steelcase, our furniture provider, to engage in a 10 week comprehensive study to help us improve our workplace.  This study will take your input in a variety of ways: surveys of individual team members, a space analysis with motion sensors, as well as the feedback that you provide to us, your committee members.  

With the increasing size of Regional Development, the goal of our committee is to present a proposal for an integrated work environment at Eddy Street Commons. Despite much of the focus of this study being on the space at ESC, we want to better understand the challenges and opportunities for those who work at Grace Hall as well. Additionally, we are in the process of finalizing plans for new pilot space at ESC for all to experience potential configurations and furniture.  We look forward to this pilot becoming a reality, and strongly encourage Development employees at all campus locations to spend time trying out the space.

Here is what to expect during the comprehensive study:

Workplace Surveys:

Development colleagues at ESC and Grace Hall will receive requests to complete surveys that will provide feedback on how useful the workplace environment is for you. We need your help to be able to better understand all the ways work gets done so we can design a space that responds to your needs.  Please take time to answer the questions so we can better understand how to meet your needs.

Spatial Analytics Study:

On May 23rd and 24th Steelcase will be on site installing sensors at ESC. These sensors will track ONLY seat occupancy and temperature, and does not involve any video or audio recording.   They will be installed in desks, offices, shared spaces, and conference rooms with the only goal of seeing if a workplace is meeting your needs.  The data these sensors return will be 100% anonymous and non-identifying, and will certainly not be used to evaluate performance of any team members. The biggest take away from this will be how different teams use their space (e.g. Annual Giving vs. Regional Development).  These sensors will be removed the week of June 18. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to speak with anyone on this committee!

Do’s/Don’ts of Spatial Study:

Do – Use your space as if nothing is different.  We are looking to get the best data possible!

Don’t – Decide now is the time to test out a Roomba in your space.

Do – Ask anyone on the committee about this project and these sensors – we are more than

willing to answer your questions or ask those who know the answer!

Timeline
May 23 and 24: Sensors installed

Week of May 21: Work Experience Survey sent out to ESC and Grace Hall teams

Week of June 4: Favorite Spaces and Space Traits Surveys sent to ESC teams

Week of June 18: Sensors removed

Please feel free to reach out to any (or all of us) with questions, concerns, or feedback. We are working to make this a better working environment for everyone and we will not be successful without your open and candid feedback.  

IWEC Committee

Brad Goff, Co-Chair

Marty Harshman, Co-Chair

Lynn Hubert

Scott Jessup

Laura Midkiff

Conor Montijo

Eileen Murdock

TJ Pillari

Dan Santucci

Amy Schell

Aaron Wall

Nathan Utz

Lin Wang

Colleagues,

Friends

First, let me say how incredibly grateful Sue, Mike, Brian and I continue to be for your ongoing support and prayers. Your warm embrace continues to both envelope and inspire us.

Over the next few weeks, I will be working remotely and also be off for a few days to celebrate my son’s upcoming Memorial Day weekend wedding. While I plan on being highly engaged during this intervening period, I fully realize that I will need to lean on others as we approach both FY18 year-end  and our all important FY19 annual planning cycle. There are a host of activities and responsibilities which I believe require local energy, focus and presence.

As a first step, I’m thrilled that Kevin Deeth has accepted our invitation to assume some interim leadership responsibilities. During his tenure, Kevin has not only produced prodigious results on all fronts, but has also embodied the urgency, culture, partnership and team-first spirit we aspire to embrace. Kevin will not only represent the Midwest in select leadership forums,  but will also take the lead on driving towards the region’s urgently important unrestricted goals. He will also be asked to collaborate with me, Micki, my fellow SRD’s and other programmatic leadership regarding FY 19 annual planning and other critical priorities through June 30th.

I appreciate your willingness to embrace Kevin’s role and continue to drive strongly towards fiscal year end. That’s one of the best things you can do for me during my absence. I look forward to returning to campus in mid-June to once again roll up my sleeves with all of you. Until then, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any thoughts, issues or to just say Hi. Miss you all

Gratefully, Tim

Please contact Eugenio Acosta AAD for Engineering with any specific questions or concerns regarding the news below:

The following message was shared with Engineering faculty and staff today:

Dear Colleagues,

 As I mentioned several weeks ago in late March, I will be stepping down as Dean of the College of Engineering here at Notre Dame, a position I have had the privilege and joy to serve in for the past 10 ½ years.  I am pleased to report that I recently accepted the position of Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.  IIT is a venerable institution with roots in the late 1800s and has a wonderful mission of commitment to underserved populations in the Chicagoland area.  It is also committed to STEM and professional education.  I will assume my new role August 1, 2018.

In the coming days, Tom Burish will be appointing an interim Dean of the College to serve over the next year while conducting a national search for a permanent dean.  I am deeply committed to helping the interim dean and the College during this important time of transition, and I am only a short drive away after August.

 Again, it has been my privilege and joy to serve such an outstanding University and College of Engineering. Together, we have accomplished much in the last decade and, for that, I am very deeply grateful to all of you.  I will take my very fond memories of my time here at Notre Dame with me to Chicago.  Please know you will all be in my thoughts and prayers.

With my warmest regards, in Notre Dame,

Peter

We are grateful for the contributions of students who served as interns this academic year:

Hazem Khazbak, ’18

Claire Solomon, ’18

Elicia Dennis, ’18

Salonee Seecharan, ’18

Katie Smith, ’19

Laura Xi, ’19

McKenna Cassidy, ’20

Tony Castrodale, ’21

Stay tuned for the announcement of the summer 2018 intern cohort starting June 4!

For Notre Dame,

Bryan Reaume

Our deepest sympathies go out to Ian and Conor Montijo on the death of their grandfather, John Aloysius O’Brien Lt. Colonel USMC (Ret.) on April 26, 2018.

The viewing and Rosary are today, Friday May 4th, with the funeral tomorrow in Tucson, Arizona. The Lt. Colonel will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The full obituary may be found here

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce Kristin Schoenfeld’s promotion to Sr. Administrative Assistant for the East and West teams!

Kristin has been a valued member of Notre Dame Development since joining ND in 2004. She served as an administrative assistant for seven years in Law School Advancement before transitioning to the Donor Experience Team, where she focused on the Order of Saint Thomas More and Rockne Heritage Society. In 2012, Kristin joined Regional Development as an assistant for the East and South teams. Kristin is an innovative partner in creating donor strategies and stewardship plans, managing the day-to-day, and a generous “best practice” contributor to the overall team. We are thrilled to welcome Kristin and her smiling positivity to the East and West teams.

Kristin will officially transition to her new role on Tuesday, May 29, following her “trip of a lifetime” to Hungary. Please join us in congratulating Kristin on this well earned promotion!

In Notre Dame,

Stu Fortener and Anne Griffith