Upcoming Mobile Food Distribution Volunteer Opportunities

Colleagues,

The Food Bank of Northern Indiana is in need of volunteers to assist at the following events in St. Joseph County:

  • Wednesday February 3 from 9:00am – 12:00pm at in the Kroger parking lot at 5526 Western Ave in South Bend, IN
  • Thursday February 11 from 1:00pm- 3:00pm at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana
  • Wednesday February 17 from 9:00am -12pm at IVY Tech South Bend

If you are able to assist on any of the above dates, please contact Allison Schoenfeld at aschoenfeld@feedindiana.org.

Year-End Cumulative Tax Letters

Gift Management will be sending approximately 19,000 year-end tax letters to donor households via email (16,400) or by US mail (2,600 – for those donors without an email address) on Wednesday, January 27th through Friday, January 29th.

Our intent is to send letters to donors who have specifically made this request, donors through UND’s payroll deduction, recurring online donors and donors who did not receive a letter in 2020. Our cumulative year end letter simply states the total amount of legal gifts and provides the proper tax code language. This letter proactively provides tax information to our donors as well as one more thank you!

Please feel free to reach out to Stacy Koebel or Melissa Medina if you have any questions.

Congratulations to Julie Burnett!

Congratulations to the former Julie Burnett who married her longtime love Jay Seniff on Sunday, January 24th. Julie and Jay tied the knot at their home surrounded by Julie and Jay’s children and grandchild. It was a beautiful intimate ceremony and Julie looked radiant.

Please join the entire Advancement Services team in sending love and luck to the happy couple.

Condolences to the Witous Family

It is with broken hearts that we share that our Margot passed away peacefully at home on Sunday evening. She fought long and hard during her seven weeks in the NICU and three at home, and we were blessed to have the time that we did. We are hurting, but are so grateful for all the love and support we’ve received. Knowing that she’s in Mary’s arms brings us comfort.

A Catholic service will take place on Monday, February 1st at Saint Pius X in Granger at 10:30 am, with visitation at 9:30. Please follow COVID social distancing guidelines, but we are accepting hugs for those comfortable with giving one.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Margot’s memory to the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, NICU Project (choose from the dropdown), https://www.sjmedgiving.com/donate.

Thank you for all the love and prayers,
Jess, Mike, and Michael Witous

January Matching Gift Email

The January Matching Gift Email will be sent this Tuesday, January 25, to this list of assigned entities who work for matching gift companies, have made a gift since October 1, 2020, and as of today have not yet matched their gift. These gifts represent nearly $1.5M in potential matches.

Please note that individuals on the second tab of the excel file (“Fundraiser Outreach”) have not received the matching gift email message (all gifts exceeding $25,000) but may be eligible to match their gifts totaling $3.9M. You are encouraged to reach out to your assigned benefactors directly to discuss the details and answer questions related to the matching gift process.

If you have any questions regarding this matching gift communication, please reach out to Laura Walker.

Update to SRD Support Staffing

Colleagues,

Please be aware that Adam Ball decided to move on from the University effective January 15th. If you need to contact any of the people Adam supported, please see the following:

– Regarding Dan Santucci please reach out to Anita Sareen, asareen@nd.edu
– Regarding Ryan Brennan please reach out to Emma Capannari, ecapanna@nd.edu
– Regarding Anne Overly please reach out to Roz Palusci, rpalusci@nd.edu

New UR Walks – Monday, Jan 25 at 1PM

Hello UR Team! If you are interested in joining us for next week’s UR Walks, please fill out this form. Please note that Monday’s walk will now be at 1pm, and we will still meet at the Grotto. We look forward to seeing those in person for this fun exercise. Please keep in mind that we will be observing public health CDC guidelines. We ask all participants to properly wear a face mask at all times during the walk and social distance. Happy trails!

DEIU Discussion Group Continues

The Klau Center will hold another lecture series in the spring semester that runs February 12 – May 7 with the lineup of experts to be announced soon. In the interim, one episode (Episode 5, Part 2) remains from Nikole Hannah-Jones ’98 1619 Project where you may listen to the podcast or read the transcript. Join this discussion on Friday, January 29, from 1:55-2:25 p.m. Please contact Sharon Rankert for the calendar invite and Zoom link.

Farewell to Tony Roberts

Colleagues,

It is with bittersweet feelings that I would like to share Tony Roberts will be leaving his role as Director for Regional Development effective February 15th. That is a special day for Tony as he will be celebrating his 64th birthday and marking the end of his 7-year career at Notre Dame. During this time, Tony has built cherished relationships with hundreds of families in Southern California resulting in over $100 million in impactful gifts for the University.

Please join me in celebrating Tony, his incredible work, and the legacy of the relationships he leaves behind.

Sincerely,
Shelby Carroll

UR Walks – Thursday, January 21 at 12PM (Grotto)

Hello UR Team! Last week’s UR Walk was amazing! Lou took us on a fun and wild adventure on a trail behind Holy Cross College where we walked along the mighty St. Joseph River and shared many laughs. There are many mental and physical benefits to walking, and the mental benefits only increase when joined by friends and colleagues. If you are interested in joining us this week, please fill out this form. We look forward to seeing those in person for this fun exercise. Please keep in mind that we will be observing public health CDC guidelines. We ask all participants to properly wear a face mask at all times during the walk and social distance. Happy trails!

Farewell Sarah Carruthers

Colleagues,

I am sorry to share that Sarah Carruthers will be departing her position as Associate Director, Law and Graduate Business Annual Giving, effective January 29th. Since joining the Development Team two years ago, Sarah has provided tremendous leadership in the Law and Graduate Business space, leading to three straight fiscal years of record growth and increased membership at the Dean’s Leadership Circle levels. Sarah has collaborated with colleagues throughout Development, Mendoza, and the Law School to create a more immersive donor experience and increased philanthropic support for these students. I am forever grateful for her time in Development, and will miss her positive and energetic disposition on our team.

As we navigate through succession plans for this role, Conor Montijo will serve as an interim contact for all Order of St. Thomas More, O’Hara Society, and Dean’s Leadership Circle needs, in addition to his Sorin Society role. Please contact Conor or myself with any questions.

Best,
Brian Diss

OIT Happenings

New Zoom Recordings Retention Plan Begins 1-18-21

OIT Zoom administrators will be implementing a new Zoom recordings retention plan on Monday, January 18, 2021.

Beginning on this date, any recording more than 365 days old stored in the Zoom cloud (zoom.nd.edu) will be deleted. This is an ongoing process and each day, any recording over 365 days old will also be deleted. Any recordings that need to be saved must be manually moved to Panopto before the scheduled deletion date in order to retain them. Instructions for moving recordings to Panopto are available in this knowledge article. Local recordings will not be affected.

Two New Features in Google Sheets

Google has added two new features in Sheets. These features will help you prepare and analyze data more easily.
Cleanup suggestions: Helps to ensure your data is accurate by identifying and suggesting fixes for common data errors.
Column stats: Provides automated insights about the values within a column so you can identify outliers and quickly get a sense of what your data looks like.

Additional details are available in this Google Workspace Updates article.

Using a Group for Sharing in Qualtrics

The best way to share the items you create for your Qualtrics Form is through a Group.
Survey items such as emails, end of survey messages, error messages, files, images and contact lists can be shared when you create them within the Group. You can also share surveys with a Group, but the Group must be owned by an individual.
To create a Group, or manage your Group’s membership, contact the OIT Help Desk. For a new Group, provide the name for your Group, or to add/remove names from the initial membership list, provide the full name and email of each individual.
More information about a Group in Qualtrics is available in this knowledge article.

New Time-Out for Tech Sessions Begin

Do you need a convenient and easy way to keep up with changing technology? If so, check out OIT’s Time-Out for Tech sessions this spring. Each of these 30-minute Zoom sessions focuses on a topic about an application or IT service you may use or want to learn more about. They are packed with great information, how tos and best practice tips to help build your skills.

Find out more about these new Time-Out for Tech sessions this spring in this OIT news article.

Alumni Association – DEIU Update

  • DEIU Events

Events have been added to the DEIU Calendar, no signup required.

  • NEW DEIU Website

The new DEIU Resource Center website is available for early viewing. It is the home for all the information and programming created and coordinated by over 100 colleagues as we seek to build a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and united University Relations community. You will find our house rules, the calendar of upcoming events, the opportunity to share your “why,” and so much more. Please come along with us on the journey of learning and growing!

  • Share your DEIU story!

Want to share your DEIU story? We want to lift up your voice! Maybe it’s your “why,” your reason for being in this fight. Maybe it’s your own experience facing discrimination on campus or in the community. Provide a few details below and we’ll follow up with you to discuss the safest, most comfortable way to approach sharing your message with the broader UR team. Share your story HERE!

  • Feedback

Please click here to give your feedback about our efforts related to DEIU. This feedback is completely anonymous!

Introducing UR Walks!

UR Walks

Want to hit your 10,000 steps AND have a conversation with UR Senior Management? Then we have just what you need. Introducing UR Walks! UR Walks is designed to give UR colleagues a chance to get a breath of fresh air in various locations in Michiana while walking with members of the UR Senior Management team. Each week, we will plan a 2-4 mile walk at various locations in the Michiana area which will be led by Lou Nanni or one of our AVP leaders. In the event of inclement weather, we may be able to offer an indoor walk, such as at the Loftus, JACC, or Compton Ice Arena. Walking paces should allow for comfortable conversation while still getting a nice workout. Masks are required, along with proper social distancing practices. Weekly sign ups will be posted in souNDoff and the UR intranet.

Our first UR Walk will be this coming Friday, January 15, at 2:45pm with VP Lou Nanni. Please sign up here. This will be a 2.4 mile walk on campus, which will start at the Grotto and end at the Main Building. Happy walking!

Science-based data on benefits of walking:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261

https://news.stanford.edu/2014/04/24/walking-vs-sitting-042414/

https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-walking

Student-Athlete Networking Event (ADC | JHC)

On Tuesday, February 16, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM ET, the Rockne Athletics Fund will be hosting a casual student-athlete networking event for our premier level members (ADC | JHC). An email was sent out on 1/12 from Shannon Longo, with an RSVP deadline of 2/12. Fundraisers will be notified if their benefactor signs up. If you should have any questions, please contact William Mitchell or Shannon Longo.

UR January Birthdays

Happy Birthday to all our colleagues celebrating their special days in January! We hope you have a wonderful start to the new year!

1/1 – Stacy Koebel
1/3 – Eileen Gieselman
1/6 – Dylan Reed
1/7 – Drew Buscareno
1/7 – Rich Allocco
1/11 – Colleen Bailey-Knapke
1/11 – Stu Fortener
1/12 – Grace Morrison
1/12 – James Riley
1/13 – Laura Walker
1/17 – Anne Overly
1/19 – Jeff Fersch
1/19 – Jay McAllister
1/23 – Heather Christophersen
1/24 – Melissa Lechlitner
1/24 – Suzanne DeGuilio
1/25 – Kelly Courington
1/25 – Lou Nanni
1/26 – Chris Baguer
1/26 – Joanne Norell
1/29 – Chris Palmquist
1/30 – Geoff Stookey
1/31 – Bryan Reaume

UR Yoga Classes for January

Attention yogis and anyone interested in some flexibility and breathing! UR is offering 2 free yoga classes taught by Bend Yoga’s Caitlin Hubbard this month! A sign up for Wednesday, January 13th @ 10am ET can be found here and be sure to mark your calendars for Wednesday, January 27th @ 10am ET for our second class. If you have any questions please reach out to Amy Plotkin.

Welcome Luke Robert Nekic!

Congratulations to Steve and Stacy Nekic on the arrival of their son, Luke Robert Nekic, born Tuesday, January 5 at 7:00 pm, and weighing in at 7.5 lbs.
Steve said Stacy and baby Luke are doing just fine, and older brother Dylan is anxious to meet his baby brother.

Welcome Norah Marie Flynt!

Josh and Mary Flynt are excited to introduce the UR team to Norah Marie Flynt! She arrived on Tuesday, December 22 at 10:34 pm and was home in time for her first Christmas. Everyone is healthy and doing well.

Norah is named after two of her great-grandmothers. Mary’s paternal grandmother, Noreen, was baptized Norah Mary O’Brien in Ireland, and changed her name to Noreen when she immigrated to the U.S. in 1950. Josh’s paternal grandmother’s name was Honor Marie Flynt — Honor being a derivative of the name Norah. While Honor passed away years ago, we are hoping the pandemic eases enough for our Norah to meet her great-grandma Noreen in the coming months.

We are so grateful for the prayers and support of so many of our colleagues and friends on the UR team as we begin life as a family of 3.

-Josh & Mary


21 for 21 Fitness Campaign Sign Up

We all know what we can and should be doing to be healthy and well, but sometimes knowing and doing are two different things. That is why joining together in community to accomplish goals helps not only individuals to be successful but also the greater team! So for the New Year, UR is rolling out the 21 for 21 Fitness Campaign! Beginning on Monday, January 11th, and going through the end of the month to Sunday, January 31st, we will offer free workouts, activities, and wellness tips to help all of us start the New Year off on the right foot. If you’re interested in receiving these communications, please indicate so here!