CHSS Community Digest #9

May 13, 2020

CHSS Community Digest #9

Dear Colleagues:

Spring is the time of year when the CHSS community comes together to celebrate our students and their accomplishments as they walk across the stage. This year will be different as commencement has been postponed until we can all come together safely. But we aim to make thisa special, memorable time for our graduating studentsall the same with our first ever virtual Celebration of the Class of 2020. Please plan to tune in on May 22 to be a part of this festive event.  

At the celebration, we will highlight the video montage of CHSS faculty and staff congratulatory messages to our students. I have to admit that I cried in gratitude when I saw a draft of the video. Simply, it is just beautiful. Join us and share your cheers on social media with the hash tags #Mason2020 and #IAMCHSS. 

Also, we will be slowing the frequency of these CHSS Community Digests to once a month starting in June. If there are lots of announcements, we will send a “special issue.”  

Thank you all for the positive feedback on these digests. We certainly hope they have provided much- needed information and clarification on the many changes due to COVID-19.  

Jaime  
Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives 
College of Humanities and Social Sciences 


Announcements & Resources

Class of 2020 Celebration

CHSS is taking part in the celebration for the Class of 2020 online at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 22 on GMU-TV. We hope you and your graduating students willparticipate in Mason’svirtual celebration, which will feature messages of congratulation, musical performances, and personalized slides for graduates showing students names, degrees, majors, and colleges. 
 
Additionally, graduates will be featured on our CHSS celebration pages along with a video message from Dean Ardis and our CHSS faculty congratulations video.CHSS materials, including graduating student profiles and our Class of 2020 Celebration program with our CHSS awards winners, will be featured here>> https://chss.gmu.edu/current-students/celebration-2020 

While the university is unable to hold a traditional spring Commencement ceremony this May, we know that many of our students want an opportunity to walk across the stage and hear their name called while friends and family cheer. The university continues to assess the safety of holding an in-person event in the future.But in the meantime,let’s celebrate the Class of 2020 on May 22!

CHSS Senior Spotlights

As part of our plans for the virtual Celebration of the Class of 2020we would like share the Mason memories of CHSS seniors on social media. Encourage your students to submit their photos and memories of senior year by visiting https://bit.ly/2ykPONR to be featured on social media #Mason2020 #IAMCHSS

Virtual Faculty Orientation

Due to ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19 and prioritizing the health and safety of Mason's community, Faculty Affairs and Development is in the process of exploring virtual alternatives for New Faculty Orientation in August. Please register to ensure we can contact you with the latest information as it becomesavailable.You can register here: https://gmu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eD8P13AMnxK6PAh  

Additional information can be found here: https://faculty.gmu.edu/working-here/orientation/new-faculty-orientation 

Mason’s Professional Development Program

Mason Professional Education is offering a new employee program that provides full-time Mason faculty and staff access to over 15 training and development programs in a range of fields at deeply discounted rates. 

The virtual/online programs offered include project management, human resource management,  government contracting, IT and more! All courses are offered in live-virtual and self-guided formats. Full-time employees in good standing are eligible for this initiative, with your current supervisor’s permission.  

For details, visit the program webpage: https://execed.gmu.edu/masonpdp/. Program seats are limited and registration will be taken on a first come/first served basis.  

Questions? Contact Mason’s Professional Education at 703-993-2109 or execinfo@gmu.edu.


Instructional Guidelines and Support

The Stearns Center New Resources: Wrapping Up Your Remote Course

In the context of this historical semester, the Stearns Center offers several detailed questions to consider for you and your students. These questions help instructors and students to consider ways that they remained resilient and persistent, and achieved other academic accomplishments. Information is available at:https://bit.ly/2WTdhhq 

OSCAR Virtual Poster Session CHSS May 14 

With COVID-19 canceling all events on campus, Mason faculty, staff, and students are working together to make sure that our outstanding undergraduate students are still able to present their scholarly works to the university audience.  

Invited undergraduates will present their research, with the entire university community invited to participate in viewing and discussing the presentations. This year will be an online format over May 11 to May 15 with a series of pre-recorded videos of varying lengths with discussion sections, and potentially live presentations with Q & A. Stay up-to-date on OSCAR here: https://oscar.gmu.edu/virtual-celebration/


Well-Being Resources 

Thriving Together Well-Being Weekly: Stress Management 

 “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”  
  - William James, American philosopher.

This final week’s well-being topic from the Center for Advancement for Well-Being is stress management. The college environment can be overwhelming for many students even in the best times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is dealing with additional stress.

A Personal Moral Compass 

The latest well-being topic from the Center for Advancement for Well-Being is on your personal moral compass. Katie Clare, associate director for resilience programs, University Life,describes how to define, recognize, and bolster your moral compass.