EMSS Team Members:

I hope the start-up to the semester has been engaging and exciting – I know it has certainly been an extremely busy few weeks for all of us in EMSS! This is the first edition of a new division communication, in which I will provide our team with regular updates about special topics, new hires, events, and accolades related to the work we do each day. My intent is to send this communication every two weeks, with minor variations for holidays. When I arrived on campus last semester, one of the commitments I made was to strive for increased transparency and communication with all of you, and this recurring communication is part of that effort.

Fall Welcome Event

Please don’t forget we have our EMSS Fall Welcome gathering next Friday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Goodwin Forum, and lunch will be served at noon. We are holding our welcome a bit later than some of the other divisions because of feedback from all of you, asking that we get beyond the crush of start-up activities this fall, if possible. We will spend some time on presentation and welcome activities, then break for lunch. I look forward to seeing you all there and sharing more about our accomplishments in the past year, as well as our goals for the coming year.

Introducing the EMSS Division Social Club

The division leadership team and I are focused not only on outcomes related to enrollment and student success that we want to see as a result of our professional work, but also our desire to foster an environment within EMSS that supports all of you and helps create deeper connections within the division. We know we spend much of our waking hours here with each other, and we want to ensure that we encourage a team atmosphere that helps make coming to work enjoyable. As part of this effort, we are announcing the EMSS Division Social Club, an idea developed by Jess Etter, that provides opportunities for more connection within this team, should you want those opportunities.

What is it? A virtual space to network with others from the division for social gatherings like Happy Hours, Team Sports, and other after-work gatherings.

Who can utilize it? Anyone in the EMSS Division!

Why? It provides a fun and casual way to connect and build strong workplace relationships, boost engagement, and encourage a positive EMSS Division culture.

How can you organize and/or participate? Be on the lookout for an invite to the EMSS Division Social Club in Google Spaces. Anyone who joins can send out a message to the group to invite members to join in on a social gathering you have thought of, for example: Spontaneous Happy Hour invites; attending various happenings around the county; a beach bonfire; comedy night; bowling; planning to form a sports league; hiking; kayaking… whatever you like!

College Colors Day/Division Kickball Tournament

Don’t forget that College Colors Day is next Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the Arcata Community Center from 3-7 p.m. Come enjoy food, music, face painting, bounce houses, and games – including the staff and faculty kickball tournament, that has our own EMSS Division Don’t Stop Ballievin’ team facing off against Administrative Affairs. Come cheer your co-workers on and enjoy the fun! Non-essential offices are allowed to close early in order for employees to join the festivities.

Slate CRM Update

Our division undertook a summer project to refresh the Slate CRM used primarily for admissions and enrollment communications, though it provides support for other units as well. Specifically, the project’s intent is to embrace the polytechnic transformation and empower teams by unleashing the power of data to meet Humboldt's ambitious goals outlined in the Strategic Enrollment Management plan. We also are undertaking efforts to re-envision admission processes from the student perspective to support our growth as a polytechnic institution.

The project uncovered structural elements within the database that needed more extensive rebuilding than initially anticipated. The implementation team, which includes representation from ITS and other campus colleagues, made the decision to bring Slate offline temporarily to rebuild the entire system in a manner that supports our enrollment and student success efforts. While some processes are on hold, we are currently using workarounds for the most essential of processes, such as communicating with prospective students, managing admissions for Spring applicants, and promoting events like Fall Preview. We anticipate beginning to roll out additional functions in the new Slate environment throughout the fall semester and will work with campus colleagues over time to consider new functionalities that can benefit our campus. Please send any questions or concerns to slate-pm@humboldt.edu

Support Our Campus Bookstore

Did you know that you can order embroidered Cal Poly Humboldt gear through our bookstore, contributing to its financial success? Before you order from other vendors, take a look at what they have to offer. There is only a one-item minimum, and our pricing will be discounted 20% from what is listed. View available items online at https://fodcustom.merchorders.com/. For more information, or help determining embroidery color palettes for specific clothing colors, contact our Store Manager, Chris Leach, at cleach@follett.com.

New Additions

We are pleased to welcome a number of new additions to the EMSS team, and we will share those names here regularly, as new hires or position changes are completed within our various departments. This week, we are pleased to announce the following:

-        Financial Aid Specialists: Janelle Brown, Dawn Khepri, and Luis Lara

-        Admissions, Associate Director of Outreach and Recruitment: Matthew Taxman, begins Sept. 11

-        Transfer Admissions Specialist: Baron Parks, began Aug. 28

-        Admissions Recruiter, Orange/Riverside: Noah Batchman, begins Sept. 1

-        Admissions Recruiter, Bay Area: Paul Castillo, begins Sept. 1

-        Admissions Recruiter, Local: Sandy Younger, begins Sept. 1

-        Admissions Recruiter, San Diego area: Andrea Santamaria, begins Sept. 1

-        EAP Coordinator: Melissa Donner, begins Oct. 1 remotely and Nov. 1 on campus

-        Registrar’s Office, Admissions Call Unit Coordinator: Sherry Wright, began Aug. 30

Please give all of these team members a warm welcome, when you meet them in person.

Accolades

Housing & Residence Life thanks our move in volunteers from various campus departments: Chrissy Holliday, Kristen Gould, Michael Moore, Stacie Lyans, Amanda Kachevas, My Sou, Guido Setton, Nona Mineva-Demireva, Amie Rodriquez, William Cook and Elizabeth Tellez. Also, special kudos to our Athletic teams for helping unload and move students into their rooms! Parents and students responded well to the special welcomes they received from our campus during move in, and we know it can make a major difference in the level of engagement students feel with this campus.

Info Submission

If you have information you believe should be shared in a future EMSS communication, please send it to my attention at ceh118@humboldt.edu or let a member of the division leadership team know.

I wish you all the best as we move into the holiday weekend, and I encourage everyone to take time to rest, recharge, and enjoy time with friends and family. 

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Chrissy Holliday

Vice President, EMSS

Cal Poly Humboldt