Yummy Treats, Thanks to the Café at 50 Washington Street, the holiday spread was fantastic, and the desserts were next-level. Shoutout to our talented bakers in the Great UMass Dessert Contest!, Costume Fun , You all BROUGHT it with the festive fits! Favorite Seasonal Character and Festive Award went to Jacob Sturtz as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer., Name That Tune, Phones out, game faces on! Ruthie O'Keefe was the name that tune champ! , Dessert Showdown, The baking battle was fierce, but the awards went to: Most Likely to Be Gobbled First: Chocolate Torte - Anne Zuev Judges' Choice: Chocolate Orange Olive Oil Cake - Sara MacKenzie Most Creative Presentation: Surprise Cake - Pam Giordano (seriously, wow!), Gift Swap Shenanigans , The annual swap brought laughs, surprises, and a little playful “stealing.” No one left empty-handed—or without a smile., Spreading the Cheer, We couldn’t have done it without your generosity: Tons of gifts were donated to brighten the holidays for the kids at the Guild of St. Agnes. Veterans at the West Roxbury VA Hospital received much-needed items, thanks to you all. Big high fives to everyone who joined, donated, or helped make this event such a hit. You all made the office shine brighter than ever., , Can't wait to do it again next year!, — The Holiday Planning Dream Team 🎄✨ Andrew Buroni Lucas Carter John Dawson Kelly Fucci Diane Gale Sam Herren Jacquie Kittler Denise Lindberg Cheryl Millett Amy Thompson Jillian Warren
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Did you know that Buddy, our AI assistant in Procurement, handles about 30% of all inquiries at the UPST Contact Center? Buddy represents our team's commitment to innovation and excellence in customer service. Whether it’s day or night, on a weekday or weekend, Buddy is always ready to help. Available 24/7, he provides immediate responses to questions about payment status, job aids, commodity…
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The controller’s office, partnering with other departments, is focused on improving data quality across the University in the coming years. One of the first projects is working with UPST to align account codes in PeopleSoft with commodity codes. A commodity code is an international standard system to identify goods or services. For example, one person might call what they buy “Kleenex,” and…
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UMass Dartmouth's eSports Team will be gaining a new arena this semester thanks to UPST’s dynamic partnership with CDW, one of four IT VAR (Value-Added Reseller) suppliers ! Learn more about this collaboration and read about what David Cho, Chief Procurement Officer, had to say about how CDW is reinvesting in our campuses and upholding UMass' commitment to delivering top-tier education affordably…
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New Hires, Name Title Department Venkata Sai Sudharshan Baswa Financial Analyst I Controller’s Daniel Kouns Category Manager UPST Saran Madam Sr. Data Engineer UPST Matthew Smith Sr. Network Specialist UITS Eric Sylvestre Network Specialist I UITS Abishek Cholkar Intern UPST Donald Dawin Intern UITS, Promotions, Name Title Department Susan Kong Applications Developer, Prin UITS, Departures, Name Title Department Chaya Mallavarum Sr. Boomi Integration UITS John Nelson Sr Applications Developer UITS Kate Targett Deputy CIO UITS
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By leveraging connections at conferences like URMIA, the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Team has been able to gain visibility from external stakeholders and is proud to partner with them to mature their own ERM Programs. The four ERM professionals spent the day at the Boston office learning about each other’s tricks and tools!
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On October 3, UMass President Marty Meehan, Secretary of Education and UMass Trustee, Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, UMass Deputy Vice President of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Equity, Nef Walker, and UMass Chief Deputy General Counsel, Denise Barton, spoke to the UMass community concerning UMass’ continued commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the wake of the recent decisions from…
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The Commonwealth Collegiate Academy (CCA) is an early college program administered through the President’s Office. CCA provides high school students the opportunity to take UMass courses in career-aligned pathways during their high school day. Students are not only able to earn college credits while still in high school at no cost to them, but they also are better prepared for the rigor and pace…
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Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Updates and Changes Effective November 1, 2023 and January 1,2024, What is PFML?, Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) allows employees to take paid time off work for qualifying family or medical reasons. The program is administered by the state Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML). This program is funded by both employer and employee contributions. While similar to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, there are significant differences: PFML…, Summary of Changes effective November 1, 2023, Effective November 1, 2023, employees receiving PFML benefits may supplement (or “top off”) their PFML benefits with any available accrued paid leave (sick time, vacation, PTO, personal time, etc.). The employee may choose to use their accrued leave to top off their benefits, or they may choose to keep their accrued paid leave to use at another time. The combined weekly sum of PFML benefits and…, Summary of Changes Effective January 1, 2024, Effective January 1, 2024, the contribution rate will increase to .88%. The contribution rate breaks down as follows: .70% for medical leave .42% of the employer’s share .28% of the employee’s share .18% for family leave 0% of the employer’s share .18% of the employee’s share Effective January 1, 2024, the State Average Weekly Wage will increase to $1,796.72 and the maximum weekly benefit rate …, Questions:, Contact Katie Temple at ktemple@umassp.edu . , Resources, UMass President’s Office Website https://www.umassp.edu/paid-family-medical-leave Department of Family and Medical Leave: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-family-and-medical-leave
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