On October 28th our colleagues came together to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, a time that symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. The celebration was filled with color, joy, and connection — from beautiful decorations and traditional attire to delicious food and music. A big thank-you to everyone who participated and helped make the event special!…
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As you know, October was, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, , a time to spotlight best practices for staying safe online. This year, during the month of October, we focused on understanding and combating phishing attacks—a leading cause of data breaches and cyber incidents worldwide. Whether you’re working from the office, home, or on the go, staying vigilant against phishing is everyone’s responsibility., What Is Phishing?, Phishing is a cybercrime where attackers impersonate legitimate organizations via email, text, or other forms of communication to steal sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or company data. Phishing emails often appear urgent, contain suspicious links or attachments, and may request personal or business details., October’s Phishing Campaign: What you Saw, As part of our ongoing training and awareness initiatives, we conducted a series of simulated phishing emails. Here’s what you saw: Simulated Phishing Emails: You all received a wide range of emails that mimic real phishing attempts. These are safe and designed to help you recognize suspicious patterns. We cultivated a range of difficulty for this month’s campaign to try to ensure you are aware…, Remember, – There are NO penalties for falling for a simulation, just learning opportunities! , How to Spot a Phishing Email, Check for spelling and grammar mistakes or unusual requests. Be wary of urgent or threatening language, like “Your account will be closed!” Hover over links to see the actual web address before clicking. Never provide personal or company information via email unless you’re sure of the sender’s identity. Verify suspicious requests by contacting the sender through a trusted channel. Verify THEN…, What Should You Do If You Suspect Phishing?, Do not reply to the message or click any links. Report the email using the Report Phish button located in your top Outlook Menu Bar, and then delete the suspicious message from your inbox. , Let’s Be Cyber Smart Together!, Every UMPO employee plays a vital role in protecting our organization from cyber threats. Thank you for your participation in Cyber Security Awareness Month and for staying alert during our phishing awareness campaign. If you have questions or need support, reach out to our IT team at any time. Stay safe and remember: Verify, THEN, Trust! From your friendly InfoSec team, Brad Smith: bsmith@umassp.edu Iris Lyons: ilyons@umassp.edu Danny Galvin: dgalvin@umassp.edu Nick Bonczyk: nbonczyk@umassp.edu Brad Smith, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), was spotted walking around 50 Washington, congratulating everyone who completed the security awareness training and reported the suspicious email with candy!
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The UMPO Administration and Finance (A&F) Executive and Senior Leadership team convened at UMass Amherst for a day focused on collaboration, knowledge sharing, and networking, thanks to the outstanding organizational efforts of Michelle Goncalves, Chief of Staff for Chancellor Javier Reyes. The event began with a warm welcome from Amherst Vice Chancellor Andy Mangels, setting the stage for a…
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From October 5 to 8, educational procurement professionals from across the New England region attended the annual National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) Conference. Held in Falmouth, MA, the event buzzed with collaboration, innovation, and new ideas aimed at shaping the future of procurement in education. Team members from the UPST were among the attendees ready not just to learn…
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End of Year Holidays (Offices Closed), Veteran’s Day Tuesday, November 11 Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 27 Christmas Day Thursday, December 25, Offices Operating with Limited Personnel, Day after Thanksgiving Friday, November 28 Day before Christmas Wednesday, December 24, Personal Time for 2025 and 2026, Employees have until 1/10/2026 to use 2025 personal time. Employees will be granted personal time on 1/13/2026 for calendar year 2026. Employees may begin using 2026 personal time after 1/13/2026 for the week beginning 1/11/2026.
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GIC (Group Insurance Commission) To Discontinue Use Of Online (Docusign) Forms, The GIC will be discontinuing the use of the DocuSign forms for enrollments and changes effective December 15, 2025. The only options for enrollments or making changes to GIC benefits will be to use the MyGICLink benefits portal or to complete and mail a paper enrollment form. Employees are urged to set up their MyGICLink benefits portal access if they have not already done so. The benefits…,
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Promotions, Name Hire Date Title Department Jazmine Blanc 10/5/25 Sr. Business Associate A&F Support Services Team, Departures, Name Promotion Date Title Department Lynne Ferrell 10/24/25 Accounts Payable Manager UPST
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Added Academic FTE views to the Enrollment Demographics and Residency tabs Added First-time Freshman/Graduate vs. Continuing options to the Student Category filter on the Enrollment Demographics and Residency tabs Added Credits Taken – Age at Beginning of Term view to the Enrollment Demographics tab Added Degree Seeking flag to underlying SPARC dataset for student pricing analysis Various data…
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New Hires, Name Hire Date Title Department Randall Maas 11/3/25 Associate Counsel Litigation OGC Robson Stewart 11/3/25 Capital Projects Manager UMBA Ryan Anderson 11/10/25 Supplier Relationship Specialist UPST, Promotions, Name Promotion Date Title Department Jacquie Kittler 11/17/25 Director, Emp/Labor Rels & Ben HR John Roy 11/17/25 Director, Recruiting/Comp HR
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DEIA Calendar, The DEIA Communications team keeps a calendar of upcoming diversity awareness months and days recognized either nationally or internationally due to their cultural, historical, or religious significance. , Date-Specific Events, Monday, December 8: Bodhi Day Saturday, December 13: National Guard Birthday Sunday, December 14 – Monday, December 22: Hanukkah Sunday, December 21: Winter Solstice Thursday, December 25: Christmas Friday, December 26 – January 1: Kwanzaa , Additional Awareness Communications this Month, The DEIA Communications team is sending out individual communications around the following awareness events this month: December 2025 Religious and Cultural Holidays National Guard Birthday
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