About Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day, On April 17, 1975, the capital of the Khmer Republic, Phnom Penh, was taken over by the Khmer Rouge, ending the Cambodian Civil War. Residents of Phnom Penh originally welcomed the arrival of the Khmer Rouge, believing the end of the civil war would bring peace. Instead, all citizens of Phnom Penh were ordered to evacuate to the countryside. “Thousands of people died in the chaos along jammed…
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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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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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We launched the campusGenAI Playground pilot on August 4, 2025, and moved to a full employee rollout on October 1, 2025. In just over three months the playground has become an active experimentation environment for UMPO staff—supporting rapid prototyping, knowledge work, and safe exploration of generative AI capabilities while we scale governance and training. , Pilot launched:, 8/4/2025 |, Full employee rollout:, 10/1/2025 , Fast facts (08/04/2025–11/15/2025), Total queries: 10,144 Peak daily queries: 339 Top users: Nicholas Blinn; Amy Thompson; Andrew Buroni; Mike Durkin; Megan Momtaheni; John Andrews; Anne Zuev; Chris England; Pete O’Connell, Why this matters?, Rapid adoption shows real demand for AI-assisted work across UMPO. Early use cases (drafting, summarizing, ideation, contract reviews, training content) are boosting productivity and informing where to integrate AI safely. Top users are emerging as unit champions sharing use cases and best practices., Next steps , More hands-on lunch and learn sessions/workshops and quick start guides. Partner with Amherst for opportunities to extend data integrations., How to get involved, Try the campusGenAI playground, share a short success story, or join an AI learning opportunity in the future., Reminder, Don’t submit sensitive or personally identifiable data. Verify AI outputs and follow UMPO Acceptable Use Guidelines . Thanks to everyone who joined the pilot and early adopters — the momentum is strong. Contact AI Hub umpo_ai_hub@umassp.edu or join the Slack #umpo-campusgenai-playground to get started.
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Transforming College Teaching Evaluation: A Framework for Advancing Instructional Excellence is a newly published book by our very own President’s Office staff member, Dr. Gabriela Weaver, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research. Gabriela joined us less than a year ago from the Amherst campus. The book is the result of her research, funded by the National Science Foundation and…
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On December 3rd, colleagues from across the University of Massachusetts gathered to honor the outstanding career of Carol Dugard, who retired after 26 years of dedicated service. The celebration was a testament to Carol’s lasting impact on the institution, bringing together representatives from the President’s Office, Administration & Finance, and each campus to share their reflections and…, Below are photos from the celebration,
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, observed annually on the third Monday in January, is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. The national Martin Luther King Day of Service was established in 1994 by Congressman and fellow civil rights leader John Lewis and U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, who together co-…
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Several religious and cultural observances occur during the month of December. We’ve included a summary of each holiday with a link to more details on the DEIA website, including some upcoming local event spotlights.
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