Today at CC Digest

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Today at CC Digest for Students

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Today at CC Digest

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Around the Block – Campus News

Did you know…

ID: infographic showing Tutt Library with text saying,
The Ruth Barton Writing Center, part of the Colket Center for Academic Excellence, provides assistance with any kind of writing project. This includes brainstorming, project planning, researching, cover letters, scholarships and applications, and more! Our services provide help for everyone on campus – students, faculty, and staff. 
When students want to talk about an essay or application before they get writing, our tutors ask questions to help develop outlines; that structure and clarity are huge assets in the Block Plan. Tutors also review near-final drafts for clarity, flow, and coherence, helping the writer imagine how their intended audience may react to their writing. Sometimes new students need to hear, “Yeah, you’re on the right track,” before turning in their first paper. Our tutors can provide that affirmation and help soothe writing anxieties.
Our tutors always represent a diverse academic group. It’s important for us to be able to provide writing help across disciplines and in such a way as to make everyone feel welcome.

Arab American Heritage Month

As April comes to an end, we want to celebrate one of our own! Back in February, we shared that associate professor and director Nadia Guessous, of Feminist & Gender Studies and Arabic, Islamic, & Middle Eastern Studies recently published “On Tenderness, Joy, and Intergenerational Indebtedness: Reflections on the Decolonial Potentialities of the World Cup” in Jadaliyya, an independent ezine published by the Arab Studies Institute.

In the article, Guessous argues that the Moroccan team’s participation in the 2022 World Soccer Cup “challenged dominant assumptions about Moroccan/North African/Muslim/immigrant masculinity while at the same time speaking back to notions of Western superiority and benevolence through their expressions of affection and indebtedness towards their immigrant mothers.”

One of the best ways to celebrate AAHM is on a local level!

Senior Spotlight 2023

ID: Caucasian woman with dark short hair and glasses, black shirt, standing in front of plants, smiling at the camer. There is a gold frame with her name and SENIOR SPOTLIGHT on the frame
Over the next few weeks leading up to Commencement, we will be honoring the outstanding achievements of our senior students in Senior Spotlight 2023!
Gillian Lasher ’23
she/her
Major/Minor: Environmental Studies/Southwest Studies
“My favorite extracurricular activity [at CC] was working for the Collaborative for Community Engagement and being part of the Community Engaged Scholars/Leaders program. From being an intern, to attending BreakOut trips, to collaborating with Food to Power on a docuseries capstone, I have loved my time connecting with the community in meaningful ways. The CCE will always hold a special place for me; it’s where I discovered my values in community engagement and how they matter in bringing joy to others and the world. The community at the CCE will always be a second home for me and a place I’ll hold fond memories of for a long time.”
The Senior Spotlight is open to all seniors in the Class of 2023. If you are a senior who would like to be featured, fill out this form.

Office of Sustainability Releases the Greenhouse Gas Report


Every year, the Office of Sustainability’s Emissions Team performs an inventory of Colorado College’s carbon emissions. The inventory for the most recent fiscal year has just been completed. The data from the inventory is used in the annual report, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Technical Report, and covers emissions data for Fiscal Year ‘22 (FY22), or July 1st 2021-June 30th 2022. It includes Colorado College’s gross emissions, as well as net emissions that take into account carbon offsets and carbon sinks. The goal of this report is to provide an overview of CC’s carbon emissions.

Re-launch of the Democratic Dialogue Project Connects CC and USAFA Students

ID: a group of students standing together on a stage in front of a large screen and flags, posing for a group photo

Adele Matter ’23 and USAFA cadets discussing US-China relations during the DDP club meeting on Oct. 1, 2022.
Photo submitted by USAFA cadet Ashay Stephen.
By Julia Fennell ’21

The Democratic Dialogue Project
(DDP) facilitates both social connections and political debates between Colorado College students and United States Air Force Academy cadets, helping to reduce the military-civilian divide for the next generation of citizens and leaders.
“Being a member of the DDP means trying to bridge the gap between civilians and military in our generation. We’re all the same age, we use the same social media, we watch the same TV, play the same sports, but we live our lives in totally separate bubbles. There’s fear, distrust, and misunderstanding between these groups of people that doesn’t need to be there, and that makes both the civilian world and the military worse off,” says Tom Byron ’23, co-chair of the club.
After having a great time at the 2021 Academy Assembly Political Science Conference, Bryon realized that there wasn’t much contact between CC students and USAFA cadets, and he wanted to change that. After talking to a professor about wanting to organize a program to bring cadets and CC students together, Byron learned about the DDP club, which was started in 2015 but lapsed during COVID. With this new knowledge, Byron reached out to Elizabeth Coggins, associate professor of political science, last spring and asked for her help in restarting the club. “The mission of the DDP is essential in today’s democracy, and I believe in it deeply,” says Coggins. 
Colorado College students can join at any point in the year, and all majors are welcome. If you have questions or would like to join the club, please contact Maggie Mixer.

Marco Barracchia ’22 Awarded Erasmus Mundus Excellence Scholarship

ID: very happy young caucasian man with curly brown hair and facial hair, wearing a button down shirt with his arms crossed, smiling widely, in front of a gray backdrop
By Alexa Gromko

Marco Barracchia ’22 has won the Erasmus Mundus Excellence Scholarship to fund his Europubhealth+ graduate program in Spain and the Netherlands, focusing on Leadership and Governance of European Public Health. This internationally competitive graduate program received more than 1,400 applications for the double master’s degree; only 20-25 are accepted into the program each year. The Erasmus Mundus Scholarship is even more competitive, as not all students accepted into the program receive the scholarship.

“The application has been one of the most competitive I have applied to, but I never lost hope,” shares Barracchia. “I knew within myself where I was coming from and what my objectives were.”

Barracchia was an international student from Italy, which further demonstrates the successes of international students at CC. The first person he called when he opened the email announcing his scholarship? His mother.

“It’s hard sometimes to believe you made it,” he says. “Especially when you are a low-income, first-generation student raised by a single mother. She is my biggest supporter ever. After I told her about the acceptance, her tears of happiness made all the effort worth it.”

Photo of the Week

ID: 2 white presenting young men working with legos in a classroom setting

In an event hosted by the CC History Department, Ethan Rothschild ’25 (left) and Sam Nystrom-Costales ’25 (right) recreate the lost Ghanaian Asante Palace with historian and graphic novelist Trevor Getz, using legos, on April 12.
Photo by Erin Mullins ‘24 
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Today at CC Digest for Students

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Today at CC Digest

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Celebrating Jane Turnis’ Retirement

April 2023 People Connections – Human Resources Newsletter

A Note from Ryan Simmons

HR has been working hard to enhance the services we offer our employees at CC. We are committed to documenting, communicating, and enhancing our processes to better serve you.

Until recently, we have been about 30% below our pre-pandemic staffing, and have been prioritizing your immediate needs. I’m happy to announce that we have backfilled the following positions:

  • Kaelibeth Rose, administrative assistant, will be your immediate point of contact if you need help from HR.
  • Missy Liu, Talent Acquisition Specialist, will be helping to document and enhance our Talent Acquisition processes and support search committees. She will help deepen an antiracist approach to our staff selection.
  • Ginger Jurecka-Blake, AVP of Workplace Culture, will partner with Sara San Souci and Matt Cherry in revamping our Hiring, Development, and Performance Management processes.
Our compensation team has been assessing and reviewing our overall approach to compensation. Updates have been shared at this block’s Roadshow, In the Loop, and will come in our next newsletter.

Staff and faculty continue to rate our benefits as a highlight of their experience at Colorado College. This newsletter will highlight how you can get the most out of these great benefits.

Thank you,

Ryan

Meet Gina Lujan, Benefits Manager

ID: Woman of color with shoulder length hair and glasses, wearing a black and red floral shirt, looking into the camera, standing in front of a brown wall
Gina was raised in El Paso, Texas. She lived in Hawaii and worked at Hawaii Pacific University for 13 years before moving to Colorado and joining Colorado College in March, 2006. Gina holds a BA in Human Services and a MA in Human Resource Management.  She manages benefits, including workers compensation and employee leave for CC.

If you weren’t able to attend the benefits fair on April 20, Gina has this tip for you: If you use vision benefits, before your next appointment log into the EyeMed member portal and click on Special offers.  The offers you find are stacked on top of your regular EyeMed vision benefits!

Other Benefits Fair Highlights

“Thanks for putting together the benefits fair!” said Lisa Hess Ruth, an attendee of this year’s benefits fair. “I was able to talk directly with representatives to resolve a long outstanding dental claim and was reminded that travel assistance covers dependents studying abroad. Also, great to chat with the HR staff and meet new people in the department!”

Another attendee, Jane Byrnes said, “I really enjoyed participating in the fair this year. It’s helpful to check-in with the many vendors who provide our benefits so I can stay updated on their services. I learned that we have a new vendor for Flexible Spending Account and I plan to enroll this year.”

Jeff C. commented, “I am so happy I decided to attend the benefits fair. Friendly faces from the moment I entered. Representatives made it effortless and easy to ask questions and I learned something from each of them. Talking to someone in person is a lot easier than over the phone, which was wonderful. Thanks to all the HR staff for such a nice event. Snacks were a nice surprise!”

Benefits OPEN ENROLLMENT is coming, May 1-31, 2023. Open enrollment is an online process through the eBenefits portal and MUST be completed before May 31. This is your opportunity to add, delete, or change any of your benefits. Watch for communications on May 1st with the open enrollment booklet and instructions.

Other benefit tips:

– Identifying your beneficiaries for Life insurance and Retirement

– View and update your life insurance beneficiaries 24/7 in eBenefits.

– Update Retirement beneficiaries at our TIAA site.

Cigna now offers identity theft protection for employees who participate in the medical plan.

Performance Review Reminders

  • Employee self-assessments should be completed and with supervisors now.
  • The window for submitting feedback on supervisors closed March 31.
  • Supervisors should be completing evaluations and meeting with employees during the month of April.
  • Performance evaluation forms are due to HR by May 5. Please submit them to ccperformance@coloradocollege.edu.
  • Employees with a rating of ‘does not meet expectations’ who want to appeal must notify their supervisor and HR prior to May 12.
  • Supervisors should notify HR if any employee will be marked as ‘does not meet expectations’.
  • You can find the forms and helpful resources on the HR website.

Did you know?

Mark your calendar!

  • Benefits Open Enrollment in May: this is your time to make any benefit changes you may want for 2023-24. Benefits eligible employees should watch for an email with the open enrollment booklet soon.
  • May 5: completed performance evaluations should be submitted to ccperformance@coloradocollege.edu” style=”font-weight: normal;font-weight: normal;color: #7a6646;text-decoration: underline;color: #7a6646;text-decoration: underline”>ccperformance@coloradocollege.edu.

Job Opening Spotlight

Do you know someone who loves working in a book arts studio and is dedicated to education through the arts and histories of the book? A Printer of the Press position is open at Colorado College. This position leads The Press in all aspects of its mission: informing the college and larger local and national communities of our press’s presence and capabilities, working individually and with artists to create printed artworks, inviting students to learn to use its suite of distinguished printing tools, developing The Press’s relations with faculty, teaching courses and workshops across many disciplines, and collaborating with the college library. Interested applicants can see more details here.

Benefits Highlight

This section highlights a benefit that is frequently marked as “did not know about this” on our exit survey.

 

Life Insurance 
The college provides benefits-eligible employees with basic term life insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance (ADD) in an amount equal to 1.5x their pay at no cost to the employee. This benefit is automatically assigned to every eligible employee.  The employee just has to name a beneficiary. Did you know that your life insurance incudes travel assistance?  You can see more about that here.

Additional voluntary life insurance and voluntary accident insurance for employees and their dependents is available! If you are interested, please review the benefits booklet for details and sign-up during open enrollment. The voluntary life insurance for employees is based on age and pay and the premium increases as those go up.

Pulse Survey
In our last survey:
  • We were asked about how to stay in touch with the comings and goings at CC. You can see a list of new employees and Tiger Service Award employees on the CC Single Sign On page.
  • 70% of respondents said they think pay should be tied to performance evaluations. What do you think?
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Today at CC Digest for Students

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Today at CC Digest

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

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