CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up-to-date on campus activities and information. Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this form by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, for a Wednesday, Sept. 6, publication.

Athletics Welcomes a New Athletic Trainer

A native of West Milford, N.J., Courtney Haid joins Averett as an assistant athletic trainer. Haid gained valuable experience as a student athletic trainer at Roanoke College from 2012-2016. Following graduation, Haid served as an athletic training certified intern at Lebanon Valley College during the 2016-17 school year. She also had summer internships with two Division I football programs, working with Rutgers University in 2014 and Virginia Tech in 2015.

Haid is a certified athletic trainer with certifications in CPR, AED and first aid. Haid earned her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Roanoke in May 2016.

Olsson to Take on Second Role as an Assistant Cross Country Coach

A Sweden native and 2014 Averett graduate, Emma Olsson has been named an assistant coach for the Cross Country team. Olsson, who also serves as Averett’s Department of Athletics Program Coordinator, will assist the program with day-to-day operations. An alumna of Averett, Olsson joined the athletics department as an assistant to the Director of Athletics in January 2015 and moved into her current role in January 2017.

Olsson, played for the women’s soccer team for four years, earning all-conference, all-tournament and all-academic honors. She was a team captain during her junior and senior year and was part of the 2012 conference tournament championship team that made the program’s first NCAA appearance. To learn more about Olsson, click here.

GPS Student Spotlight

Meet Antonia Adams, a student pursuing her Bachelor of Science in sociology and expected to graduate in 2019.

QUESTION: Please share one tip for your fellow classmates and future Averett students.

ANSWER: Focus, focus, FOCUS!!!!! It is not hard, once you set your mind to it and set daily, weekly and monthly goals, anything can be accomplished.

Water Collection for Hurricane Harvey Victims

The Office of Student Life is organizing a water collection for God’s Pit Crew, which is sending supplies to those impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. We are asking our Averett Family to please consider donating a case of water to the cause. Right now, we will be collecting water today, Aug. 30, through Tuesday, Sept. 5. You can drop off water at these four locations: Student Center, Health and Wellness Center, North and Riverview campuses. Please direct any questions to Lesley Villarose at [email protected]. You can give monetary donations directly to God’s Pit Crew online, here. If you would rather donate cash, here are the point people:

• Main Campus: Tammy Jackson, operations coordinator in the Dean of Student’s Office;
• North Campus: Phil Wilson, Men’s Soccer coach;
• Riverview Campus: Pamela Giles, dean and associate professor, School of Nursing, AND Kendall Carter, acting associate dean, GPS operations.

Averett Chapel

Join your fellow Averett students, faculty and staff tomorrow Aug. 31, at 11:15 a.m., for a 30-minute, non-denominational worship service in Blount Chapel. Music will be led by a student praise band and Chaplain Skyler will offer a brief and encouraging message for your day. Just 30 minutes to connect with God and friends!

On the second and fourth Thursday of each month, a campus-wide voluntary, non-sectarian Christian chapel service will be held between 11:15 and 11:45 a.m. in Blount Chapel. No official student, staff, athletic and faculty meeting is to be held during this time; in addition to setting this time aside for the Averett Chapel, other individuals and/or groups may (or are encouraged to) use this time for their own religious, spiritual or reflective purposes.

BeBetter Webinar: What’s making you age?

If you would like to take part in the healthy solution webinar, log in to the wellness portal by clicking here, to view the monthly webinar located on the home page. The webinar for August is “What’s Making You Age?” with deadline to view on Aug. 31.

GOLDRUSH Parade

We would like to recognize the numerous amounts of campus leaders that we have here at Averett. We will be having a GOLDRUSH parade across the field during the halftime of our football game on Saturday, Sept. 9, which starts at 6 p.m., and would love for our different groups across campus to be a part of it. If you are in charge of a group that would like to participate, please reach out to Courtney Leddy at [email protected] by Friday, Sept. 1.

Systemic Stress Management Program

Averett Wellness invites you to participate in the Systemic Stress Management Program. This is a six-session program to allow participants to take personal responsibility and greater control in stress management. Participants will receive a kit with a workbook, Real Relaxation CD, Thought Zapper Wristband and a Biofeedback Relaxation System Card. Sessions will be delivered biweekly through prerecorded webinars beginning in September.

Program participants who are active in beBetter will receive wellness points for attending the monthly sessions. Registration is Aug. 29 – Sept. 7. You can check out this video to get an introduction of the program before you register. Please click here to register.

Save the Date: Medicare Program Presentation

Please consider joining Carolyn B. Smith, president & CEO of The Marketplace Insurance Agency & ElderCare Associates, Inc., for an informative workshop on Medicare. Respond to Kathie Tune of your interest in order to make sure we have a packet for each attendee. The workshop will take place on Monday, Sept. 11, in the Carrington Conference Room from 5-7 p.m.

TIAA-CREF Representative on Campus

Do you want to visit with Matt Meade, our TIAA representative, who will be on campus to discuss your retirement plan and future retirement income needs? He welcomes anyone thinking about joining the Averett plan or who is planning their retirement in the next few years. All Averett employees (part or full time, non-student) are eligible to join the Averett retirement plan. Meade will be on campus Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 19 and 20. Click here for additional information or to make an appointment.

Are you Parking in the Right Space?

With classes starting, the Averett University Campus Safety and Security Department would like to take this opportunity and remind everyone to please help us be good neighbors. The Parking by Permit signs located on city streets (Woodland, Robertson, Main, Mt. View, ect.) are for City of Danville residents only. Please do not park in the area that is marked “Parking by permit, fire hydrants and in front of Residential drive ways.” Danville Police Department is authorized to issue citations and have vehicles towed at owner’s expense.

For Averett University’s designated parking lots, parking for students is available at the Library parking lot, Frith parking lot, Student Center parking lot and in the Ascension Lutheran Church parking lot located off of Townes Street.

Please do not park in areas designated as faculty parking or fire lanes. Handicap parking is allowed for those who are authorized to use this space and with handicap plates or a window hang tag properly displayed and visible. Averett University Campus Safety and Security are authorized to issue citations and also have vehicles towed at owner’s expense. If you have any questions, you can contact Jamie Walker, chief of campus safety and security, at (434) 791-5874 or [email protected].

Your Averett “Wireless Experience”

Over the summer, Tony Harris, network and security administrator, has been working to create a better “wireless experience” for all of us. To accomplish this, we have combined the two main networks into one network, “AU Secure.” From this point on, students, faculty and staff will use this SSID for wireless access. All you have to do is choose this option, and log in with your normal network credentials. (“VIP-NET” will still be available for guests, but with a “throttled” bandwidth.)

In the areas where we have not had the opportunity to upgrade the wireless access points, “facstaff” and “AU portal” will still be listed as choices. As always, if you have issues connecting, please contact the helpdesk. There are a vast amount of issues that prevent connection, so please be as specific as possible with messages that are popping up, relative humidity and the machine’s OS (Windows, Mac, Martian, etc.). Thank you so much for your continued patience and support.

Get Your Tailgate and Reserved Parking Spot Now!

Faculty and staff, you can still purchase tailgate and reserved parking spots! Act fast, spaces are almost gone! Click here for the full details. If you have questions or would like to buy a spot, contact Bren Taylor at (434) 791-5677 or [email protected].

Mindset Minute: Averett’s QEP

Have you helped a student think with a growth mindset today? Need ideas for encouraging students? Each week we will provide a snapshot into the world of growth mindset research and practice through “Mindset Minute,” where you can check back for tips!

Growth Mindset Tip of the Week: View challenges as opportunities. Having a growth mindset means relishing opportunities for self-improvement.

Many thanks to all the faculty who attended the sessions on implementing growth mindset practices into your courses! If you are interested in learning more about the research behind growth mindset, want ideas for assignments or assessments to use in your class, or anything else growth mindset, we have the resources available for you. Check out our growth mindset faculty resource page. Have questions or need help? Email [email protected] and someone from the faculty implementation committee will contact you.

Graduate Assistant Pinning Ceremony

The Graduate Assistant Pinning Ceremony was held on Tuesday, Aug. 29, to recognize all Graduate Assistants with the official Averett pin. Approximately 45 Graduate Assistants were invited to the event.

Dr. Franks opened the program with her remarks, recognizing the group as special to Averett University as they serve our students and are students themselves. For many, this position is their first job and that’s exciting for Averett. Franks expressed how proud she was to address them on this special occasion. Franks also mentioned that they have many mentors available to them here at Averett. She encouraged the graduate assistants to use their mentors and seek their advice in their work.

Meg Stevens also expressed how proud she was of the group. Kathie Tune wants to thank everyone who took part in the organization of this event, as it has never been held before. Tune also thanked the group for their dedication to higher education and for following their passion for working with students.

Faculty/Staff Giving Campaign

Thanks to all who came to the Opening Session of Averett and pitched their bean bags for our fundraising priorities for this year! Together, you pretended to “raise” over $90.7 million dollars for the Campaign for Main, annual scholarships, new classrooms, a master’s of nursing program, a new field house and tennis facilities, and almost 100 new Averett Society members. Now you have the opportunity to make it real by contributing to our faculty/staff giving campaign. Any amount counts – we are looking for 87 percent participation! You’ll receive more information soon on how to give, or for questions, contact Dan Hayes at [email protected].

CRLA Tutor/Consultant Training

The Student Success Center led a College and Reading Learning Association (CRLA) Academic Support Tutor/Consultant Training on Monday, Aug. 21, and Tuesday, Aug. 22. Pictured here are the tutors and consultants who attended Monday’s training; this training was led by both Holly Kilby and Aries Wilson. Additional trainings are led monthly by members of the Student Success team. If you are interested in speaking with tutors/consultants during a training and for a targeted purpose, please inform Holly Kilby at [email protected].

Student Success and Wellness Ice Cream Social

The Student Success Center and the Health and Wellness Center collaborated to provide the students with an ice cream social on the first day of class. Not only did students receive free ice cream, but they were given goodie bags from both offices. Goodie bags included such items as academic tip sheets and personal care items. It was a fun and successful event enjoyed by all!