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. For the next CoffeeBreak, please submit by Friday, Feb. 10, for a Wednesday, Feb. 15, publication.

While Kathie is Away…

As you may know, HR Director Kathie Tune is expecting a brand new bouncing baby knee at the end of this week. While she and her new knee recuperate, Human Resources needs will be covered as follows:

• Sandy Isom is receiving Kathie’s emails and voicemails and will forward or reply as required.
• Tammy Wall and the Business Office will provide Human Resources support for paperwork, benefits, onboarding, offboarding, etc. during Kathie’s absence.
• A New Employee Orientation team is working on all aspects of this March 7 event. Reminders will go out to those who have not yet replied. Questions about the event should be sent to Lynnette Lawson who will direct them accordingly.
• Questions or situations requiring Human Resources notification should be sent directly to your President’s Council representative who will handle the situation according to protocol.
• Amanda Estabrook will handle all emails concerning employee compliance training for Get Inclusive.

Please join us in wishing Kathie a fast and pain-free recovery.

Black History Month Events

Keep an eye out during February for events celebrating Black History Month and help spread the word to our students. Here are the events happening over the next two weeks with more to come all month long.

Today, Feb. 8
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Holbrook/Ross Green Book Walking Tour (Click here to sign up)

7:30-8:30 p.m. – CAB Movie Night: Blank Panther Wakanda Forever

Saturday, Feb. 11
3-5 p.m. – Southern Belle Food Truck

Monday, Feb. 16
6 p.m. – TRUTH Talk

For more information about Black History Month events, contact Tia Yancey at [email protected].

Arts@Averett: “The Glass Menagerie”

The Arts@Averett series presents “The Glass Menagerie,” performed by Averett’s Department of Theatre

Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 9-11, 7 p.m.
Pritchett Auditorium
Free Admission for all Averett students, faculty and staff

“The Glass Menagerie” is a memory play as told to us by Tom Wingfield, a merchant marine looking back on the Depression years he spent with his overbearing Southern genteel mother, Amanda, and his physically disabled, cripplingly shy sister, Laura. While Amanda strives to give her children a life beyond the decrepit St. Louis tenement they inhabit, she is herself trapped by the memory of her past life – a life of cotillions and suitors and wealth, now long gone.

Faculty & Staff Valentine’s Day Social, hosted by Staff Council

Join us for the 2023 Faculty/ Staff Valentine’s Day Social on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the Admissions Welcome Center (second floor, Main Hall) from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Plan for a time of fellowship, goodies and giveaways. Please register using this link to ensure we account for enough festive food and beverage.

Advising Training

There will be two mandatory advising meetings to ensure everyone is using the same approach when advising students. The first training is on Thursday, Feb. 16, for all faculty and for interested staff at 11:15 a.m. in Bishop 304 A&B. The next will be held on April 20 at the same time and location. Both sessions are mandatory for participants.

Mary Blount Library Celebrates Black History Month

All members of the Averett community are invited to Mary Blount Library to view and interact with displays in honor of Black History Month. The national theme for Black History Month 2023 is “Black Resistance: Building Bridges and Navigating Barriers.” Come and see what students in African and African American Studies courses have experienced related to the national theme.

From the archives, we have a display of Civil Rights era pamphlets alongside images from “Bloody Monday.” Books and DVDs are available for checkout.

On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, from 4:45 – 5:45 p.m., Associate Professor of History Dr. Andrew Canady will be giving a presentation entitled, “Robert Russa Moton High School (Farmville, VA) and the Civil Rights Movement.” This presentation will discuss student activism at the Moton High School in the early 1950s, and the school’s relationship to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954, which ruled segregated schools were unconstitutional. A small reception in the Library to celebrate Black History Month will follow.

Racial Equity Institute Groundwater Training

This participatory presentation examines characteristics of modern-day structural racial inequity using stories and data. The groundwater metaphor is designed to help practitioners at all levels internalize the reality that we live in a racially structured society, and that is what causes racial inequity. With this in mind, the groundwater metaphor shifts the focus away from the view of racism as personal bigotry and bias and to a historical, cultural and structural analysis of racism. Participants will leave the training with an understanding of how systems produce unjust and inequitable outcomes, and will thus be better prepared to work for change. The groundwater metaphor is based on three observations: racial inequity looks the same across systems; socio-economic difference does not explain racial inequity; and inequities are caused by systems, regardless of people’s culture or behavior. This workshop will consist of a beginning informational session and a subsequent discussion session. Lunch will be provided. Click Here to reserve a spot today.

This event is a collaboration between the Dan River Region Health Collaborative’s Health Equity Task Force, the Dan River Nonprofit Network, the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Southside, and the Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness.

Online Discrimination, Harassment and Title IX Training

Averett has partnered with Get Inclusive to provide an online discrimination, harassment and Title IX training for all employees. Employees should have received an email from [email protected] with a link to training. Training must be completed by March 1.

New Employee Orientation (NEO Spring 2023) is just under a month away!

Spring New Employee Orientation (NEO) will be held on Tuesday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Make plans to join your new colleagues and network with faculty, staff and friends. Lunch will be available as part of the program. If you were hired since the Fall 2022 NEO in August, or if you could not make the August program, look for the evite via Punchbowl from HR Director Kathie Tune. We will host this year’s program at the President’s Suite of the Frank R. Campbell Stadium on our E. Stuart James Grant North Campus.

Have Questions about Your Retirement Accounts and Financial Planning?

Financial Advisors from Millennium are available to meet on-campus to:

• Answer questions about your retirement account.
• Discuss if you should consider moving your old retirement accounts to the current retirement plan contract.
• Provide financial planning and be a resource to help you make decisions regarding your retirement accounts.

Every employee can go through holistic financial planning sessions and receive a customized financial plan based on your goals. If you have a spouse or significant other, they are encouraged and welcome to attend as well!

These planning sessions are geared to help answer questions like:

• What changes should I consider making to my retirement plan based on my retirement and other goals?
• Am I saving enough to meet my goals in retirement?
• Is my current investment strategy appropriate given what I am trying to accomplish?

You can also reach Millennium’s Scheduling Team at [email protected] or by phone at 877-435-2489.

Today is the last day to register for the Nutrition Challenge!

Don’t forget to sign up for the Nutrition Challenge! Today, Feb. 8, is the last day to sign up, so make sure you get in the Averett Wellness Portal to claim your spot. May I also remind you that this challenge can help you rack up points for the end of the year gift card drawings. Make the rewards tab your friend! If you register for the challenge or just need a healthy snack, stop by the Student Success and ask for Victor!

Health and Counseling Open House