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. Please submit by Friday, Aug. 31, for a Wednesday, Sept. 5, publication.
Pegram Presented at Global Conference on Business and Economics
Dr. Ernest E. Pegram, assistant professor of economics, was one of 80 scholars-practitioners representing 22 countries, selected to present at the Global Conference on Business and Economics (GLOBE) June 4-8, 2018. Pegram presented his paper, “Business Relations in the Global Economy: ‘What is Good Corporate Citizenship?’”
Dr. Pegram says, “I was honored and humbled truly to meet scholars-practitioners from around the world and to be selected to present my paper on Corporate Social Responsibility at the GLOBE Conference.”
Campus Visit Coordinator Changes
Shekinah Logan has served as Averett’s campus visit coordinator for the past three years. She has now accepted a position with Epic Health Partners and her last day at Averett is today, Aug. 29. We are grateful for Shekinah’s service to Averett.
With that being said, we are pleased to announce that Sara Hodges will be transitioning from her current role as an admissions counselor to fill the campus visit coordinator position. Sara’s admissions knowledge and commitment to Averett will make this a very smooth transition.
GPS Student Spotlight
Meet Tabitha Mayo, a student pursuing her Master of Business Administration degree who is expected to graduate in 2019. To learn more about Tabitha on the GPS blog, click here.
QUESTION: What is your motivation for obtaining your degree here at Averett University?
ANSWER: “I believe the degree will make me more appealing to prospective employers, and will give me a positive edge. It will increase my chances of advancing in my career. My motivation for obtaining my degree at Averett University is to become more qualified in my field, gain a more competitive edge and to achieve success.”
Sam’s Club on Campus Today
The Sam’s Club representative, Karen Shields, is on campus today, Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the dining hall entrance of the Student Center. Shields is here to register new Sam’s Club accounts and renew current memberships. She can renew your membership months in advance if necessary. She may not be here in September so sign up today!
Averett Chapel
The first Averett Chapel of the year is tomorrow, Aug. 30, from 11:15-11:45 a.m. Remember, Chapel takes place on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Please do not schedule any student obligations during this time.
Averett faculty, staff and students are invited to pause from their duties during this time to nurture their spiritual formation in community. One can do so by attending Averett Chapel or by alternative means, according to their conscience and choice.
Labor Day Holiday
This is just a friendly reminder that the University will be closed to observe Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 3. Have a safe holiday!
Did You Know?: Averett and the Chamber of Commerce
Averett University is a member of the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, an organization focused on creating an energized region with a vibrant, profitable business community. As employees of Averett, you are entitled to the benefits of membership, including participation in the Chamber’s many programs and initiatives. Sign up for the Chamber’s weekly newsletter, Chamber Briefs, by emailing [email protected]. You’ll hear about Leadership Southside, Young Professionals, WE Lead, networking opportunities and more.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Alexis Ehrhardt, President & CEO, at [email protected] or (434) 836.6990. Internally, direct all questions to Kathie Tune at [email protected].
There is a Young Professionals tailgate, THIS SATURDAY! From 3-6 p.m., this Saturday, Sept. 1, the Chamber is hosting a Young Professionals Tailgate at our football game. Enjoy networking, music and corn hole. Plus, your food and first drink is on us (The Chamber)! Park in general parking and walk down to Tailgate Alley. Tailgate starts at 3 p.m. Game starts at 6 p.m. Hope to see you there!
2018-19 Middle Border Forward Fellowship
The Middle Border Forward (MBF) Fellowship Program is accepting applications for its next round of Fellows. The program was designed to foster emerging leaders throughout the region. Candidates are selected to participate in a year-long learning and leadership growth process.
The Fellows engage in exercises, sessions and other activities to become more connected with their peers to learn the history of how the region came to be, to address challenges, to preserve the assets of the region and to grow as future leaders.
The free program culminates with Fellow-designed independent change initiatives to address one of MBF’s six Areas of Focus. Interested applicants can apply here until midnight on Saturday, Sept. 1.
Heart Walk Team Challenge: Have You Signed Up Yet?
Thank you to members of Institutional Advancement and GPS for joining the Heart Walk Challenge this last week! The CCECC is continuing to challenge ALL departments to WALK against Heart Disease on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 9 a.m. at North Campus. To sign up a team of your choice, click here. To join the Averett Team, click here. To add hours to your CAMPUSengage profile, click here. Please contact Tia Yancey at [email protected] for more information.
Fall Screening
Mark your calendar: fall screenings will be on Wednesday, Oct. 17, and Thursday, Oct. 18, from 7 a.m. until noon in the multipurpose room. More information to follow. Contact Tammy Wall with questions at [email protected].
Employment Opportunities at Averett
Open positions at Averett are listed on the Averett website under the HR and Payroll tab or by clicking here.
Listings include openings for full and part-time faculty, and full and part-time (non student) positions. Instructions on the application process are listed under each job posting. For additional information, contact Kathie Tune, director of HR, at [email protected] or (434) 791-7106.
Cafe Bon Appetit Meal Plans for Faculty and Staff
Faculty and Staff Meal Plan Options are available on the Averett website. You can also click here for the PDF.
I can sign this…right?
As we start the new school year, the “business” of Averett picks up. We are frequently needing to sign documents presented to us by folks or companies Averett is wanting to do business with. Remember, that unless specifically authorized, only Dr. Franks and our CFO, Aaron Howell, are authorized to sign on behalf of Averett University.
Others who sign can expose themselves to personal risk if anything goes wrong. If you are ever in doubt as to whether it’s appropriate for you to sign something presented to you, protect yourself and email it to Aaron and he will take a quick look for you.
There’s always a bigger phish
As the new school year starts, the IT department would like to offer advice to keep our technology safe and healthy.
This summer saw a new wave of phishing emails. We did suffer from an extremely well-crafted phishing attempt that severely compromised two email accounts. Normally, the attempt is to get the names in the victim’s address book, giving them a larger network to use for their fraud. This time, the criminal used an Averett form to redirect the victim’s pay to another account, and redirected the victim’s emails to a different account. In this case, they probably compromised this email account and maybe others and was able to gather information that allowed them to create a form with information that appeared valid.
These attempts will continue to become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence to mine data and use it against us. We must be extremely vigilant with emails we receive every day.
One way to tell if the email is valid is to check if the email address matches the person’s name. For example, if you receive an email from Dr. Franks, the “from” line should look like this: From: Tiffany Franks. If it instead looks like this, “From: Tiffany Franks,” it is probably fake.
There are also more subtle ways to tell. If the body of the message is not consistent with other emails from the person, such as language and tone, it is typically suspect.
Recent phishing attempts in the news to be aware of include apparent requests from government agencies for employee information or tax documents (used for identity theft); requests to verify that John Doe works there and what his job title, email address and phone number are (used to establish fake accounts); and emails confirming purchases you never made with an option to cancel the order (so long as you provide credit card information so they can ‘refund’ the charge –or so they have your credit card information to use).
New Online System for Maintenance Requests
Associated with our housekeeping transition, we’ve switched to a new software system for submitting Maintenance Fixit requests.
First, use the same link from the Averett website, either from the Faculty/Staff tab or from the Intranet. When you click the link, you’ll see a Google login appear (if you get an error screen clear your browser’s cache as it’s trying to access the old link). Then, to log in, put in your username and then “@aumail.averett.edu” and submit. Next it will request your password – your regular Averett system login password should work here.
Next you should see the maintenance request form pop up. This is very similar to the prior form, but with a few enhancements. Follow the steps and be sure select a type of request. In step four, describe the issue with some detail so the team can best be prepared to help. Then submit; if a submittal password is requested, use “Averett.”
This new system will increase Facilities Services’ effectiveness even more and the system will give requestors more, and more frequent, feedback as to the status of your request. If you run into errors trying to log in for the first time, please contact IT.
**Due to password length requirements, if your network password was less than eight characters, we had to add an “x” or an “xx” to the end of it to work in Google. If it is already eight or more characters, it would be fine.**
