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, Dec. 8, for a Wednesday, Dec. 13, publication.
Dear Colleagues,
With a most heavy heart, I write today to let you know that retired Averett Professor Emeritus, Dr. James (Jim) Caldwell has passed away. Jim was a true teacher-scholar and profoundly affected Averett and our students from the moment he got to campus in September 1995 until he retired due to health reasons in 2018.
His education, post-doctoral training, awards, honors, professional memberships and teaching experience are impressive and speak to Jim’s love for what he did. Contributions he made to Averett University and the Biology Department are substantial. He came to Averett from a post-doctoral position at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, bringing his research skills and training with him. As a result, he was able to lead the department into a new and successful Biomedical Sciences concentration.
Dr. Caldwell knew what our students needed to be successful in the fields they were seeking—medical school, veterinary school, graduate programs, etc., all programs requiring a strong knowledge base and good critical thinking skills. He was a champion for establishing a nursing program and was instrumental in bringing it to life. His expertise, effort, and time helped create the framework that was necessary to get initial approval from the Virginia Board of Nursing for Averett to start a nursing program. He supported the University in many other ways—serving on numerous committees, meeting prospective students, supporting students at athletic events, just to name a few.
Dr. Caldwell was known for both his high expectations and his great support and concern for students and his colleagues. When reflecting on how his work contributed to the mission and goals of Averett, Jim noted, encouraging each student to think, getting students to the next step and encouraging every student.
This is a great loss for the Averett community. We were honored to have both Jim and his mother, Peggy Caldwell Martin, who recently passed away, as long-term, devoted Averett employees and grateful that his sister Susan is an alumna. As more details become available, I will keep you updated.
With gratitude,
Tiffany Franks
Facilities Update
The facilities staff will be working hard over winter break. Please see the list of items they will be completing before the beginning of the Spring 2024 semester below.
MAINTENANCE
- Staff will be replacing all filters and belts in HVAC units across all campuses.
- A thorough assessment of the hallways and rooms in Davenport Hall will be completed to determine what maintenance/repairs, furniture and window units will be required prior to reopening the residence hall in fall of 2024.
CUSTODIAL
- The custodial team will be deep cleaning areas on all campuses, completing floor care and flipping residence halls for new occupants.
GROUNDS
- All leaves around our campuses will be gathered and removed and tree limbing will be completed at Main and North Campuses.
MAJOR PROJECTS
- 15 additional bottle fillers will be installed in residence halls and at the Riverview Campus. A total of 24 bottle fillers have been installed within the past year. Averett has acquired a new service called Quinch who will service and maintain the bottle fillers around campuses.
- Another 10 tub/shower surrounds will be replaced in the Commons Apartments which only leaves 24 remaining.
- The Frith Hall roof is being replaced and will have new shingles installed as well as new ridge caps for ventilation purposes.
- Frith Hall will also have its exhaust fans repaired and will be up and running for Spring 2024 classes.
- North Campus has several painting projects including the bathrooms adjacent to the locker rooms and the men’s lacrosse locker room at the Fieldhouse.
- The Cougar Den floor will be scraped and refinished.
- Danville Hall showers will be repaired and up and running for the beginning of Spring 2024. Another 10 showers will be repaired during break, bringing the total of repaired showers to 54. This leaves 16 showers left in all residence halls to be completed.
Brightly Training
Averett’s Meeting & Events team is excited to announce that we will be transitioning to a new software named Brightly for managing room reservations and event requests. This platform will streamline our processes and enhance efficiency in organizing event request needs.
Beginning Jan. 1, ALL event requests and room reservations must be made through Brightly!
To ensure a smooth transition, we have scheduled training sessions on the following dates:
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 10 – 11 a.m. via Microsoft Teams
Monday, Dec. 4, 3 – 4 p.m. via Microsoft Teams
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 1 – 2 p.m. via Microsoft Teams
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 10 – 11 a.m. via Microsoft Teams
Please email [email protected] to sign up for sessions.
The training will cover all the basic features of Brightly and provide you with the necessary skills to navigate and utilize the software most effectively.
Faculty, Staff, Retiree Christmas Party
Please respond to Mary Sullivan at [email protected] and include your guest’s name.
Want to make an even BIGGER impact?
With rising costs, our students need our help more than ever. If you’d like to contribute to their success in an even bigger way, please consider a gift to the Averett Fund (unrestricted fund) or the Cougar Cares Emergency Fund. Now through December 31st, all gifts will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $60,000. You can give either give at www.averett.edu/give/openingdoors or through payroll deduction. If you’d like to make either a one-time gift or recurring gift through payroll deduction, please fill out the form at the link below. Once you have filled out the form, please email it to Diane Gosney at [email protected]. Note: Your payroll deduction will not be processed until emailed to the address above. Thank you for ALL the ways you love our students!
To access the form, click HERE
How to Harness AI Across the Campus
My name is Leslie Kapuchuck, and I am the M.Ed. Program Director at Averett Online. I am so excited to be a part of Averett and to have the opportunity to work alongside some amazing people on the Averett 2025 Year Four project: How to Harness Artificial Intelligence Across the Campus. Our team includes Slade Lellock, April Love, Doug Wohlstein, student representative Fermin Borbua-Watson and myself. Our group has been collaborating to discuss goals and action items aligned with the following success metrics:
Increase retention by 5% over five years
Increase graduation rate (four and six years) by 5% over five years
This year, a substantial focus for our project is providing ongoing professional learning opportunities on AI in Education specific to teaching and learning. We need your feedback. To differentiate these learning opportunities and make them relevant to everyone’s needs in the context of AI, we have developed a brief Google Form to help with our planning process. The form only takes a few minutes to complete. We would appreciate it if you could submit the form by Friday, Dec. 8.
Thanks in advance, and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. To access the form, click HERE.
On Display from the Averett Archives
To close out the semester, Blount Library has two festive displays for the holidays.
In the large case is a collection of Christmas card art from former Carson Davenport, who was an art professor at Averett from 1942 to 1969.
In the small case is an assortment of Averett Christmas ornaments, some dating back to the late 1990s (and therefore still bearing the name “Averett College”).
If you are in need of a mental break as the semester winds down, please drop by and take a look at the displays. And, if the Davenport display is your cup of tea, there are fifteen other prints and paintings currently hanging on the walls of the library’s upper floor.
For more information, click HERE.
SIS Workday for OIRE and RO
Every Monday until the launch of our new student information system, key members of critical areas (Cheryl Dalton/Dana Mehalko (IORE) and Kristi Gilliam /Ashley Bowman (RO)) will be spending the workday on all things SIS-related. All requests and emails will be responded to the following business day.
While they may be unavailable via phone, office visit, or email on Mondays, should you need immediate assistance, please reach out to the following members of their staff:
Registrar’s Office
Kriston Clayton, Assistant Registrar, at [email protected] or x15612
Chris Molina, Assistant Registrar, at [email protected] or x17231
Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research
Richard Mills, Data Reporting Specialist, [email protected]
Have Questions about Your Retirement Accounts and Financial Planning?
Financial Advisors from Millennium are available to meet virtually 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. Click HERE to schedule a virtual visit with Tom Siebers.
Contact Kathie Tune, CHRO, at [email protected] for additional information.
Tuition Remission Forms
If you are registered or planning to register for Spring 2024 classes under the Tuition Remission benefit, make sure to complete a Tuition Remission form now. it is available HERE or on the AU intranet.
Contact Kathie Tune at [email protected]
Tuition Exchange Opportunities
Averett University holds membership in two tuition exchanges where eligible employees and their eligible dependents may apply for admission to hundreds of member colleges who offer a full tuition cost exchange or a percentage of the tuition in the exchange. Navigate their web sites and see for yourself. The opportunities are wonderful as some schools offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs on the exchange. The web sites are tuitionexchange.org and cic.edu. Contact Kathie Tune at [email protected] for additional information.
