Tickets are $59 for lower level seats and $41 for upper level and are on sale now. To receive the special UT employee discount, call (865) 250-3842 or email KnoxGroups@aol.com. Be sure to specify that you are an employee to receive the discount.

For more information about The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes, visti http://www.radiocitychristmas.com/nationaltour/.

Tanisha Jenkins

Tanisha Jenkins, associate director in UT’s Office of Minority Student Affairs, was honored in Nashville last week at the Southern Association for College Student Affairs’ 60th Annual Awards and Celebration Dinner. Jenkins was named the 2009 recipient of the Bobby E. Leach Award, which recognizes a student affairs professional or graduate student for significant contributions to the development of multicultural relations on a college or university campus.

The award honors Jenkins’ service in professional and paraprofessional positions in Student Affairs that promote and cultivate multicultural relations on several campuses. Jenkins oversees a variety of programs that specifically impact the retention and academic performance of African American students, and provides guidance to a variety of multicultural student organizations. Jenkins’ many accomplishments include implementing the Women of Color Sisterhood Retreat, developing a Multicultural Faculty/Staff Network and receiving the Division of Student Affairs Program of the Year Award for the SafeZone program.

A native of Clinton, S.C., Jenkins came to UT from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., where she has served as the director of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Center for five years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., and a master’s degree in counselor education with a concentration in higher education administration from Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.

Even if you aren’t enrolling or changing your coverage, this is an excellent time to review your personalized benefits statement. Prior to 2009, employees’ personalized benefit statements were distributed once each year to give UT faculty and staff an overview of their annual compensation including any deferred compensation, educational assistance, longevity pay, insurance plans and retirement, as well as the amount UT contributes to your benefit programs.

You can now access your personalized benefits statement whenever you want with the click of a mouse. The same Web site you visit for your online pay statement also houses your personalized benefits statement.

For more information on open enrollment, your personalized benefits statement or your online pay statement, call the Payroll Office at 974-5251 or visit the Web site. To view your personalized benefits statement or online pay statement, click here. You will need your Net ID and password.

Dulcie Peccolo, November Send Roses Recipient

Dulcie Peccolo, director of student services in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, always has an open door to others and is known for going above and beyond the call of duty.

Dulcie makes herself available to help co-workers and students alike whenever a need arises.

“She is a very busy asset to our college, but she always has an open door for questions and makes one feel as an equal,” said one colleague.

Dulcie has a positive influence on the lives of those around her on a daily basis, prompting one co-worker to say she “needs a pat on the back…or some roses on her desk,” adding, “women like Dr. Peccolo…make the University of Tennessee function at its best.”

Because of her dedication and willingness to help others, the UT Positive Recognition Committee has named Dulcie as November’s Send Roses recipient.

To nominate someone for the Send Roses Award, visit the UT Positive Recognition Committee’s Web site or call 974-6018.

ADSRF Chair Linda Francisco has been affiliated with the fund for many years and was a part of it before the guidelines changed.

Formerly named the Black Staff Development Fund, the program identified African Americans with bachelor’s degrees and, when an individual’s application was approved, gave them money to pursue a master’s degree. The idea was to give minorities the opportunity to advance at the university.

To benefit the entire staff at UT Knoxville, the name and guidelines were changed to promote diversity exploration.

“The Black Staff Development Fund Committee recently changed the name of this fund to the Access and Diversity Staff Retention Fund,” Francisco said. “We made a decision that we wanted everyone to have access to programs and seminars.

“We realized UT has a great tuition discount program, so it helped us change the focus to seminars and programs.”

The guidelines for eligibility, as documented by Employee and Organizational Development, to submit an application are:

1. Knoxville-area exempt or non-exempt staff who have 12 or more months of regular, continuous service (minimum of 75 percent time) are eligible to apply.

2. Applicants should be committed to supporting the goals of diversity as espoused by the University of Tennessee.

3. Applicants must provide a written letter of support from their departmental supervisor, detailing the benefits of participation to the employee, department and university.

Francisco wants the staff to have the opportunity to learn how to make UT a more culturally aware environment.

“I think we’ll have people going to conferences that wouldn’t have the funding to go otherwise,” Francisco said. “I see it as encouraging diversity on campus. Sometimes, people don’t realize the benefit of diversity. We want to help retain employees, too.”

The fund committee has the final decision on the programs and seminars being attended. They prefer national conferences.

Francisco hopes the staff will come back to UT with fresh ideas.

“One of the things we hope will happen is people will want to impart their information,” Francisco said. “Maybe they’ll hear a speaker and will recommend the speaker to visit campus.

“The university is a place where ideas are exchanged. Having a diverse workforce enriches us and makes us more productive.”

The deadline for submitting applications to attend seminars from January through June is Nov. 30.

“We are approaching our first deadline, and we invite applications,” Francisco said. “People can receive up to $2,000.”

Interested parties can contact Shannon Bruce of the ADSRF Committee for more information on applications.

Francisco hopes the staff will take part in this great opportunity.

“When you have someone enriching a workforce, it impacts students,” Francisco said. “I think it’ll improve our culture, and make UT a welcoming place for everybody. We can make a better university.”

For more information, visit http://humanresources.tennessee.edu/eod/access_diversity.html.

Faculty, staff and students are urged to use an electronic form to quickly and easily provide information about events related to the international and intercultural initiative. The form is found at www.utk.edu/readyfortheworld/passport.

For several years, Ready for the World “Passports” have helped promote campus activities and initiatives. The Passport is a great personal planner that is distributed free to students, faculty and staff. It is often used as a recruitment tool and serves as a valuable record of the extensive programming that supports Ready for the World goals.

In order to produce the Passport in time for spring semester distribution, information about your unit’s spring programs is needed by Friday, Nov. 13. These events might include, but are not limited to, films, lectures, exhibits, campus-wide activities, etc.

Remember that Ready for the World encompasses both international AND intercultural efforts. In addition to wide-ranging intercultural activities across campus, this year has a particular theme: a focus on poverty. We are especially interested in any initiatives or activities that are planned that target this theme.

The Passport provides free advertisement for programs, so please take advantage of this opportunity to broadcast information to the campus community and beyond.

For more information about the Passport, contact Amy Blakely at amy.blakely@tennessee.edu or 974-5034.

Donaldson is now being recognized by his peers nationally for his work with UT Extension in training and evaluation efforts. He is receiving the Excellence in Evaluation Training award for 2009 from the American Evaluation Association. This is an organization of professional evaluators around the country who work at other universities and in private industry. Donaldson will receive the award at the group’s national conference in Orlando, Florida, in November.

“I appreciate the confidence of my colleagues who nominated me,” Donaldson says. “This award represents the professionalism and outstanding scholarship of UT Extension. It reflects our commitment to accountability and the important role of program evaluation. Extension agents and specialists are committed to communicating with stakeholders, and their hard work has provided an opportunity for me to deliver high-quality instruction in evaluation.”

Donaldson is a Program Development and Evaluation Specialist for UT Extension. Over the past four years, he has provided 523 hours of face-to-face instruction to more than 4,000 Extension professional contacts in 160 classes. He also created the Tennessee Extension Program Planning and Evaluation Model delineating four dimensions of Extension work: Identify Issues, Plan, Deliver, and Evaluate. This model has been used extensively to improve Extension programs statewide.

“We all recognize the need to provide the highest level of accountability for program support, but many of us don’t have the background or training to demonstrate this accountability, says Dr. Tim Cross, Dean of UT Extension.  “Joseph has done an outstanding job of conducting training programs for Extension agents, specialists and staff to improve our ability to report the outcomes of our educational programs. I’m pleased that his peers are recognizing the quality of his teaching and training.”

Dr. Heather Boyd of Virginia Tech University, who serves as awards chair for the Extension Education Evaluation Topical Interest Group of AEA, praised the depth of Donaldson’s work in her letter congratulating him on the honor. “Your letters of support describe your integrity, professionalism, attention to detail and your obvious enthusiasm for the content that you help others learn,” she writes.

Donaldson also works with computer software SUPER – the System for University Planning, Evaluation and Reporting – and trains Extension personnel in how to use this technology to more accurately measure the organization’s outreach efforts.

This past year, UT Extension had more than 4.8 million face-to-face contacts with Tennessee citizens. That’s the highest total ever, and SUPER enabled UT officials to count contacts made by volunteers trained by Extension professionals, and that boosted the totals.

In 2008, UT Extension had nearly 2 million contacts through 4-H, more than 1.6 million in Family and Consumer Sciences, and nearly 1.1 million in Agriculture and Natural Resources. SUPER also reports the overall economic impact of Extension’s efforts to the state was $343 million dollars. For every dollar invested in Extension programs, the estimated return is $5.10 in increased revenue, increased savings and one-time capital purchases.

“This award speaks well of our system. I want Extension professionals to be well-served by the professional development I provide,” Donaldson says.

Donaldson holds a B.S Degree in Agriculture and Extension Education from UT, and a M.S. Degree from Pennsylvania State University in the same field. He has worked for UT Extension for 11 years, first beginning his career as a 4-H Agent in Giles County in 1998. He joined the Extension Evaluation and Staff Development Department on the Knoxville campus in 2003. He is a native of Celina, Tennessee.

UT Extension, with offices in every county of the state, is one of the UT Institute of Agriculture’s four units, which together provide instruction, research and public service. The other units are the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and AgResearch, including the statewide system of 10 research and education centers. For further information, go to http://agriculture.tennessee.edu.

ARAMARK, which operates campus dining, also has launched a new promotion and is giving away a 30 GB iPod Classic, t-shirts and food. The Satisfy Your Appetite promotion involves several popular campus dining locations, as well as the newest: IHOP, located in Presidential Court Building; Quiznos, located in Volunteer Hall and the UC; Einstein Bros. Bagels, in the Art + Architecture and Haslam Business buildings; McAlister’s Deli, in Thompson-Boling’s Café at the Arena; and Petro’s.

To participate in the Satisfy Your Appetite promotion, UT students, faculty and staff must first pick up an official Satisfy Your Appetite punch card in ARAMARK’s central office on the first floor of Greve Hall. Members of the campus community must visit each of the five different eateries and receive a punch on their Satisfy Your Appetite card from each restaurant. Once all five punches completed, cards may be deposited in designated boxes at the specified dining locations. Completed cards will be pooled at the close of the promotion, and winners will be drawn. One lucky Volunteer will win a 30 GB iPod Classic, and 40 others will win t-shirts or cards for free food items. The promotion is open through Monday, Nov. 16, and the winning names will be selected on Thursday, Nov. 19.

As a reminder, faculty and staff may continue to sign up for ARAMARK’s UT Reward Card, which entitles UT employees to a 15 percent discount off regularly-priced food and drink in ARAMARK-run dining establishments except the Varsity Inn in Gibbs Hall. Cards may be obtained from either of ARAMARK’s two UT Dining offices: 108 Presidential Court Building, or the central office on the first floor of Greve Hall.

For more info on the UT Reward Card or the Satisfy Your Hunger promotion, call 974-4111.

We are hoping to provide both the flu mist and the injectible vaccine at the same time, but availability of the vaccines may require us to hold two clinics. The flu mist can be provided only to healthy, non-pregnant individuals between the ages of 2 and 49 years old; those age 50 or over are not eligible to take the flu mist and can receive only the injectible vaccine. Individuals between the ages of 2 and 49 can choose which vaccine they wish to receive.

The 2009 H1N1 flu vaccines are being produced using the same technology as seasonal flu vaccines, and they are expected to have a similar safety profile. Seasonal flu vaccines have a very good safety record, and the H1N1 vaccines should have comparable results. More information about H1N1 flu vaccines can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/vaccine_safety_qa.htm.

Again, we will provide more information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, please contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Jim Boyle

Director, Student Health Service

Jboyle2@utk.edu

The medical portion of group insurance premiums will not be deducted from December 2009 and January 2010 paychecks. This will not affect employees’ insurance coverage. Premiums for other coverage (life insurance and other optional plans) will be deducted from these paychecks. Medical premiums, including the six percent increase, will pick back up with February 2010 paychecks.

For more details on the increase to medical premiums and the premium holidays, visit http://insurance.tennessee.edu/premholiday.htm.