Cornerstone
MIAMI UNIVERSITY FINANCE AND BUSINESS SERVICES
Dive into Excellence: Chris McKinney and Makos Swimming
Rhett Butler
The Makos are a year-round youth swimming team sanctioned by USA Swimming. They offer training groups for swimmers of every level. As the Makos Swim Assistant Director Head Coach at Miami, Chris McKinney has led the charge taking the program from 36 swimmers just six years ago, to an impressive 102 swimmers this year with 130 new team records across ages 6-18.
Chris began swimming at age eight for the Springfield YMCA. When he turned 18, he worked in emergency lifeboat deployment for the Navy aboard Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. America. Chris explained that, “Water has always been my place.” After the Navy, Chris was asked to help an old friend out who needed help coaching at the Springfield YMCA, where Chris began his swim career. After his time with the Springfield YMCA, he coached for a few years at Urbana University before joining Miami.
When asked what he would say to someone who was interested in swimming for Makos, he said “It helps deal with failure…if you’re not failing, you’re not trying.” He also went on to explain that he believes swimming helps teach discipline and time management skills. During the Makos swim season, high school swimmers train and compete from August to April, or even longer for some.
During his free time, Chris enjoys home remodeling, landscaping, or “Watching anything race that has a motor attached to it.” Chris has been an excellent ambassador for Miami University's Makos programs, and his dedication is felt throughout the Miami Recreation community and beyond.
Looking forward, he said that he would like to see the program go from just over 100 swimmers to around 140. He also mentioned that the program had 14 swimmers qualify for junior championships, and 11 qualified for the sectional time standards. To put it in perspective, there are 370,000 USA swimmers, with only about 25,000 who make the sectional cut. This year, Chris is hopeful that they will have even more swimmers qualify for sectionals with a couple who may qualify for the junior national cut with only 6,000 other swimmers across the country.
OPEN ENROLLMENT
Now is the time to review your current health insurance plan and prepare for open enrollment in October for the plan year beginning January 1, 2024. The open enrollment period is October 9-31, 2023. If you do not make benefit changes during the 2023 open enrollment period, your current benefits (medical, dental, vision, and voluntary selections) will continue in 2024.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions must be elected during open enrollment, the 2023 contributions cannot be automatically rolled over for 2024. Check MiamiOH.edu/hr/oe often for updates as it becomes available.
Questions about your benefits?
Come visit us at the benefit fair for one or more sessions.
Open Enrollment Benefit Fairs:
Oxford | Tuesday, September 26 | 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Shriver Dolibois ABC/Heritage Room
Hamilton | Wednesday, September 27 | 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Wilks Conference Center
Middletown | Wednesday, September 27 | 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Johnston Hall
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: SGT. SHARON BURKETT
Jim BechtoltMUPD Sgt. Sharon Burkett has recently graduated from the School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety. SPSC is a public safety leadership and management education program that helps prepare professionals for success in senior police command positions.
The intensive 22-week training focuses on planning and policies, media relations, organization behavior, budgeting and resource allocation, human resources, contemporary policing, and more. Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety implemented the SPSC in 1983, and has graduated more than 20,000 national and international students.
2023
OCTOBER 9-31
Karen WilsonBrenda Curry
You may be aware that Miami University will be replacing its current legacy Banner system with Workday, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The Workday project has been charged with consolidating all university business data and processes into Workday where feasible. Within that framework, we're starting implementation of the Workday Learning module as the centralized portal for training for Miami staff, faculty, and student employees. We recognize that some learning may need to remain housed in other platforms (e.g., Canvas) but our phase 1 goal is to incorporate many of the various Miami employee training opportunities within Workday as part of our initial deployment on July 1, 2024.
We are in the beginning phases of the Workday Learning module implementation and have reached out to learning partners across the university to involve them in configuring this module to meet their training needs. A Workday Learning Overview was held on June 15 with these learning partners to begin discussion on bringing all that everyone has to offer into this learning module.
If you provide learning and training to employees and were not part of this event, reach out to staffdevelopment@MiamiOH.edu to discuss the benefits of Workday Learning and to become involved in our learning partner group. We want the learning module to reflect the extensive talent at Miami and be a robust tool for development.
Brenda Curry
Disability Awareness Learning Opportunities
Human Resources Staff Development, in partnership with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, is offering two new/updated workshops on disability awareness. These workshops are available in Oxford and at Voice of America Learning Center (VOA).
Register to attend in Miami Learn!
Disability Awareness and Accessibility
Enhance your awareness of cultural diversity, personal attitudes, and biases toward people with disabilities. In this interactive workshop there will be a focus on disability etiquette, hidden disabilities, diversity in brain function (neurodiversity) and addressing individual fears and stereotypes about disabilities. You will also gain a better understanding about the Americans with Disabilities Act
Click here to register (four hour workshop)
Getting on Board with Inclusive Hiring
Inclusive hiring is the practice of minimizing bias and creating an equitable recruitment, application, interview, selection, offer, and onboarding process. This is an interactive session on identifying and removing barriers in the hiring and onboarding process to make it more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.
Click here to register (two hour workshop)
LEARNING MODULE UPDATE FOR WORKDAYTHANKS FOR A SUCCESSFUL WORKDAY KICKOFF EVENT
Sarah Persinger
The Workday Kickoff Event on April 27 was a hit. Many thanks to all who journeyed to Shriver Center that day to learn more about the Workday implementation project and meet the members of the project team. Congratulations to the winners of the random drawings for the Workday logo item prize packages:
Katie Kammer
Sherrill Haas
April Turner
Dawn Tsirelis
Sarah Mayer
Kelly Donathan
Qi Zhang
Julie Abbott
Elizabeth Parsons
Joe Mills
Sarah Meaney
Renate Crawford
Eileen Mitroi
Erin Mills
John Gartside
Jennifer Perry
Glenn Chundrlek
Emily Schmidt
Dawn Fahner
Brenda Curry
Guydon Sunde
William Mundy
Gavin Hartzell
Fred Cook
Jerry McMillen
Jen Herman
Jenny Wethington
Liz Mullenix
Duane Drake
Bryan Powell
Jeff Pidcock
Lisa Riendeau
Tony Kinne
Ruth Groom
MINORS ON CAMPUS PROGRAM
Risk Management Team
Miami University is committed to providing a safe environment for all members of the university community as well as all those who participate in programs and activities on campus or who use or visit campus facilities.
This year, program planners have already registered over 175 events with more than 10,000 minors in attendance across the Oxford and Regional campuses. Programs include academic, drama, and athletic camps and field trips and tours of the university. These programs range from half-day events to week-long programs that provide experiential learning opportunities to prepare the participants for college and future success.
If you are a program planner, we encourage you to utilize the information found on our Minors on Campus website in planning your next event. This website was created to highlight the training, background checks, and reporting requirements to comply with university policy and to provide additional resources such as the newly created Emergency Management Planning Guide to make your event a success. Andrea Crane-Coyle and Rosanne Gulley were instrumental in developing this program to help keep the minors on campus safe.
In addition to the information found on the website, our office is also available for consultations about new and existing minors on campus events. We look forward to collaborating with you and for Miami to continue to offer excellent youth learning opportunities and events.
UNITING PARENTS AT ORIENTATION
Bridget Maney and Rhett Butler
Brick and Ivy was honored to have the unique opportunity to host parents and families of incoming Miami students in the store after each session of orientation. The Parent Family Social hour was held from 9-10 p.m. in the Brick and Ivy Campus Store, located in the Shriver Center.
Miami Catering partnered with Brick and Ivy to provide this event that allowed parents and families the opportunity to enjoy light appetizers and beverages, socialize with other Miami families, and the chance to ask the student store staff questions about campus living as well as information about the textbook ordering process.
Attendees were also able to take advantage of 40% off items in Brick and Ivy and received a free gift with each purchase. The Senior Director of Operations for ECampus, Leslie Hatfield, says, “This is always one of my favorite events of the year in Brick and Ivy, as it allows us the opportunity to learn about incoming students and their families, where they’re from, answer questions about campus, the store, and the textbook ordering process. It’s always exciting to hear parents’ and families’ feedback about orientation, learn about their backgrounds, and find out what led their students to attend Miami University.
CAMP PHOTO PROGRAM IS A SUCCESS ONCE AGAIN
Caitlin Gagnon
Last summer, FBS Marketing started a new photo program — a student photographer would attend Rec and Goggin camps every day and upload photos to send home to their families. This year, they decided to focus the program on overnight camps, to give the photographer more time to focus on capturing moments for families who aren't getting a nightly update from their campers.
Caitlin Gagnon, Content Marketing Manager, who started this initiative, says the program has a lot of benefits. By sending direct links to albums hosted on a photo-sharing site, Zenfolio, Goggin and Rec can keep thousands of photos of minors off of public sites like Facebook. And because parents can download and reshare photos from Zenfolio to their own social media pages, it creates stronger word of mouth marketing than these camps have ever had. Photo sharing can also create retention in overnight camps because parents can see in real time how much fun their camper is having instead of having to wait until the end of the week to hear from their camper.
2023's camp photos have had incredible feedback, and FBS Marketing looks forward to delivering more quality marketing products for their camps.
CHECK OUT THE CRADLE OF COACHES COLLECTION
Megan McCardwell
The collection celebrates Miami University's legacy of producing sports coaches at the highest levels. In 1971, Miami established the Cradle of Coaches Association to further recognize coaching achievements from its impressive list of over 100 graduates who have worked as coaches or administrative leadership in the collegiate and pro levels.
On May 6, Sean McVay became the 10th coach immortalized with a bronze statue in the Cradle of Coaches Plaza. McVay joined Miami fans on the south end of Miami's Yager Stadium for the official unveiling ceremony. The statue will sit alongside other inductees such as Ara Parseghian, Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, John Harbaugh, John Pont, Carm Cozza, Bo Schembechler, Red Blaik, and Paul Dietzel.
Cradle of Coaches merchandise features a specially designed logo that pays homage to the famed Miami nickname. The collection is now available at Brick and Ivy Campus Store, both in store and online
Randy Hollowell, Workday Communications Lead
With the start of June came the transition from the Plan phase to the Architecture and Configure phase of the Workday Platform Implementation project. The Architect and Configure phase is broken up into six blocks of activity (three worksets and three testing cycles). The first workset was just recently completed. The graphic below illustrates a detailed look at the entire Platform timeline.
During the Architect and Configure phase, the specific tasks and deliverables include:
• Iterative design/configure (Worksets A, B, and C)
• Reporting and Analytics builds and unit testing
• Integration builds and unit testing
• Review configurations, validate designs, confirm testing
• End-to-end build
In the timeline above, we note it as Platform. So what does that mean in Workday lingo? Platform is a collection of Financial, Human Resources, and Payroll components that form the Workday tenant.
As is noted in the above graphic, one of the final deliverables of the Plan phase was the Foundation Build. This piece is extremely important for the project moving forward, as it comprises the framework for the components to support the personnel, ledger accounting, and financial reporting in Workday.
To learn more about some of the Workday-specific terminology we will be using, please visit the Terminology page of Miami’s Workday website
Also new to the website is a list of other colleges and universities around the country that have adopted the Workday Student module, or like Miami, are in the process of implementing it for their institution. Check it out!
Project Vision
As the Workday project moves forward, the project team is constantly reminded about the project vision, which is a key component to the overall success of this initiative.
“We will transform the student and employee experience with a collaborative culture, data informed decisions, operational efficiencies, and an empowered community. We will do this by building the foundation for Miami’s future with a modern, transformative, flexible, and integrated set of core tools, processes based on leading practices, and a platform that will serve us for years to come.”
Stay Informed
If you know of a group that would benefit from learning more about the Workday implementation project, please visit MiamiOH.edu/WorkdayInfo and click on the Make an Appointment for Us to Be at Your Next Team Meeting link at the bottom of the page to schedule a visit from the Workday Change Management Team.
If you have any questions about the project, or suggestions for the implementation team, please send them to workdayinfo@MiamiOH.edu .
UPCOMING CHANGES AT ARMSTRONG
Miami Dining is happy to share some exciting changes to dining at Armstrong Student Center.
Panera Bread is opening its doors on campus, and Clean Plate at Haines is coming too, offering delicious, allergen-free options for the Miami community. Sushi is also returning to its previous spot in the lower dining area.
In addition to these new dining options, we've also changed our verbiage from being a "nut-friendly campus" to "nut-friendly commons." This is because we didn't want to limit the best-selling items from Panera, and we felt it was misleading to call Miami a "nut-friendly campus" when Starbucks already sells almond milk.
The commons will all remain 100% nut-friendly, so you can still enjoy all of your favorite foods without worry. We hope you'll come to check out the new dining options at Armstrong Student Center!
Christian Wallace
Christian Wallace
Miami Dining is excited to announce the reopening of Bell Tower in the fall semester of 2023. Bell Tower will not be your traditional dining commons. All customers will be able to order food from a variety of different vendors through Grubhub kiosks or the Grubhub app. Once an order is placed, it will be prepared in the kitchen by Bell Tower's team and then picked up from a food locker. Customers will also be able to have their food delivered to them by Starship delivery robots, which will be zipping around campus throughout the day.
Bell Tower will consist of three cuisine concepts: American, Southwest, and Asian.
In addition to the ghost kitchen concept, Bell Tower will also feature a Starbucks. The Starbucks will be a "ghost" Starbucks, meaning that students can place their orders through a kiosk or app and the coffee will be prepared in the same way as at other Starbucks locations.
Sharon Blalock Grounds
While being new to our Grounds team here at Miami, Sharon's work, effort and positive attitude are exceptional. Sharon's work area looks beautiful and is one of the hardest working members of my staff. I want to thank Sharon for all the hard work and attention to detail that is given on a daily basis!
- Brandon PitmanBrandon Pitman Grounds
Brandon Pitman is consistently submitting to the Cornerstone and giving shoutouts to his team, and we appreciate it!
- Bridget ManeyChris Weitzel
FBS-IT
Chris has been so kind and helpful in instances where we do not necessarily have a set of instruction on how to solve a problem.
- Ben TaylorWanda Adams
PFD / Custodial
Wanda's dedication to keeping Peabody Hall open, healthy, and looking great is an essential part of Building Services's success. Without her hard work we could not operate as we do. I'd like to thank her and all her Building Service colleagues for keeping our facilities clean and healthy for our students, faculty, and staff.
- Kevin ColeThe Martin Team Martin Dining Commons
I want to thank my Martin team for an awesome three years together! Martin has been my "home hall" the majority of the time I've been on campus. It feels like my home when I'm away from home. The Martin staff to me, feels like my second family. As I transition to Maplestreet for the upcoming fall semester, I want to thank my staff for all of their hard work and dedication. It has not gone unnoticed. I will miss working with you all everyday and will visit as often as I can. Keep up the hard work!
- Tiffany BeareTony Yunker, Janet Little, and the PFD team
PFD
Big thank you to Tony Yunker, Janet Little, and the PFD team who helped with the Finance and Business Services Marketing office renovation.
- Ryan TaeuberJay Hammer Grounds
Jay does a fantastic job for the Miami Grounds department. Anything from tree trimming to planting shrubs, Jay excels in all aspects of grounds work. His hard work and efforts are greatly appreciated! Here is a mulch bed Jay planted at Warfield.
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Brandon PitmanVicki Harrison
Maplestreet Dining Commons
Vicki is simply loved by all! Her dedication to helping students and other staff members is awesome! Thank you Vicki - Amy Allen
Paula Murray
HR
A big shoutout to Paula Murray for her work on getting the Federal Effort Certification process moved to Banner 9 Self Service! The new automated system should save our principleinvestigators (PI's) considerable time. Your work is appreciated! - Linda Manley
Conference and Event Services Planners
Event Services
Thanks to all the great work the Conference and Event Services planners have done to translate customers' visions and requests, and turn them into usable information for our event teams. Under the guidance of Paula Green; planners Susan Coleman, Alicia Rizzo, and Lexie Withrow work extremely hard to find the details and answers to all our service questions. Well done and very much appreciated! - Jim
BakerKim Caudill Mullally HR
Kim has been a wonderful help to me as I've been onboarding, and so patient with my many questions even as our workload has ramped up. She is always willing to go above and beyond to assist anyone in our office or in any department across Miami. Kim always takes the time to make sure her explanations are clear and concise while still warm and friendly, and has also shown this spirit of service by creating resources and training opportunities to help Miami's departments navigate the process of hiring student employees.
- Karen Oehler
