May Learning Opportunities and Events

Wed, 03 May 2023 15:45:01 -0400

We are in the home stretch of the Spring semester here at UMBC and we continue to offer lots of opportunities for faculty and staff learning and wellness.

From a wellness perspective, the month of May is both Mental Health Awareness Month and Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Faculty and staff should be encouraged to take care of their own mental health as well as be aware of our student's mental health challenges, especially at this time of year. We continue our Community Mindfulness for Mental Health sessions this month with both in-person and virtual sessions that are open to everyone in our community. Check out resources for both campaigns on the HR Wellness Initiative page.

We are thrilled to be offering two large-scale events this month to tap into personal growth and community engagement. First, we have our brand-new HR Week! May 8-12th, HR will offer over 10 different sessions on a variety of topics of interest to faculty and staff. We kick off this week on Monday, May 8th with a Virtual Meet & Greet, with two times available to fit your schedule: 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. Please check out the HR Week web page for details on all of the sessions and how to register.

Our second, exciting feature this month, is Retriever Talks 2023! Our third cohort brings eight community-selected speakers to the stage to tell their own stories in Retriever Talks: Revealing Our Common Unity in CommUNITY. When an individual shares their story with the larger community, we can all experience what it means to make an impact. When we hear our organizational values reflected through diverse stories and lived experiences, we realize a sense of collective identity and belonging that is inclusive of multiple perspectives in ways that are powerful, palpable, and vital in promoting thriving workplace cultures. Please join us May 17th in the Final Arts Recital Hall. Doors open at 9:30am with the program beginning promptly at 10:00. We follow the event with a reception in the Recital Hall Lobby at 12:00pm. To learn more about this year's speakers, and to register for the event, please don't miss our Retriever Talks 2023 web page.

We look forward to seeing you soon at one of these exciting events!