San Jose State University
 
 
 
September 2023 Edition
 
Volume 6 Issue 3
 
 
 
Image of laptop and coffee cup with text: from the desk of joanne wright
 
 
Welcome back, Spartans! I love this time of year. The leaves are starting to fall, the air is a bit more brisk, and SJSU students are once again filling campus sidewalks. I’m especially excited about what University Personnel is working on right now.
  • We recently reinstated in-person new employee orientation (“NEO”) for staff, 12-month faculty, and coaches and are working on expanding our onboarding efforts for all employees in the near future. Our New Faculty, Staff & MPPs webpage has also been updated to help new employees navigate their first days on campus.
  • In addition, our We Are All SPARTANS! campaign is underway, highlighting members of our staff across the campus. I encourage you to take time to watch the videos and learn a bit more about your Spartan colleagues.
Learn more about each of these programs and more further down in this newsletter.

Later this fall we plan to launch a Customer Satisfaction Survey. Your feedback is critical and will help us ensure we are providing the best possible service to all of our constituents. What are we doing well but also not so well? What services do you value? What ideas do you have for us? Please be on the lookout for this survey. I hope you will participate. We plan to make this an annual survey so we can regularly hear from you, track our progress in areas that may need improvement and provide a space for suggestions and ideas.

Finally, I’m thrilled to announce that Holly Quinones joined our staff this summer as our new Manager of Organizational Development and Enrichment Programs. Holly has already made some key updates to our onboarding and orientation programs, and is digging in to review our training, well-being and Spartans Stepping Beyond programs as well. Holly is eager to speak with departments about their specific employee training and onboarding needs.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about University Personnel’s processes or programs, please reach out to me or any member of our management team.

Please click View Entire Message at the bottom of this email to see the entire newsletter.
 
 
We Are All SPARTANS image with SJSU header and image of Sammy Spartan making a heart with their hands
 
President Teniente-Matson recently kicked off the We Are All SPARTANS! campaign, and we are thrilled that so many of our staff members have expressed interest in being part of the program.

We Are All SPARTANS!
is a video and social media campaign for SJSU staff and management employees. This campaign will showcase our dedicated staff and managers and help everyone learn more about their fellow Spartans. The more we know about each other, the more connected we become.

Interested in joining the campaign? Please complete this interest form and we will get back to you!
 
LEARN MORE
 
 
image of silhouetted people jumping with the words new employee orientation above them
 
 
New Employee Orientation (NEO) is back in person! NEO takes place every Wednesday morning in University Personnel South (UPD 3rd Floor) and is a great opportunity for our employees to connect with University Personnel and other new Spartans.

These sessions are held for the following employee types:
  • Staff and MPP (regular and temporary, including emergency hires)
  • Unit 3 Coaches
  • Unit 3 12-month Librarians and 12-month Counselors (note: new tenured/tenure-track 12-month librarians and counselors will also be included in faculty orientation sessions)
During NEO, employees will receive a brief overview of the following:
  • CSU and SJSU Organizational Structures
  • University Personnel (how we can help, how to contact us, etc.
 
(topics continued)
  • Payroll/Getting Your Paycheck/Holiday and Pay Calendars
  • Transportation and Parking
  • Title IX
  • Whistleblower Act
  • The Red Folder
  • Information Security
  • Employee Discounts
  • Tuition Fee Waiver
  • Employee Training/Compliance Training
  • Spartan Eats
  • Tower Card
Union representatives attend a 30-minute portion of the NEO session to speak to attendees who are represented by their respective unions. Confidential and MPP employees in attendance will review information relevant to them during those times.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Holly Quinones - 
holly.quinones@sjsu.edu or 408-924-6891.
 
 
 
 
Image of Town Hall Arch
 
UP Town Hall TOMORROW!

Date: Friday, September 8
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Register now!

This Town Hall will be focused on Professional Development – including Training, Onboarding and New Employee Orientation – as well as Compliance Training and Well-being! You will also meet Holly Quinones, our new Manager for Organizational Development and Enrichment Programs, and learn more about what the team is working on to enhance the employee experience at SJSU.

See UP Town Halls on the web for previous Town Hall information.
 
 
image of chalkboard with stethoscope  and the words get your flu shot
 
Save the Date: FREE Flu Clinic Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente

Date: Thursday, October 26, 2023
Location: Student Wellness Center Conference Room 122/A
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Open to: Faculty and Staff - You don't need to be a Kaiser member to participate
Registration: Information coming soon!

Kaiser Members: Please bring your member ID card or provide the nurses with your medical record number.

Please note: COVID boosters and vaccinations will not be available during this event.
 
 
 
image of amusement park in blue and gold colors; san jose state university logo at the top; the words "employee benefits and services fair" at the bottom
 
The Employee Benefits and Services Fair will be held in-person Tuesday, September 26, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. Benefits providers, SJSU Benefits Representatives and numerous other vendors will be in attendance.

It is REQUIRED that you bring your Tower ID Card for entry into the event and the chance to win a prize.

This event is wheelchair accessible. Individuals needing accommodation should contact Tamela Sullivan as early as possible: tamela.sullivan@sjsu.edu / 408-924-2411. Masks are not required but strongly encouraged.
 
 
black and white street signs crossed; top sign says OPEN, bottom sign says ENROLLMENT
 
Benefits Open Enrollment (OE) begins Monday, September 18, 2023, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 13, 2023. Once the OE period opens, changes can be made easily by searching for and clicking the Open Enrollment tile on one.SJSU. All changes made during OE are effective January 1, 2024. Please note, the tile will not be available on one.SJSU until September 18.

If you do not make changes by the deadline, all current selections will remain in place for 2024. The only exception is flexible spending accounts. To continue those contributions you must re-enroll during this period. The Fair is a great time to talk with providers and your Benefits Representative about possible changes to your enrollment.
 
 
 
Image of calendar with push pins on top next to the words "mark your calendar now for november and december deadlines"
 
 
Please take note of these important deadlines for Recruiting, New Hires and Position Management.

November 17/Recruiting:
 Last day to submit a response to an “Approval to Extend a Conditional Offer” email for the final employee start date of December 4, 2023. All complete responses must be received by 8:00 a.m. on this day. Incomplete responses may delay the employee’s start date.


December 4/Recruiting: Last date to submit a response to an “Approval to Extend a Conditional Offer” email for employees with a start date of January 8, 2024, in order for the offer letter to be sent before the holiday break. All complete responses must be received by 8:00 a.m. on this day. For employee start dates after January 8, the offer letter will be sent to the candidate when operations resume in January 2024. Incomplete responses may delay the employee’s start date.

 
December 4/New Hires: Last new employee start date for 2023. This includes emergency hires, casual workers, and regular or temporary employees.

December 4/Position Management:
 Last day to submit funding, department and approval structure position management changes for December payroll. Changes received after this date will be processed in January 2024.


December 11/Recruiting: Last day a fully-approved Job Card in CHRS Recruiting (PageUp), including a fully-signed Position Description, can be received in order for the job to be posted by December 15, 2023. Job approvals received after this date will be posted in January 2024. As a reminder, a vacancy will not be posted without a signed Position Description.

January 8, 2024/New Hires: First new employee start date (includes emergency hires, casual workers, and regular or temporary employees) for 2024.
 
 
image of blue and gold geometric shapes with the words welcome new spartans in gold text
 
 
Nnenna Abaeze
Ravi Agarwal
Hiba Ahmed
Sayma Akther
Nasiha Alicic
Shirley Archuleta
Taylor Arhar
Dallas Augustine
Jaime Awana
Desia Bacon
Kaitlin Benson
William Berg
Andrew Bertrand
Laurene Beto
Madeline Bissell
Natalie Boero
Kathleen Bouchard
Kristen Brauer
Richard Calderon Gonzalez
Simon Calderon Gonzalez
Wilson Captein
Kimberly Cardoso Hernandez
Mark Carpowich
Minerva Carrillo Ortega
Emma Carroll
Liliana Castrellon
Khoa Chau
Kok Che
Liping Chen
Song Gen Chen
Eun Ae Choi
Julianne Citino
Kelsie Cleveland
Emma Critser
Alexandria Cruz
Benjamin De La Cruz
Moises De Luna
Petra Dekens
Breanna Dennison
Benjamin Deweese
Jason Dillard
Sean Doherty
Francesca Dolor
Michael Donellan
Nicholas Duncan
Eleni Duret
Isarin Durongkadej
Logan Early
Brian Edwards
Arielle Egan
Behin Elahi
Stephanie Felix
Jesus Figueroa Guerrero
Bernardo Flores
Elias Flores
Miguel Flores
Bradley Fry
Peter Gao
Natalie Garbarino
Shimmon Gary
Shannon Gholar
Lisa Giampaolo
Edward Gipson
Frank Gonzalez
 
Mirella Gonzalez
Gabriela Gonzalez-Martinez
Joseph Grzywacz
Mithila Guha
Kyle Hamlin
Yuqi He
Isaiah Henderson
Carlos Herrera Berjan
Thomas Hironaka
Vivian Hu
Bernadette Humphrey
Rowan Jack
DeRon Jasper
Brandon Johnson
Rangapriya Kannan-Narasimhan
Iliana Karbowski
Grace Karkanias
Marjan Khatibi
Jason Kim
Yeon Ka Kim
Jenin Kiswani
Kimberly Knight
Jennifer Koerner
Chai Kohen
James Lai
Ivie Larsen
Chan Lee
Benny Leung
Christopher Lew
Tonya Lewis Williams
Cheryl Lin
Guannan Liu
Jun Liu
Kendra Livingston
Jeffrey Lopez
Jake Lorchueya
Brendan Lorenzana
Yue Luo
Caroline Ma
Jenna Mack
Elizabeth Madden
Kevin Mannens
Jorge Martinez Sanchez
Brook Mc Clurg
Thomas McCarron
Leslio McKeown
Austin Mckinley
JosephRay Melecio
Andrew Melendez
Alma Mendoza
Jesus Moreno
Kiarash Moshar
Patrick Murphy
Judy Nagai
Robert Navarro
Emily Ngo
Hung Nguyen
Nam Nguyen
Uyen Pham Nguyen
Miguel Angel Nieves Sanchez
Parvati Nimbargi
Darcy Oryall
 
Virpi Outila
Kayla Ozawa
Joseph Palcic
Kathryn Palmieri
Yoon Moon Park
Jose Perez
Briana Perry
Enjoli Pescheta
Joshua Pike
Gabriela Preciado
Holly Quinones
Sarahy Quintana Trejo
Selene Ramirez
Esmeralda Rankin
Jeffrey Reyes
Kathleen Reyes
Anna Beatrice Ricasata
Jackelyn Rivera-orellana
Shannon Roach
Amy Rodriguez
Laura Rodriguez
Nakayla Ross
Edoardo Rubino
Muang Saeyang
Jacob Salazar
Jalal Sarabadani
Carla Schwartz
Nancy Selix
Jacob Sepulveda
Manish Shah
Purvi Shah
Sang Shim
Jessica Short
Jenna Sims
Lauren Suiter
Charlotte Sunseri
Trung Ta
Angela Mary Tampol
Reginald Tamse
Priti Taneja
Nancy Taylor
Jai Thao
Liam Thompson
Mara Tinajero Daza
Joseph Tinghitella
Annie Truong
Pei-Tzu Tsai
Jon Tucker
Rebeca Urena
Rebecca Urquhart
James Ursin
Sravani Vadlamani
Jose Vega-araiza
Raquel Vela
Juliann Carina Vigilia
Kumar Vishal
Ashley Washington
Michelle Williams
Barbara Windmiller
Lucinda Wolcott
Kyle Wong
Janis Wright
Jianqing Xiao
Dailin Zheng
 
 
image of brown building blocks on gray background with white lettering above reading UP Staffing Update
 
 
Welcome our new staff members!
  • Miguel Flores - Employment Authorization & Immigration Services Representative
  • Holly Quinones - Manager, Organizational Development & Enrichment Programs
  • Melanie Schlitzkus - Executive Assistant to the Senior Associate Vice President
  • Vivianna Solis - Employee Support Services Representative
  • Reginald “Reggie” Tamse - Faculty Employment Specialist
 
Other staffing updates:
  • Leann Miyashiro moved to the Recruitment & Retention team and is the primary point of contact for volunteer and other POI appointments
  • Lok Hin Yu is assisting Faculty Services with Retention, Tenure & Promotion, as this position recently became vacant
  • We are recruiting for a Payroll Technician
 
 
Visit Our Teams or our Organizational Chart to learn more about our staff and structure.
 
 
 
 
 
Scroll down to meet our Faculty Services team!

Please click View Entire Message at the bottom of this email to see the entire newsletter.
 
 
 
image of group of people wearing blue and gold attire, smiling and waving to the camera while standing on a lawn in front of a tree
 
 
Photograph by: Michael Pyrch
Pictured: Back row L to R - Remie Bontrager, James Lee, Lok Hin Yu, Zeffie Bruce, Reggie Tamse, Scott Nguyen; Front row L to R - Crystal Mercado, Eva Momoki, Rosario Gaspar, Thanh-Minh Nguyen
 
 
 
 
 
The Faculty Services team is under the direction of James Lee, Senior Director, Faculty Services. The team strives to provide exceptional service to the campus for faculty lifecycle process management, from recruitment to retirement. They are dedicated to contributing to faculty success and advancement by facilitating faculty processes such as recruitment, additional employment, sabbaticals, and retention, tenure, and promotion, to name a few. In addition, they assist with GA, TA, and ISA appointments and administration of contractual provisions. Let's meet the team!

James Lee - James is the Senior Director for Faculty Services, and has been in this role for almost four and a half years. He previously served on the SJSU faculty for almost 14 years, including time as Department Chair in Justice Studies. In his current role he leads the Faculty Services team and its efforts to assist faculty in their work with the goal of allowing them to focus on their core academic duties and to leave the related bureaucratic work to UP. You might not know that James was valedictorian of the class of 1986 at Columbia High School in Lake City, Florida. He also loves to garden and do outdoorsy stuff. He let us know that he is far more drawn to people who are not like him than to those who are. As such, his social networks and social media friends are quite mixed, and he'd have it no other way.

Crystal Mercado - Crystal is the Manager of University Personnel Operations, and for the last six months has overseen the Faculty Employment Specialist team. She's been in her management role for a year and a half and in the department (and on campus) for eight and a half years. In addition to supporting the Faculty Services team, she also manages the front desk staff in the UPD building and the employee fee waiver program. Something unique about Crystal is that she enjoys watching fantasy/science fiction shows and plays a lot of video games. She also enjoys traveling and eating exotic or new foods.

Remie Bontrager - In her role as the Faculty Recruitment and Special Appointments Analyst, Remie assists with tenure-line recruitments as well as recruitments for Unit 3 coaches, counselors and librarians. She also manages the Sabbatical and Difference-in-Pay (DIP) leave processes, the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) process, chair appointments and other faculty appointment related processes. Remie has been in her current role for four years and on campus and in University Personnel for seven years. Something you might not know about Remie is that she has climbed to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. Outside of work and climbing mountains, Remie also loves to knit, and she's trying to learn how to golf - which, she commented, is harder than it looks!

Zeffie Bruce - Zeffie is the Temporary Faculty and Academic Student Employee Analyst. She is responsible for faculty PAF reviews, faculty employment verifications, eFaculty processes such as Annual and Cumulative evaluations, Range Elevation, and Assigned Time for Exceptional Levels of Service to Students. Zeffie has been on campus for six and a half years, four of those years in University Personnel in her current role. Zeffie loves bookstores and libraries and also enjoys traveling.

Rosario Gaspar - Rosario oversees all additional employment for faculty in her role as the Faculty Additional Employment Analyst. She's been in this role for four years but has been in the department and on campus for about 22 years. She likes to listen to music and enjoys spending time with her family.
 
Eva Momoki - Eva has been in her role of Faculty Employment Specialist for about five months. This is her first position on campus. She is responsible for processing faculty and academic student appointments and assisting department admins with the recruiting and appointment process. Eva enjoys having meaningful conversations with her fellow colleagues in UP and beyond! Something you might not know about Eva is that she is trilingual! Eva is a foodie and loves to cook and bake. She works out to eat! Also, Eva is a fraternal twin. Momoki Twins look identical but have different blood types. Watch out, you may see Eva and Shirley walking the campus one day!

Scott Nguyen - Scott joined the UP team earlier this year as a Faculty Employment Specialist. He plays a pivotal role in assisting department admins throughout the faculty hiring process and oversees backend operations in CHRS Recruiting and OnBase. This is Scott's first job at SJSU. One thing that Scott believes sets him apart is his passion to blend creativity, kindness and compassion into problem solving. He told us his thought process has always been unconventional and it's helped him find creative and innovative solutions. Outside of work he loves hanging out with his family, which includes two young boys that, in his words, "drive me to new levels of craziness daily." He recently found a new passion for making pizza at home but he also loves a good In-N-Out burger. He loves fitness and self improvement and is always looking for ways to progress to the next level. His guilty pleasures include K-pop and Funko Pops.

Thanh-Minh "Minh" Nguyen - In her role as the Faculty Data Analyst, Minh is responsible for reviewing, analyzing, auditing and reporting on faculty data. She works with her team to implement salary plans, prepare for range elevation and reviews, as well as retention, tenure and promotion activities. She ensures that eligibility for various faculty programs is accurate and prepares various reports for the Chancellor's Office. Minh has been on campus for more than 18 years (all in Faculty Affairs or University Personnel) and in her current role for 12. Minh loves working in an education environment. Before Minh joined the SJSU staff, she worked at San Jose City College. Her favorite activity outside of work is spending time with family and close friends.

Reginald "Reggie" Tamse (He/Him/His) - Reggie is the newest member of the Faculty Services team having joined the group a little over a month ago. This is his first position on campus. In his role as a Faculty Employment Specialist, Reggie audits and processes temporary faculty and academic student new hire/rehire paperwork and also assists department admins in the recruitment process. Reggie lived in Japan for seven years and has a lot of experience with Japan and Japanese culture. He loves to hike, bike and swim. Reggie also let us know that he's more of a night person than a morning person. Don't be surprised to find him quieter when the work day starts.

Lok Hin "Lok" Yu - In Lok's full-time role as an Employment Authorization and Immigration Services Representative, he processes new hire paperwork and ensures I-9s are complete and accurate. He has temporarily stepped in to Faculty Services to support the RTP process. He's been in his full-time role for about a year and in the department for two years total. He worked as a student assistant while completing his undergraduate degree and has been on campus for about 10 years. Something unique about Lok is that he grows microgreens for food. He also enjoys hiking.
 
 
Image of a whistle with the words "a reminder from the office for equal opportunity"
 
 
The California State Auditor’s Office is your confidential avenue for reporting improper activities by state agencies or employees. It is your responsibility, as a government employee, to report any type of fraud, waste, or abuse, which ultimately protects scarce, state resources. (EO 1115) It is also your right to be free from retaliation for doing so. (EO 1116)

Any employee of the CSU or third party may report what that person reasonably believes is an improper governmental activity or condition that significantly threatens the health or safety of CSU employees or visitors.  Such reports may be made to the Equal Opportunity/Whistleblower Compliance Unit at the Chancellor’s Office or to the person on each campus that is designated to receive such reports. To  view investigative reports, please visit the California State Auditor's website.

Review the 2023 Whistleblower program brochure, which explains, in detail, the following:
  • What to Report
  • How to Report – report information confidentially by calling the Whistleblower Hotline (1-800-952-5665), by mail, or submitting a complaint online
  • Helpful Tips When Filing a Complaint
  • Investigation of Complaints
Please note that Whistleblowers are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act, which protects whistleblowers who work for the government and report agency misconduct. (EO 1116) If you believe that you have been retaliated against for disclosing an improper governmental activity, you should report this immediately to one of the following agencies:

State and Court Employees
State Personnel Board | 801 Capitol Mall, MS53 | Sacramento, CA 95814

California State University Employees
Vice Chancellor of Human Resources | 401 Golden Shore, Room 115 | Long Beach, CA 90802


or

Julie Paisant, the appointed campus Whistleblower administrator
San José State University |  Julie.Paisant@sjsu.edu | ( 408) 924-2255

Employees, former employees, or applicants for employment with the CSU may file a complaint of retaliation for having made a protected disclosure/report of improper governmental activity or condition that poses a significant threat to health and safety. Julie Paisant is the designated campus person to receive complaints. Links to the Executive Orders:  EO 1115  and  EO 1116.
 
 
image of the words "don't forget" on a white piece of paper tacked to a corkboard
 
 
 
 
Employee Discounts

Faculty and staff have access to a variety of discounts. Visit Employee Discounts for more information.
 
 
 
 
UP Group Emails

UP has a variety of group emails that you can use to contact various units.
 
 
 
 
 
UP is on Social Media!

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Where to Find Past Newsletters

You can find past issues of The UP Side newsletter on the UP website under News.
 
 
 
 
Unless otherwise indicated, all newsletter images were designed in Canva.
 
 

Contact University Personnel via Phone or Email

408.924.2250 or university-personnel@sjsu.edu

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San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192

 
Last Updated Sep 12, 2023