February 2023 Edition

Volume 6 Issue 1

The Spring semester is in full swing, and as always, it’s great to see everyone back on campus. This year feels special with President Teniente-Matson joining the Spartan community. It’s a time for fresh perspectives, new ideas and new opportunities. Read more about our new President here, and see her remarks during the welcome reception last month.

University Personnel had a busy and productive 2022, a year that saw the entire campus repopulated. As with other units on campus, many employees opted for hybrid schedules where operations allowed and others came back to campus full time. Students bustled about and reminded us all why we do what we do. It was wonderful to be able to attend in-person commencement ceremonies in December and share in the joy and pride of graduates and their friends and families. Our staff has grown with the addition of several positions designed to help us support our employees more effectively, and we look forward to a few more folks joining us soon. Besides commencement, I was thrilled to get back to other big in-person events like our Employee Benefits and Services Fair. It was wonderful to see so many people face-to-face. I can’t wait for the Staff Service Celebration next month to connect with even more of you. More information about that event can be found later in this newsletter.

I’m looking forward to our Winter UP Town Hall, which takes place virtually on Tuesday, February 28 at 10:00 a.m. The focus of this Town Hall is on Payroll, and I encourage you to register if you haven’t done so already.

Finally, I want to remind you to visit the University Personnel website regularly. We strive to keep things updated and provide the information you need in an easy-to-find manner. A great place to start is the Our Teams page, which gives you information on every team in the department including who they are and what they do.

UP Staffing Updates

New Employees

• Jessica Diangson joined the Academic Employee Relations team as an Analyst in December, 2022
• Shilpi Thukral joined the Benefits team as a new Representative in January, 2023

Current Vacancies
Please note: Current faculty and staff should use the Internal Posting link to apply; current student employees, employees in auxiliary units, or anyone not affiliated with the university should use the External Posting link to apply.

• Manager, Organizational Development and Enrichment Programs - Internal Posting / External Posting
• Office for Equal Opportunity and Employee Relations Analyst - Internal Posting / External Posting
• Senior Employee/Labor Relations Analyst - Internal Posting / External Posting

Has driving the a commute to and from work got you down?
Are you tired of covering the cost of gas and maintenance of your vehicle on your own?
Considering ways you can reduce vehicle emissions?

Then it is time to look into getting an UPGRADE to your daily commute!

You are invited by SJSU Parking Services, along with Enterprise Vanpool, for a virtual vanpooling interest meeting on March 1, 2023 from 12 pm – 1 pm!

Register in advance for this webinar.

Reference Request Form

On July 13, 2022, the CSU Board of Trustees adopted the Employment Policy Governing the Provision of Employee References (“Policy”). This Policy is in effect and applies to all SJSU employees who are requested to provide a reference via phone, email, letter, LinkedIn, SkillSurvey, or any other means concerning a current or former SJSU/CSU employee. The Policy addresses requests for references for SJSU/CSU employees only. It does not address requests for references for SJSU/CSU students in their capacity as students, outside of any student-employment context.

It is the guiding principle of SJSU/CSU not to provide positive references for employees who have engaged in significant misconduct, including a serious SJSU/CSU policy violation. Pursuant to Policy, all requests for references must be appropriately reviewed by University Personnel. Should you receive a reference request for a former or current SJSU/CSU employee, and wish to provide such reference, you can find the Reference Request Form [DocuSign], as well as the Reference Request Review Summary, and the Reference Request Form Instructions [YouTube] on University Personnel’s website, under “Tools and Resources,” Forms & Documents; search for the keyword “reference.”

No reference should be provided until approval is confirmed by University Personnel.

Should you have any questions regarding the Policy and/or the Reference Request Form, please contact equal-employment@sjsu.edu.

Meet the Technology and Training Team!

Photo by: Lok Yu
Pictured from L to R: Ramya Chakravarthy, Leann Miyashiro, Carrie Medders, Elizabeth Escobar, Ken Guzzetta, Tamela Sullivan, Julia Chan, Michael Pyrch, Maggie Carrera

As you can see from the photo above, this team likes to have fun! But they also like to work hard to support our employees. You may have crossed paths with them at one of our events or training sessions, or you may have read one of our Well-being Wednesday or Training Tuesday newsletters. One of our staff may have helped you with a CSULearn issue or guided you through the steps of appointing a volunteer. Our HRIS team may have helped you with an SJSU @ Work or CHRS Recruiting issue, and you have probably visited our website or used one of our forms. That all happens in this team. So let’s get to know them a little better.

Carrie Medders (She/Her/Hers) - Senior Director, manages people, projects, communication and change. She’s been in her current role for a little more than three years but has been in the department almost 13 years. Her nearly 22 ½ years at SJSU combined with her 2 ½ years at Cal State East Bay give her almost 25 years of experience in the CSU system. Something you may not know is that Carrie is part of the BTS ARMY and was fortunate to see the band live in 2022. She also enjoys reading, watching TV and movies, building LEGO sets and lounging.

Ken Guzzetta (He/Him/His) - HRIS Lead, leads the team members who support SJSU @ Work and CHRS Recruiting. He and his team troubleshoot system issues, write documentation, develop and distribute reports, maintain the UP website and the wide variety of forms in the department. He’s been in this role for almost five years and on campus almost six total. Ken is proud to have achieved his SHRM-SCP certification (Society for Human Resources Management-Senior Certified Professional) a few years ago, something he’s always wanted to have. After 20 years in the tech industry, Ken loves what he does now. He enjoys finding the right pieces to figure out the puzzle. Outside of the office, Ken belongs to a classic Chevy car club and has rebuilt several cars with his dad over the years.

Julia Chan (She/Her/Hers) - Senior Business Analyst, helps maintain HR systems, provides support for her fellow UP staff and the campus community, troubleshoots system issues and runs reports. She is an expert in CHRS Recruiting and was instrumental in implementing the system in 2020. She’s been on campus and in this role for four years. Something you may not know about Julia is that she can drive a tractor! Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family, going for walks and runs with friends, and playing with her dog.

Ramya Chakravarthy (She/Her) - Business Analyst, joined the HRIS team last fall and provides technical support for enterprise solutions. She works with IT and other departments to test and implement system changes and also provides reports as needed. Ramya is a polyglot (google it if you don’t know) and picks up languages very easily. She enjoys reading, cooking, painting and music, not necessarily in that order.

Michael (or Mike, he’ll answer to either) Pyrch (He/Him/His) - Web and Documentation Analyst, maintains the UP websites, forms and documents and posts updates in a timely manner. He ensures each webpage, form and document is accessible and has a consistent format. He also runs reports and troubleshoots web and form issues as needed. He’s been on campus and in this role for a little more than four years. You may not know that Mike grew up in Connecticut. Outside of work, he enjoys swimming and you can often find him at the SRAC pool.

Tamela (Tam) Sullivan (She/Her/Hers) - Coordinator, Training, Events and Anti-Racism Programming, has been on campus for seven years, and in her current role for a year and a half. In this role she coordinates training, manages special events - such as the Benefits Fair and the Staff Service Celebration - and has added responsibilities related to social justice awareness and training. Something you may not know about Tamela is she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc Sorority and she cries when she laughs. She loves spending time with her children, grandson, friends and was recently inducted into the fur family thanks to her Yorkshire Terrier, Optimus Prime.

Magdalena (Maggie) Carrera (She/Her/Hers) - Coordinator, Online Training and Compliance, oversees the conflict of interest and MPP outside employment programs. She also ensures that all CSULearn compliance training is complete and runs the federal veterans report for the Chancellor's Office. She collaborates with other staff on well-being and training information and processes Person of Interest (POI) appointments as needed. She’s been in her current role for six years, but has been on campus for 25 years total, four of those as a student employee. Maggie loves foreign languages and also loves paddling as part of an outrigger canoe paddling club.

Elizabeth Escobar (She/Her/Hers) - Training, Communication and Events Specialist, assists with planning and organization events such as the Benefits Fair and the Staff Service Celebration. She creates marketing material and manages a variety of communication for the events. She coordinates the Spartans Stepping Beyond program, assists with the coordination of training, and is responsible for all department newsletters - including this one! She has been in this role for a little more than a year and a half. Something you may not know about Elizabeth is that she and a group of high school classmates programmed and developed a mobile app for a global technology competition for girls. Outside of work, she enjoys camping and spending time with her pup.

Leann Miyashiro (She/Her) - Volunteer, POI and Compliance Assistant, has been with the department for just four short months. She processes all Person of Interest (POI) appointments including volunteers, visiting scholars and more. She responds to questions about compliance training in CSULearn and sends communications as needed. Leann loves orchids and has more than 20 of them in her home. She also loves reading, baking and coaching/playing basketball. 

Spartans Stepping Beyond

Spartans Stepping Beyond provides all members of the San José State community with the opportunity to recognize or thank a fellow Spartan who makes a difference on campus. Recognize a fellow Spartan today!

Follow us on social media ( @sjsu and @sjsu_up on Twitter, @sjsu_up on Instagram, and the SJSU LinkedIn page) to find out who has been recognized!

(P.S. Ryan is also a great bowler! Come cheer him on at the Faculty/Staff Bowling League, SJSU Bowling Center, Fridays from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.)

Staff Service Celebration and Staff Awards

We are pleased to invite all employees to the 55th Annual Staff Service Celebration and the 4th Annual Staff Awards.

The 55th Annual Staff Service Celebration (formerly the Spartan Service Celebration) honors SJSU staff members who reached a milestone year of service between January 1 and December 31, 2022. We will honor employees with 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service!

The celebration will take place in-person on Thursday, March 2, 2023, from 3:00pm - 5:00pm in the Student Union Ballroom. Included in the celebration will be the annual presentation of the following Staff Awards: Staff of the Year, Distinguished Service, Spartan Spirit, and Critical Employee (new this year). Our thanks to SJSU's Staff Council and the Office of the President for the coordination and support of these awards.

Please visit the UP website to view the full list of honorees.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Tamela Sullivan or Elizabeth Escobar.

Questions about the Faculty Service Recognition Event should be directed to Melanie Schlitzkus.

In the spring of 2023, the Title IX and Gender Equity Office and the Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO) will be offering a joint educational session on the university’s policies against protected status discrimination and harassment. During the session we will also be covering important information on Responsible Employees (e.g., who is a Responsible Employee and how a Responsible Employee can respond to a disclosure of sexual harassment, sexual assault and/or complaints of discrimination). Raising awareness around these issues is an integral part of our efforts to promote equity on campus. We encourage you to sign up for this important session.

Please complete this Google Form to request training from the Title IX & Gender Equity Office.

If you have questions about the presentation please reach out to Andrew Nguyen at: andrew.d.nguyen02@sjsu.edu.

Title IX Training Request Form

The Your UP Representatives page on the UP website lists your primary points of contact for Benefits, Compensation, Employee Support Services, Payroll, and Staff Recruiting. In addition, it provides the Department Name, 4-digit Department ID (DeptID), 3-digit Check Sort Unit, and 4-digit Location Code.

Please note, the 4-digit Location Code may appear to be the same as a department’s 4-digit Extended ZIP but they are not always identical. The Location Code is used to identify the physical location of the department. For departments with more than one Location Code, only the primary Location Code will be displayed.

Find your department’s information by entering the Department Name or the 4-digit DeptID.



Access this page using the tile on the UP website homepage or the tile under Tools & Resources/Additional Resources.

To find additional UP staff and resources, see Our Teams.

Form W-2 Frequently Asked Questions

When was my Form W-2 mailed?
Forms were mailed by the State Controller's Office and should have arrived by January 31, 2023.

I didn't receive my Form W-2, what should I do?
If you have not yet received your Form W-2, please visit Cal Employee Connect where you can view and download an online version of the form. Form W-2s that are undeliverable by the post office will be returned to University Personnel.

See our website for more information on Cal Employee Connect.

Who should I contact if my Form W-2 was damaged or not sealed?
Visit Cal Employee Connect where you can view and download an online version of the form

Who should I contact if I have additional questions about my Form W-2?
Please contact your Payroll Representative.

Contact University Personnel via Phone or Email

408.924.2250 or university-personnel@sjsu.edu

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