James Madison University
EN-8: Employee Orientation

Faculty Welcome, organized by the JMU Center for Faculty Innovation, is held each August for all entering faculty members, and is open to all JMU faculty and staff. The Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World is among multiple units that participate in the Faculty Welcome. Prior to COVID-19, participation included hosting a table at an in-person resource fair. For August 2021, the resource fair was re-imagined, providing units the opportunity to offer an in-person or virtual open house. The ISNW offered an open house at our Science On a Sphere facility during which we disseminated information regarding instructional resources (e.g., Science On a Sphere and sustainability learning outcomes), research opportunities (i.e., summer undergraduate research funding), and other campus offices that address sustainability (e.g., Facilities Management Sustainability and Community Service Learning).

Connections Day, hosted by JMU Human Resources, is designed to build community and engage new employees at all levels and classification in learning more about the university and its mission. The program includes interactive presentations, activities, and discussions designed to:
-Strengthen their connection to the JMU community by meeting and networking with new colleagues from across the university
-Gain an understanding of the university’s mission, values and strategic plan and how employees contribute to JMU’s vision of becoming the national model of the engaged university
-Discover JMU’s history and how it influences our campus culture
-Hear about resources that support their career development
-Learn about campus activities, discounts, benefits and services available to them as a JMU employee

These half-day events are held at least four times a year for new faculty and staff. New employees are strongly encouraged to attend this event. The ISNW is one of multiple units that participate in a resource fair. ISNW staff interacted with new employees to discuss environmental stewardship and sustainability. As new employee orientation programs adapted an online format due to COVID-19, the ISNW provided environmental stewardship stickers with a QR code that linked directly to our Resources for Employees web page in place of attending an in-person resource fair.

Sustainability information is also included in the Classified Staff Handbook, which is provided to every new classified staff employee: http://www.jmu.edu/humanresources/_files/handbook-classified.pdf.

Responsible party for employees hired: Richard Larson, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, Training and Performance.

Information related to Faculty Welcome entered by Amanda Bodle on September 19, 2021.