Employee Appreciation Week 2025!

Each spring, we set aside time in the form of Employee Appreciation Week to intentionally honor, recognize, and show appreciation for all of the wonderful work performed by faculty and staff across the four UW-Green Bay campuses. During this Employee Appreciation Week (May 12 – 16), we celebrate the impactful contributions of our faculty and staff, which make UW-Green Bay a dynamic and engaging place of living, learning, and working for our students. As a measure of thanks, we enthusiastically encourage employees to take part in the below events happening on the campuses and virtually throughout the week.

Be sure to check back for updates and more details as we work to finalize details!

Sign up is required for several events. Please use the links provided.

** Please note below that Goat Flow is taking place the week before Employee Appreciation Week due to scheduling availability.  

Monday, May 5
Goat Flow Manitowoc located on the Lakeside Patio Area Co-Sponsored by the Wellness Committee, Healthy Choices Task Force, and UREC
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Petting goats (no class)

Wednesday, May 7
Goat Flow Sheboygan located on the lawn/field to west of gym near 3 pine trees. Co-Sponsored by the Wellness Committee, Healthy Choices Task Force, and UREC
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Petting goats (no class)

Thursday, May 8
Goat Flow Green Bay Phoenix Park (outside Union, toward Residence Halls), Co-Sponsored by the Wellness Committee, Healthy Choices Task Force, and UREC
1:00 pm: Goat Flow Class
2:00 pm: Goat Flow Class
3:00 pm: Petting Goats (no class)

Friday, May 9
** RAIN DATE: Goat Flow Green Bay Phoenix Park (outside Union, toward Residence Halls), Co-Sponsored by the Wellness Committee, Healthy Choices Task Force, and UREC
1:00 pm: Goat Flow Class
2:00 pm: Goat Flow Class
3:00 pm: Petting Goats (no class)

Food Truck Friday – Taqueria Maldonado’s, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm in the University Union Visitor Parking Lot

 

All Week May 12-16
I Appreciate U! Praises for employees or departments posted on the HR Facebook page. Send your praises to Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu. 

Fill-In-The-Blank Notes and pre-printed versions are available in the HR Office.

Appreciation Wall/Whiteboard – We will have a traveling whiteboard at events/activities for employees to share kudos and appreciation for each other on post-it notes! Look for the board at events taking place this week!

Preferred Parking Sign up for a chance to be one of three (3) employees who get to park in a 15 minute or visitor parking spot for one day.
SIGN UP LINK

Dining Deals Sponsored by Chartwells
$1 off coffee with staff ID all week
10% off catering order when order is placed during that week
$6 lunch price in the Marketplace all week with staff ID

Monday, May 12
Sheboygan Campus Employee Massages with Gina, 10:00 am – 1:15 pm, Recharge Lounge 2221
SIGN UP LINK

Green Bay Campus Employee Massages with Lindsay, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm, Wood Hall, WH441
SIGN UP LINK 

Treats at Green Bay sponsored by The Provost Office, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm,
1965 Room

Lunch with Leadership, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm,
Chancellor’s Conference Room
Sign up for a chance to be one of the 5 employees selected to have lunch with members of Leadership
SIGN UP LINK

Tuesday, May 13
Green Bay Campus Employee Massages with Lindsay, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm,
Wood Hall, WH441
SIGN UP LINK

Manitowoc Campus Employee Massages with Gina, 10:00 am – 12:45 pm, Recharge Lounge H141
SIGN-UP LINK 

Treats with HR (Rachel & Stella) at Manitowoc (morning) & Sheboygan (afternoon)
Manitowoc Room Location: TBD
Sheboygan Room Location: TBD

Wednesday, May 14
Faculty and Staff Cookout 11:30 am – 1:15 pm, Program at 12:00 pm streaming via Teams Live
Green Bay: Kress Events Center, Dick Bennett Gym – Catered by Chartwells, RSVP link coming soon
Sheboygan: Details coming soon
Manitowoc: Details coming soon
Marinette: Details coming soon

Thursday, May 15
Guess Who/UWGB Trivia, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm,
Phoenix Club and virtual (link to join virtually, coming soon)

Friday, May 16
Heirloom Plant Sale  The annual heirloom plant sale is a UW-Green Bay tradition entering its 28th year. Supporters of the sale help contribute to the long-term preservation of heirloom plants, while also funding educational opportunities. Visit the Heirloom Plant Sale website to pre-order your plants.
Sale Dates: May 16, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
You can browse the greenhouse and buy plants without placing any orders. These will also be the dates for picking up online pre-orders.

Thank you for all you do!

There is no UWGB without U!

UW-Green Bay Employee Appreciation Week is an annual employee recognition event organized by Human Resources. If you have any questions or would like to be part of the planning team, contact Beverly Majewski at majewskb@uwgb.edu.

Student Rehire & Summer Hire Process Reminders

As a reminder, due to the upcoming transition to Workday, the timeline for the student rehire and summer hire process will occur earlier than in prior years. As a result, please review and follow the instructions below, completing student-related appointment changes and student summer hires by Monday, April 28, 2025.

Student Rehire/Appointment Ending Process

Please complete a Student Change Request by Monday, April 28, 2025 for student employees with adjustments (i.e. appointment ending, compensation adjustment, funding change, supervisor change).  Only changes to the current appointment should be selected and filled out on the request, any fields that will remain the same as currently on file should be left blank.  Multiple changes can be made on the form at once, as long as the adjustments have the same effective date. A separate Student Change Request will need to be submitted for each student employee.

Student Summer Hire Process

If you will be hiring new students to work during the summer, please complete a Student Employment Request to initiate the hiring process. With the transition to Workday, we need to set up summer student appointments with an effective date prior to 6/29/25 as soon as possible within the system.  Student appointments beginning 6/29/25 or later will be held for entry into Workday upon go-live on 7/7/25. Entry will be prioritized based on the effective date of the appointments to ensure timely payroll processing.

HR Transaction Freeze Period

Please be aware that during the period of 6/15/25-7/6/25 we will be unable to enter transactions within the HRS system (outside of normal timesheet entry).  As a result, we strongly recommend that you do not make any student employment changes or hires during this timeframe.

While we will be transitioning from HRS to Workday, the current BP Logix Student Employment Request and Student Employment Change Request will continue to be utilized to set up and make changes to student appointments in Workday.  Thank you for your assistance in submitting any student changes or summer hires by Monday, April 28th.

If you have any questions, please email hr@uwgb.edu.

Celebrate UWGB’s Amazing Student Employees During National Student Employment Week – April 14 – 18th

UWGB Shines Brighter Thanks to 750+ Student Employees!

National Student Employment Week is upon us (April 14-18th), and it’s the perfect time to celebrate the incredible impact UWGB’s student employees have on our campuses. Their dedication fuels our University every day!

Show Your Appreciation: Share the Spotlight!

The Career Planning Team wants to help supervisors and teams showcase their gratitude. We’re collecting short video messages, photos with words of appreciation, or any creative way you’d like to say “Thank you!” Send your submissions to stcareer3@uwgb.edu by April 11th. We’ll light up our social media with these amazing shout-outs all week long! Watch for the posts and share them on your pages, too!

Beyond Social Media: More Ways to Celebrate!

  • Write a personal thank-you note.
  • Create a celebratory sign for your workspace.
  • Offer a small token of appreciation.

Looking for inspiration? Check out this list.

Let’s make this National Student Employment Week one to remember for our phenomenal student workforce!

2024 Wisconsin Retirement System Statement of Benefits in the MyUW Portal

2024 Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Statement of Benefits as of January 1, 2025, are now available for employees in the MyUW Portal.

The statement includes 2024 earnings and service, retirement benefit projections (if vested), separation benefit, death benefit, and employee and employer contributions.

View Your Statement

Go to my⁠.wisconsin⁠.edu, click on the Benefits and Well-Being tile, and in the left side bar select WRS Statements of Benefits. ]

Resources
The Universities of Wisconsin WRS Statement of Benefits page (https://⁠www⁠.wisconsin⁠.edu/ohrwd/benefits/ret/wrs/wrs-statement-of-benefits/) has additional resources including:

  • Introductory letter with important information about the statement
  • How to Read My Statement of Benefits (ET-7365) information document
  • Understanding Your Annual Statement of Benefits video and webinars

WRS Beneficiary Reminder

Be sure to review the beneficiaries listed on your WRS Statement of Benefits and if a beneficiary is not listed complete a Beneficiary Designation Form.

Death benefits are paid according to the most recent beneficiary designation form on file with the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) prior to your death. Your beneficiary does not automatically change due to a life event, such as divorce or marriage.

If you do not have a beneficiary designation on file, death benefits will be paid according to the statutory standard sequence in effect on the date of death.

Review the Beneficiary Information page (https://⁠www⁠.wisconsin⁠.edu/ohrwd/benefits/beneficiary/) for more information on how to add, change, or remove beneficiaries.

Questions

If you have questions about your statement after reviewing available resources, reach out to your Benefits Contact (https://⁠www⁠.wisconsin⁠.edu/ohrwd/benefits/contact/).

Sincerely,

Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources

April Issue: Employee Engagement Newsletter

Check out the April issue of our Employee Engagement Newsletter! This newsletter focuses, specifically, on employee engagement at the university with new ideas and reminders on how you can incorporate opportunities within your departments/teams. Each issue will feature an Employee Spotlight section as well. If you are interested in being featured in the newsletter, please reach out to hr@uwgb.edu.

If you missed any of the last issues, check them out here:

October Employee Engagement Newsletter
November Employee Engagement Newsletter
December Employee Engagement Newsletter
January Employee Engagement Newsletter
February Employee Engagement Newsletter
March Employee Engagement Newsletter

2024 Outside Activities Reports (OARs) – Access for online completion begins April 1, 2025

Each year, all faculty, academic staff, and limited appointees with appointments of half-­time or more are responsible for reporting Outside Activities (according to Board of Regent and UW System guidelinesUWS Chapter 8.025, and the Wisconsin Administrative Code).

Additionally, we ask University Staff to read the Code of Conduct (RPD 20-22) and all employees to read the policy on Employee Relationships with Educational Loan Lenders RPD 13-4.

Similar to past years, requests and notices will come to employees from UW-Shared Services (serviceoperations@uwss.wisconsin.edu), and eligible employees will submit their OAR form online through their My UW Portal.

On April 1, all employees required to submit an Outside Activity Report (OAR) will receive a message from UW System with instructions to complete the OAR. The OAR will need to be completed by the employee and approved by the supervisor. Following the initial notice, employees will receive reminders throughout the month.

Please see below for additional information:

For more information about OARs (including helpful videos), please see the UW System Conflicts of Interest and Outside Activities website.

The Code of Conduct and Employee Relationships with Educational Loan Lenders policies will also be delivered to your mailboxes from uwsytemhr@uwss.wisconsin.edu during the month of April with a reminder to familiarize yourself with these policies.

If you have questions while using the process or need technical support, please contact serviceoperations@uwss.wisconsin.edu.

Resources relevant to this message include:

HRS Extended Outage from 4:00 pm Friday, March 14 through 12:00 pm Sunday, March 16

Employees will not have access to online timesheets, earnings statements, and other related documents and services during a UW Human Resources System (HRS) outage from approximately 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 14 through 12:00 p.m. Sunday, March 16. The outage is due to HRS System maintenance.

The following self-service features that employees access through the MyUW portal will be unavailable during this outage:

    • Online timesheet
    • Absence reporting
    • Benefits Self Service
    • Updates to personal information
    • Access to electronic earnings statements, tax statements (W-2, 1042-S, etc.), leave statements and other HR, Payroll and Benefits documents
    • Access to TAM job application service
    • EPM Data Warehouse
    • Security Requests for HRS/EPM

During this time, applicants will be unable to access the online applicant management system to apply for positions. Please contact jobs@uwgb.edu with any questions regarding this outage for applicants. All other questions can be directed to hr@uwgb.edu.

The How, What and Why of Happiness With Sonja Lyubomirsky

UW-Superior Pruitt Center for Mindfulness and Well-Being welcomes you to join their Spring 2025 Virtual Speaker Presentation: The How, What and Why of Happiness: The Science of Interventions Aimed at Increasing Well-Being with Sonja Lyubomirsky.

Tuesday, April 15th 4:30pm – 6:00pm

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

Happiness not only feels good; it is good. Happy people are more productive, creative, resilient, socially connected and healthier, with stronger relationships and higher incomes. In this presentation, Sonja Lyubomirsky will describe research revealing when and why practices like expressing gratitude, acts of kindness and engaging in more social interactions work “best” to increase happiness and how simple activities can transform us into happier and more flourishing individuals.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Sonja Lyubomirsky (AB Harvard, summa cum laude; PhD Stanford) is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside and author of the best-selling The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness, published in 39 countries. Her research on increasing happiness through gratitude, kindness and connection has earned numerous honors, including the AAAS Fellowship, an Honorary Doctorate, the Diener Award for Outstanding Midcareer Contributions in Personality Psychology, the Christopher Peterson Gold Medal, a Positive Psychology Prize and the Faculty of the Year Award (twice). She lives in Santa Monica, California, with her family.

For more information and the link to register, please visit this site: Summary – The How, What, and Why of Happiness: The Science of Interventions Aimed at Increasing Well-Being