Week of January 15-19

2024

Virginia Tech: Campus events to honor the life, legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Virginia Tech is hosting a series of campus activities and events this week (January 15-19) to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The week-long celebration will feature a presentation by Janice Underwood, a national expert in diversity, equity, and inclusion across multiple sectors. Underwood has championed to make structural inequity visible in government and education sectors as a state official, a university administrator, teacher educator, researcher, national board-certified special education science teacher, and diversity trainer.

Virginia Tech’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration events are free to attend and open to the public. Registration/tickets may be required for some events. Dates, times, and locations for these activities are available on the MLK, Jr. Celebration website.

In addition to these events, a message from President Tim Sands and Vice President Menah Pratt on the legacy and impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. has been shared with the campus community.

For more information on these MLK celebration events and to register to attend, read this campus notice.

Division of IT: Information for instructors using Google Workspace for their spring courses

For both faculty and students, Google Workspace will remain available for assignments that rely on My Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, Sites, or Groups. The Division of IT reminds faculty that students will have a 5 GB storage limit that goes into effect on January 16. Because of this, a small percentage of students may temporarily have their Google access in a read-only status until they can bring their Google storage total under that limit.

Files shared with students will not be counted towards their storage totals unless they save a new copy of the file. Even if a student is in a read-only status for the rest of their Google Account, they will still be able to add to or edit a file shared with them. 4Help can assist students who need to reduce their Google storage in order to regain full access to their Google tools.

To help students manage their storage space, IT recommends that faculty consider the anticipated file size for assignments that students will complete or submit using Google Workspace apps. If the file size of a completed assignment is expected to be large, directing students to upload to My Media, use their M365 apps, or complete the assignment through Canvas may be preferable to using Google My Drive.

For more information and support resources, visit the Google and Microsoft Services Changes website or contact 4Help. A number of online resources, tutorials, and FAQs are also available to assist faculty with managing documents and assignments in Google Workspace.

University Operations: Policy revision regarding university holiday leave for faculty and staff

To better align the university’s holiday leave structure, Virginia Tech has revised its Policy 4315: Guidelines on Holidays guidelines. This policy update standardizes the university’s holiday schedule and creates an official “Winter Break” holiday that will not require employees to use annual leave during the university wide closure between December 25 and January 1.

The revised policy is applicable beginning with the 2024 Winter Break and does not apply to leave reporting for the 2023 Winter Break.

Effective January 10, Virginia Tech employees will no longer be required to use annual leave between December 25 and January 1 when the university is closed for Winter Break. As part of this policy update, the university will reallocate the holidays granted to staff only (George Washington Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, and Veterans Day) to Winter Break, aligning all employee holidays throughout the year.

Most university staff will accrue more annual leave hours. To mitigate the impact of the holiday changes, eligible university staff will see an increase in leave earned per pay period based on years of service. Eligible faculty will receive an additional four days of holiday leave during Winter Break.

For more information, read this campus notice or visit the holiday guidelines FAQ webpage. Contact your HR representative with questions on this policy update.

Women’s Center at Virginia Tech: Call for program proposals for Women’s Month 2024

Women’s Month at Virginia Tech has historically represented the university’s broad commitment to celebrating diverse and inclusive communities. To honor this ongoing commitment, the Women’s Month 2024 calendar highlights programs and events aligned with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community.

The Women’s Center at Virginia Tech has announced a call for program proposals for this year’s celebration designed to promote, advance, and celebrate women at Virginia Tech and beyond. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 2.

Women’s Month (March) recognizes, affirms, and showcases the achievements, concerns, and diversity of women. A feminist perspective — one that encourages and advances women of all races, political affiliations, national origins, religions, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and income levels — underlies all our programming. The annual event occurs in conjunction with National Women’s History Month. The National Women's History Month theme for this year is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”

For more information or to submit a proposal, visit the Women’s Month 2024 program website or email the Women’s Center at Virginia Tech.

ICYMI: Mandatory training for faculty leading student groups abroad

The Global Education Office (GEO) offers several trainings throughout the academic year to support faculty and administrators in their efforts to lead study abroad programs. Virginia Tech Policy 1070: Global Travel Policy requires university employees leading either credit-bearing or co-curricular student groups abroad to complete training with GEO prior to departure. Register for spring semester GEO sessions by February 3.

New Program Leader Training (February 8, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) is designed to provide program leaders and those supporting programs with the tools and resources to lead students abroad.
Program Leader Community Update is for those who have previously attended the New Program Leader Training. GEO is offering several sessions this semester:
- February 7, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in GEO Conference Room
- February 15, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Virtual
- February 22, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in GEO Conference Room
- February 28, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Virtual
- March 20, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Virtual
- March 28, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Virtual

For more information on these trainings, read this campus notice or email the Global Education Office.

Additional Resources and Updates

Please submit a Google form or email Provost Communications for comments or recommendations to improve the Weekly Communications Update or to share faculty, staff, and academic program personnel information.

Visit the provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VT News daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.