Special to UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (January 29, 2015) – Three years after its launch, ’CaneWatch, a system that allows University of Miami faculty, staff, and students to raise concerns related to violations of policies, regulations, and other improprieties at the institution, remains one of the most effective tools for promoting high standards of ethics and integrity in the workplace.

“We want people to feel comfortable enough to raise their concerns and feel confident in being able to speak up.” said Rudolph “Rudy” Green, UM’s vice president and chief compliance officer, who heads the office of University Compliance Services. “Our goal is to foster an environment of transparency in which open, honest communications are the expectation, not the exception.”

Through ’CaneWatch, UM’s confidential reporting service, the University community can report concerns of irregularities via the Web or a toll-free hotline number, 877-415-4357. NAVEX Global, a third-party hotline provider, hosts the system, and reporting areas can include:

• Accounting and financial matters
• Athletics
• Human resources
• Information technology
• Medical
• Privacy, data safety, and security issues
• Research
• Risk and safety matters
• Student affairs

’CaneWatch is part of UM’s overall Compliance and Accountability Program, which promotes and supports a working environment that reflects the University’s pledge to operate with integrity and comply with all laws, regulations, and policies, and when necessary, to correct misconduct. It applies to all campuses, facilities and operations, and members of the UM community, including trustees, officers, management, physicians, faculty and staff, students, and, where appropriate, vendors and contractors.

For more information on ’CaneWatch, click here.

To learn more about University Compliance Services, please visit www.miami.edu/ucs. University Compliance Services is located at Gables One Tower, Suite 700. Email the office at ucs@miami.edu, or call 305-284-4636.

Canterbury Preschool will host a Kindergarten and Preschool Showcase on Wednesday, February 11  for University of Miami faculty, staff, and students. Families are invited to visit the classrooms, meet with teachers and other parents, learn about The World at Their Fingertips curriculum, and engage in activities with their children. The Open House will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at both the Coral Gables campus and Miller School of Medicine locations. Click here for event schedule and location information.

UM News

UM investigators discuss ways to collaborate at the first Research Speed Networking event hosted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (January 28, 2015) – In a process similar to speed dating, University of Miami faculty recently took a giant step forward in forging new research partnerships when they participated in the inaugural Research Speed Networking forum—an event sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research to stimulate interdisciplinary collaborations across all campuses.

Held January 23 in the BankUnited Center’s Hurricane 100 Room, the forum divided participants into six focus groups, giving each researcher exactly 10 minutes to present information about their work to a fellow investigator seated across a table. Attendees discussed strategies for collaborating in areas ranging from imaging, minority and health disparity studies, and psychology and neuroscience to quality health care, technobiology/biomedical devices, and sustainability.

More Research Speed Networking forums are planned. To learn more, click here. For more information, email Karin Scarpinato, assistant provost for research, at kds44@miami.edu or call 305-243-1660.

This lunchtime seminar is offered by the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) for those interested in building and nurturing resilient relationships. Healthy relationships bring happiness and health to our lives and studies show that people involved and invested in healthy relationships experience more joy and less stress. This seminar, facilitated by an FSAP consultant, will provide participants with techniques used to establish respect, build trust, convey empathy, decrease emotional reactivity, promote positive environments, and have fruitful interactions.

Coral Gables campus: Tuesday, February 10, 12-1 p.m., McKnight Building, 2nd floor, training room

Miller School campus:  Wednesday, February 11, 12-1 p.m., Dominion Parking Garage, room 155

RSMAS campus:  Thursday, February 12, 12-1 p.m., Library, media room

FSAP Health and Wellness seminars are offered as part of the University of Miami’s Well ’Canes Program. To register, go to http://ulearn.miami.edu.

For help with ULearn registration, or to receive email announcements of upcoming seminars, call the FSAP at 305-284-6604.

UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (January 28, 2015) – A new leadership and mentoring program aimed at helping undergraduate students and early-career professionals to flourish in their academic and career endeavors is being launched by the University of Miami Women’s Commission and SEEDS (Scientists and Engineers Expanding Diversity and Success).

“It Takes a Mentor” will match students and junior faculty and staff members with senior University professors, researchers, and staff, with the goal of forging relationships that enhance the former group’s personal, academic, and career development.

The UM Women’s Commission and SEEDS are encouraging senior faculty and staff members to volunteer as mentors in the initiative.

“Having a mentor is a vital component of success for undergraduate students and early-career professionals both within the university setting and after they have moved on to the next stage of their careers,” said Catherine L. Newell, assistant professor of religious studies, who, along with Jennifer Spangenberg, assistant director in Housing and Residence Life, received a SEEDS You Choose Leadership Award that made the new initiative possible. The College of Arts and Sciences is also sponsoring the new “It Takes a Mentor” program.

Spangenberg noted a recent Gallup-Purdue University study that polled more than 30,000 college graduates on their university experience and how they were affected by it. Among the findings: 22 percent of the graduates who indicated they had a faculty mentor were three times more likely to report they were “thriving” in both their career and personal life, and twice as likely to have found a career in which they felt “engaged by their work.”

“We believe facilitating these connections to a mentor is a vital step towards success,” said Spangenberg. “With this in mind, students, their mentors, and all members of the UM community are invited to participate in three leadership seminars—Leadership and Strengths, Reflection on U, and the Power of Networking—throughout the spring semester and to continue their mentor/mentee relationships long into the future.”

All students searching for a mentor and all faculty and staff who feel they have the energy and knowledge to share with students or junior faculty/staff are encouraged to apply. Applications for mentors can be found here, while applications for those seeking a mentor can be found here.

Applications are due no later than Friday, February 6.

For more information, please contact Newell (clnewell@miami.edu) or Spangenberg (jenni@miami.edu).