January 2016 – College of Management

January 25, 2016

Student Ambassador Council

Student Ambassador Council

Dear Students,

Perhaps after MLK Day, it is most appropriate to begin my proposal with “I have a dream.” However, I’m going to go above and beyond. I want to begin with “I have a vision,” “for us.”

Whether you’re an American or international, regardless of your country of citizenship, gender, religion or sexual orientation, I have some really good news for you. I invite you to carefully read on to see the amazing achievements of just some of our diverse UMass Boston graduates:

Tom Menino was an American politician who served as the 53rd Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1993 to 2014. He was the city’s longest-serving mayor.

Joseph Patrick Kennedy II is an American businessman, Democratic politician, and a member of the Kennedy family. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999

Denise Simmons is the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, having served her first mayoral term during the 2008-2009 term, and she was the first openly lesbian African-American mayor in the United States.

Roderick MacKinnon is a professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003.

Amsale Aberra is an Ethiopian-born American fashion designer and entrepreneur. Her main field of design is in couture wedding gowns, and her flagship store is located on Madison Avenue in New York City.

Joseph Abboud is an American-Lebanese menswear fashion designer and author.

Paul M. English is the CEO and co-founder of Blade, LLC, a Boston-based consumer technology foundry. English was previously the CTO and cofounder of Kayak.com in Concord, Massachusetts.

Dana White is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the President of the Mixed Martial Arts organization Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Zhu Xiao Di is a very successful Chinese-American writer. He authored the novel, Tales of Judge Dee.

Joe Rogan is an American commentator, television host, former actor, and stand up comedian.

Jovita Fontanez was the first Hispanic woman to serve as head of the Boston Election Commission and the first Hispanic woman to be a member of the Electoral College of Massachusetts.

Bill Bratton is an American law enforcement officer and businessman, and the current New York City Police Commissioner, the second time he has held that position.

Are you smiling? Are you feeling that rush, that warmth in your heart? Maybe that feeling of pride? You now know that you’re sitting in the very same classrooms that these people once have attended: In the very same rooms, maybe on the very same chairs.

Now I invite you to think about this question.

How many people out there know about all of these great connections to UMass-Boston? How many people in Boston truly know about UMass Boston’s great merits and its members’ success stories?

Unfortunately, the answer is not too many.

Is it fixable? Could we be in people’s daily conversations, in newspaper headlines and academia associations as much as Harvard, MIT, NEU and BC are? Could we pull ourselves up the ladder to achieve similar reputation and recognition as these neighbor universities?

Absolutely!

Who can fix it? Us and only us.

Together with you, I envision a far brighter future for our beloved school. You and I are the only people who truly care and are willing to put our resources together. It is on us to show UMass-Boston to the world out there. It is on us to go out in the community and proudly shout the name “UMass Boston.” It is on us to be involved and get others involved.

Student Ambassador Council (SAC) will be launched this semester. Its mission is to get involved in the community by launching community service days and organizing fundraising events for charity organizations. Meanwhile, SAC would like to reconnect with our alumni to create new touch points between us and the world out there. We will go beyond existing relationships and reach out to other organizations (such as Harvard, MIT, the Big Four companies, etc.).

In order to accomplish our mission, we seek three key characteristics in our members:

Enthusiasm: Members should truly believe in our mission and be optimistic about us. They should realize the importance of SAC in our college, and they should be willing to help it grow.

Relentlessness: Members should be persistent in what they’re doing. They should be comfortable with potential rejections along the way while promoting the SAC and the school, continually value our overall goals.

Resourcefulness: Members should generously leverage their resources and networks to help SAC through its mission.

You might be thinking: “Why should I put my time into this? I’m graduating in two semesters.” I would tell you that you’d be getting a great return on your investment. This is a win-win action plan. Here are some tangible benefits:

You would be gaining experience in organizing events and launching workshops, etc.
You would be expanding your networks, beyond imagination, within academia society, UMass Boston Alumni (potentially even maybe with people enlisted above), and Boston’s community.
If you are looking to continue your education, land a summer internship or apply for that first job after graduation, you’d be putting yourself in a much higher position by putting your alma mater (UMass Boston) in a higher position.

We are having a kick-off meeting on Thursday, February 4^th at 5 p.m. in the Accounting & Finance Conference Room, M-5-211. We will discuss the structure and mission of SAC in greater detail. Although we are still developing the strategy for SAC, we believe it’s important to have your insights and opinions. We aim to create our finalized strategy based on the collaborative work of all our members. Please come with ideas, excitement, and some thoughts about the below points that we would like to discuss during our kick-off meeting (among other topics about which you might want to discuss):

What is missing in UMass Boston College of Management’s strategy when it comes to creating relationships and networks with outside successful and prominent individuals, organizations, and community? Look at the other competitors (MIT, Harvard, NEU, BC) network strategy and action plans. Look at their success stories and find out how we can improve.

How can we get more involved in the community? What kind of events could we launch that benefit both SAC members and our peers at UMass Boston College of Management?

What are some potential organizations or individuals that we’re looking to partner with? What kind of people in the business world would we like to be associated with? And how are going to be associated with them?

How can we get more students involved in SAC?

Who do we want to present us? What kind of characteristics are we looking for in SAC members?

For the purpose of better organizing, please RSVP by emailing me at Fargol.fotoohibar001@umb.edu by Friday January 29^th. You can also let me know if you’re interested but cannot make it to the kick-off meeting, and I will follow up with you. However, it is strongly advised that you be present in the first meeting since we’re going to decide on important issues.

Sincerely,

Fargol Fotoohi

January 21, 2016July 10, 2018

Blackboard – What Is It and How to Access It

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The Blackboard portal can be accessed from the main www.umb.edu page, at the top of the page header, next to the WISER link. You will use your student email and password to access it from there.

Always check WISER to verify your course enrollment.

Blackboard will not ‘go live’ or be accessible until sometime next week.
WISER is the official record keeping system for the university that tracks your enrollment. If WISER states that you are enrolled in a class, then you are officially enrolled in that class.
DO NOT use Blackboard to verify your class enrollment. Blackboard is a supplemental tool for on-ground classes.
If you are enrolled in an online class, you will use Blackboard exclusively starting the week of Feb 1. WISER will still be the official record keeper of your enrollment. Check WISER to verify your enrollment and class start dates.
If you are enrolled in an on-ground class, your professor may or may not use Blackboard. Check with the professor directly to determine if Blackboard will be used for a specific class.

Blackboard functions as a separate portal for any online aspects for the on-ground classes. All fully online classes will use Blackboard as the primary mode of communication, content and access, so be sure to check it regularly once online classes begin if you are enrolled in an online class. Online classes begin one week after on-ground classes begin.

Any other on-ground class may or may not use Blackboard to varying extents. Some professors will use it sparingly, maybe putting up the syllabus and a reading or two. Others will use it extensively to facilitate threaded chats, assignments, and regular communication.

Be sure to make use of the Getting Technical Help section if you are running into issues trying to log in or other tech-type glitches.

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January 21, 2016January 21, 2016

UMass Boston Tobacco Free Campus Policy

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A memo issued from James Overton, Interim Co-Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Robert Pomales, Executive Director, University Health Services outlines the Campus wide Tobacco-Free policy in effect as of January 19, 2016.

For information about Smoking Cessation, resources and support, please visit the UMass Boston University Health Services – Tobacco-Free Living page.

— Memo Begins–

This memo is to inform you of the implementation of the UMass Boston Tobacco-Free Campus Policy. This policy will be implemented on January 19, 2016.

There is considerable evidence that concentrations of smoke are harmful to nonsmokers, as well as smokers. Findings of the Surgeon General indicate that tobacco use in any form, active and passive, is a significant health hazard. The University of Massachusetts Boston has a responsibility to its faculty, staff, students, and visitors to provide a safe and healthy environment.

The Tobacco-Free Campus Policy is intended to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke, provide an environment supportive of tobacco free lifestyles, mitigate the risk of accidental fire, eliminate the health risks associated with expectoration from smokeless tobacco, and eliminate the environmental impact of cigarette litter.

With this action, the University of Massachusetts Boston will join the other four campuses of the UMass System, which have implemented a tobacco-free campus policy.

This Policy applies to anyone within the UMass Boston campus including students, staff, faculty, contractors, and visitors.

Definitions:
Tobacco: For the purposes of this policy, “tobacco” refers to any and all tobacco and/or nicotine products, whether inhaled or ingested, as well as electronic cigarettes.

Policy:

In compliance with state law, the use of tobacco is prohibited in all buildings, including all buildings owned or leased by the University of Massachusetts Boston.
The use of tobacco is also prohibited on all university grounds, including the Bayside property.
The use of tobacco is prohibited inside all university owned or leased vehicles, regardless of location.
Applications for exceptions to this policy may be sought (e.g., for religious celebrations or practices, artistic performances, and smoking research).

The chancellor has appointed a Tobacco-Free Policy Committee representative of students, faculty, and staff to promote the success of this policy. Members include representatives from:

Student Affairs
University Health Services
Faculty Council
Human Resources
Environmental Health and Safety
Undergraduate Student Government

Faculty and staff shall have access to on campus coaching and counseling, including private consultation and group cessation programming, through the University Health Services and through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

The university will develop and fund a smoking cessation program to assist students, faculty, and staff who wish to quit smoking.
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For more information about Smoking Cessation, resources and support, please visit the University Health Services – Tobacco-Free Living page.

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January 21, 2016July 20, 2016

Finding Your Classroom Location – UMass Center

If your room is listed in Wiser as UMassCenter 1 Beacon St Boston, your class will be held off of the main harbor campus. It will instead be held in downtown Boston, at the One Beacon Building, in the lower level.

Example – Room: UMassCenter 1 Beacon St Boston

You can get to One Beacon by way of the MBTA, using either the Red line or Green line stops of Park Street or Downtown Crossing.

One Beacon Building Highlighted with MBTA stops Park St and Downtown Crossing.

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January 21, 2016July 20, 2016

Finding Your Classroom Location- Harbor Campus

If you are trying to determine the location of where your class will be meeting, good news! We’re here to de-code the coding on your class schedule from Wiser.

The first thing to do is log into Wiser, and then look under the heading “My Schedule” – it should be in the center of the landing page when you log in.

Remember, Wiser is the official record system for your classes, so you should start here to verify your class schedule and enrollment. Unless you are enrolled in an online only class, consider Blackboard to be a supplementary tool which some professors may use for their classes.

Blackboard does not ‘go-live’ until the first week of classes, so until then it may look blank for you when logging in there. If you are in an online-class, Blackboard will be your main point of contact for that specific class.

Second, you can use the Campus Map navigate to the Building that your class is in.

Finding Your Classroom Location
In Wiser, you will notice codes such as the following:

Example – Room: Wheatley W01-0044

This will be held in the Wheatley Building, on the 1-st floor, in Room # 44. You can find the Wheatley Building and the rest of the campus buildings on the campus map. Wheately is noted as location #12 on the map.

Campus map marked to illustrate the examples above.

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January 6, 2016March 21, 2016

Graduate Program Offices Open During Construction

The Graduate Program Office is currently undergoing space renovations in our McCormack offices.

Fortunately, the work has been in progress over the winter session, and completion is expected sometime over the next few weeks of Spring 2016 semester.

During this time, the Graduate Program Office does remain open.The GPO staff, (Tara, Jeff and Steve), have been temporarily relocated.

Interim Office Locations

Tara is located in McCormack-5th floor, Room 5-254.
She can best be reached via email: Tara.Norton@umb.edu
Steve is located in McCormack-5th floor Room 5-207, (the office directly across from the GPO renovations).
He can be best reached at Steve.Sze@umb.edu
Jeff is located at the Bayside campus, lower level office.
He can be best reached via email: Jeffrey.Masse@umb.ed

We will remain available as always by email. To arrange an appointment, email Steve.Sze@umb.edu. You may also email Tara and Jeff directly at: Tara.Norton@umb.edu or Jeffrey.Masse@umb.edu.

Thank-you for your patience and flexibility as we undergo these renovations.

We will be continue to keep you updated as the project progresses, and share with you the grand re-opening of our offices.

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Month: January 2016