Happy (almost) December, Dragon Nation! With the semester reaching its close and the holidays upon us, we hope you are feeling festive and accomplished. Take a moment to breathe this week and reflect on all the good you've done for our campus community since the school year began. You've more than earned the right to sit back, relax with your loved ones and enjoy some holiday traditions, and we're so close to being able to do just that. In the meantime, let's keep working hard so we can walk across that finish line together with pride!

Read below to learn about all the good other members of the Dragon Family are doing, and trust us - there's plenty of good to go around!

For a complete list of campus activities, go to tiffin.edu/calendar.

Once again, TU's women's golf team was out and about in the Tiffin Community spreading their goodwill!!

A big thank you goes out to the Tiffin University Women's Golf Team who helped the staff at Tiffin Park and Recreation set up the lights along Frost Parkway!

It's that time of year again, Dragons!

Tiffin University will present its annual “Christmas at The Ritz” holiday concert on December 4 at 7 p.m., at The Ritz Theatre, located at 30 S. Washington St. in Tiffin.

Tiffin University choirs and bands will be joined by the TU Dance Team, TU funk band “Word on the Street,” a cappella groups “Up in the Air” and “Higher Ground,” indie band “No Rain,” hip hop group “Beyond Understanding” and the “Dragon Big Band.” The concert will also feature young community musicians participating in the recording studio production project, TiffinKidz.

Registration for spring 2023 courses is now open!! Students: Please be sure to meet with your advisor to schedule your spring courses. If they have any questions or challenges, they can reach out to studentsuccess@tiffin.edu.

The informational website for the upcoming Research, Field Experiences and Connections Virtual Conference is now live (link below).

The conference will feature over three dozen TU student video presentations as well as a Keynote by Dr. Marlen Harrison, an online faculty member for our master of education and humanities programs.  

The "live" portion of the conference will take place online on December 12, 2022, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (EDT) and will consist of moderated question-and-answer sessions with all the presenters.

Be sure to check the website often - videos will be uploaded as they are received.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Don't wait to get in on the fun and join the global movement. Tiffin University will be participating in the annual GivingTuesday campaign on Tuesday, November 29 by raising funds to support student scholarships, its athletic and performing arts programs and other areas of campus.

GivingTuesday, the international nonprofit organization, created the movement in 2012 and has raised billions of dollars for critical causes around the world.

We have to delay the open enrollment period to allow Paylocity/BSwift more time to edit a few things within the platform. With this being said, the open enrollment period will have a tentative start date of Monday, November 28, and ends on December 9. We will confirm the Monday, November 28 start date by that morning. You'll be able to use this week to prep with the information, so you'll be ready to make your selections in the Paylocity BSwift platform.

We will be holding enrollment election assistance sessions from 11/28 to 11/30. These sessions are a come-and-go time for you to come into a classroom with computers and elect your benefits with your HR team present to assist.

• Monday, November 28, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Main 13

• Tuesday, November 29, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Hertzer 105

• Wednesday, November 30, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Main 13

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Congratulations to the following individuals on their new appointments.

Each year, employees have the opportunity to support Tiffin University's mission and students through your personal philanthropy. This is an important cause. Why? Because your donations go to scholarships, emergency funds for our students, the annual fund, athletic teams and more.

Tiffin University also applies for several grants and gifts from corporations and foundations each year. Many funding sources request information about the percentage of campus family giving; this is a vital piece of information. That’s why gifts of all sizes are important - it is about the support for the University. Supporters want to know that the people who know us best (our campus family) support the University and its mission. All your gifts, added together, do amazing things for our students.

Currently, our participation rate for staff and faculty is 57.59%.

For more information or to set up a meeting to learn more, please contact Mikki King at kingmr@tiffin.edu.

We recently chatted with Debbie Larick, Housekeeping Supervisor, about the many hats she wears and ways she helps to keep campus running through her professional roles.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

“I schedule the everyday assignments for housekeepers and adjust for call-offs. My day consists of ordering supplies to make sure my staff have everything they need, working with suppliers to ensure we are getting the best pricing for our supplies. I help out with cleaning when we are short-staffed, so you may see me around campus with my sleeves rolled up. I hire new employees when needed and interview/hire students that want to work in housekeeping. We are always looking for students that want to make some extra cash and help right here on campus!”

What is your academic and professional background?

“I have an associate’s degree in accounting. I bet you are wondering how I ended up in my current role. Sometimes, someone sees something in you that you don’t see in yourself. Keep your ears and eyes open and you never know what opportunities may arise.” 

How long have you been employed through TU, and have you held any positions here prior to the current?

“I have been a housekeeping Dragon since I started in February of 2013. I love being a Dragon and my housekeeping staff is awesome.”

How do you stay involved in our campus culture in addition to your official job responsibilities (attending football games, choir concerts, guest lectures, etc.)?

“I played a part of starting up the TUSA program for our staff and co-chaired the Community Outreach Committee for the first three years. I enjoyed it very much and loved working with people from other departments and our students. I love interacting with students when I see them on campus.”