Research Mentor News, May 2017
The end of the Spring semester is rapidly approaching and with it the increased stress of finals and the frenzy of graduating seniors preparing for commencement. And, of course, BUILD is preparing for its first cohort of graduating trainees and for a new cohort to begin in the Summer. Are you prepared?
BUILD Scholar Commencement Reminder
If you are mentoring a BUILD Year 2 Scholar, we hope you’ll be joining us – and your Year 2 Scholar mentee – at the First Annual BUILD Commencement on May 19. This event celebrates the first cohort of trainees completing the two-year Scholars program. If you have not received your invitation from your mentee, please contact Enrique.Flores@csulb.edu right away. RSVPs are due Friday, May 5. Festivities include food, a video montage, keynote speaker and dancing!
Faculty Mixer Luncheon Was a Success
The latest faculty mixer was held on Wednesday, April 19, and was a great success with 30 people attending. BUILD mentors, faculty and staff enjoyed some down time – and networking time – over spring rolls from Brodard Vietnamese restaurant. If you were unable to make it, be sure to mark your calendar when we announce the next mixer in the Fall.
Faculty Mentor Evaluation of Trainees
NIH needs us to document the training and development of our trainees, and we need your feedback to do this. You should have received an email from BUILD containing the Qualtrics Survey link to evaluate your current BUILD trainees. Please complete the survey by Friday, May 19.
Travel Ban to States Update
With the passage of Assembly Bill 1887, California law restricts state agencies from requiring its employees to travel to any state that has enacted a law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Travel restrictions for University travelers came into effect on January 1, 2017. To ensure compliance with the law, the campus travel policy and procedures were modified. Campus, and therefore CSULB BUILD travel procedures cover all CSULB travelers, including employees, students, and volunteers. Here are the highlights of these procedures:
- All CSULB travelers are restricted from traveling to, and cannot be reimbursed for travel to, any of the affected states unless one of the following legislative exceptions applies:
- Enforcement of California law, including auditing and revenue collection.
- Litigation.
- To meet contractual obligations incurred before January 1, 2017.
- To comply with requests by the federal government to appear before committees.
- To participate in meetings or training required by a grant or required to maintain grant funding.
- To complete job-required training necessary to maintain licensure or similar standards required for holding a position, in the event that comparable training cannot be obtained in California or a different state not affected.
- For the protection of public health, welfare, or safety, as determined by the CSU or other state agencies.
If your travel to a prohibited state meets one of these exceptions, you will need to supply supporting documentation with your travel claim. You can find a list of affected states on the California State Attorney General's website.
If your destination is added to this website after your travel has been booked, you may still be reimbursed through your BUILD travel funds, but you will have to document the booking date.
Update Your Online Profiles in the Mentor Database
Has your research program changed? Are you looking for new or different kinds of BUILD mentees? Have your keywords changed? You can quickly and relatively easily update your mentor profile at any time by following these instructions:
- Go to http://web.csulb.edu/HealthEquity/build/BUILD_mentors
- Locate your profile
- Click on the edit icon in the upper right-hand corner
- Update your information
- Click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page
Once you click “Save,” an email is sent to a BUILD staff member letting them know your profile has been updated. They will double check it and publish it within two business days. This process was created to free you from having to log in and protect your profiles from unauthorized updates.
To help you navigate the mentor database, an instructional video has been created. You can find it here: https://youtu.be/CA8fqGvubZM. Keep in mind that if you don’t make sure that your keywords and profile are accurate, new mentees might not be able to find you.
To help make this process as frustration-free as possible, the Digital Media & Communications Specialist is available to help you. If you run into any trouble or need help with this process, feel free to contact Enri'que or Enrique.Flores@csulb.edu.
Coming Next Issue …
- Updates on Summer SURGE and PREP programs
Be Prepared
If you'd like to know what is coming up in the BUILD Learning Community for your mentee, download the current syllabus. This will give you a heads up on what events your mentee is required to attend and therefore will not be available to work in your lab at that time. This page will be updated each semester with the new syllabi.
Communicating with BUILD
We invite your news about your BUILD Trainee and any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about BUILD. If you have any of these, in relation to being a BUILD Research Mentor, or concerns about your BUILD Student, please contact us at BUILD.mentors@csulb.edu. Be sure to keep an eye out for the June newsletter.
