The inside scoop on the people and projects that support UNLV

In this issue:

• Department Highlight: Community Garden
• Spotlight on Service
• February Employee Appreciation Recipients
• Coffee with the CFO
• Rebel Reset: Adventure into April Step Challenge
• Employee Assistance Program Resources
• Upgrading Your Digital Literacy
• New Hires
• Promotions
• Anniversaries
• Dates to Remember

Department Highlight: Community Garden

The Community Garden grows a 100% organic harvest, teaches gardeners about sustainability, and donates food to those in need. But its most important service is building community on campus and empowering people with food sovereignty. Andie Davis, the Community Garden coordinator, is the one-woman show working to help the Community Garden blossom. Under the supervision of UNLV Sustainability Coordinator / Recycling Manager Tara Pike and with the assistance of the Rebel Roots Gardening Club, Andie manages 41 garden beds that service 30 different groups and organizations. “You do not have to be part of an official organization to grow in the Community Garden,” says Andie. “As long as your group has four members and they are all a part of UNLV, you are welcome to secure a garden bed and start growing your own crops.”

The COVID-19 shutdown derailed some of the Community Garden’s momentum. Andie has worked hard to make sure the Garden comes back stronger than ever. “When we re-opened the Garden after the pandemic closure, we had 15 garden beds available. So, we decided to plant those beds for the UNLV Food Pantry. This is a tradition we kept going for any unreserved garden beds,” says Andie. This year, more groups have been using garden beds. The Community Garden is currently still reserving six garden beds to grow food exclusively for community-serving projects like the UNLV Food Pantry, a year-round resource that provides perishable and non-perishable food items to students, staff, and faculty who need additional support. With the short shelf life of fruits and vegetables, Andie also donates to the Solidarity Community Fridge when the UNLV Food Pantry has reached its limit.

There are a number of enhancements Andie has overseen since she started managing the Garden two years ago. In an effort to save water, Andie installed a drip irrigation system last fall. “I spent four hours a day for two months transitioning the Garden from spray to drip irrigation after receiving training from the grounds drip and irrigation team,” says Andie. “This transition not only conserves water but also feeds water to the plants’ roots more efficiently.” She is also excited about the new shade shelter system that was recently installed and hopes it will encourage people to spend more time in the Garden. “The heat is a real barrier for getting people to the Garden in warmer months. The shade shelter gives us a space where we can have workshops and community events year-round,” says Andie. Since the shade shelter was installed, the Garden has hosted a seed sharing event with the East Las Vegas Seed Share and there are more events to come.

Being a student worker and the lone personnel assigned to the Community Garden, Andie knows she couldn’t do this without collaboration. “I couldn’t get everything done without support from Facilities Management and the Rebel Roots Gardening Club,” says Andie. 

The Community Garden may be one of UNLV’s best-kept secrets. But Andie is looking to change that. “Gardening in the desert is not impossible! What’s even better is that you can garden right here on campus with your friends and meet new people who also love gardening and are part of the UNLV community,” says Andie. The UNLV gardeners are growing dozens of different species of plants. From herbs and fruits to exotic vegetables like kohlrabi. “Come and visit us at the Garden. Even if you do not want to garden, there is always space for members of the UNLV community to hang out and enjoy the atmosphere,” says Andie. She is doing all she can to make sure community comes first in the Community Garden.

Visit the Community Garden’s Instagram page to join one of their Earth Month events. To learn more about the Community Garden or to find out how you can secure a garden bed, contact to Andie Davis (andie.davis@unlv.edu) or visit the Community Garden webpage.

Spotlight on Service

The fourth annual Business Affairs customer service survey results are in and our teams received a number of kudos for providing exceptional customer service. Here are a few examples of the positive feedback received:  

“Rebel Recycling is one of the most important services on campus with the nicest workers.”

“We love the Rebel Recycling team!! Tara is always so accommodating to our recycling needs including our department’s new paperless record-keeping project. Tara was very easy to correspond with and was amazingly responsive to requests for recycling pickups throughout the project. Tara and her crew do such an amazing job - what would the campus do without her?? Thank you, Tara!!”

February Employee Appreciation Recipients

Craig Topple

Electronic Document Services

Craig was nominated for assisting the financial planning budget & analysis team by developing a process for providing additional documentation associated with department annual budget submissions. To implement this process, he reached out and trained campus users.

Following training, he continued to support trainees to ensure they were comfortable with the new process. Thank you, Craig, for going above and beyond to streamline a work process for your colleagues!

Brian Townsend

Real Estate

Brian was nominated for efficiently managing UNLV resources through diligent customer service. After one of the two monthly payments issued by UNLV was not received by a vendor and a hefty late fee was assessed, he began an investigation to figure out what went wrong. Ultimately, he discovered that both payments were sent in sufficient time to meet the due dates and worked with the vendor to prove this fact.

Due to his professionalism, persistence, and ability to develop a working relationship with the vendor, the late fee was waived saving UNLV thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs. This is one example of the many ways he goes above and beyond his assigned duties. Thank you, Brian, for all that you do for the UNLV community.

Coffee with the CFO

Coffee with the CFO events continue later this month. If you haven’t had a chance to join or would like to attend again, RSVP by completing the Coffee with the CFO Google form.

Space is limited to CSB meeting room capacity (20 attendees) and participation is in-person only. See you there!

Upcoming Dates:

• April 19: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Register by April 12 
• May 17: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Register by May 10
• June 21: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Register by June 14

Please reach out to Nohealani Benicarlo at nohealani.benicarlo@unlv.edu with any questions.

Rebel Reset: Adventure into April Step Challenge

As part of the Rebel Reset wellness initiative, Human Resources is happy to announce the Adventure into April Step Challenge taking place April 17 - May 20.

Faculty and staff are invited to create teams in an online application and track their collective steps to see who makes it to the top of the leaderboard.

See the Rebel Reset webpage for more information.

Employee Assistance Program Resources

April is Stress Awareness Month and a great time to assess your stress level and how it impacts your overall well-being. UNLV’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) partner ComPsych offers stress management resources, ranging from relaxation techniques to incorporating physical fitness into your daily routine. 

Check out this UNLV Today announcement for more information and to register for this month’s webinar on the best strategies to improve your current financial situation. 

EAP resources are available to all UNLV employees and eligible dependents.

Upgrading Your Digital Literacy

On April 24, OIT will implement a new storage limit for new and existing Google Shared Drives. The new limit will be 25GB for Shared Drives created in the UNLVMail (unlv.edu) domain and 10GB for Shared Drives created in the Rebelmail (unlv.nevada.edu) domain. 

This change only affects Google Shared Drives and will not affect files stored within My Drive.

OIT’s Google Shared Drive storage knowledge base article includes more information on these upcoming changes.

New Hires

• Aaron Venzon, Facilities Management
• Ajasora Afalava, Facilities Management
• Alejandro Reynoso, Facilities Management
• Aminata Jefferson, Facilities Management
• Ashutosh Rana, Administration Technology Services
• Daniel England, Facilities Management
• Darren Jones, Facilities Management
• Dylan Toilolo, Facilities Management
• Hassan Ali Almanameyeen, Facilities Management
• Jayce White, Facilities Management
• Joe Sunbury, Quality Assurance and Financial Compliance
• Kristopher Williams, Facilities Management
• Madison Thompson, Facilities Management
• Rachel Howland, SVP Office
• Sami Haynes, Facilities Management
• Zoe Terico, Administration Technology Services

Promotions

• Alex Henriquez, Facilities Management
• Cameron Poole, Facilities Management
• Francisco Siles Rodriguez, Facilities Management
• JT Davis, Facilities Management
• Jemil Galang, Facilities Management
• Katinka Moss, Facilities Management
• Trenise Wilson, Facilities Management

Anniversaries

Congratulations to the Business Affairs employees celebrating work anniversaries in April. Years of service have been determined using the UNLV hire date - first employment date without any breaks in service here at UNLV regardless of job type or full-time status.

If you notice an error in your listing, contact Heather Ortiz at heather.ortiz@unlv.edu.

Dates to Remember

• April - Earth Month
• April 22 - Earth Day
• April 27 - Take Your Child to Work Day