Spring Registration is Open
Registration is now open for dozens of Spring 2011 training classes! New offerings include Designing the End-User Experience, which employs a unique approach for delivering your department's services in a way that's more personal, meaningful, and memorable, and Enhancing Workplace Creativity, which aims to combat burnout and optimize productivity by reigniting your creative thinking processes.

Make plans now for classes that are typically offered just once a year, including The Business of Listening, Coaching Mastery: Inviting Excellence, Leading People Through Change, Learned Optimism: Understanding Your Explanatory Style, Strategies to Overcome the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and Technical Writing. Access registration and course information via POD's online course catalog.

Professional & Organizational Development (POD) courses are open to all UW employees, subject to supervisor/budgetary approval and UW’s release time policy. Please view our policy page for additional information.

Hourly Career Counseling
What's next for you and your career? One-on-one career counseling can help you make the most of your strengths, prepare for a job search, or explore a new career path. Sessions are offered through Training and Organization Development Consultant Susan Templeton for $80 per one-hour career counseling session if paid with a UW budget number (with supervisor approval) or $92.48 if paid with cash, check, or credit card (due to a mandatory institutional overhead fee). Learn more about this service.

Think Outside the Box
Condominium ownership can be a great way to get into your first home to start building equity or to begin downsizing. Discuss the pros and cons of condo ownership as well as tips to finding the right condo community for your needs. Attend the free seminar Buying a Condominium on March 15 at the South Lake Union Campus, March 16 at the Seattle Campus, or March 17 at Harborview. Access event information and registration.

Homeownership Counseling Opportunities
Take advantage of a 30-minute homeownership counseling session between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the UW Medical Center on March 24 or at the UW Tower on March 29. Sessions are free of charge and conducted by HomeStreet, our Hometown Home Loan Program partner. Access seminar information and registration.

UWCFD Meet the Charities: Education Organizations
Two non-profit organizations working in Seattle's education sector will be on campus March 31. Seattle Education Access assists marginalized youth and young adults in gaining entry into colleges and completing degrees, providing them with the resources they need to transition successfully to college, so that they can finish their educations, leave poverty behind, and contribute to society.

Technology Access Foundation is transforming public education for students of color. More students in Washington State graduate high school on time, attend college to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics related fields, and enter the workforce ready to be leaders and innovators in a technology driven world.

For more information, visit UWCFD and register today.

spend small—SAVE BIG! Making Your Home Green
Are you ready to green up your home or garden this year but aren’t sure how to go about it in this economy? Stop by the UW Home Improvement Fair on Wednesday, April 13, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Mary Gates Hall Commons. Here you'll get inspirational ideas for making your home more eco-friendly. Exhibitors include contractors, interior designers, gardening experts, do-it-yourself resources, and more. Refreshments, demos, and door prizes, including an iPad! Learn more.

This event is sponsored by HomeStreet Bank, a partner of the UW Benefits Hometown Home Loan Program. All expenses are paid by HomeStreet Bank and participating exhibitors.

Social Security: A Foundation for Planning Your Future
Do you know what benefits to expect from Social Security and when they will be available to you and your family members? Register to attend a free seminar on April 27, at the UW Tower, to gain a better understanding of how the Social Security and Medicare systems work. Access seminar information and registration.

Retiring Soon?
Are you planning to retire within the next year? If so, prepare yourself—check out the retirement workshops available to you based on your plan. Visit Retirement Workshops.

Focus on Your Total Financial Picture
Schedule a free, half-hour consultation today and let one of our fund sponsors guide you to the right resources for help with a variety of financial needs including:

• Consolidating your retirement accounts
• College planning, estate planning, wealth management
• Identifying strategies to help you meet your retirement and financial goals

To sign up for your free consultation, register by phone or online.

Note: Guidance provided by fund sponsors is educational in nature, is not individualized, and is not intended to serve as the primary or sole basis of a participant’s investment or tax-planning decision.

New Videos Address Violence Prevention on Campus
Two new educational resource videos, produced by the Center for Personal Protection and Safety and specific to the college/classroom environment, are available on the SafeCampus website. Watch "Flashpoint on Campus" and "Shots Fired on Campus" to learn how to recognize potentially problematic behaviors in others, develop effective mitigation strategies, and formulate an action plan for extremely violent situations.

PERS, TRS, and LEOFF Annual Retirement Statements Available
Annual Retirement Statements are now available online at Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) for UW employees participating in the PERS, TRS, or LEOFF plans. Find out how much service credit (time) you have accumulated towards your retirement and review the contributions made to your plan. Remember, DRS no longer provides paper statements to its members. Visit the DRS website to register for the online service and download your retirement statement today.

Get the Most from Your Vision Care Benefits
Do you know that eye doctors can tell a lot about your general health just by looking into your eyes? As a UW employee, you and your eligible dependents are entitled to annual eye exams, less a small co-pay or coinsurance fee. So take advantage of your vision benefits today! Learn more.

Time to Sign Up: UW Relay for Life
Mark your calendars for the 2011 UW Relay for Life: May 21–22 at Husky Stadium. This fun-filled event involves teams and individuals walking, jogging, or running around the Stadium track to raise money for cancer awareness, education, and research. Time off the track is spent listening to music, camping out, and participating in a wide variety of family-appropriate and cancer awareness activities with friends, family, and other supporters. An inspirational “Luminaria” ceremony will be held in the evening with a multitude of candles lit in honor and remembrance of those who have been touched by the disease. Anyone can participate in this community event—all or part of the time. Join a team, bring your family and friends, or participate solo! Access event information and registration.

Mildly-ill Child Care
The Tender Loving Care (TLC) program at Virginia Mason Medical Center is available for all benefits-eligible UW employees. TLC provides quality care for your mildly-ill children (one to 12 years old) while you work. Employees pay only a one-time $5 registration fee.

UW CareLink

• Balance is the online publication published quarterly by UW CareLink, our faculty and staff assistance program. This month’s issue contains information and ideas about responding to rudeness, motivation to exercise, shifting to a positive mood, and much more.
• Do you sometimes feel that the technology is managing you rather than the other way around? Check out the latest tip sheet from UW CareLink for some quick tips about maintaining technology boundaries in your professional and personal life.

Take a Break
On those crisp, clear winter days as the sun sets, Mount Rainier becomes a glistening mass brushed by the sunset’s fire. It can be a magical moment as you linger on the steps leading from Red Square to Rainier Vista. Before you hovers a 14,411-foot mass of snow and rock and the rare clarity of the air makes it seem almost touchable. Those few moments in passing become signature moments in the lives of those who notice.

Recognition
Meaningful recognition is G.R.E.A.T. recognition—Genuine, Respectful, Encouraging, Accurate, Timely. Check out no cost/low cost ideas that say "Thank You" and make recognition G.R.E.A.T.

FACT OR FICTION: Taking breaks from your everyday work schedule is important.

FACT. One way to take an interesting and entertaining break is to attend a free 30-minute exploratory tour of current displays at the Henry Art Gallery. This Art Break is specifically for UW Staff.