Flu Shot Clinics are Coming to Campus
Starting September 27, UW Benefits is offering seasonal flu shot clinics at several convenient campus locations. All UW faculty and staff with Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) medical plan coverage are eligible to attend. No appointment is necessary. Bring your photo ID, your health insurance card, and your completed consent form so we can bill your plan at no cost to you. View the schedule and what to bring.

UWalk Campus Tours & Walking Fair
Move your feet during your lunch break! Join UWalk on Thursday, September 15, for a campus tour focused on art, history, or Pacific Rim geology; plus visit the Walking Fair in Red Square to pick up walking resources from Feet First, Zipcar, and Seattle Pedicab. Learn more about walking tours.

Weight Watchers Open Houses
Weight Watchers teaches you how to stick to healthy living and have a healthier relationship with food so you can lose weight and keep it off. Attend a Weight Watchers Open House at UW Medical Center on Friday, September 23, or Schmitz Hall on Tuesday, October 4, to learn about the program, ask questions, and meet the leader. No RSVP necessary, just drop in. See dates and locations.

Free Hearing Screenings
Back by popular demand! Get a free hearing screening between October 11 and December 12. Reserve your 60-minute hearing screening appointment by calling the UW Speech & Hearing Clinic at 206-543-5440. Space is limited. Learn more about the hearing screenings.

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

Autumn Registration is Open
Check out new offerings from Professional & Organizational Development such as Project Management for the Non-Project Manager and Kaizen Methods and Practice. Now is also a good time to register for classes typically offered just once a year, including Managing Stress, Motivating Employees, and Building on Emotional Intelligence: Transforming Communication Through Empathy. Access course information via POD's online course catalog.

Business Email Etiquette and Management
In this half-day class, discover tips and strategies for writing effective emails, formatting content for readability, choosing the right tone, organizing your inbox, and practicing good email etiquette. Access course information and registration.

Designing the End-User Experience
This one-day course introduces experience storyboarding, an approach that organizes the service experience for students, patients, donors, clients, or other recipients of your department's services. Learn how to provide your end-users with optimum value by delivering experiences that are more personal, meaningful, and memorable. Access course information and registration.

Punctuation Tune-Up
This half-day class provides a practical review of punctuation rules, along with an exploration of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways punctuation can influence sentence structure, rhythm, and meaning. Access course information and registration.

Hourly Career Counseling
Fall quarter may be just around the corner, but you don't have to fall into the same old habits. Get a fresh start by learning how to make the most of your strengths or by exploring a new career path. One-on-one career counseling sessions are offered by Training and Organization Development Consultant Susan Templeton for $95 per one-hour session if paid with a UW budget number (with supervisor approval) or $109.82 if paid with cash, check, or credit card (due to a mandatory institutional overhead fee). Learn more about this service.

Campus Violence Prevention Training for Fall 2011
SafeCampus offers three trainings in fall quarter 2011: Tuesday, October 11, noon–1:00 p.m. in Odegaard Undergraduate Library Room 220; Wednesday, November 9, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Health Sciences D209; and Wednesday, November 30, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in UW Tower O Auditorium. Register now.

Health Plan Changes for 2012
A new type of health plan option—a consumer-directed health plan or "CDHP"—will be the major focus in health plan changes slated to go into effect on January 1, 2012. Basic features of the CDHP and its accompanying health savings account (HSA) were announced on August 30 by the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB). A separate flyer was sent to your home on the same date. Each PEBB medical plan—Uniform Medical Plan, Group Health, and Kaiser Permanente—will offer its own CDHP.

Look for further information about this topic and other health plan news between now and the start of Open Enrollment, November 1. Keep tabs on the Benefits website—either at Faculty and Staff Open Enrollment, or if you expect to retire in 2012, see Retiree Open Enrollment.

Mark Your Calendar to Attend a UW Benefits Fair
Save the date to attend a UW Benefits Fair at Mary Gates Commons (November 1), Harborview Medical Center (November 2), or UW Medical Center/Health Sciences (November 3). This is an excellent time to explore all the benefits available to you and your family. Remember, any changes to your medical and dental plans and/or additions to previously uncovered dependents must be made during the Open Enrollment period which runs throughout the month of November. Changes become effective January 1, 2012. See Benefits Fair locations and times.

Do you want to reduce your current taxable income by deferring some income? Attend a free lunchtime seminar on September 23 at the UW Tower to hear about the Washington State Deferred Compensation Program (WSDCP). Learn about deferring income so it can grow untaxed until retirement, contribution limits, investment options, and more. Access event information and registration.

Note: You can participate in both the Voluntary Investment Program (offered by UW) and the Deferred Compensation Program in the same tax year if you wish.

Social Security: A Foundation for Planning Your Future
Do you know what benefits to expect from Social Security and Medicare, and when these will be available to you and your family? Attend a free lunchtime seminar on Thursday, October 27, to learn from a Social Security Administration representative how these systems work, including:

• What are the eligibility requirements for Social Security and retirement?
• When do Social Security and Medicare benefits begin?
• What are the criteria for receiving family benefits?
• What programs are administered under the Social Security Act?
• Who is protected under the Act?

Access event information and registration.

Retirement Consultations
We want to make it simple for you to manage your retirement plan. That's why the Benefits Office offers one-on-one individual consultations with fund sponsor representatives at no additional cost—to help make sure you stay on track to meet your goals. You and your spouse can meet with a Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, Vanguard, or Calvert representative—either by phone or in person—to get answers to key questions such as:

• Is my plan for retirement on track?
• How much do I need to save?
• Do I have the right investment mix to help achieve my financial goals?

Whatever your situation, we can help get you on track to meet your goals for a more secure retirement. Register for a free appointment today.

Retirement Investing and Savings Strategies
Are you approaching retirement and wondering how you will make ends meet? If so, this seminar is for you. Join our Vanguard representative to find out what to expect in your retirement years as far as expenses, withdrawal options, and asset allocation go. Learn how to access the right services and tools to help you make informed decisions. You do not need to be a Vanguard account holder to attend this seminar on October 6 or 20.

Time to Refinance?
With Federal Reserve rates as low as they are right now, why not check your mortgage rate(s) to see if this is a good time to refinance your home and secure what may be the lowest fixed rate in decades? Through the Hometown Home Loan Program's lunchtime seminars, you can receive valuable information on buying your first home, refinancing your existing home, or tapping into your current home equity. Register to attend the Refinancing and Home Equity seminar on October 18 at UW Tacoma, and October 19 at Seattle’s UW Tower. To further help realize the homeownership dream—check out more seminars, including:

• Basic Home Maintenance
• Understanding Credit
• Budgeting for a Home

Access event information and registration.

Homeownership Counseling
Thinking of buying or refinancing a home? Why not schedule a personal homeownership counseling session with a HomeStreet Affinity Loan Officer who can walk you through the process? These 30-minute, one-on-one sessions are free, private, and informative. Your spouse, partner, or potential co-signer is welcome to attend with you. Access event information and registration.

Financial Yoga: Stretching Your Hard Earned Dollars
In today’s tough economic climate, having the skills to stretch a paycheck is more important than ever. Reduce your financial stress by learning key tips to becoming a more effective money manager. Attend Financial Yoga: Stretching Your Hard Earned Dollars at UW Tower (9/20), UW Tacoma (10/5), Harborview (10/18), or South Lake Union (10/25).

In addition to Financial Yoga, we're offering more free seminars, each designed to help you save and protect your hard-earned money:

• Credit Reporting 101
• Identity Theft—When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name
• Life’s Financial Milestones
• Credit and Banking for High School Students
• Designing Your Financial Roadmap

Access event information and registration.

Best Bets for After School
It’s a common quandary: What will my kids do after school? Should they participate in extracurricular activities? What kind of care is available to bridge the gap between school and when I am home from work? UW CareLink has many useful articles and resources available online. In addition, one of the new services offered through UW CareLink is the Child Care Referral and Consultation. This includes referrals to after-school care and school-based programs in your area.

Access UW CareLink through the APS HealthCare portal. To log in and register, use "UW" as the company code. Look for the LIVEConnect instant messaging tool in the upper right corner of the homepage. Or, call (toll-free, 24/7) 1-866-598-3978, TTY: 1-877-334-0489.

More Options for After School
The Caregiver Directory is a free service provided by the Graduate and Professional Student Senate for University of Washington faculty, staff, and students. Here you can find potential caregivers available for childcare, elder or adult care, or to run errands or do light housekeeping. Look for the LIVEConnect instant messaging tool in the upper right corner of the homepage for access to counselors who specialize in adult/elder care referral services. To learn more, or to register as a caregiver or find one, visit the GPSS Caregiver Directory website.

Back to School Safety Tips
As students fill classrooms once again, here are some timely safety tips for the students in your life. These tips are from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Information Overload
The speed and convenience of online information and communication definitely has its benefits. Especially at the beginning of an academic year for both you and your family, the volume of online information we need or are receiving, is growing. However, the endless stream of information that we face every day can also feel overwhelming. Don’t miss UW CareLink’s Information Sharing tip sheet with many practical steps to effectively manage the online load.

26th Annual Dawg Dash
Last chance to race on the Husky Stadium Track! The Dawg Dash is a 10K run or 5k run/walk through the beautiful UW campus, which will be decked out in celebration of the University's 150th Anniversary. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, family, kids, and dogs are all welcome at this sporting celebration!  Join us for the Post-Dash Bash, featuring food, beverages, awards, and the ever-popular Husky Pups Kid’s Dash run with Harry the Husky for kids 10 and younger. Each year, the Dawg Dash raises money for student scholarship programs.

Cost: $25 UWAA members ($35 day of race); $20 UW students ($30 day of); $30 general admission ($40 day of); Husky Pups Kid’s Dash run for kids is free.

26th Annual Dawg Dash presented by T-Mobile
October 23, 9:30 a.m. 5K/10K run begins
Husky Stadium
For more details or to register, visit www.dawgdash.com

National Philanthropic Award Update
After months of "likes" on Facebook and voting online, the UW Combined Fund Drive went from the qualifying round, to the top 25, to the Top 10 in the Classy Awards "Most Successful Fundraiser" category. The nomination is now in front of a panel of judges who are reviewing the semi-finalists in each award category. The winners will be announced on September 17 at the awards ceremony in San Diego. Thank you for voting for the UW Combined Fund Drive and our outstanding volunteers.

Take a Break
September in Seattle is often one of the most beautiful months. Take advantage of the outdoors. If you are sitting inside all day and looking out at the sunshine, why not take to the water after work—with a canoe or rowboat rental from the Waterfront Activities Center. You’ll be relaxed and refreshed after an hour or so of soft breezes and the sound of water rippling past your boat.