News from the Vice Chancellor
December 2011
Attention multitaskers!
Restore 10 IQ points by singletasking
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Attention multitaskers!... 1
Carpooling saves.......... 1
Welcome....................... 2
Good news.................... 3
Reminders.................... 3
Employee of month...... 4
Sustainable Stout......... 5
News from the Vice Chancellor
is published for ASLS division
employees.
Publisher: Ed Nieskes
Vice Chancellor of Administrative
& Student Life Services
nieskese@uwstout.edu
(715) 232-1683
Editor: Tom Dye
Communication Specialist
dyet@uwstout.edu
(715) 232-1681
225 Administration Building
Menomonie, WI 54751
Fax: (715) 232-1527
In today’s digital world, information
overload is part of the landscape, and
carving out long stretches of undisturbed time is difficult, if not impossible. Bombarded by email, phone calls,
text messages, and social media, most
of us continually juggle information
streams and jump from task to task to
meet work demands.
“
People can’t
multitask very
well... they’re
deluding
themselves.”
”
A multitasker caught in the act
Though we may be too busy to notice, this incessant multitasking is taking a toll—causing us to lose
focus, productivity, and even brain power.
Although our technology-rich and collaborative workplace requires that we multitask at times, most of us
overdo it. (See Multitasking on page 4.)
Carpooling saves a lot
Incentives promote alternative transportation
Parking Services, in collaboration with the Environmental Sustainability
Steering Committee, recently introduced a new carpool program to encourage ride sharing.
Parking Services’ Keith McCarten noted
that the program offers several incentives
to current and prospective carpoolers. “In
recognition of a carpooler’s contribution
to making this a more sustainable campus, our program offers permit discounts
to carpooling commuters; the more individuals in a carpool, the greater the
discount.” (See Carpool on page 6.)
ASLS VICE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE • 225 Administration, Menomonie, WI 54751 • 715-232-1683
Welcome
Roger Hepokoski, facilities maintenance specialist, joins Physical Plant after 17
years as a model-making supervisor at Schmit Prototypes of Menomonie. Roger
earned a degree in Industrial Education from UW-Stout, where he was a member
of the men’s gymnastics team (he holds the school record in the horizontal bar)
and coached for a year. John and wife Mary have two grown children: John, who
lives in Hudson, and Joy, who lives in Columbus, S.C. Roger enjoys cross-country
skiing, designing electromechanical & energy-storage devices, and running his
small handyman business.
Brandon Kelly, facilities repair worker, has been in construction most of his life,
including many years as a concrete flatwork foreman and as a lead carpenter.
Before joining Stout, Brandon spent 3 years as a weatherization crew supervisor
at Western Dairyland. He and his wife Nicole live in Elk Lake, just down the road
from the home where Brandon was raised. An avid hunter and fisherman, Brandon
loves being outdoors. He and Nicole also raise quarter horses and run a boarding stable, where they spend their free time training & caring for the horses and
offering riding lessons.
Terry McCann, employee relations manager, joins Human Resources from Community Health Partnership of Eau Claire, where he was HR manager. Prior to that,
Terry served as HR advisor, recruiter, and trainer for Menard’s. Terry has B.S.
degrees in Business Management and Business Marketing from Southern Illinois
University and is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR). A native of
Decatur, Ill., Terry and his wife Nikki live in Eau Claire with their children Elijah
(11) and Keira (3). Terry enjoys coaching and playing baseball, travelling, hunting,
attending church services, and sharing stories by a campfire.
Kim Schulte-Shoberg, director of Business and Financial Services, returns to
Stout after 3 years as senior financial analyst and internal control analyst at Mayo
Clinic Health System. From 2003 to 2008, Kim worked at Stout—first as internal auditor and then as interim director of BFS. Before that, she was a financial
analyst at Target and a senior auditor with accounting firm KPMG. Kim earned
an accounting degree from Minnesota and an MBA from UW-Eau Claire. A native
of Eau Claire, Kim and husband Lee have two sons, Carson (6) and Bennett (4).
Kim’s interests include restoring rental property, biking, and spending time with
family at the cabin.
Dave Smith, custodial supervisor, brings a range of experience to Physical Plant,
including working as a technician and shop foreman for several Menomonie auto
dealerships and providing equipment maintenance for Menomonie Builders. Most
recently, he was responsible for maintenance in the Elmwood school district. A
native of Eau Galle, Dave and his wife Lynette live south of Menomonie and have
two grown children, Stacy and Travis, and two grandsons, Clayton (3) and Max (6
months). In his spare time, Dave enjoys woodworking, restoring old cars (he’s currently tinkering with his ‘64 Chevelle), and raising beef cattle.
2
John Wagner, facility maintenance specialist, brings 34 years’ experience in the
plumbing industry, a Master Plumber’s license, and other trade-related licenses
& certifications to Physical Plant. Born and raised in Menomonie, John obtained
a BS in Business Administration from Stout. He and wife Teri reside in the Menomonie area. They have one son, Andrew; two daughters, Jamie and Casey; and a
grandson, Elijah. John enjoys boating, camping, weather spotting, and serving as
the Dunn County Amateur Radio Emergency Services emergency coordinator.
NEWS FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR
Good news
A fter guiding the women’s golf program through a great season — capped
with an impressive performance at the WIAC Championships, Coach Howie
Samb was selected 2011 WIAC Women’s Golf Co-Coach of the Year.
O n Nov. 10, the following ASLS employees were recognized at a reception honoring past and present Classified Employees of the Month:
• Patty Cramer, Business and Financial Services (Nov. 2009)
• Erick Edens, Physical Plant, (Dec. 2009)
• Jody Engeldinger, Student Life Services (Jan. 2010)
• Pyong Garney, Physical Plant (Mar. 2010)
• Dale Hinz, Physical Plant (Dec. 2010)
• Carla Greiber, Business and Financial Services (Mar. 2011)
• Jane Heutmaker, Business and Financial Services (Apr. 2011)
• Darlene Frey, Student Life Services (July 2011)
.H undreds of local children (and parents) took part in Housing’s North
Campus Trick or Treat, enjoying goodies and games in a fun, safe setting.
D ining Services fed 1,993 patrons at their Thanksgiving Feast. Nearly
90% of the responding diners rated the meal Good or Excellent, which is
quite a compliment for a Thanksgiving dinner away from home.
T he cross country team, led by coach Matt Schauf, capped a great
season when All-American Tim Nelson took 4th at the NCAA Division III
Championships, the highest finish ever for a Stout cross country runner at
a national meet. Nelson was also named 2011 WIAC Men’s Cross Country
Athlete of the Year.
S ections of the newly remodelled MSC are now open to SLS employees,
who are busy preparing for the building’s grand opening. As shown below,
truckloads of furniture and equipment are now rolling into the building.
F rom Dec. 16 through 21,
SLS will keep Price Commons open around the
clock to provide a comfortable, quiet environment
for students studying
for finals. The extended
hours — and free coffee
from midnight to 6 a.m. —
are sponsored by the Stout
Student Association.
Reminders
The redesigned Stout
website is now available. Remember to
update your bookmarks
and login to the intranet
to view secure content.
From 10 p.m. to midnight
on Thursday, Dec. 15,
SLS hosts Midnight
Breakfast at Commons
& North Point.
Employee reimbursements from university
funds are now directly
deposited in employee
bank accounts. Paper
checks are no longer
issued for these reimbursements.
The winter sports season is under way, go to
athletics.uwstout.edu
for schedules.
3
ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT LIFE SERVICES
Multitasking (continued from page 1)
In fact research reveals that, in a typical work day, computer users surf
40 websites and switch between windows—such as to check email—over
36 times an hour. 1 Jumping from one information source to another, we
rarely focus on a single complex task without interruption.
Classified Employee
of the Month
Darlene Frey, financial specialist in University Dining
Services, has been named
Classified Employee of the
Month for July.
Of course, many people believe they excel at multitasking and accomplish more in a day than they could if they didn’t multitask. But studies
tell another story: We deceive ourselves that we are more productive
when we multitask, while our actual productivity drops by as much as
40%. 2 As MIT neuroscientist Earl Miller notes, “People can’t multitask
very well, and when people say they can, they’re deluding themselves.” 3
In reality, we lose focus and waste time with each shift of attention. Just
turning from a spreadsheet to email drains time because, as investigators have found, the brain must shift from one set of goals to another
and activate a new set of rules. The more complex the tasks, the longer
the transition. Switch tasks enough, and we lose significant time—and
brain power—getting on track.
The individual nominating
her stated: “Darlene is very
organized, efficient and
a hard worker with a high
level of dedication to her
job. She enjoys innovation
and new challenges. As a
result, she is always looking
for ways to be more efficient with our processes in
house and to better service
our internal and external
customers.”
Plus, the more we multitask, the worse we are at it. According to researchers at Stanford University, heavy multitaskers are significantly
less competent at multitasking than moderate multitaskers. The researchers concluded that this seemingly counterintuitive finding results
from the fact that heavy multitaskers are highly attuned to processing
new information—whether it’s useful or not. 4 This leads them to search
for fresh information while ignoring older, but more valuable, facts.
The nominator also stated,
“Darlene is definitely a
‘can do’ person. Whenever
something new is needed or
a challenge presented she
is quick to look for solutions, sometimes before
anyone even asks for them.
She also recognizes the importance of teams and has
respect for her peers and
their expertise.”
A reduction in productivity isn’t the only downside to multitasking. Some
studies, such as those by psychologist David Meyer at the University of
Michigan, find that multitasking exacerbates the release of stress hormones that cause long-term health problems and contribute to memory
loss. Consequently, if we multitask less, we might feel more relaxed—
and remember where we left our keys. 6
4
As a consequence, heavy multitaskers are more easily distracted by
irrelevant information than moderate multitaskers and lag behind them
when it comes to sifting material for the most useful nuggets. To make
matters worse, studies also show that non-multitaskers are actually
faster at switching tasks than multitaskers. 5
We might also be better learners. That’s because our ability to recall
information we learn while multitasking is diminished by more than
stress-induced memory loss. Scientists have found that, while multitasking, we store new information in a less-accessible region of the brain. As
UCLA professor Russell Poldrack notes, “Even if you learn while multitasking, that learning is less flexible and more specialized, so you cannot retrieve the information as easily.” 7 So next time you can’t remember something you learned recently, don’t blame advancing age—blame
multitasking. (Continued on page 5.)
NEWS FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR
Multitasking (continued from page 4)
We can also blame multitasking for temporary reductions in intelligence.
A study conducted for HP ® found that people interrupted by email and
phone calls dropped the equivalent of 10 IQ points, which corresponds
to losing a night’s sleep. As one of the researchers stated, “Workers distracted by e-mail and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that
found in marijuana smokers.” 8
With so many negatives associated with multitasking, we should find
that our productivity increases and our stress decreases when we spend
more time singletasking. But freeing ourselves from distractions and old
habits is easier said than done. As Massachusetts psychiatrist Edward
Hallowell notes, multitasking “can be controlled only by creatively engineering one’s environment.”
To reengineer your work environment and reduce the amount of time
lost to interruptions and task switching, consider making some of the
following changes:
• Turn off distractors, such as your cell phone, when practical.
• Turn off desktop email alerts. ( See steps for Office 2007 and 2010.)
• Limit the number of times you check and respond to asynchronous
communications like email throughout the day. That way, you can
read and respond to several messages at one go, keeping your focus
on interpersonal communication for longer stretches and limiting
interruptions to other tasks.
• Set aside certain times of the day for non-work tasks, like surfing
the web and interacting via social media, and stick to those times.
• Increase the duration of periods you devote to important tasks, avoiding urges to switch tasks when there is no real benefit to doing so.
• Challenge yourself to enhance productivity by setting shorter goals
for completing tasks. Doing so might just ramp up the amount of
time you spend singletasking.
• During meetings and when engaged in face-to-face or phone conversations, resist the temptation to multitask. Instead, listen intently to
the discussion.
By trying one or more of these changes for a few weeks, you just might
improve both your output and your outlook. Reducing distractions and
focusing on single tasks, you should find that you get more done in a
day, work smarter, and feel better.
s
s
s
ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT LIFE SERVICES
Stick ‘em up
Students in the Environmental
Justice Learning Community
worked with Joan Menefee
(English), Krista James
(Biology), Susan Staggs (Psychology), and Sustainability
Coordinator Sarah Rykal to
develop new “We Turn Lights
OFF Here” stickers.
Students plan to
place the stickers on
switch plates across
campus this month,
encouraging everyone
to conserve energy by
turning off lights when
exiting rooms.
Recycle that plastic
UW-Stout’s recycling
partner now accepts all
rigid plastic containers
numbered 1 through 7. This
is an expansion of the #1
and #2 plastics allowed
previously. Plastics that can
now be recycled include
yogurt containers, medicine
bottles, cooking oil bottles,
and cleaner bottles. Deposit
recyclable plastic containers
in any campus bin designated
for commingled recycling.
5
ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT LIFE SERVICES
People working together for service excellence and innovation.
Carpool (continued from page 1)
Snapshots
“We also recognize that people will occasionally need to drive separately
and therefore offer several free day-permits per semester and discounted
permits thereafter,” Keith said.
Keith and Sustainability Coordinator Sarah Rykal noted that shared commuting offers other advantages, as well. For starters, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Sharing the ride with just one other employee cuts
this particular depression in your carbon footprint in half.
MSC - the stars are aligning
Carpooling also saves employees money by slashing commuting costs. In
addition to reducing permit expenses, carpooling reduces gas expenses
and vehicle wear and tear. As Keith pointed out, the American Automobile
Association (AAA) estimates that the average total-ownership and operating costs of a vehicle run nearly 60 cents per mile. At that rate, a person
who commutes 25 miles each way could save nearly $4,000 a year by
carpooling with one other person.
In addition, ride sharing decreases
the demand for parking spots. With
fewer commuters competing for limited
resources, finding a desirable parking
space will get easier.
Darrin Witucki points out
one of many MSC design elements
that use recycled material
The overall campus demand for additional lots should drop, too. As Keith
notes, “I think everyone will agree that less asphalt and more green campus is a plus.”
Keith also mentioned that reducing the number of vehicles parked on
campus might “ultimately lower everyone’s parking fees because it reduces the costs of expanding, replacing, and maintaining parking lots.”
Razing a recent property
acquisition to meet future needs
With all the benefits to carpooling—including reducing emissions, saving
money, and conserving green space, the drawbacks will shrink like our
carbon footprints.
If interested in the carpool program or incentives for bikers and walkers,
e-mail Keith at mccartenk@uwstout.edu.
6
ASLS VICE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE •
225 Administration Building
• (715) 232-1681