5 things you need to know this week

A weekly series designed to highlight events, benefits, perks, and items of interest for University of Miami faculty and staff.

Attend the next Faculty Senate meeting.
Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 3:30 p.m.
All University faculty members are invited to attend the meeting this week. It will be held virtually. Learn more about the senate, its representatives, and get meeting information.

Build your network at a virtual speed networking event for leaders. 
Friday, Jan. 28, at 12 p.m.
Leaders who thrive have a strong professional network that helps them identify career opportunities, build successful teams, and anticipate organizational changes and trends. Your professional network is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal as a leader. University employees with direct reports can take advantage of a new interactive event during which participants will have the opportunity to enhance collaboration, build relationships, and grow their network through engaging and meaningful activities. Register to attend.

Participate in a faculty mentorship program. 
Apply by Friday, Jan. 28.
Offered by the Platform for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETAL), the Course Mentors program provides an opportunity for faculty members to discuss teaching challenges with colleagues from other disciplines. Faculty members can participate in Course Mentor groups with a variety of focus areas—including teaching large courses, online teaching, difficult classroom conversations, social identities, authentic assessment, experiential learning, and engaging with the literature. Each group will meet six times during the spring semester and is led by an exemplar faculty member—one who has demonstrated excellence and innovation in the classroom—and an instructional designer. Apply to participate. Contact petal@miami.edu  for more information.

Install GlobalProtect VPN—the new University VPN solution. 
Pulse Secure VPN will be decommissioned on Feb. 28.
The University has implemented a new enterprise virtual private network (VPN) solution, GlobalProtect VPN, to replace Pulse Secure VPN, which will remain active until Feb. 28. VPN is available for all UM students, faculty, and staff. Individuals who currently use Pulse VPN are encouraged to transition to GlobalProtect VPN before the decommission date. To get started, follow these instructions to install the GlobalProtect VPN client. Once installed, enter the Portal Address vpn.miami.edu in the VPN client to connect. Learn more.

UMIT is offering limited support for devices running Windows 11.
Now through March 2022.
The University of Miami Information Technology team is currently testing the compatibility of the new Windows 11 operating system with University applications. Until testing is complete in March 2022, the team will be offering limited support for devices with Windows 11. Once testing is complete, the University community will be notified and have access to full IT support. Refrain from upgrading to Windows 11 until testing is complete. If you upgrade before then, be aware that UM applications might not yet be fully functional with the new operating system and there will be limited support until testing is completed. Learn more.