Wednesday , April 10, 2018 – Volume 15, Number 15

Virginia Tech to mark 2018 Day of be held May 1 – 15, 2018. Any changes made Remembrance during this year’s open enrollment will take effect To honor the 32 students and faculty members July 1, 2018. who lost their lives 11 years ago, will If you need to make health care plan changes or hold the 2018 Day of Remembrance and the 3.2- enroll for a FSA for 2018-19, be sure to mark your Mile Run in Remembrance. calendar! Information on plan changes for 2018-19 is The Day of Remembrance, to be held on Monday, not available yet. Once information is available, it will Apr. 16, will include tributes, exhibits, and be posted on the open enrollment website at opportunities for quiet reflection. www.hr.vt.edu/benefits/health/open-enrollment. The state will also mail open enrollment information The 3.2-Mile Run in Remembrance in Blacksburg to all benefit-eligible employees’ address of record will be held on Saturday, Apr. 14. The run will on or around May 1. Open enrollment changes will begin at 9 a.m. on the Drillfield following a moment need to be made by paper application this year, of silence. which must be submitted to Human Resources by the close of business on May 15, 2018. For more information go to vtnews.vt.edu/ articles/2018/03/unirel-day-of-remembrance- In advance of open enrollment, the Division of 2018 bit.ly/vttiopenhouse2018. Human Resources is here to help employees understand their health insurance plan. If you Reminder: Spring retirement planning would like to learn more, enroll for a special seminars are available information session, “Understanding Health As a reminder, the Division of Human Resources Insurance,” which will be held on Friday, April 20 is hosting several retirement planning information from 9 – 11 a.m. in the North End Center, Room sessions. All employees are welcome to attend; 2400. Space is limited and registration is however, the information presented will be required; register at www.training.vt.edu. especially helpful to employees who plan on Once information on open enrollment changes is retiring within the next six years. The following available, Human Resources will hold sessions to sessions are available: review the changes on the following dates: • Monday, April 16, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. • Thursday, April 26, 10 – 11 a.m., • Friday, April 27, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Biocomplexity Institute Auditorium • Friday, April 27, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. • Friday, April 27, 11 a.m. – noon, Jamison

Athletic Center, Gordon D. Bowman All sessions are being held in the North End Center, Memorial Club Room Room 2420. Registration is required for these free • Tuesday, May 8, 9 – 10 a.m., North End sessions; register at www.training.vt.edu. Center, Room 2420 Attendees will receive information on the Virginia • Thursday, May 10, 11 a.m. – noon, North Retirement System and Optional Retirement Plan End Center, Room 2420 benefits during these sessions. Topics will include • Monday, May 14, 4 – 5 p.m., North End retirement options, calculating monthly benefits, Center, Room 2470 increasing retirement income, life insurance, • Tuesday, May 15, 11 a.m. – noon, North health insurance, and other retirement benefits End Center, Room 2420 and resources. For more information on retirement planning, visit the retirement planning page at These sessions are open to any benefit-eligible www.hr.vt.edu/benefits/retirement- employee. Registration is not required for these financial/planning. sessions.

Benefits open enrollment May 1 – 15 For questions about open enrollment, contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 540-231- The Commonwealth of Virginia Department of 9331. Human Resource Management has announced that open enrollment for health insurance and/or flexible spending accounts (FSA) will

Mark your calendar: Staff Appreciation Day The regimental band, the Highty-Tighties, will play, and is May 16 Skipper will be fired twice — when cadets enter the quad and at the end of the playing of about 15 On Wednesday, May 16, Virginia Tech will celebrate the minutes later. hard work and dedication of more than 3,400 staff members. Staff Appreciation Day will be held from 10 This is the second half of the 26-mile march made in a.m. to 3 p.m. in Owens Hall. All staff, non-student wage commemoration of the journey , employees, and emergency hires are invited to Virginia Tech’s first cadet and student, made to Virginia participate. Tech in 1872. First-year cadets walked the first 13-miles

of the march, which started at the Caldwell homestead in The event offers a wide range of activities including Craig County, in October. campus tours, Bingo, stress-relieving massages, the “Fabulous Feud” game team competition, live music by the “Half Throttle Band,” lunch by Personal Touch Public invited to tour Smart Road on April Catering, and more. Stay tuned for more information on 19 this year's tours and how to register. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and the Virginia Department of Transportation invite the general Further information will soon be available on the Staff public to tour the Virginia Smart Road and learn about Appreciation Day website at www.hr.vt.edu/our- transportation innovations on Thursday, April 19 at an workplace/staff-appreciation-day or contact the Open House from 3:30 – 6 p.m. President's Office at 540-231-7111. Individuals, families, and small groups will have the Share your thoughts on the Virginia Tech opportunity to learn about the institute and take a 25-minute website by attending a focus group on April tour of the Smart Road, one of the world’s most advanced 26 test facilities for transportation technology and safety research. Visits will last approximately one hour. Time slots Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are invited to are available from 3:30 to 6 p.m. To register for Open participate in a focus group centered on the pending House, please visit . To learn design and implementation of Virginia Tech’s main web bit.ly/vttiopenhouse2018 more, contact [email protected] or 540-231-1501 or presence, www.vt.edu. Your feedback is vital to the visit . design process. www.vtti.vt.edu/about/tours

Focus groups will take place throughout the day on International Street Fair happening April 22 Thursday, Apr. 26 in the Squires Student Center. Cranwell International Center will host the 59th annual Sessions should last no longer than 45 minutes. International Street Fair on Sunday, April 22 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Squires parking lot at Virginia Tech. This study will focus participant feedback on the Experience 30 different countries’ customs and website’s: traditions, including dance, clothing, games, and food • Aesthetic provided by an assortment of food trucks. • Navigation • Resourcefulness Participate in interactive presentations from international groups, watch live performances throughout the day, More information will be sent to those confirming and enjoy a Global Fashion Show. Arts, crafts, and other attendance before the focus group. To express your items will be available for purchase. And at the Global interest, please complete this form by Tuesday, Apr. 24: Kids Booth, sponsored by Children’s Museum https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/ Blacksburg, children can create a fun passport for SV_e4fsi3VqBmiuH1b. “traveling” at the fair.

Corps of Cadets cannon to fire to end the For more information, contact Fawna Zwart at [email protected] or 540-231-9066. Spring Caldwell March on April 14 The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets’ Class of 2021 will complete the second leg of the Caldwell March on Saturday, April 14, to mark the end of cadets' first year of training. Virginia Tech News is published weekly during fall and spring Skipper, the Corps of Cadets cannon, will be fired as the semester and bimonthly during the summer sessions, by the cadets return to Upper Quad between 2 and 4 p.m. D ivision of Human Resources and the Office of University Actual time will depend on weather and road conditions. Relations as a service to university employees who do not have computer access on campus. For more information, or to discuss su bmission of items call 540-231-4387.