Winter 2016 Employee Newsletter

A Word from the President

At every campus event we attend, Becki and I are always so impressed by the show of support from our faculty and staff. Whether at a sporting event, a theatre production, or a concert, you are there to cheer on our students, encouraging them in their pursuits. This doesn’t happen at every university, and we are grateful that so many of you engage with our students outside the classroom. Thank you for taking time out of your own schedule to become their biggest fans. You play a key role in their success.

We are already celebrating the holidays here on campus, as you can see by the lights along University Boulevard and the Christmas carols playing from our speakers. We kicked off this season of rejoicing in our Savior’s birth at our Christmas tree lighting last week in front of DeMoss Hall. Our annual Winterfest — still the largest Christian New Year’s event on the East Coast — is just around the corner.

I am proud to work with so many people who see their role as not just a job, but a calling. Before this year comes to a close, we hope you will be able to join us for the annual employee Christmas Reception on Friday, Dec. 16. This is always a special time to spend catching up with co-workers across departments.

May God bring you and your family many blessings this Christmas and in the new year,

Jerry Falwell
President

Food and Fun at the President’s Christmas Reception

The President’s Christmas Reception will be held on Friday, Dec. 16, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Food Court at Reber-Thomas. Celebrate the Christmas season with your co-workers! An email with all the event details will be sent out soon.

Liberty Loyalty Program Preferred Vendors

The Liberty Loyalty Program partners with companies that offer high-quality products and exceptional service. Foster Fuels and Mabry Automotive have a longstanding partnership with Liberty Athletics and are two of the Loyalty Program’s preferred vendors. We are proud to announce that both companies are offering discounts to our entire Liberty University family. Staff, students, and alumni can save 20 cents off every gallon of propane ordered from Foster Fuels and enjoy discounts on oil changes, vehicle services, and accessories from Mabry Automotive. Check back for future employee discounts from more of our preferred vendors.

Liberty Unveils Four New Seals

Liberty recently unveiled four new seals, each one containing elements that represent the university’s mission of Training Champions for Christ. Available immediately are seals for the Rawlings School of Divinity, the School of Law, the College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the School of Nursing.

The revised seals, which look similar to the academic seal, provide a fresh and timeless design as well as establish consistency among the university’s marks.

Reference the Brand Identity Guide to learn more about the new designs and how to use them.

Ring in the New Year at Winterfest

Celebrate the end of the year with your favorite bands at Winterfest on Dec. 30-31! Featured artists include Newsboys, Crowder, and for KING & COUNTRY; with speakers like David Nasser and Rich Wilkerson Jr., Winterfest is the ultimate New Year’s Eve celebration. Visit Winterfest online for a full list of bands, events, and speakers. Get your tickets today!

Employee News and On-Campus Advertising

Did you know that important announcements, special events, and great discounts are just a click away? The Employee Bulletin Board is your source for everything you need to know!

Do you have an event or information you want to promote but need to know how to advertise around campus? On-campus advertising gives you plenty of options, including:

• Convocation slides
• Employee bulletins
• Employee newsletters
• Internal readerboards
• Roadside Athletics banners
• Residence hall meetings
• Splash page announcements

Contact your project coordinator or email marketing@liberty.edu for more information.

Change Lives with the Employee Giving Campaign

In October 2016, LU Send Now sent two teams of students to North and South Carolina to help with disaster relief following destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew. The first team worked alongside Samaritan’s Purse in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and the second team provided relief in Lumberton, N.C.

Meeting the needs of others — from disaster relief to students and staff who are struggling financially — is a core component of Liberty University’s mission.

The Office of Development has launched a new Employee Giving Campaign, providing you with the opportunity to give back to Liberty and make a change in the lives of others, in Lynchburg and around the world. Many people are facing needs this holiday season, and the Employee Giving Campaign is an excellent way to help meet those needs.

The campaign features several giving areas: athletics, education, people, and service. You can choose to make an undesignated gift or donate to a specific fund, ranging from department-specific scholarships to funds designated for employees facing unexpected financial hardships. No matter how much you give, your donation will have an immediate impact on the lives of Liberty staff and students.

Since the campaign launched, we have received over 200 employee gifts. These employees have shown where their heart is by contributing to more than 25 designated areas of giving, led by the new Employee Benevolence Fund and LU Send.

If you have yet to participate, getting started is simple. We are confident that with your help we can achieve 100 percent participation. Sign up for the new payroll deduction option or make a one-time or recurring gift with your credit or debit card by visiting the Employee Giving Campaign webpage. Together, we can change lives. It only takes a spark. Light the flame.

Winter Sports Update

The temperatures are dropping, but for the Flames, the 2016-17 season is just heating up!

Basketball

On the court, Liberty Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams are looking to build on their successes from the 2015-16 season that saw the men’s team finish fifth in the Big South and the women’s team complete its ninth consecutive 20-win season.

Men’s Hockey

For the 2016-17 season, Liberty Men’s DI Hockey joined the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League, bringing the same intensity that earned the program eight American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Championship appearances.

Swimming & Diving

Liberty’s highly accomplished Swimming & Diving team is attempting to replicate last season’s success — including a U.S. Olympic Trials appearance by sophomore Alicia Finnigan — while looking forward to the addition of the 75,000-square-foot Liberty Natatorium, coming in 2017.

Men’s Volleyball

Riding on the success of the 2015-16 season that brought an appearance in the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Championships, Men’s Volleyball is midway through an exciting season, highlighted by an upcoming Midnight Mayhem game against Virginia Tech on Jan. 27.

Wrestling

In 2015-16, Liberty Wrestling posted its fifth straight top-three finish at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) National Duals. The team also won the Mid-Atlantic Conference tournament and took fourth at the NCWA Grand Nationals Finals. Under the guidance of Coach Jesse Castro, they hope to continue their success in the 2016-17 season.

Women’s Soccer

Liberty Women’s Soccer heads into winter enjoying the success of Fall 2016. The No. 2 seed Lady Flames defeated No. 1 seed High Point 2-1 in overtime on Sunday, Nov. 6, in the Big South Women’s Soccer Championship title game at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C. With the victory, Liberty (14-7) claimed its Big South record sixth conference title and the first title under Lady Flames’ first-year head coach Nate Norman.

Football

Liberty Football wrapped up Big South play with a 4-1 record (6-5 overall), securing a share of the conference title, Liberty’s eighth in program history.

Women’s Cross Country

The Liberty Women’s Cross Country team raced to its first Big South title since 2012, and the men’s squad was the runner-up at the 2016 Big South Cross Country Championships on Friday, Oct. 28, at Asheville Christian Academy in Swannanoa, N.C.

Flames Basketball for a Dollar!

Catch Liberty Men’s and Women’s Basketball in action this Christmas Break for just $1 (plus a $1 convenience charge). Purchase General Admission tickets to any of the following home games for $1 using promo code: STAFF16.

Men’s Basketball

• Dec 16 – Clarks Summit  – 7 p.m.
• Jan 3  – UNC Asheville  – 7 p.m.
• Jan 7 – Campbell  – 2 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

• Jan 7 – High Point – 7 p.m.
• Jan 10 – Presbyterian – 7 p.m.

For more information, call the Flames Ticket Office at 434-582-SEAT (7328).

Coming Soon: buyLU

Soon Liberty University will introduce buyLU, a new online shopping tool that will replace Banner as the way you purchase goods and services. The new online shopping tool will provide you with:

• An “Amazon.com-like” shopping experience
• Easier requisitions and change orders
• Faster approval time
• Quicker turnaround and delivery

To learn more about buyLU, watch our video.

Sodexo Adds Dining Options

Sodexo expanded its dining services this fall, adding several new cuisine options across campus. The new Montview Student Union offers six dining venues, including Garbanzo, Star Ginger, UFood Grill, The Grid Marketplace, Woodfire Pizza, and Argo Tea. In addition, Doc’s Diner added Hilltop Pizza Delivery, which delivers pizza to residence halls and buildings on campus. These new dining venues, as well as last year’s additions (including Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Pizza Hut WingStreet in Jerry Falwell Library), offer staff and students an unparalleled campus dining experience.

In fact, Liberty has been recognized nationally for its efforts to provide a top-notch dining atmosphere on campus. The Reber-Thomas Dining Hall received its second-consecutive No. 1 ranking on the BestColleges.com list of Best Dining Halls earlier this year.

The ranking was based on multiple factors, including the use of fresh ingredients and the diversity of offerings, as well as the dining hall’s innovation in food sourcing, waste reduction, and other sustainable practices.

Liberty ranked ahead of Kennesaw State University, the University of California-Berkeley, Emory University, and UMass-Amherst, which rounded out the top five. Other schools highlighted included No. 11 UC San Diego, No. 12 Yale, No. 13 Virginia Tech, No. 14 UCLA, and No. 15 MIT.

Employees of the Month

Congratulations to our Employees of the Month. You are a tremendous blessing to this university, and we are thankful for you. This recognition is proof that you go above and beyond expectations to consistently produce excellent work with a Christlike attitude and spirit. Thank you for all you do to make Liberty a shining light.

October Employees of the Month were: Oswald Attin, Steven Bowler, Dana Burgess, Leah Day, Ryan Finney, Fen Hardy, Ken Hudson, Sharon Koger, Shannon Middleton, Ryan Phelps, and Nikki Wilkins.

November Employees of the Month were:  Morgan Blackwell, Scott Hayes, Bernice Hotaling, Paula Johnson, Joseph Knight, Ingra Langley, Megan McDonald, Ben McQuigg, Carmelita Morrissey, David Pritchard, Soren Vogel, Lindsey White, and Joseph Woosley.

December Employees of the Month are: Sam Bernhardt, Charlie Dechant, Jose Espinoza, Mike Floyd, Denise Green, Gerald Griffin, Travis Isaacs, Shanika Johnson, Brandi Llewellyn, Steve Manwarren, Betty Pittman, John Radke, Greg Smith, and Juan Jose Tapia-Ancalle.

You Stand Out

Senior university leadership has been looking for staff members who exemplify exceptional commitment to Liberty’s customer service standards. Last month, tickets* were handed out as our way of thanking those whose hard work and dedication (often behind the scenes) made a difference.

Congratulations to You Stand Out recipients: Andrew Ackerman, Christi Adams, Matthew Billings, Sean Brooks, Angela Brown, Katie Byrd, Thelma Chaos, Sherry Chapman, Matthew Coplin, Carol Cordle, Lee Cox, Heather Cutrer, Jill Dobson, Diana Flickinger, Mary Franklin, Colton Grellier, Jeremiah Heckard, Myunglin Jackson, Dina Johnston, Skip Kastroll, Kevin Keys, Timothy Lafountain, Zachery Lantz, Rena Lindevaldsen, Glenn Loving, Barb Lutz, Nathan Martell, Steve McDonald, Jonathan McGorman, Theresa McNabb, Jacqueline Mendez, Christopher Misiano, Reuben Obadiah, Nicholas Pavlovic, Vickie Pettus, Sara Pruitt, Jonathan Ramsey, Josh Rice, Katharine Shaibani, Dawn Smith, Mathew Swinson, Derek Via, and Jackie Wilson.

*Remember, these tickets are redeemable for a Barnes & Noble gift card. Be on the lookout — you never know when someone might notice that You Stand Out!