COF June 2023 Recap

PRIDE BLOCK PARTY

650+ attendees

On June 22, Wentworth Institute of Technology proudly hosted our community's Pride Block Party Spearheaded by Wentworth and sponsored by all COF institutions, this is the second year for this fun and meaningful event.

The Wentworth Quad was transformed into a colorful extravaganza with many exciting activities like face painting, pride flag tie dye, and even a mechanical unicorn! Attendees were also treated to an impressive showcase of musical performances by DJ Mixtress, DBlockThaParty, Oscar Hall, and MusicallySincere Some of the tougher parts of the day were deciding on whether to get a grilled cheese, burrito, or ice cream sandwich at the three food trucks: Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, Amigos Locos, and Cookie Monstah. In addition to the fanfare, there were meaningful exhibits and activities such as the “What Does Pride Mean To Me?” mural display, gallery, and a Pride History exhibit.

dreds in attendance, the Pride Block d as a testament to the power of acceptance, and celebration, fostering a nity and pride among the academic ty and beyond

KNOW YOUR ACRONYMS:

NEHERC

Stands for: New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

Purpose: the largest database for higher ed careers in New England Membership Benefit: access to posting staff and faculty jobs featured on the NE HERC website.

On Friday, June 2nd, Colleges of the Fenway, Inc., in partnership with NEHERC, hosted the 2nd annual in-person Faculty and Staff of Color Networking Reception hosted by Wentworth Institute of Technology. This event is a culmination of the year-long Faculty and Staff of Color Coffee Hour (FSOC).

FSOC meets virtually on the first Friday of the month during the academic year. This time provides faculty and staff with the opportunity to network with members of higher education institutions across New England. During the coffee hour, faculty and staff of color across consortiums login to Zoom with their favorite morning beverage to discuss various challenges and successes, share career tips, resources and info on upcoming Boston-based professional events

Did you know that all COF campuses light part of their campus red for Juneteenth?

SPORTS & REC

245 26 40

COF Sports & Rec kicked off summer intramurals this June, offering Co-Ed Softball, Spikeball, and Cornhole.

With the season underway, WIT's Sweeney Field has hosted 275 unique participants weekly Our leagues have seen a great turnout this summer with teams of both students and faculty/staff.

Our regular season wrapped up this June but come watch our champions being crowned July 18th and 19th.

Registration

37 trained

On June 6, Colleges of the Fenway had a 3-hour training on violence prevention Presented by US Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, the training entitled "Threat Assessment: A BehaviorBased Approach to Preventing Targeted Violence" was hosted by MassArt.

The goal was to learn how to identify targeted violence before an incident occurs and to share local, state, and federal resources. Thirty-seven COF staff members with all five institutions represented to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an incident of violence on campus

CONTRACT CORNER

COF's Collaborative Business Services Department facilitates joint contracts to enhance student services and save money. The COF promotes this collaboration between colleges in order to improve efficiency, decrease costs, and upgrade services.

RECENT CONTRACT UPDATES:

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Student Services:

Transact Campus license was renewed at Emmanuel, Simmons and Wentworth (printing only) for the upcoming academic year Emmanuel and Simmons manage all point-of-sale services on campuses- like dining, meal plans, and Fenway Cash- with this vendor

Emmanuel, MCPHS, Simmons, and Wentworth are entering a new contract year with Prestige Vending which provides food and beverage vending services on participating Member campuses. Emmanuel, MCPHS, Simmons, and Wentworth are entering the second contract year with Automatic Laundry which provides laundry services at residential facilities on participating Member campuses. Wentworth, Mass Art, and MCPHS are entering the third year of a shared dining contract with Sodexo which allows for meal plan holders to use their plans to dine at any facility located on these three participating campuses. Mass Art’s Kennedy Café is under renovation this summer with plans to reopen in August with a brand new Starbucks

KNOWYOUR ACRONYMS:

Stands for: Colleges of the Fenway Area Network

Purpose: joint infrastructure to create a shared internet solution

Membership Benefit: internet access on all campus

COFAN:

Colleges of the Fenway Area Network (COFAN) connects all five consortium members with internet access COF is working with network teams to increase the bandwidth available to campuses for the upcoming academic year.

Emergency Management: All Members continue to use RAVE Alert Services with several campuses renewing SMS opt in services this summer for their individual campus communities which allows visitors to opt into campus alert services

active or in process contracts

CONTRACT CORNER

Facilities:

COF has renewed its contract with Casella to manage campus resources, including the collection and removal of compost, recycling, and waste for Emmanuel, Simmons, and Wentworth

COF is entering a new contract year with Velocity EHS, which provides online Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to participating members, Mass Art, Simmons, and Wentworth

Human Resources: COF manages a variety of agreements with the following organizations to benefit Members and their employees:

NEHERC Membership has been renewed for the new fiscal year which allows all Members to access services including higher education job postings and networking opportunities.

All One Health Employee Assistance Program provides coaching, counseling, advocacy, and personal concierge services to employees from participating institutions (Emmanuel, MCPHS, and Simmons) as well as support for supervisors and managers.

Get Inclusive/ Vector Solutions is entering its third year at COF Vector supports compliance and conducts training services to staff and students from all Members.

ProPivotal Staffing (formerly Professional Staffing Group (PSG)) is working with COF and HR leaders this summer to continue its 20-year partnership with COF providing recruitment and staffing services for Emmanuel, MCPHS, Simmons, and Wentworth

Creative Services Inc (CSI) is a new contract implemented in spring of 2023 that allows participating members: Emmanuel, Mass Art, MCPHS, and Simmons to benefit from discounts on background check services.