The University of Akron just got a new president last week – but I knew it was in the works well before that.  My boss asked for my help in setting up the folder on the website a few weeks ago and then he worked on the content.  It was all very cloak and dagger, hush-hush, top secret.

The day of the announcement, he asked me to move it from our DEV server to the main website.  I’ve done this kind of move before – it’s basically a complicated copy|paste operation – but we were on a deadline based on the board meeting and I had 1 hour to make the move. 

And wouldn’t you know it? The links to all the images broke.  I got the rest of the site moved over and then figured out the images – it was a bug in the system – and wrapped up my part with 5 minutes to spare.

Having skimmed the bio of the new president as I was working on the site, I’m cautiously optimistic.  There’s still a lot of pomp and circumstance at the moment – we’ll see how it goes once he settles into his new role.

One of my co-workers joined me – and the throng of people from across campus for the Meet-n-greet event with the President Elect and his wife.  The line was far too long when we got there, so we just said Hi to our VP, got some cookies, and left. We’ll meet the Pres later – he wouldn’t have remembered us anyway.  And the cookies were quite good.

—————–

Also last week, I got a visit from a Special Investigator.  I never quite figured out what branch of the government she was with, but she had an impressive badge and asked all kinds of intense questions. 

One of my former student assistants had gotten a job with the federal government a few years back and I had filled out some simple paperwork at the time as part of a background check.  This time, he was getting a new job with higher clearance and it required a more thorough background check and in-person visit.

I had all the paperwork ready when the special investigator arrived and we went through the standard employment questions – then went full dystopian.

“While he had been working for you, was this individual – to your knowledge – influenced by a foreign power?”

“Did they express any disloyalty to the United States?”

“Did they have any political connections to anyone in another country and were they in any financial situation influenced by a foreign power?”

And so forth.  It would have been a little absurd if it wasn’t so serious.  And there was nothing to tell – he worked for us less than a year, I would have hired him back, he was quiet and did a good job and showed up on time.

She thanked me for my time and asked to borrow our conference room so she could interview other campus folks – easier for them to meet her there rather than her get lost on campus.   I was fine with that – we rarely use our conference room anyway – and when her interviewees came in I directed them back.

When she was done, she thanked me again – I think I had saved her quite a bit of time and hassle.  She was then on her way and I’m hoping that I helped our former student get a new, better, and more important job.  Whatever that ended up being – I still don’t know.

——————

 Saturday was the first of the move-in days for campus – a little early to accommodate construction. 

I didn’t have anything planned for the day so I volunteered to help with the student’s move in – as part of a team of faculty and staff volunteers. 

The plan was to meet the students and their families at their cars at the unloading zone and pack up a bunch of shopping carts with all their stuff.  After we found out their rooms, the students were directed to go on ahead while we wheeled the carts into the building and the line for the elevators.  Three carts to an elevator, then down the hall to the room. From there, we unloaded the cart, wished the student a good semester, then sent the carts (in bulk) back down the elevator while we took the stairs.

Finally, we met the carts at the ground floor and took them back out to the unloading zone. 

And over and over again.

I got there a little early for my shift and left a little late – ended up spending nearly 5 hours there.    I helped a lot of families and they really appreciated it – and I got to hang out with some cool co-workers.

I was really tired and a little dehydrated when I was done.  And my calves hurt that night from running the stairs. But, I found out that over the course of the day we helped 243 people move into the dorm.  

Pretty amazing.

The move in continues through this week and classes start on Monday.  And I got to help a few students settle into their home away from home.  Not a bad way to start a semester.