Human Resources Newsletter- June 2026

Publish Date

2026-06-01

Employee Development Series

Civil Service Testing and Rules- What You Should Know

Please join us for the June session of the Employee Development Series! This month will focus on Civil Service Testing and Rules: What You Should Know presented by Amber Fosdyck and Madison Vangunten. Topics will include classification information, requesting/editing a position, job audits, and the Civil Service testing process. This session will be hosted virtually via Teams on June 30, 2026 from 9:00-10:30am.

Employee Mental Health and Wellness

The Employee Development Series will be taking a hiatus for the month of July. Our next Employee Development Series event will be on August 25, 2026 with Jim Klein’s Employee Mental Health and Wellness talk. More information will be sent closer to the event.

During this time, we encourage you to visit our Academic Impressions (AI) website. AI is a free workplace resource that offers training opportunities such as live and recorded webcasts, live virtual trainings and conferences, on-demand video courses, articles and reports, and the Virtual Writing Cafe. There are many topics to browse during the July hiatus.

New Information

HR Website Updates

The UIS Office of Human Resources is working under a Division Liaison model where an HR staff member is assigned to each Division or College. Your Division Liaison can assist you with most of your Human Resources needs, including Civil Service, Extra Help, and Academic Professional employment. The Division Liaison’s are listed below:

Alexa Brant (abran3@uis.edu)

Enrollment and Retention Management Division
Finance & Administration Division
College of Public Affairs and Education

Kenzie Filchak (mwest22@uis.edu)

Student Affairs Division
College of Business and Management
Academic Affairs Auxiliaries and Academic Affairs Administration Offices

Jé Greer (jgree6@uis.edu)

College of Health, Science and Technology
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Ben Reinhart (brein3@uis.edu)

Center for State Policy and Leadership

Madison Vangunten (mston3@uis.edu)

Advancement Division
Chancellor’s Division

Reminders

Rising Stars

The Rising Stars program for new employees will start in August. Rising Stars invitations will be sent to new Academic Professional and Civil Service employees to learn about our campus and Springfield community. This program helps new employees get familiar with key places, faces, and resources while fostering friendships and professional growth. There are only 30 spots available. If you are a new employee, don’t miss this opportunity to kickstart your journey on campus! Invitations will be sent to eligible employees on August 1, 2026.

Employment Verification System

We would like to remind all employees about the Employment Verification System (EVS). This system allows you to securely access your own employment verification information and, if needed, share it directly with a third party by providing a link with your authorized permissions.

Please note that all employment verification requests outside of EVS must be directed to Human Resources. Supervisors should not provide verification of employment details, including completion of Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) forms. If your department receives an electronic PSLF certification request, please forward it to uishr@uis.edu for proper processing.

Supervisors are still welcome to serve as professional references for employees when appropriate; however, they should not verify official employment information.

Holiday Schedule

This is a friendly reminder that the Fiscal Year 2027 Holiday Schedule has been announced. Leave benefit eligible employees will receive 11 Holidays and 3 Gift Days for the next fiscal year. Additionally, eligible employees are granted two Floating Holidays to be used before June 30, 2027. Don’t forget to use your FY 2026 Floating Holidays by June 30, 2026! Important note: employees must have worked on their last scheduled workday before and the first scheduled workday after the University-observed holiday, or be on an approved leave pay status, to receive Holiday pay.

Leave Spotlight

Shared Benefits Program

UIS faculty and staff may participate in the Shared Benefits Program. This program provides eligible employees who have exhausted all accumulated sick leave (and vacation leave, if applicable) with the opportunity to receive additional leave days (up to 45 days maximum) when a disability claim is pending with the State Universities Retirement System (SURS). SURS Disability Leave has a 60-calendar day waiting period prior to utilizing their benefit, and the Shared Benefits Program is intended to help bridge the gap between when an employee’s accumulated leave is exhausted and when SURS Disability Leave will begin with the intention of keeping the employee in pay and benefits eligible status for as long as possible during their applicable waiting period.

Eligible Employees Include

Faculty
Academic Professionals
Civil Service Exempt and Non-Exempt Employees

Postdoctoral research associates, medical residents, graduate assistants, and annuitants in SURS or the Federal Retirement System are not eligible to participate in this program.

Donation Requirements

Be a Civil Service, Faculty, or Academic Professional employee who participates in SURS or the Federal Retirement System.
Be appointed at least 50% time to a position for which service is expected to be rendered for at least nine continuous months.
Have a cumulative balance of at least 11 days of accrued benefit leave.

To be eligible for this benefit, employees must donate one cumulative Sick or Vacation leave day to the program. Employees may also choose to donate additional days in certain circumstances, if desired. Please visit the policy webpage for more detailed information on eligibility requirements, when and how to donate, and how to request leave days from the program. If you have any questions, please contact our UIS Leave Coordinator, Heather Moore, at hkimb2@uis.edu or 217-206-7020 for additional information.