Re-treat myself to another taco? Yes, please.

Retreat-a-thon 2013 is now around 86% complete. The last time I was at my desk for more than an hour I detailed Retreats 1, 2, and 3: COS, imsci undergrad, and outreach, respectively. Now I can share with you chapters 5 and 6.

Up next: Intern Mini Retreat (6/17)
I skipped #4 up there. Did you catch that? I already wrote about the Intern Mini Retreat last week, shortly after it took place. And no, I won't be giving away any more detail about it, just in case any sneaky interns might be reading. What we have in store for them is top secret (for now, anyways).

Retreat #5: CIS Strategic Planning Retreat (6/18)
This was the first true retreat for me this year (whereby "true" refers to the fact that it took all day and I got *free meals*). Following breakfast, the morning consisted of reporting out from the CIS mini-retreats about optics/math (I did not attend that one, hence why this may be the first you're hearing about it) and about the undergrad curriculum, with ensuing discussions. Somehow this took three hours?!? I don't even remember how that can possibly be. The format of the morning more closely resembled a very long committee report/presentation than a strategic brainstorming session, since that already took place during the mini-retreats (though some new topics were introduced as part of the discussions). Afterward we were treated with Indian food for lunch (yeah! except for the surprise seafood... Sure, I like shrimp and scallops as much as the next guy, but I have to know it's coming. No seafood is good when it's a surprise seafood.) which was a nice treat. Well, "treat" is too dainty of a word for what it really was... it was more of a nice binge. Yeah, I'll go with that.

After lunch we separated into break out groups, which was a very complicated and confusing process but worked out okay. Each person was given different group assignments whereby 5 separate groups would meet to discuss one topic each, then break and reassemble into new groups with a different topic, and so on until we had each discussed all 5 topics in 5 different groups. (Does that make any sense? Eh, whatever.) The topics consisted of: strategic research and education; external collaborations; working within RIT; working within CIS; and Pie in the Sky - what should CIS's BHAG be? We had some very interesting discussions, and for me it was interesting just to be involved, as I was one of only a small handful of staff participating among a population of almost all faculty. I felt that my minority perspective was one that needed representation though, because I see things quite differently than faculty do but my role still revolves around students and academia; and besides, I am very passionate about CIS in all of its aspects. Anyways, in most sessions my POV was no match against the majority voice, but I did feel very productive and like a strong team player in the strategic research and education and working within CIS groups. I can only hope that my input actually makes it past the retreat... but even if it doesn't, I at least feel like I experienced some meaningful interactions with people I work with every day but don't normally get to peel back the layers of the onion on. After regrouping and sharing a summary of the suggestions made by each of the groups, we wrapped up with a small reception that really allowed people to relax and get to know each other better. I think social experiences like this are truly integral to a positive work atmosphere but have been lacking for quite a while. Hopefully we can have more informal gatherings throughout the year that foster a greater affinity for each other and for the Center. All in all, a valuable day.

Retreat #6 (you mean this blog still isn't over?): Staff Council Retreat (6/20)
Okay, so the Staff Council retreat was only half a day, but I still got a free meal, so that's legit. In fact, it was one of the most spectacular meals I have ever eaten. The SC retreat took place at Rivers Run, an off-campus but RIT-owned living community where I have never been (at least not since the area was the abandoned Racquet Club townhouses, spoooookyyyy). When the retreat planning committee (which I was on) contacted them about a catered retreat, they said, "What do you want?" to which we replied, "Do you have a menu?" and they responded with, "Well, what do you want?" Apparently they will do anything. So what did we suggest? TACO BAR!!!! And boy did they deliver: homemade tortilla chips that were the perfect combination of greasy and crunchy and chewy; fresh hard shells and soft tortillas; perfectly seasoned roast beef; rice and beans; and an extensive toppings bar with fresh sweet onions, jalapenos, and guacamole... Holy guacamole!!! It was phenomenal. I ate several plates knowing that I should just enjoy the amazingness readily in front of me because nothing else would be worth eating in comparison. I can eat as much as I want at lunch as long as I don't eat dinner, right? When it comes to tacos, I simply have no restraint.

Anyways, there was more to the retreat than just the amazing food. We broke up into committees (I'm on communications) and played RIT Jeopardy, which included categories such as, "Name that Chair," "RIT Presidents," and "What's in a Name?" (Unfortunately, no Potent Potables. Boo.) My team won in a landslide (of course), though there were no prizes other than the laughs we all enjoyed. We then brainstormed altogether on SC representative roles and responsibilities, and how we can hold each other accountable to make sure we are each pulling our weight and acting as meaningful members of the council. We then switched up the groups to be by block to brainstorm on Post-It notes various topics and items of staff concern that SC should address in the coming year. Unfortunately, only half of Block 6 was present, so there were only 3 of us. Even so, we were able to come up with a bunch of Post-Its, which were then stuck onto large pages of paper hanging on the walls, one for each committee. We had another break during which we played RIT Pictionary, but even after combining with the other even-numbered blocks we were at a major size disadvantage. Not only that, but the other team was ruthless and would just yell out anything obvious that had to do with RIT - for example, they got "Sentinel" from just a single squiggly line. Seriously? Anyways, my team totally redeemed itself with its epic pictorial representation of the "Policy on Policies". (I know someone took a picture of it, so as soon as I see one I'll post it here.) We then reassembled back into committees, got our paper down from the wall, and prioritized our items into a plan of work. I have to say, the Communications Committee is going to be excellent this year. (Maybe I would have stayed on Executive Committee if I had gotten a group this enthusiastic, motivated, and teamwork-oriented....) After committee reports, we adjourned to a happy hour back at the Global Village Cantina on campus, arrrrriba!

Now all that's left is Retreat #7, for the RIT Young Professionals, on 6/26. Unfortunately, I now have a personal commitment that I was hoping to schedule earlier but that couldn't be fit in until Wednesday... So I'm taking a vacation day Wednesday, and might not make it to the YP retreat.

Intern Trek: Into Darkness

Today marked our interns' first official duty as interns: in-processing! Every year we bring in our new crop to get all of their paperwork, account requests, and IDs out of the way ahead of their actual start date, so that they are ready to hit the ground running on their first day (July 8). I sent them their paperwork well ahead of time, and coordinated with HR and the Registrar's Office so that everyone would be prepared. Well, as seems to be the trend with all of my well laid plans of late, of course something unexpectedly disruptive had to come up - this time, it was a power outage! Apparently a main line was disrupted by a construction vehicle near U of R, and half of RIT lost power. We still had power here in Carlson, but guess who didn't? That's right, HR, the Registrar, and everyone else in Eastman we were planning on visiting for in-processing. Yikes.

"Purported image from the scene"

Well, with no way to carry out what we needed to do, the plan was going to be to send the interns home and we'd just have to do it all on the first day. So much for all of my preparation! Luckily, an e-mail came out around 2:30PM saying that electrical service would be restored within an hour, which gave us hope for the interns, who were set to arrive by 3. We had no idea, however, whether service was actually restored, because for some reason a bunch of phone lines were disrupted as well; and when we tried to call over, no one was picking up. That didn't bode well, but we ventured forth with crossed fingers.

Luckily, when we made it over to Eastman their power was restored, so we were able to proceed as planned. Phew! Thankfully, there were no no-shows like last year. The only hiccup we experienced was a miscommunication between HR and the Registrar's, which just meant we sat around for a while longer than we needed to, so no big deal. It turned out that none of the interns would be driving themselves, so we were able to skip the walk down to the Parking Office, and everyone was done early. This gave me, Joe, and Bob some extra time for our planned Intern Mini-Retreat (because I'm not going to enough retreats lately), where we strategized some ways to approach the program this year and keep things fresh. We came up with a lot of great ideas that I think will make the intern program even better this year! Sorry, no spoilers; you'll just have to keep reading my blog all summer to see how it all unfolds. Okay, okay, one hint: no more "Challenges"...

No kumbaya zone

So you may have noticed I've been relatively quiet on my blog recently, especially compared to the melee which was May. This can partially be attributed to things quieting down significantly between when students leave and when interns arrive (you can sense a trend just by looking at how few posts there were in June 2011 and June 2012 - and in both those Junes I wrote something about Staff Council elections, which I won't this year since I've stepped down from the executive committee for timing reasons... so that's even 1 less post that can be expected for June 2013). Another reason for my silence is that I haven't actually been at my desk much - you see, it's RETREAT SEASON!

Just kidding. Not this kind of retreat.
On a related note, google image searching "corporate retreats" comes up with some pretty funny stuff.

First up: COS Staff Retreat (6/5) The kickoff to my retreat marathon would have been the College of Science Staff Retreat. Unfortunately I didn't end up being able to go, due to unforeseen circumstances... My cousin's husband unexpectedly and tragically passed away, and with bereavement and all of the family commitments I couldn't afford another full day out of the office. (You should check out Cousin Jack's obituary - he was an absolutely fascinating and incredible man. If you get the newspaper, there's a good chance you've seen this already, since it took up practically a whole page. You couldn't miss it.) I hear, however, that the Retreat was a very good event, and I am sorry to have missed it.

Retreat #2: Outreach Mini-Retreat (6/13) Next, I coordinated an Outreach Mini-Retreat. By "mini", I mean that it was really only me and Joe, and only the afternoon, and not really a true "retreat". But, I have a lot of things on my plate covering a lot of different foci, so I wanted to sit down and devote some time to organizing and prioritizing everything. I wrote down everything I could think of onto small Post-It notes, be it over reaching goals, things on my to-do list, general tasks, et cetera. I ended up using my entire stack of Post-Its to accomplish this, which had over 50 sheets - so if you've ever been curious about the volume of my work load, that should give you some indication. Anyways, we went through each of them and stuck them onto sheets of paper that each represented a different scope of my work - Outreach - Communication, Outreach - Recruiting, Alumni, Events, Interns, and so on. After that we went sheet-by-sheet to discuss and prioritize each of the Post-Its. In the end, we created an over-reaching page of action items that addressed the most important items from each category, so now I have a nicely organized plan of work and a strategic vision of how to move forward.  Yeah! Overall my little mini-retreat was very productive and insightful. Joe said I planned and executed it really well and that I should lead those kinds of things... Just another trick up my sleeve that might come in handy someday, I guess.

Retreat #3: Undergrad Mini-Retreat (6/14)
Today was a Mini-Retreat to discuss the imsci undergraduate curriculum. This time "mini" refers to the fact that this retreat was only a few hours, and was being done in preparation for the full CIS retreat next Tuesday. A group of CIS professors, some folks from Motion Picture Science and Imaging & Photo Tech, and myself and Joe played around with the CIS Curriculum Builder to see how classes could be rearranged and modified under semesters to continually improve the imsci program. Imaging Science was one of the first majors at RIT to complete semester conversion, the work for which was done several years ago, so by now it is already somewhat outdated. We explored how to improve course loads, reduce redundancy, and increase collaboration between departments. Although I originally attended for the purpose of increasing my familiarity with the new semester curriculum so that I may effectively answer questions from prospective students, I found that I also could provide some insight into the student experience since I am a product of the imsci program. (It was surprising to me how many of my experiences were still relevant several years later.) We also explored how senior projects may be improved, with my major contribution to the whole meeting being the suggestion of hosting a senior research conference similar to the Undergraduate Research Symposium organized by RIT each summer. This would legitimize projects, increase exposure, and also help reintroduce an experience like we used to have when the annual Industrial Associates conference still existed (my junior year having been the last one). This idea was incredibly well received, so perhaps assisting in the creation of this conference will be made into another Post-It note to add to my plan of work...

Retreats still to come (aye yae yae)...
6/17: Intern Mini-Retreat
6/18: CIS Strategic Planning Retreat
6/20: RIT Staff Council Retreat
6/26: RIT Young Professionals Retreat

DC-area Reunion, 7th ed.

Yesterday was the 7th annual Imaging Science DC-area reunion! Typically this is our best attended event, as very many CIS alumni settle in Washington, DC and the surrounding area. Well, except for last year, that is, when we tried to coordinate with SPIE DSS and NO ONE came. The year before that was the mega 24 hour adventure that included a reception that was relatively well attended, but could have been more successful if the venue was actually accessible and not so difficult to find. Previous to that, in 2010 we followed a more traditional approach and had an excellent turnout; so in an attempt to reclaim past glory, we went with the tried-and-true Tysons Corner Marriott for this year. (Which had the extra benefit of beautifully renovated facilities, but the totally bogus addition of paid parking, whaaaaat!)

Greetings from Assoc. Dir. of Alumni Relations for COS, Lauren Sauer, with the welcome table and raffle prizes

Leading up to the event we had around 26 people RSVP, but as is to be expected we had a bunch more alumni show up on the day-of - which is totally okay, except for that it makes us nervous that there won't be enough food (but that rarely ends up being a problem anyways since there is almost always too much food... but even so, TSK TSK for not registering!). The cost of registration covered 1 drink and the heavy hors d'oeurves, which included cheeses, crackers, spinach artichoke dip, and a pita station with all kinds of dips and hummus and olives.

The beau of the ball was without a doubt John Schott, whom we were celebrating for his sort-of-retirement. Part way in to the party Lauren got everyone's attention and showed the Monica video and John's Innovation Hall of Fame video, after which John put down a baby in order to get up to say a few words and update everyone on recent happenings at the Center.

Turns out every shot of Schott is an Action Schott.

Some of the crowd, during John's update.

Overall the event went very well. We ended up having around 40 alumni in attendance, which is great! Even better, graduation years spanned a wide range, so we had a really nice mix of alums. One of the attendees was even a distance learning graduate, so it's fantastic to have them connecting with RIT on a personal level! We also welcomed COS Distinguished Alumnus John Roberts, as well as upcoming summer intern Calvin Salacain. Together we celebrated engagements, weddings, new babies, new houses, recent graduations, and retirements. And a great time was had by all! Hope to see you next year!

PS: More pictures here