GETTY THIS WEEK | SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

WEEKLY STAFF NEWS | 9.8.2020

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Getty Email Expansion

Thank you to the DEI Council and Task Forces for pushing forward something that has sat on the back-burner for a long time: email accounts for everyone. In this important step toward inclusion of all staff, Getty email accounts will now be provided for Security, Facilities, and Bookstore staff who did not previously have them. Getty email will provide timely access to events, projects, and updates about the Getty community, and in this unprecedented time, also provide current information on reopening status and health and safety provisions to make us all safe and secure. This rollout is scheduled for the week of September 21. Thank you to Getty Digital for doing the behind-the-scenes work and creating training resources to make this happen.

Election Day Reminders

As Election Day draws closer, many of us are looking for ways to make our voices heard. Although as a private foundation Getty cannot engage in voter registration or partisan political activity, each of us is free to do so in our personal capacities, and Getty encourages those who can to exercise their individual right to vote.

Getty offers staff paid time off to vote, if you cannot vote during non-work hours, and also paid time off to volunteer as an election-day poll worker if you so choose. In either case—taking time to vote, or volunteering as a poll worker—remember to make advance arrangements with your supervisor. Please consult the Staff Handbook or contact HR with any questions.

To find your polling place, or to learn more about voting by mail and opportunities to volunteer, you may visit the official website of the Los Angeles County Clerk at lavote.net.

Employee Payroll Tax Deferral

Some employees have asked whether Getty will be implementing the optional social security tax deferral that was announced on August 8. This provision provides employers the choice to defer withholding the employee portion of social security tax payments from September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020, with the deferred payroll taxes to be repaid by the employee early in 2021. Getty has decided not to participate in that provision, due to the complicated nature of stopping the withholding and the burden on employees of having to re-pay those taxes, including if they leave Getty.

Migrating from Box to OneDrive

For cost and convenience, we are now making Microsoft Office OneDrive our preferred file-sharing service. We will retain Box for limited circumstances when it is required. If you are a Box user, you will receive an email with more information regarding the reasons for the move, as well as the particulars of your specific move. These moves will begin in mid-to late-September. Questions? Send an email to gettydigitalhelp@getty.edu or leave a message on the #help-getty-digital Slack channel.

Financial Wellness Virtual Day Tomorrow

Getty’s financial wellness partner, My Secure Advantage (MSA), will offer a free virtual day of workshops tomorrow, September 9, at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. Workshop topics include rebuilding after a financial setback, avoiding risks to your retirement plan, and becoming debt-free. You may register any time before the workshops begin. See the attached flyer for schedule and registration links, and read about how you can win a $100 Amazon gift card.

Everyday Nourishment

Beginning September 14, the Fitness Center will be offering the “Nourish Your Every Day” 14-day nutrition challenge on Wellbeats. This challenge will include brief nutrition lessons, cooking demos, and new recipes to help facilitate a healthy lifestyle. To sign up or for more information, contact FitnessCenter@Getty.edu.

All-Staff Meeting Zoom Link

Getty staff, docents, and volunteers are invited to join an all-staff update on Tuesday, September 15, from 10:30 to noon Pacific time via Zoom webinar. Please use this Zoom link to join the all-staff meeting.

Library Curbside Service

The next Getty Library Curbside Service will be September 29, 30, and October 1. Please submit your requests for library items via the Library Catalog through September 17. Please see the attached PDF for instructions and FAQ about requesting library materials for this curbside service.

EAP Webinar for Parents

HR has partnered with Health Advocate to offer a free webinar for parents titled “Charting Rough Seas: Strategies for the School Year.” The webinar reviews common reactions to quarantine fatigue, identifies coping strategies, and reviews steps to create a personal action plan. Health Advocate will also share some available resources with participants. At the end of the session, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and share your best practices. You must register to attend the webinar, and you may do so any time before the session is scheduled to begin. If you have any questions, please contact HR@getty.edu or 310-440-6523.

Vanguard One-on-One Sessions

Sign up now to participate in a 30-minute one-on-one session by phone with Vanguard, to discuss your savings and investments in Getty’s 403(b) Plan. Appointments will be available September 21, 22, 23, and 24. Please register no later than Friday, September 11.

NEWS

City of LA Civic Memory Working Group

Getty is supporting the City of LA Civic Memory Working Group, a project initiated by the mayor’s office to address how the city might more honestly and effectively commemorate important and difficult milestones in our history. Led by Christopher Hawthorne, the City’s first Chief Design Officer, the group includes historians, architects, visual and performing artists, writers, and Native elders. Their goal is to encourage the public installation of structures, performances, or other creative works that address the region’s past in ways that challenge myths, triumphalism, or the mere comfort of forgetting dark moments in the city’s past. The Working Group will also make recommendations on more equitable processes for decision-making, the need for indigenous land acknowledgement, and better ways to preserve and manage memorials and sites. Support is being provided through the President’s Office working with the Foundation.

Research Collections Viewer Launched

Now online in its initial release, the Research Collections Viewer offers a visual way to browse and search Getty’s archival collections. The Viewer aims to make it easier to see what we have in our research collections—rare primary source material such as artists’ papers, prints, and photographs—as well as contextual information such as related works by the same artist. For its initial launch, the Research Collections Viewer features access to information and many images from the correspondence of artist Sylvia Sleigh and critic Lawrence Alloway and from the Los Angeles photographs of artist Ed Ruscha.

EVENTS

Digital Share 2020 (So Digital, It’s Virtual!)

Have a digital project or idea that you want to share or discuss with your colleagues? Join us for Digital Share 2020! We’ve shaken up the usual format, and are giving you 15 minutes of Digital Share fame, and you can choose how to use it! Keep it fun and easy by presenting for 5-10 minutes and then opening up for questions. Or do a quick demo followed by a round of “Ask Me Anything.” Or you could lead a fun activity to build our community. We’ll be organizing these short sessions of activities and presentations over lunch on select days the week of October 12 (and possibly, the week of October 19). We’ll also include some sessions of “Chat Roulette”—get randomly matched with a few of your colleagues to muse on some engaging digital topics. All are welcome to present, or simply tune in—your interests and ideas drive the entire program and its format. Once we have all of your submissions, we’ll compile a schedule and let you know more information. Please sign up if you’d like to lead a Digital Share session. Deadline is September 18.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Getty Anniversaries This Week

10 Years

Zsuzsanna Kovacs, Investment Administration
Bryon Jones, Villa Engineering

15 Years

Nasrollah Namdari, Telecommunication Services, Getty Digital
David Singleman, Visitor Services
Vladimir Slavin, Facilities

20 Years

Lora Chin Derrien, Collections Management, GRI

35 Years

Claire Lyons, Antiquities, Museum

Comings and Goings

See how the Getty community is changing—and welcome new co-workers.

From InternalCommunications | internalcommunications@getty.edu