Professional Development Catalog

Stress, Resilience, and Thriving for Leaders

Format: In person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Jenn Bennett, Executive Director of WellWorks and Healthy OHIO
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

As a leader, you’re often focused on supporting others—but how often do you pause to prioritize your own well-being?

This 60-minute workshop is designed specifically for those in leadership roles who want to better manage their own stress while also creating a healthier, more resilient team environment. Through practical tools and real-world discussion, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize signs of stress and burnout in yourself and your team
• Build sustainable habits that support personal and professional resilience
• Model self-care practices that positively influence team culture
• Use simple mind-body tools to stay grounded and solution-focused under pressure

This session goes beyond coping strategies—it's about leading with clarity, energy, and intention.

Recommended for supervisors looking to manage daily stress in order to help their team members manage theirs.

Thursday, February 5, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Building a Safe and Healthy Workplace: Practical Strategies for Psychological Safety and Well-Being

Format: Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Marjorie Mora, Senior Dir. Finance & Budgeting and Annie Cadmus, Associate Director, WellWorks

Creating a psychologically safe and healthy workplace goes beyond policies—it's about everyday actions that promote trust, safety, and well-being for everyone on your team. This 60-minute session offers a high-level overview of actionable strategies leaders and teams can implement immediately to foster a culture of care and resilience.

Participants will explore a variety of workplace wellness tactics that touch on physical, mental, and organizational health, including:

• Encouraging sun safety for outdoor workers and workplace environments
• Succession and PTO planning that supports continuity without burnout
• Recognizing and responding to crises and emergencies with confidence and clarity
• Managing workplace expectations and workloads to avoid chronic stress
• Celebrating workplace and individual achievements
• Modeling well-being behaviors that set a tone for healthy workplace norms
• Establishing clear boundaries to support work-life integration
• Promoting ergonomic practices to prevent injury and improve comfort
• Supporting transit safety for commuting staff or job-related travel

Designed for leaders, managers, and team influencers, this workshop provides a comprehensive starting point for building a workplace where safety and well-being are prioritized—and where teams can truly thrive.

Recommended for supervisors looking to foster work environments that support team member wellbeing and support their staff as holistically as possible.

Thursday, February 12, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

PeopleAdmin Hiring Essentials 

Managerial Essentials for Managers of Union Employees

Format: In person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Julie Wilson, Employee & Labor Relations 
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop helps participants understand the responsibilities that come with being a manager of bargaining unit employees.  The goal of this workshop is to develop participants’ confidence in executing their duties and clarify their understanding of when to pause, evaluate and reach out for help and whom to contact.

Recommended for supervisors overseeing employees who are members of a collective bargaining agreement

Please review the links below to select a date and register for this workshop:

• Wednesday, February 4, 10:00 am to 11:00 am
• Tuesday, March 17, 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Managerial Essentials for Managers of Non-Union Employees

Format: In person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Julie Wilson, Employee & Labor Relations 
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop helps participants understand the responsibilities that come with being a manager of non-union employees. The goal of this workshop is to develop participants’ confidence in executing their duties and clarify their understanding of when to pause, evaluate and reach out for help and whom to contact.

Recommended for supervisors overseeing employees who are not members of a collective bargaining agreement

Please review the links below to select a date and register for this workshop:

• Wednesday February 25, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am
• Tuesday, March 31, from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Succession and PTO Planning: Supporting Continuity Without Burnout

Format: Online (Teams)
Facilitator: The Center for OHIO Employee Excellence Training Specialists

Work doesn’t stop when someone takes time off—or steps into a new role. Thoughtful planning for employee absences and transitions is essential not only for maintaining operational continuity but also for reducing stress, supporting team well-being, and preventing burnout.

This 60-minute workshop is designed to help leaders and teams build a culture where taking time off is encouraged, supported, and strategically planned. Participants will explore:

• Best practices for succession planning and knowledge transfer
• How to develop PTO coverage plans that support both the individual and the team
• Strategies for reducing stress and workload compression during absences
• Communication techniques that build trust and clarity around planned time off
• Tools to help managers model and encourage time away in a sustainable way
• How thoughtful planning contributes to retention, morale, and resilience

Whether you're managing a team or part of one, this session will provide practical, scalable strategies for making time away from work a healthy part of your team culture—not a source of disruption or burnout.

Recommended for supervisors overseeing student employees.

Thursday, March 5, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Enhancing the Student Hiring Process - Key Updates and Compliance Insights

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: UHR

Participants will learn about specific updates to the student hiring process including guidance on the general hiring process, UHR-related specific support and resources, and legal compliance.  This session will include a Q&A at the end.

Recommended for supervisors involved in the student employee hiring process.

This is a drop-in workshop session, no registration needed.  Just use the link below:

Tuesday, January 6, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Fundamentals of Leadership

Format: In Person and Online (Teams) 
Facilitator: The Center for OHIO Employee Excellence Training Specialists
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop explores a variety of topics that are particularly relevant for new or aspiring supervisors such as developing new skills, challenging and managing perceptions, locating resources and assistance, and discussing the numerous challenges often faced by individuals in leadership positions. 

Recommended for new supervisors, or professionals aspiring to supervisory roles in their career paths

Please review the links below to select a date and register for this workshop:

• Thursday, January 15, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
• Thursday, March 19, 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Listening to Your Team

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: The Center for OHIO Employee Excellence Training Specialists
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop focuses on types of listening, benefits and barriers to effective listening, taking action to support your team, and encouraging and recognizing success amongst your team.

Recommended for new supervisors, or professionals aspiring to supervisory roles in their career paths

Please review the links below to select a date and register for this workshop:

• Thursday, January 22, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
• Thursday, April 9, 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Trust and Delegation for New Leaders

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: The Center for OHIO Employee Excellence Training Specialists
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop details how authentic leaders can build trust amongst their teams.  It also covers how to demonstrate trust to team members through effective delegation of work tasks.

Recommended for new supervisors, or professionals aspiring to supervisory roles in their career paths

Please review the links below to select a date and register for this workshop:

• Thursday, February 5, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
• Thursday, April 23, 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Managing Workplace Conflict

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: The Center for OHIO Employee Excellence Training Specialists
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop will guide participants through fundamental interpersonal conflict management skills and techniques, demonstrating how to apply these skills to manage team conflicts from a leadership perspective.

Recommended for new supervisors, or professionals aspiring to supervisory roles in their career paths

Please review the links below to select a date and register for this workshop:

• Thursday, February 19, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
• Thursday, May 7, 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Navigating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - How Do I Support My Employee?

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Michael Hicks, Office of Accessibility 
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop will help examine the basic concepts of the ADA and build a general working knowledge of this federal law, including different types of qualifying disabilities, what is a reasonable accommodation, the employee's employment rights under the law, and the supervisor's role in the interactive process. This workshop aims to provide the supervisor with techniques to support and refer their employee with medical issues impacting their work. We will discuss maintaining the employee's privacy, how to navigate the implementation of approved accommodations, and how our office can support the supervisor when their employee has workplace accommodations.

Recommended for supervisors seeking understanding how to navigate Federal law regarding the ADA in their support of their team members

Monday, March 9, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Giving and Receiving Feedback (Supervisors)

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Mac Stricklen, Ombudsperson 
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

The workshop will explore research findings on common obstacles to giving and receiving feedback effectively and practically. This session will focus on providing well-crafted feedback to support supervisors in preparing performance reviews.

Recommended for supervisors engaged in performance management responsibilities

Tuesday, March 10, 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Supervising Student Employees

Format: In Person and Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Imants Jaunarajs, Student Affairs 
Location: Grosvenor West Room 111

This workshop will showcase practical student-centric supervision techniques and how to implement them. This session will focus on student employees and how to utilize coaching strategies and the new Building Bobcat Success program in supervision.

Following this session, participants should be able to:

• Implement three new supervision techniques when working with student employees
• Understand how to use the Building Bobcat Success program with student employees
• Support student employees’ setting actionable goals
• Link students’ academic work to their student employment

In-person attendance is strongly encouraged for Athens campus faculty and staff.

Recommended for supervisors overseeing student employees.

Thursday, February 12, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

An Introduction to Administrative Job Profiles

Format: Online (Teams)
Facilitators: Josh Smith, HR Liaison Lead; Jane Dewyea, HR Classification & Compensation Specialist

Location: Remote only

This workshop will cover the basics of a job profile, why it is needed, and the process for locating and utilizing job profiles. Hiring managers and supervisors are welcome to attend. This is only for Administrative postings.

Pre-requisites: Please have access to People Admin prior to attending the workshop. Encouraged to complete the eLearning module, "OHIO Search Committee Recruitment and Selection Fundamentals."

What to Bring: Laptop with access to People Admin

Optional: Bring your phone for an interactive activity.

Please check back soon for updated dates!

Movement Meditation and Writing

Format: In person 

Facilitator: Rebecca VerNooy, Professor of Instructor, School of Theater

Location: Grosvenor West 111

In this training, participants use a simple movement meditation to let go of expectation and judgement. By paying attention to the breath and with a series of simple movements, we begin to realize how our thinking hinders or supports creativity. The meditation allows the participant to uncover new ideas or reignite old ones. This work frees us from limited thinking and inspires all kinds of material, from creative writing to business plans.

The participant will:

• Come back to themselves.
• Rediscover ease of movement.
• Release stress.
• Write.

Everyone is welcome. Please bring a notebook.

Monday, January 26, 1:00-2:00 pm

Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace: Recognize, Respond, Refer

Format: Online (Teams)
Facilitator: Athens-area National Alliance on Mental Illness and Annie Cadmus, Assoc. Director, WellWorks

In today’s fast-paced work environments, mental health challenges are increasingly common—but they often go unrecognized or unaddressed. This 1-hour interactive workshop equips managers, team leads and employees with the tools to identify early signs of mental health concerns and respond appropriately and compassionately. Participants will learn how to recognize behavioral and emotional cues, initiate supportive conversations and understand when and how to refer individuals to professional resources.

Led by NAMI Athens (NAMI- National Alliance on Mental Illness), this session uses real-world scenarios and practical tips to foster a more supportive, inclusive and psychologically safe workplace culture. No prior mental health training is required—just a willingness to learn and care for the well-being of yourself and your colleagues.

Key Takeaways:

• How to spot early warning signs of mental health issues
• Effective and respectful ways to start a conversation
• When and how to escalate or refer to employee well-being resources, HR or external professional support
• Creating a culture of openness and support around mental wellbeing
• Existing employee well-being resources and how to refer such resources to employees
   

Thursday, February 19, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Presence and Creativity in the Workplace

Format: In Person  
Facilitator: Rebecca VerNooy, Professor of Instruction, School of Theater

Location: Grosvenor West 111

This training integrates acting and mindfulness fundamentals to cultivate awareness and creativity. Participants will become aware of their thinking and discerning about their actions. Acting from a creative and expansive sensibility instead of a constricting and defensive place allows us to bring more of ourselves to our work and contribute to the community. We explore the following acting fundamentals to develop presence and creativity:

• The authentic use of self
• Listening and responding
• Active imagination

Monday, February 23, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) 

Upcoming Trainings:  

• January 28, 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm(Baker 231)
• February 9, 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm (Ping Meeting Rooms A and B)
• February 27, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (Living Learning Center 102 and 104)
• March 10, 9:00 am to 10:00 am (Virtual)

Leveraging AI as a Team Member

Duration: 31m 10s
Facilitator: Skillsoft
Format: Online

In this course, you'll gain a better understanding of how to harness the power of AI technology efficiently in your organization. To embrace AI as a member of the team, organizations must implement effective human-AI collaboration strategies. You'll also explore how to leverage AI as a valuable team member while maintaining strong ethical standards.

To access this training in Skillsoft, visit Skillsoft and enter the course title above into the search bar.

Mastering Power BI

Duration: 20 courses (24h 53m 30s)
Facilitator: Skillsoft
Format: Online

Embark on a transformative journey through the world of Power BI with our comprehensive training program. Over four tracks, participants will master the essentials of data loading, visualization, and report creation in Power BI Desktop, before delving into the collaborative Power BI Service and the robust capabilities of Power Query. The exploration extends into advanced topics, covering administration, security, real-time data, and performance optimization. Finally, participants will immerse themselves in the cutting-edge realm of Power BI Artificial Intelligence, gaining expertise in generating data insights, building machine learning models, and utilizing specialized AI charts. This holistic journey ensures a well-rounded proficiency in harnessing Power BI's capabilities for insightful data representation, collaborative workspaces, advanced administration, and the integration of artificial intelligence for data-driven decision-making.

To access this training in Skillsoft, visit Skillsoft and enter the course title above into the search bar.

Unlocking Productivity with the Microsoft Copilot App

Duration: 49m 57s
Facilitator: Skillsoft
Format: Online

The Microsoft 365 Copilot app is home to a number of tools to make your work more efficient. If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, the Copilot app gives you access to Copilot Chat, Pages, and agents, which we explore in this course. First, you'll learn how to navigate the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and see other ways to access Copilot Chat. Then, we'll show you how to use Copilot Chat to get answers to your questions grounded in your own professional data. Next, you'll see how to transform your chats into editable documents using Pages — see how to create, edit, and share Pages. You'll also learn how to install and interact with agents to handle specific tasks, as well as create your own custom agents adapted to your workflows. Finally, discover Actions, which lets you automate tasks starting with a simple description.

To access this training in Skillsoft, visit Skillsoft and enter the course title above into the search bar.

Presenting Virtually

Duration: 23m 26s
Facilitator: Skillsoft
Format: Online

Virtual presentations are intrinsically a little awkward. There’s less audience response, it’s harder to get a read on how your audience is responding to you, and making eye contact is problematic. It’s easy to forget that even when you can’t see everyone, they’re listening, and they need your attention. All of these can increase a presenter’s anxiety, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In this course, you’ll learn how presenting virtually can increase your reach and bridge differences, the ways in which presenting virtually is similar to--and different from--presenting face-to-face, and how to set the virtual stage for success. You’ll discover behavioral strategies to make virtual presentations come alive, and how to plan your presentations for the unique challenges of remote presenting. And you’ll also explore techniques, both technological and personal, that can ensure that every virtual presentation you give is better than the one before.

To access this training in Skillsoft, visit Skillsoft and enter the course title above into the search bar.

Complete Guide to Excel 365: Validating, Cleaning, & Performing Lookups on Data

Duration: 1h 29m 30s
Facilitator: Skillsoft
Format: Online

Excel is not only used for aggregating and analyzing data, but also for data cleansing. There are several data cleaning, validation, and checking techniques available, some of which are among Excel's most well-known and widely-used functions. In this course, you'll start by using various string and data manipulation functions to clean data and fill in missing values. Next, you'll perform simple data validation based on specific numeric thresholds and text lengths, before moving on to validation using lists. You'll then combine data validation to implement a formidable, dynamic data validation mechanism using named ranges and the INDIRECT formula. Finally, you'll use one-dimensional lookups - the classic HLOOKUP and VLOOKUP worksheet functions - as well as more complex, two-dimensional lookups utilizing a combination of INDEX and MATCH.

To access this training in Skillsoft, visit Skillsoft and enter the course title above into the search bar.

Skillsoft Percipio: Empowering Learning at Ohio University

Ohio University offers Skillsoft Percipio, a dynamic eLearning platform designed to support the growth and success of our faculty and staff. With thousands of expert-led courses, books, and videos available on demand, Percipio makes it easy for employees to build new skills, explore curated learning paths, and track their progress—all from any device, at any time. Supervisors can leverage Percipio to identify skill gaps, assign targeted training, and monitor team development through intuitive dashboards and analytics. As part of our commitment to continuous learning, Percipio helps foster a culture of professional excellence and career advancement across the university. 

Discover Microsoft Learn: Free, Interactive Training for All Skill Levels

Microsoft Learn is a free, self-paced training platform designed to help individuals build technical skills and earn Microsoft certifications. Whether you are just beginning or advancing in your career, Microsoft Learn offers guided learning paths, hands-on labs, and certification preparation resources across a wide range of topics, including cloud computing, data analytics, cybersecurity, and Microsoft 365 tools. Visit Microsoft Learn to explore training opportunities and take the next step in your professional development.

Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment: Advancing Teaching Excellence

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA) advances teaching and learning excellence at OHIO by providing University-wide resources and championing scholarly teaching that is student-centered, evidence-based, innovative and inclusive. The CTLA serves instructors, departments, programs and colleges across the University. The CTLA's programming brings OHIO community members together to share ideas and expertise, implement evidence-based instructional strategies in various learning contexts and assess the effectiveness of teaching practices. The CTLA's initiatives align with strategies and actions identified in the President's Dynamic Strategy by transforming the student learning experience through high-impact practices to best support intellectual growth and skill acquisition and promote learner development as individuals and engaged citizens.

Watch, Learn, and Grow with AllOne Health Webinars

AllOne Health offers a dynamic library of live and on-demand webinars designed to support mental health, physical wellness, financial literacy, and professional development. Covering a wide range of timely and relevant topics—from leadership and resilience to digital parenting and psychological safety.

Professional Resources from EDUCAUSE to Support Your Work

EDUCAUSE offers a collection of tools, insights, and learning opportunities designed to support employees across campus roles. Whether you are working in IT, student services, teaching, or administration, you will find practical guidance on topics like digital transformation, cybersecurity, analytics, and leadership. With access to expert perspectives, peer communities, and professional development pathways, EDUCAUSE helps you stay connected to the latest innovations and challenges shaping higher education. 

IT Advisory Communities

OHIO IT recognizes that it is more important than ever to engage the University community in evolving and advancing technology services. To that end, OHIO IT has instituted several IT advisory communities to discuss topics and trends related to specific IT products.

Advisory communities are an important part of the University's IT governance framework. They provide a means for participants to engage with OHIO IT, to influence decisions based on needs/experiences, and - most importantly - to inspire action to meet those needs. Advisory communities will also influence product roadmaps and help inform budget proposals.

Membership is open to anyone at the University. No prior experience or technical expertise is required. The only qualifications are an interest in the topic and a willingness to share ideas and listen to the ideas of others.

IT Advisory Communities include:

• Collaboration Tools
• Device and Software Support
• Teaching & Learning Technologies

AI Community of Interest

The AI Community of Interest at OHIO is an open group dedicated to supporting and exploring the evolving role of AI (artificial intelligence) on campus. Led by the Office of Information Technology, we actively support AI initiatives across the university to foster innovation and collaboration. We invite all members of the university community to join the conversation and help shape the future of AI at OHIO. To join, visit the AI Community of Interest in Teams and request to be added to the group. All are welcome!

Custom Training Opportunities

The Center for OHIO Employee Excellence can work with your planning unit to create custom-made training opportunities on an as-needed basis.

Examples include:

• Change Management and Organizational Agility
• Change Management during Staffing Changes
• Conflict Management and De-escalation

For more details or to get started on your own custom training, please contact the Center for OHIO Employee Excellence.

Well-Being Presentations

The staff of WellWorks and Healthy OHIO invite Ohio University departments to request well-being presentations at your next staff meeting.

Topics include:

• Employee Well-Being Overview
• Nutrition
• Movement
• Stress Management

Explore the training offerings or book a presentation by visiting Well-being Presentations.

OUPD Self-Defense Training

OHIO Planning Units and Departments can request special training sessions from OUPD that cover awareness, prevention, risk reduction, and avoidance while progressing on to the basics of hands-on defense training.

The classes are taught by Ohio University police officers who are certified RAD instructors. The RAD System of Physical Defense is currently being taught at dozens of colleges and universities around the US and Canada. The growing widespread acceptance of this system is primarily due to the ease, simplicity, and effectiveness of our tactics, solid research, legal defensibility and unique teaching methodology.

To request a training, please contact Evan Wilkof (wilkof@ohio.edu) or visit Request Training or Program and complete the online form.