To my colleagues across Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence,

When I think about Student Engagement and Success (SES), I reflect on the many ways that our work influences the student experience. It may be helping a student find direction in choosing a major or providing opportunities to connect with employers and explore future careers. It may be supporting a student-athlete to succeed in the classroom and maintain eligibility to compete or helping a student find community through our Guardian Scholars and Project Rebound Programs. Often, it is just being there to listen, offer guidance, and help them move forward in their journey.

Within SES, our teams in the Dean of Students Office, Student Conduct, Academic Advising, Career Center, NCAA Compliance, Student Athlete Resource Center, Guardian Scholars, First Star Academy, and Project Rebound serve students with different experiences and different pathways to college. While our day-to-day duties and the ways we provide services and support differ, as a unit, we are committed to serving students throughout their academic journey by helping them navigate challenges, expanding access to services, and creating safe spaces for them to achieve their academic and personal goals.

As CSU Forward and the Student Success Framework move toward implementation, we have an opportunity as a division to reflect on how we support students and how we can work not only collaboratively but more effectively across campus. The SES team will be a leading voice and collaborative partner in shaping and advancing many of the initiatives. We know all too well that student success does not happen within one department, unit, or division. We will need intentional collaboration and strong partnerships, as our Academic Advising and Career Center colleagues will play important roles in shaping student experiences and providing our Hornets with pathways that connect academics, career preparation, and employment opportunities beyond graduation.

I am grateful for the dedication and commitment of our staff, who are making a difference in our students' lives. As we look ahead to building on the work already happening, I am most excited to work alongside this team as we build on our collective strengths, embrace new opportunities, and keep students at the forefront of our efforts.

Stingers Up!

Dr. Nadine Kelley

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs

Dean of Students

📄 It may seem early to be discussing taxes, but it's important to be prepared. In case you missed it, a recent SacSend from the Department of Human Resources detailed how to prepare for tax season, including the November 30 deadline for updating your W-2 options. The message highlights Cal Employee Connect and details many of the tools and resources available to employees, such as accessing direct deposit options, viewing compensation histories, updating personal details, and more. Check it out in your inbox or click the link below for more details.

⭐ The Division of Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence Staff Talent Appreciation & Retention (STAR) Awards Program recognizes and celebrates the outstanding contributions of staff members within our division who make a positive impact on our campus community and student success. All staff, students, and managers are encouraged to submit nominations to recognize colleagues and teams who go above and beyond in their work. Thank you for helping us celebrate the incredible people who make Sac State a supportive and thriving community!

📅 The semester is moving along quickly, and the holidays will be here before we know it. This month's holiday campus closures include Wednesday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans Day and Thursday, Nov. 26, in observance of Thanksgiving Day. For Friday, Nov. 27, campus is also closed. This is an academic holiday for AY faculty and AY Unit 3 employees. Staff, management, and Unit 3 employees holding 12-month appointments may use vacation or a personal holiday to cover the day. Employees who choose to work that day should contact their manager for further direction. Happy Holidays from all the Division of Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence!

📖 Principles of Supervision for Leads is a cohort-based training program focused on the development of supervisory skills for lead staff. The fall 2026 cohort will meet in person from 8:30 a.m. - noon on Thursdays from Nov. 5-Dec. 10. This curriculum from the Chancellor's Office focuses on guiding and organizing work, motivation and engagement, delivering feedback, and building team culture and relationships. Registration is open but seats are limited. Contact learn-dev@csus.edu for questions.

Please join the Esak’timá Native Student Resource Center during the month of November as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month.

We encourage you to attend events on campus or within the community that celebrate the cultures, histories, and traditions of Native American communities, including the third annual Native American Heritage Month Parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Capitol Mall.

We invite the Hornet community to celebrate, reflect, and deepen our understanding of Native American communities while supporting the well-being of Native students, faculty, staff, and communities.

Please join the APIDA Student Resource Center as we celebrate Diwali, and Hmong New Year 2026. These cultural celebrations provide an opportunity to recognize the rich histories, traditions, and identities of our Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Desi American communities.

Diwali, known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. Hmong New Year marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of a new year, bringing families and communities together through traditional clothing, music, dance, and cultural festivities.

We appreciate and encourage your support, attendance and participation in our Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence and campus events.

Here are some upcoming events occurring this month: 

Welcome to Honey, Wings & Stings!

The Buzz highlights members of the Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence family who have been promoted (Honey 🍯), newly hired (Wings 🦋), and those who are leaving our division, including retirees (Stings 🐝).

Join us in recognizing these extraordinary employees!

Honey 🍯recognizes our staff who have been promoted or transferred to new roles within Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence.

Congratulations to these outstanding members of our SAIE family!

Wings 🦋 recognizes new hires in the division, with a list of names, titles and start dates.

Join us in welcoming our newest division members!

Stings 🐝 recognizes members of the Hornet Family who are departing the division, including our retirees.

Join us in wishing these folks all the best on their next adventure!

As a division, we are deeply committed to ensuring that our digital spaces, communications, and documents are welcoming and accessible to every student and colleague.

Making our content accessible isn't just about meeting compliance standards; it is a direct reflection of our inclusive values and our care for the student experience.

To help you create inclusive digital materials, explore our key accessibility resources:

Have questions or concerns about making your materials accessible? Contact the SA-IT Web team. We are here to partner with you!

Need technical assistance or have a help desk question?

Submit a service ticket through the SA-IT Help Portal or reach out to our team directly by email or via Teams chat. For web assistance, please submit a service ticket through the SA-IT Web Service Ticket submission form.

Expenditure pre-approval needed for all travel and timely Concur travel requests

All Concur travel requests require both an approved expenditure pre-approval form and an agenda or other documents that support the travel, such as a flyer or invitation. To help ensure sufficient time for review and approval, please submit all required documents and Concur travel requests as far in advance as possible. This will allow the approval process to be completed before the scheduled travel. Please note that travel should not occur until the Concur travel request has received final approval.

ICT Process Update - We are going back in time...

The ICT process of old is back in place. Please submit ICT requests for technology purchases through SA-IT before entering a requisition in CSUBuy/P2P. You will need the approved ICT PDF to attach to the requisition. With the attached ICT form, you will not be required to answer the questions in the technology "form" in CSUBuy/P2P. For more information, please visit ICT Procurement Review Process and you can watch the Oct. 21 Business Partners Round Table presentation from IRT once posted.

Adding your events to Trumba, Sac State's event management platform, is quick, easy, and it's an effective way to get your events seen by the campus community.

Trumba is designed to help organize, share and promote campus events in a simple, intuitive platform. Sharing your events on the campus calendar is a great way to keep students up to date on all the exciting events we have planned!

Hornet Weekly - Sac State's bulletin for currently enrolled students is sent every Tuesday as an email newsletter, distributed via the MySacState student portal and is available as an online archive. Please submit items for inclusion in Hornet Weekly!

Announcement: There is Hornet Weekly during Thanksgiving week. The Thursday, Nov. 19, 1 p.m. deadline will be for the Tuesday, Dec. 1, edition. 

See the full Hornet Weekly schedule for more details.

Hornet Weekly now uses SharePoint for submitting news, announcements and resources items and Trumba for event submissions, but Hornet Weekly has its own Trumba submission form, so submitting events for Hornet Weekly is a separate process from submitting to the featured or department calendars. Click below to learn more.

Learning & Development offers a wide variety of employee professional development trainings, events and activities each month.

Additionally, the Career Center offers a wide variety of career development and employer networking resources, trainings, events, career fairs and activities for you, students, and alumni each month.

See the full calendars below for full event listings.

We have an easy way to request campaigns, emails and more. Use our forms to request graphics, photos, videos and targeted SacSends!

We are here to help. Let us guide you on the best practices and platforms for reaching students. Planning ahead streamlines communication pathways, helping you connect with your target audience(s).

Thank you for reading the November 2026 edition of The Buzz!

🐝 The Buzz usually hits your inbox once a month. 🐝

Your partnership is the heartbeat of this newsletter. Please submit updates for the next newsletter no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13.

Please send us your feedback, thoughts, and ideas. 💌

The Buzz is compiled in cooperation with our division partners and produced by Digital Communications Specialist Daniel Wilson.

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California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 278-6011  |   www.csus.edu