Dean's Community Message

April 17, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

“Sometimes in our lives we all have pain. We all have sorrow. But if we are wise we know that there’s always tomorrow.”
Bill Withers, Lean On Me

And tomorrow, I’m happy to report, is Saturday! Thanks to John Hannan, Associate Department Head and Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, for the quote submission. I love reading and sharing these, and I’ve heard from many of you that you enjoy reading them, so please keep the quotes coming.

I hope you’ve had a good week and have a chance in the days ahead to unplug from work and reach out, at least virtually, to friends and family. Connect with me, too, on LinkedIn. If you have lingering issues, concerns, or questions, please reach out to our response team L-COE_CORONA_CRISIS_TEAM@engr.psu.edu. Additionally, the University’s Coronavirus Information Site provides updated information and FAQs.

Here are today’s updates:

Spring Virtual Commencement

It is important to emphasize that the University — as well as the college — are eager to celebrate in person with graduates and their families when public health guidelines allow. Potential dates, logistics and activities for in-person recognition are currently being explored. Yesterday, Penn State provided additional details on the planned virtual spring commencement ceremony, which will be streamed live at 2:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 9. The college and various units in engineering are also developing plans to celebrate graduates virtually. More details will be provided soon.

On-Campus Housing: Belongings Retrieval

The University is finalizing plans for students to be able to return to residence halls to retrieve belongings. An announcement from Penn State is expected soon.

Updated Faculty Guidance

Penn State Faculty affairs has substantially updated guidance for faculty, which has been provided to leadership in Engineering. Among the updates:

  • Restrictions on domestic travel will continue to June 30; domestic visitors may not come to campus until June 30 as well.
  • Suspension of international travel remains in effect; all foreign nationals scheduled to arrive before August 1 should be rescheduled.
  • Restrictions to meeting and events extended to June 19.
  • A moratorium on new applications for visiting scholars has been issued; extensions of visiting scholars who were scheduled to depart June 30 who wish to remain in US must be submitted.

Environmental Health and Safety Guidance

Penn State EHS has developed three guidance documents for use by faculty and staff. The documents cover performing remote teaching or research from home, performing teaching demonstrations in University labs or shops, and fieldwork safety. These and other resources are available on the EHS COVID-19 website.

Researcher Request: Thermal Scanning/Imaging

As part of Penn State’s efforts to address COVID-19, the Center for Biodevices is seeking researchers who have thermal scanning/imaging equipment in their labs and/or ideas for developing new ones. If you have capability in this area, please email Mary Frecker at mxf36@psu.edu.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering