Dean's Community Message

April 24, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

As you know, yesterday’s message from President Barron outlined the actions being taken through June 30 to address the still-evolving financial impacts facing Penn State because of the global COVID-19 crisis. It is important to echo and emphasize, that while the University faces significant financial challenges because of this pandemic, the institution entered this crisis on solid footing with a strong fiscal and management foundation. The same can be said for the College of Engineering. Our community has shown itself to be strong and resolute, not only in the midst of this crisis but well before.

This attitude — that of a community united together to face a common challenge head-on — reminded me of a quote from the famed martial artist Ed Parker:

“Whatever the attitude, so is the response.”

While our attitude remains positive and forward looking, our college has — and will continue to be — impacted by COVID-19 in a variety of ways. With today’s email, I wanted to highlight three areas of impact within Engineering related to yesterday’s announced actions. If you have questions or concerns about these or other issues, please do not hesitate to reach out to our response team at L-COE_CORONA_CRISIS_TEAM@engr.psu.edu. Updates and FAQs are also available at virusinfo.psu.edu.


Employees

We are currently working within the college, and in partnership with University leadership, to determine which of our employees will be affected by yesterday’s 50% salary announcement. Those affected will hear from their supervisor, in partnership with Human Resources in the college, to assist in this process and answer questions. Although these members of our community will continue to receive benefits based on their adjusted salaries and should be eligible for unemployment and stimulus support based on the University’s discussions with the state, this measure presents an undeniable hardship for these individuals and their families. As noted yesterday, there are too many uncertainties at this time to make workforce projections after June 30. The University will continue to assess circumstances and provide updates regarding whether further steps are necessary.

Additionally, all employees working remotely should continue to do so through May 8. A decision from the University regarding how employees will be working after May 8 will be made prior to that date and will be based on possible extensions to Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home and life-sustaining business orders and the guidance of public health authorities.


Students

In response to financial challenges facing all Penn Students including those in Engineering, the University previously announced an adjustment to tuition for the summer semester. Yesterday’s message outlined a plan, subject to Board of Trustees approval, for no tuition increases for the next academic year. As a reminder, students in need because of circumstances related to COVID-19 or other issues can apply for emergency funding from the University’s Student Emergency Fund. To do so, reach out to the Student Care and Advocacy Office in Student Affairs.


Budget

The University has asked units including the college to absorb 3% cuts to education and general fund budgets for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Our leadership team has been planning for this eventuality for some time now, and while reductions of this nature are not easy, we believe we are positioned within Engineering to absorb these cuts via central resources within the college, thus limiting the broader impacts at this time to our departments and units.


As I’ve said many times over the past few weeks, I am incredibly grateful for the spirit and resilience being shown by our entire community including students, staff, and faculty. There’s not a day that goes by that I am not inspired by someone (and more typically, many different people) in our community. Thank you for your passion and compassion, your flexibility, and your ingenuity. I could go on and on. You are Penn State at its absolute best.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering