Dean's Community Message

July 24, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

Today’s inspirational quote was submitted by Kathryn W. Jablokow, Professor of Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering:

“We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt

As we move a week closer toward the start of the semester, please remember we each have the responsibility to keep our community safe and healthy. Every member of the engineering community is expected to wear a mask, maintain social distance, and use their own ID cards to enter buildings. If you see individuals not wearing masks, not maintaining social distance, or entering buildings without ID, you are expected to report these misconducts. Silence is viewed as approval, and we do not approve of these violations. If you see something, say something.

There are several ways to make a report:

As always, if you have a questions or concern, please reach out to the Engineering Crisis Team or email me directly.

Here are today’s updates:

Action Together

The University has launched a website aimed at advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at Penn State. This website is a resource for the University community, with updates from the co-chairs leading the work on new initiatives to address racism, bias, and community safety.

Fall Teaching Preparedness Timeline

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to review the teaching preparedness timeline on Penn State’s Keep Teaching website. There are several great resources available to help instructors prepare as we head into the fall semester.

Back to State Lunch & Learn

The University is launching a webinar series intended to help Penn State instructors and staff prepare to support students returning to campus and those learning from home this fall. The Countdown to Fall: Student Support and Engagement Series will be delivered daily via Zoom, from noon to 1:00 p.m., over three weeks beginning Monday, July 27. Attendees do not need to register in advance. The Penn State Keep Teaching website lists the schedule of webinars, as well as recordings of past webinars.

Upcoming Workshops on Instructional Strategies and Technologies for FA20

The Leonhard Center and the Office for Digital Learning currently offer a weekly workshop series throughout July to help you prepare for teaching in the fall. The workshops are offered in pairs: the first workshop focuses on instructional strategies and the second on instructional technologies. The next pair of workshops focuses on assessments. Registration is required.

  • Rethinking assessments! What other options are there beyond the final exam?
    Tuesday, July 28, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
    Registration
  • Digital Tools for Exams and other Assessments
    Thursday, July 30, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
    Registration

Teaching Tip #28 – Consider developing an operational agreement to build community in your course

This tip is courtesy of Lauren Griggs, Director of the Multicultural Engineering Program. To encourage a sense of community in your class this fall, ask your students to collaborate to develop an operational agreement (essentially course norms, practices, expectations) on an anonymous google document, then combine concepts into themes and share them back with the class.

Be well and have a safe weekend!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering