Dean's Community Message

September 25, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

As we finish the first month of the semester, I encourage you to check in with your community and — importantly — yourself. This year has been unlike anything we have experienced, and we are all dealing with significant fatigue, among other emotions. Please take a moment to assess how you are coping. Have you found something that helps you manage time or unwind? Is there something that could be done in your unit that would help you cope better? Is there something that is already implemented in your unit that might help others?

I worry about faculty fatigue. I worry about staff fatigue. And I worry about student fatigue. For faculty and staff — are there things we do in normal years that perhaps should be postponed because of so many unusual demands on your time? Are there things we can do to be more efficient? Students — are there ways we can encourage faculty to evolve their approaches to help your success?

Send your ideas to me. I am cultivating tips to share with the engineering community throughout the rest of the semester, with the hope of helping to alleviate some of the extra pressures we are all facing.

Here is the first tip that I hope will be adopted by all faculty and staff across the college: No more meetings during lunch. Everyone deserves time to actually take a break and enjoy their meal!

Today’s inspirational quote was submitted by Xing Wang, assistant professor of nuclear engineering:

“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
—Winston Churchill

Here are today’s updates:

Student Attendance

As a reminder, students who feel ill or who have been exposed to COVID-19 should not attend class. Students are not required to supply a doctor’s note upon their return to class. Students who need to miss class should notify their instructors as soon as possible. Instructors should aim to be flexible with makeup work, but students should note that missing class — even for a legitimate reason — may result in missing work that cannot be made up independently.

University Senate policy states that students may be excused due to illness, injury, military service, family emergency, religious observance or post-graduate, career-related interviews, and to participate in university-approved curricular or extracurricular activities. The University Senate also recently passed an update that instructors should provide, within reason, the opportunity to make up work for students who miss class on an election day to participate in local, state and federal government elections.

Surveillance Testing

If you are selected for testing as part of Penn State’s surveillance strategy, please comply immediately. If you are not reporting to campus, please contact your supervisor who will work with a member of the College of Engineering’s HR team to update your return to work status.

COVID Alert PA App

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has launched a COVID alert app that uses the Exposure Notification System to allows you to monitor potential exposure. The app is available in the Apple App Store and in Google Play. Please note that the use of this app is optional, and it does NOT replace the symptom checker in the Penn State Go app, which you should still use every time you plan to go to campus or leave your dorm room.

Reminder: COVID FAQs

An extensive list of frequently asked questions about Penn State and COVID-19 has been compiled here. The site has a search bar to make finding answers easier. Please check this site if you have any particular questions. If you do not find your answer, email the College of Engineering COVID-19 response team.

Teaching Tip #44 – Make your TA a Zoom host

To enable your TA to manage your Zoom breakout rooms—make them the host of your Zoom class meeting. See these instructions on how to make a participant a host during a meeting.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering