Dean's Community Message

November 6, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

The count continues and likely will for the foreseeable future. Please take the time to take care of yourself: sleep, drink water, get fresh air. Check in with each other. Also, remember, the process has gone smoothly, albeit slowly, across the country. Every vote will be counted, the system is working, and democracy will prevail—it just takes time.

And, once we have an answer, continue to act with care. This is the United States, and we must be united in our resolve in the democratic process.

Today’s inspirational quote also serves as a reminder of our fundamental foundations and commitment to a government for the people, by the people.

“The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.”
—Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Here are today’s updates:

Return Home Plan: COVID Testing for Students

Penn State is partnering with Vault Health for departure COVID testing, which will be conducted at predetermined testing sites from Nov. 12 to Nov. 19. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in this testing before returning home. More information on the testing can be found here, and resources have been provided here for students to schedule an individual testing appointment. Students should plan to test at least three days before their scheduled departure, as the turnaround time for results will be approximately 48 hours from the time the test is received at the lab.

Penn State IT Loaner Programs: Donations Needed

Penn State IT is seeking used laptop donations from the Penn State community in order to expand its IT Loaner Programs in preparation for the upcoming transition to full remote teaching and learning. Only Penn State-owned machines are eligible to be donated. Requirements for donated machines include a minimum of 8GB memory, a functioning webcam, and functional audio. Windows and Mac machines are both acceptable. Please note that donated machines may not be returned. If you have machines that you would like to donate, please email EITDS@psu.edu, and a staff member at Penn State IT will work with you to facilitate the donation.

Teaching Tip #55 – Using Zoom Annotations While Screen Sharing

When sharing your Zoom screen, you can give students access to digitally annotate specific slides. Click the “More” link at the top of your screen share menu to enable and disable annotations for others.

Take care!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering