Dean's Community Message

December 11, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

The last day of classes is here! I want to sincerely thank our students, faculty, and staff for their hard work, persistence, and ongoing adaptability during this fall semester. The last nine months have not been easy, but our engineering community has showed we will continue to inspire change and impact tomorrow, even in the most challenging times. I wish our students the best of luck with finals! Keep going!

Today’s inspirational quote was submitted by Christine Masters, assistant dean for academic support and global programs:

“I never said it would be easy; I only said it would be worth it.”
—Mae West

Here are today’s updates:


Reminder for Instructors: Submitting Final Grades

As we approach finals week, all instructors should have their grades in no later than two days after the final assessment. This deadline is important for a number of reasons that relate to automated processes in LionPATH. This semester has been particularly challenging for both instructors and students and the college appreciates your effort in meeting this deadline.


Spring 2021 Planning Resources for Instructors

As a reminder, the University has provided numerous resources for instructors to help with preparations for the upcoming spring semester. We highly encourage our instructors to utilize these resources, especially the Instructor Guide for Upcoming Semester Course planning, which includes a checklist that can aid in planning for the spring. These resources are available on the Keep Teaching site. Additionally, we are asking for instructors’ feedback on the Flexible Instruction Teaching Guide. Please complete this form to submit your feedback.


Dec. 9 University Virtual Town Hall Archived

President Barron and the co-chairs of the Select Penn State Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety and the Student Code of Conduct Task Force hosted a virtual town hall on Dec. 9. The discussion was focused on the newly released draft reports on racism, bias, and community safety at Penn State. If you were not able to tune in for this event, I encourage you to watch the recording that is archived here.


Gov. Wolf and PA Sec. of Health: New COVID-19 Mitigation Orders

Yesterday, Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced new mitigation orders that will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 12, and remain in effect until 8 a.m. on Jan. 4. These mitigation efforts prohibit indoor dining at restaurants, gyms and fitness facilities, entertainment businesses, in-person extracurricular school activities, and K-12 school sports and youth sports. There are also new restrictions on indoor/outdoor gatherings and events and capacity limits for businesses.


Alternative Grading and Scholarships Information

Information on alternative grading and scholarships is forthcoming from the University. It will be posted on keeplearning.psu.edu once it is available.


Teaching Tip #64 – Preparing Final Grades to Pull from Canvas to LionPATH

Check out these helpful resources to prepare your final grades to pull from Canvas to LionPATH:

Any questions, please contact canvas@psu.edu or 814-865-HELP.


Please note that Tuesday, Dec. 15, will be my last community message of the fall semester. I will communicate with the community as needed throughout the winter break. We will resume the regularly scheduled community messages at the start of the spring semester.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering