Dean's Community Message

Feb. 5, 2021

Dear College of Engineering Community,

I hope you’ve had a good week! As we prepare to resume hybrid instruction, and some of you are returning to the campus community, please take care of yourselves and each other. From testing and masking to checking in with your friends and family, our individual actions can build a world of good.

Also take the time to participate in this semester’s first wellness day this semester on Tuesday, Feb. 9. There are several virtual events focused on financial and occupational wellness planned throughout the day.

“Be safe, be smart, be kind.”
—Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General

Here are today’s updates:

Student Code of Conduct Updates

The University has updated the student code of conduct to address racism and advance equity in the Penn State community. The specific changes are outlined here.

Reminder: Student COVID-19 Testing

All students at all campus locations must have a negative COVID-19 test result from a University-provided test on file prior to, and within 72 hours of, their return to campus. Please log in to the Know Your Status portal to make sure your testing requirement is complete, and to get started with ordering a test from Vault Health if you have not done so already. Vault Health self-test kits will be provided to students at no cost.

Zoom Bombing Investigation

The investigation of the “Zoom-bombing” that occurred Jan. 27 during a Black Caucus portion of Penn State’s Spring Virtual Student Involvement Fair is ongoing. University Police has been consulting with internal and external resources, including the Office of Information Security, FBI and the Centre County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact University Police at 814-863-1111 or submit a tip online: police.psu.edu/report-crime.

The University has provided guidance on how to protect Zoom meetings from Zoom bombing. Some additional resources include:

Reminder: Feb. 11 Webinar and Open Forum on Academic Integrity in Online Environments

The Leonhard Center will host Tricia Bertram Gallant, director of the University of California San Diego Academic Integrity Office, for a webinar and open forum on academic integrity on Feb. 11. Register here. Zoom links will be provided after registering.

  • Webinar on Academic Integrity in Online Environments
    Feb. 11, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
  • Open Forum on Academic Integrity
    Feb. 11, 10:45 to 11:30 a.m.

Teaching Tip #73 – Use headings in documents and presentations to improve lecture accessibility

By using the built-in heading styles in PowerPoint or Word, instructors can create easy outlines and tables of contents to help all students understand the lecture organization and allow students using screen readers to differentiate sections in the document.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering