Dean's Community Message

Feb. 23, 2021

Dear College of Engineering Community,

I hope you have all taken a moment to read through President Barron’s message to the Penn State community on persistent racism, bias and community safety issues across the country and at Penn State. He summarizes actions taken so far, and points to the next planned initiatives, consisting of a multi-pronged approach to organize and amplify the individual and unit equity and inclusion efforts across the University, as well making diversity, equity, and inclusion a mandatory element of education.

As President Barron said, “I am keenly aware of our potential as Penn Staters and believe we are well-positioned to meet the challenges of this moment …. This is only the beginning.” The College of Engineering is primed to not only meet these challenges, but to lead the University as we continue the critical work of making equity and inclusion a pillar of engineering.

From our Engineering Equity Initiative to make a Penn State engineering education more accessible to the brightest minds to ongoing development of an Equity Action Plan for the college, we are working to pave the path to real, inclusive change.

That said, we have a lot to do, and we all have a role in defining our college’s culture. At every level of education and beyond into the professional world, we each have the power to help shift culture. We can drive allyship and actively practice anti-racist behavior. The Penn State University Libraries put together a great list of resources to help us continue learning and growing.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
—Frederick Douglass

Here are today’s updates:

Workshop: The Impact of Reflecting on Your Teaching

The Leonhard Center is hosting a workshop on using reflection in teaching on March 4 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. on Zoom. Please register here (registrants will be sent the Zoom link). Engineering education scholars note, “Reflection, or exploring the meaning of experiences and the consequences of the meanings for future action, has always been essential in the development of expertise,” according to the Consortium to Promote Reflection in Engineering Education. The benefits of self-reflection are becoming clearer, potentially leading to higher productivity, more planful future actions, and a greater sense of accomplishment. This workshop will help you understand the potential for reflection to enhance your teaching and will provide suggestions on how to start reflective teaching practice. The workshop may assist you in writing the teaching section of your narrative statement of your dossier.

Reminder: Universal Testing

Appointments are still available for University Park students to receive their required universal COVID-19 test from Feb. 24 through 26 at White Building. Students who have missed a previous appointment or have not yet registered can go to the link in an email from healthystate@psu.edu that was sent to their Penn State account on Feb. 9. More information is available here.

Reminder: Summer Courses

The University anticipates that decisions on instruction modes for the summer, as well as the course registration timeline, will be made over the next few weeks. In the meantime, for an indication of the types of offerings likely to be available in summer 2021, students are encouraged to use the historical course search tool to review summer 2019 and summer 2020 courses.

Reminder: Zoom Privacy Settings

Take the necessary measures to prevent incidents of Zoom bombing. This includes allowing only authenticated Penn State users to join a meeting, requiring passwords for participants joining by phone, turning off the chat feature and disabling screen sharing. Additionally, refrain from sharing meeting passwords or changing default settings. Additional tips, including what to do if your meeting is Zoom bombed, are available here.

Teaching Tip #77 – Make Use of the Canvas Gradebook

Using the Canvas Gradebook allows your students to track their grades in Canvas and can minimize grading questions and disputes. Grades can be weighted to match your syllabus policies, and the gradebook also meets the University’s records retention requirements for student grades. To learn more, see the module on managing your gradebook or contact the Office for Digital Learning for assistance.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering