Dean's Community Message

March 16, 2021

Dear College of Engineering Community,

I hope you all have adjusted to the beginning of Daylight Savings, and your week is off to a good start!

Last Friday, Governor Wolf announced that Pennsylvania is on track to vaccinate all eligible adults by President Biden’s deadline of May 1. For those in Centre County, vaccine resources are available here. Other information, including updated guidelines for Pennsylvania, is available here.

The CDC previously announced new guidelines for those who received the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or the only dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and two weeks have passed. I encourage you to review these and pay special attention to the directive to continue to mask, physically distance, and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces in public or with unvaccinated people.

There’s light at the end of this tunnel — let’s do all we can to make it a shorter journey there.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

—Emily Dickinson

Here are today’s updates:

Available March 17: Summer and Fall 2021 Course Registration Schedules

For summer 2021 registration, schedule of courses will be available in LionPATH on March 17, with registration beginning on March 25 for both undergraduate and graduate students. For fall 2021 registration, the schedule of courses will be available in LionPATH on March 17, with registration beginning on April 10 for graduate students and April 11 for undergraduate students. Students are reminded that their first day to register is calculated by their total credits earned plus the number of credits for which they are currently enrolled. More information is available on the Registrar website. If students have questions about what courses to take in the coming semesters, they are encouraged to schedule a time to meet with their academic advisers. Please note that students do not have to wait until the schedule of courses is published or their scheduling dates arrive to speak with an academic adviser.

Walk-Up Testing for University Park Students

Penn State urges University Park students to take advantage of the walk-up COVID-19 testing available at the Hintz Family Alumni Center and Pegula Ice Arena from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. if they are concerned that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus. As part of Penn State’s augmented spring 2021 testing strategy, the University has increased the availability of walk-up testing for students and added a second testing site compared to the fall semester.

Define Your Pod

Penn State experts have aggregated tips to define and maintain a quarantine pod to lessen your COVID-19 transmission risk. The University is continuing to contact trace exposure cases, so please answer your phone if the University calls with an exposure notification and have your pod list ready to share.

Startup Market for Students: March 23, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Lion LaunchPad will host Startup Market, a virtual, University-wide resource fair for students to learn more about innovation and entrepreneurship. The market features informational resources about microgrants, no-cost business consulting, business accelerators, and networking opportunities, among other services. The Startup Market is open to all Penn State students.

Teaching Tip #82 – Describe Lecture Visuals to Improve Accessibility

When using graphs or other visuals during a lecture presentation, try to describe what part of the visual you are referring to rather than just pointing to it or circling it. This will help students with visual impairments, as well as any student listening to the recording, more easily picture in their minds any visuals from the lesson.

Take care!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering