Dean's Community Message

April 16, 2021

Dear College of Engineering Community,

It is with a heavy heart that I once again write about police violence against an unarmed Black person: Duante Wright. On Sunday, the 20-year-old man was killed during a traffic stop in Minnesota. For so many in our engineering community and beyond, this incident stands as its own traumatic event that also re-opens and amplifies the grief and anger of a larger narrative of tragedy and violence facing our nation. This is especially true against the backdrop of the ongoing trial of the police officer charged with killing George Floyd, as well as the recently released body cam footage of Adam Toledo’s death.

Please check in with each other, reach out to me, and connect with resources to help process and cope with the anguish of this heartbreak.

“It’s up to all of us — Black, white, everyone — no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out.”
—Michelle Obama

Resources

Here are today’s updates:

Majority of Fall Classes Set for In-Person Format

As Penn State continues to plan for a phased return to in-person learning, the University announced that nearly 96% of University Park course sections and 87% of course sections at Penn State campuses are set to be delivered as in-person classes for the upcoming fall semester. Please keep in mind that the health and well-being of our Penn State community are top priorities for the University and the college, so plans to return to in-person learning have the flexibility to shift quickly, if necessary. More information is available here.

All Pennsylvania Adults Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine

As of April 13, all Pennsylvania adults are eligible to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments. The University and the college are encouraging all students, faculty, and staff to sign up to get a vaccine as soon as appointments are available. The Pennsylvania Department of Health website features a map of vaccine providers, which includes hospitals, urgent care centers, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies. Several pharmacies in Centre County, Mount Nittany Medical Center, and Centre Volunteers in Medicine also are administering vaccines in the Centre Region.

Penn State Celebrates Ramadan

In recognition of Ramadan and those in our community who celebrate the holiday, I would like to say Ramadan Kareem! Penn State Dining is offering Iftar meal services from now until May 7 for those observing Ramadan. Students, faculty, and staff can preorder meals at any time before 4:00 p.m. Services will run from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. every day of the week. More information can be found here.

The Penn State Board of Trustees is launching their search for Penn State’s next president. As part of this search, they are asking for the Penn State community’s feedback. If you have not already done so, please complete the Next Gen Penn State Survey to share your insight on the most important characteristics, priorities, and goals of the University’s 19th president. More information is available here.

Can’t Return to Campus for Fall 2021? ‘Raise Your Hand’ in Starfish

As Penn State continues to make plans for in-person instruction for the fall 2021 semester, some residential students may experience unavoidable circumstances (e.g., visa, travel or health-related restrictions) that will prevent them from being on campus. Students impacted by one of these situations are asked to self-identify their status by using the “Raise Your Hand” feature in Starfish. The “Raise Your Hand” feature in Starfish will create an alert for the student, and they can schedule a meeting with their academic adviser to review options for the fall semester and assist with making plans to continue progress to graduation. International students can find more detailed information on the Global Programs fall 2021 webpage or complete the “Submit a Question” form in iStart.

Academic advisers should be aware of the “Raise Your Hand” feature and be ready to identify and support students to help them navigate their options during the fall registration process. Additional information for advisers on how the “Raise Your Hand” process works can be found in this recorded webinar.

Teaching Tip #87 – Merging course sections in Canvas

If you are preparing to teach summer course sections that need merging in Canvas, the functionality of the merge courses feature has just been improved. Courses can now be merged after they have started and after new sections have been added to Canvas. Also, merges will now retain the content of the original course. For more information, see this TLT Knowledge Base article.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering