It is somewhat difficult for me to believe we are now in the month of August, with only a couple of weeks before the return of students for the start of the fall 2021 semester. While the summer has in no way been calm nor uneventful for me, it has provided a bit of a different pace than the somewhat frenetic cadence of the past few semesters. I know many of you have taken time away from work for a well-deserved vacation. If you have, I hope you have been able to disconnect and find moments of self restoration. We will reconvene our regularly scheduled group meetings soon enough. Until then, I anticipate we will need to make some adjustments to our plans for the fall semester in response to the shifting circumstances brought on by COVID-19 and the delta variant as well as revisions to University guidance.
COVID and Contingency Planning
https://virusinfo.psu.edu
Follow-up to August 3 Town Hall
Guidance for international travel for students, staff, and faculty has been updated. Here is the link to the guidance for student domestic travel (https://www.vpfa.psu.edu/files/ 2021/07/Student-Domestic-Travel-Guidance_7.21.21.pdf).
Effective August 16, revised University-affiliated international travel guidelines will be in effect. This is a revision of guidelines that have been in place since March 2020. The revised guidelines apply to travel requests made on or after August 16 for travel beginning September 16 or later. Registration in the Travel Safety Network at least 30 days in advance will be required. https://news.psu.edu/story/664922/2021/07/30/academics/penn-state-revisesinternational-travel-policy-employees-students
To stay informed about the status of COVID at the University along with information about testing, guidelines, and to view the dashboard, go to the following link: https://virusinfo.psu.edu/covid-19-dashboard/.
Arts & Architecture Event and Gathering Guidance
Per guidance from Kelly Wolgast, Director, COVID-19 Operations Control Center (COCC), we are to avoid indoor gatherings as much as possible. Any food service should be provided outdoors, with individually packaged meals and individual drinks, and no buffet type service. Serving food at any event when there may be unvaccinated people is a potential health concern as indoor events with food would require unvaccinated people to remove their mask to eat. Removing masks is in contradiction with University guidance for all unvaccinated people to be masked indoors at all times. See sites.psu.edu/aainternal/#opp for more information.
A Few Items from the Provost’s Email for Faculty and Instructors (07.30.21)
Students who started at Penn State in fall 2020 and spring 2021 did so under extraordinary circumstances due to the pandemic and may have spent the entirety of their first two semesters studying remotely. The University started the First to Second Year Task Force in spring 2021 to identify the implications the pandemic had on students. The task force has established a system of financial support for colleges, campuses, and units that wish to offer programs and services to second-year students to help that cohort develop the awareness, understanding and connections of a full on-campus experience. Any college, campus, or unit can apply for up to $7,500 in funding.
Effective August 16, Penn State will lift is suspension of University-affiliated international travel, which has been in place since March 2020. The revised guidelines apply to travel requests made on or after August 16 for travel beginning September 16 or later. Registration in the Travel Safety Network at least 30 days in advance will be required.
The deadline for students to respond to an anonymous survey about their current COVID-19 vaccination status or plans to get vaccinated before the start of the fall semester has been extended to August 6.
The Class of 2020 Commencement Celebration Weekend will take place April 29 to May 1, 2022.
KEY REMINDERS FOR FACULTY
Penn State is continuing to encourage students and employees to share their coronavirus vaccination status to help inform the University’s decision-making and its COVID-19 management plan. Employees can provide their vaccination status using SalesForce Health Cloud, a secure online platform.
Faculty can still submit questions related to Penn State’s COVID response. Questions may be submitted here.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To obtain comprehensive, updated information at any time, please review:
The University’s comprehensive resources on its “University Status” page and updated FAQs regarding on-campus work and learning
Penn State’s “Keep Teaching” and “Keep Learning” websites, including many Spring 2021 instruction-related FAQs
Penn State’s COVID-19 dashboard
Previous issues of this Digest (linked at sites.psu.edu/aainternal)
The Office of Human Resources COVID-19 information site and “Return to Work on Campus” resource site
The University’s health information page focused on personal safety practices for individuals at all campuses
A robust, updated list of contacts and resources for the University community
The Social Science Research Institute website featuring pandemic-related insights from University experts and other resources
B. Stephen Carpenter II
Dean | College of Arts + Architecture
arts.psu.edu | #MakingPossibilitiesPossible