Sept 9: Weekly Update from President Nowaczyk
Sep 9, 2020 5:00 PM
Here are this week’s updates.
Our Fourth Week: We are now in the fourth week of our very unusual fall semester, and some commendations are in order:
- I have been very impressed with the vast majority students taking seriously the health protection principles outlined in the Social Compact: wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds, sanitizing and other measures. I also appreciate those who have pointed out hazards as they see them, and I encourage everyone to continue to send these messages to president@frostburg.edu so we can address them.
- Our faculty have had much success in making the difficult transition to blended or online learning with grace and creativity. Provost Mathias reports that about 130 faculty members completed the Hours to a Hybrid Course (H2H) program over the summer, and the Center for Teaching Excellence has collected a wealth of resources in its Canvas site for those still looking for ideas.
- Staff in many departments have put forth a great deal of effort to prepare us for the semester, as well as to keep things going, with everything from COVID testing, adapting our spaces, adjusting our technology and supporting our students in so many ways.
- Student and Community Involvement and UPC has been working to find ways to keep students socially engaged while socially distanced at the same time (Stadium Bingo anyone?), and I look forward to the ideas they come up with in the coming weeks.
I am glad to see so many encouraging signs for this semester, and there are many more I have not mentioned. At the same time, this pandemic is not over, and we must not relax our efforts to keep our campus and community safe. We can’t let the fact that we have so far been spared the worst of this virus’ impact to let down our guard. We can see the example of any number of universities and communities across the country, including WVU, to know what happens if we do ease up.
Virtual Coffees: I have been truly pleased with the response to our (Virtual) Coffee with the President events this summer. We have been able to answer hundreds of questions and it has been an opportunity to share information from students, faculty and staff in both directions. You can rewatch any of the events, including the latest event from last night, at this link.
BURG Alerts: If you are not aware, we use BURG Alerts to notify the Frostburg campus of emergencies and weather-related schedule changes. You are automatically signed up to BURG alerts to your FSU email, but I encourage you, especially new students and employees, to opt in for text alerts to your cell phones as well. You can also have it go to a second cell number and other emails. Opt in at this link, using your FSU log in information. Make sure to follow the validation steps to activate your choices.