Dear Faculty,

There are still three weeks left in the semester and I know we are all already thinking about a fall return where personal connections as we remember them will be possible again. Many of our students are busily enrolling in fall classes, but we still have hundreds of students who have yet to register. I want nothing more than to welcome our entire community back next semester and it will take extra effort on our part to make this happen. Please work with your student services team to support their efforts in bringing back our second-year students where retention is most vulnerable right now. We also need to reach out to students on leaves of absence and those who have been learning at home. Your attention and active intervention can make a big difference to students who are hungry for connections with faculty. We need to do everything in our power to minimize the pandemic’s disruption to our students’ futures and keep them on track to four-year degree completion.

As I do each week, I’m writing to share reminders and information that I hope is helpful to you.

• This year’s Virtual Student Research Conference demonstrated nearly 200 presentations, over 2,000 presentation views, and faculty mentors across more than 40 departments. Twenty-one faculty members were nominated for a Faculty Mentor Award and at least ten undergraduate and five graduate students will be receiving a Competitive Session Award for their outstanding presentations. I want to thank the team in the FOURs Office and the Honors College for their work supporting this important event. I also want to extend my special thanks to our faculty for providing these valuable research opportunities. Undergraduate research in particular is a high-impact practice that fosters intellectual curiosity, deepens students’ connections with campus and their academic pursuits, and supports career readiness. Your efforts here have a significant impact – thank you.
• The Blue Lights located across campus are part of the university’s safety and security system. These lights provide instant two-way communications with a dispatcher and flash when activated. The university implemented LiveSafe, a mobile security and safety app in August 2020 and is now considering the future of the aging Blue Light system. This might include its replacement, removal, or some combined approach. Your feedback will help inform this decision. Please complete the Blue Light Feedback Survey by May 7, 2021.
• On April 28 at 2:15pm, WID and CTL will provide an opportunity to reflect on writing-intensive teaching during the pandemic. The discussion will focus on what worked, what was challenging, and what strategies we might carry forward. Register here. Please also check the WID and CTL website for future events including Writing Your Teaching Philosophy and Effective Grading: Tips to Ease the Work & Stress.
• With Commencement less than one month away, it is not too early to start planning for the summer. If you are wondering how to enjoy life outside of work while maintaining productivity, the NCFDD hands-on planning webinar Every Summer Needs a Plan may just be right for you.
• Reminders and recent communications:
  • The call for nominations for the AY2020-2021 President’s Distinguished University Citizenship and Service Award, the President’s Distinguished Senior Lecturer Award and the President’s Distinguished Lecturer Award has been extended to Friday, April 30, 2021. Nomination materials should be sent by email as a single PDF file, with the award name as the subject line, to Jennifer.Diaz@uvm.edu.
  • The Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award nominations are due by May 7, 2021.
  • As you prepare for the final weeks of the semester, please double check the final exam schedule and remind your students about the timing of your final exam; please also review the Final Exam policy to ensure that you abide by its provisions.
  • Final grades are due 72 hours after your final exam date/time, and must be submitted by noon on Friday May 21.
  • We were delighted to announce that in accord with Governor Scott’s “Roadmap to Reopening” graduates are now permitted to have two fully vaccinated guests attend our in-person, on-campus Commencement ceremonies.
  • Please help shape the RFP process for UVM’s Learning Management System by completing this brief survey.
  • The addendum to the existing UVM Travel Policy has been revised for summer 2021 travel, and reflects the most current state and University requirements.

• You can find detailed information on COVID-19 tests administered and results on the Weekly Testing Report. Last week’s student test results included 22 off-campus positives and 11 on-campus positives out of 17,163 tests (percent of new student cases already in quarantine: 9.1%). Last week’s faculty and staff test results included 1 positive out of 908 tests. Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to participate in regular testing.

We experienced the characteristic unpredictability of Vermont’s April weather with a beautiful mid-week snowfall.  It reminded me of a Robert Frost poem that’s a favorite in my family, Two Tramps in Mud Time. Here’s a stanza you may appreciate:

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.

Here’s to a more ‘May-like ‘weekend,

Patty