University of Evansville

AceNotes Today

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Upcoming Events

* "Race and..." - Conversations About Race in America

Social impacts from COVID-19, the deaths of Ahmaud Arbury, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, calls for reforms to policing and criminal justice, voter access for state primaries and the lead up to the presidential election, social movements, and more. These topics have a race dimension that will be a significant concern for many of our students and employees during the coming year.

Please join us for another live episode of "Race and...Conversations About Race in America." The discussion will take place on Zoom at 1PM on Wednesday, September 2, with Rob Shelby, PhD. In this webinar, Rob will welcome special guests Kyle Jones and Becca Patton of Student Christian Fellowship.

Click the Zoom link to join the discussion: https://zoom.us/j/93117127417?pwd=SzVncExmK1RMcmh6Um9UbzFlNm1Ldz09

If you missed previous conversations, the recordings are now available on the Center for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion's webpage.

Contact:
Rob Shelby
rs262@evansville.edu
812-488-2949
Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

 
* Stop by the UE Gardens this Friday, July 31!

You are welcome to the UE Garden Farmers' Market this coming Friday.  There will be beans, kale, Swiss chard, squash (both summer and winter), peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes. UE honey will also be for sale. 

Additionally, UE ceramic artists will have their work on display and available for sale.

Contact:
Bill Hemminger
bh35@evansville.edu

 

Info You Should Know

* Annual Fire Alarm System Testing

Beginning Thursday, July 30, Johnson Controls will be on campus conducting the annual fire alarm system testing. As each building is tested the alarm will go off intermittently between the hours of 7:30AM-5PM. Physical Plant and Security will know on a daily basis the buildings being tested. As the technicians move from building to building they will notify Security. Testing will be completed by Friday, August 7th. If you have any concerns, please contact the Facilities Dept. at ext. 2775.

Contact:
Stacey Beard
sb454@evansville.edu

 

 
* Fall Semester Delayed to Begin August 26

The University of Evansville continues to monitor the State and the region for the rising number of COVID-19 cases. As of Monday, July 27, Indiana joined a growing number of states in the country in which masks must be worn in public as a measure to halt the spread of COVID-19. As the number of cases continues to climb in Indiana, Southwestern Indiana and in the Evansville area, the University is delaying the start of the Fall 2020 semester to August 26. 

We recognize that this change may require  an adjustments in travel plans, class schedules, or events but our Coronavirus Health Care Taskforce determined that the delay is necessary to allow time for the mask mandate to impact and reduce the number of cases in our region and to help advance our guiding principle of returning to campus as quickly and safely as possible. 

Based on this timing of the beginning of our Fall semester, we expect to adjust the following: 

• Adjusted move-in dates and times will be assigned and will be sent to residential students as soon as possible

  • If you have a unique situation regarding move-in, please feel free to reach out to Residence Life 
  • Freshmen will receive updated information and schedule for Welcome Week

• Convocation will be moved to a virtual format and will be held on Tuesday, August 25

• The academic calendar will be adjusted with the last day of instruction on Wednesday, November 25. Students will take final exams after Thanksgiving with the option for students to take exams in person or online. The last day of the semester will be Wednesday, December 9. 

  • Clinical graduate programs and experiences in healthcare and education fields may, in some cases, begin before August 26.

• Employees will return to campus with staggered workforce on August 12. 

The Coronavirus Health Care Taskforce will continue to monitor the situation carefully and recommend further modifications as warranted to help protect the health and safety of the UE community. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. 
 

 
* Plans to Reopen UE Campus

The Coronavirus Healthcare Taskforce has been preparing for our return to campus and working carefully to implement a safe return for our entire community. The UE Campus will reopen Wednesday, August 12 with following guidelines: 

• Summer hours will end, and offices will resume normal office hours of 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

• All academic and administrative buildings and offices will be open but will include staggered workforce and established safety guidelines.
 
• Connect with your supervisor, area vice president or dean on work area scheduling for schedules prior to and after campus reopens. 

• Fitness Center will remain closed, but staff will be working diligently to reopen as soon as safety guidelines have been implemented.

• A mix of in-person and online instruction with an altered Fall 2020 Academic Calendar. 

  • With this change in schedule Labor Day will not be a paid holiday. Employees will work on September 7, 2020 unless using a vacation day.

All members of the UE community are responsible for protecting not only themselves, but also the other members of the community. The culture of safety is a commitment by everyone to follow the guidelines set forth in the plan.

Below are the steps for employees to follow regarding returning to work:

Step 1. Schedule. Connect with your supervisor, area vice president or dean on your in-person and remote working schedule. 

Step 2. Training. All employees are expected to complete the Blackboard course titled Aces COVID-19 Training for Faculty, Administrators, and Staff before returning to offices.  

Step 3. Daily Screenings. Before you arrive to campus (each day), complete the screening campus check-in. 

Step 4. Be Safe. Wear your required masks or face coverings, observe enhanced personal hygiene practices (i.e. frequent hand washing and hand sanitizer use), adhere to safe social distancing practices, and follow all safety instructions and signage. See the full campus opening guidelines available on the website.

Step 5. Report. Monitor and self-report all COVID-19 symptoms and self-isolate if feeling ill. 

Step 6. Support. The entire campus community is expected to be supportive and collaborative and follow the established guidelines. It is our shared responsibility to keep our entire community safe.

More information will be released in the next few weeks regarding implementing personal safety equipment, receiving your employee mask, additional guidelines and the final Stage 4 of the Reopening Plan. Until this information is available, please reference the current plan and information available online at www.evansville.edu/coronavirus.  

 

 
* Letterhead and Envelope Orders Due August 6

The 2020-21 letterhead and envelope orders are due August 6. If your department uses letterhead or envelopes during the fiscal year, this is the time to order. By placing one large order, we are able to get a substantial price break on boxes of envelopes and reams of letterhead. Smaller orders placed later in the year will unfortunately be more expensive.


REMINDER: Generic letterhead and envelopes are no longer available from the office supplies order form.

Check your email inbox for a message from the Office of Publications with ordering instructions. You may also email publications@evansville.edu or call ext. 2561 for more information.


Remember - orders are due August 6!


Contact:
Theresa Hoffherr
publications@evansville.edu
 

 
* Bookstore Offering Convenient, Contact-Free Online Ordering

The UE Bookstore will be operating differently this year due to COVID-19 guidelines and procedures. For students who wish to order and pick up books from the bookstore, they will need to bring a printed copy of their schedule with course titles and numbers/sections. A staff member will be located at the bookstore entrance counting the number of individuals inside the store to remain in compliance with local and state guidelines. No students will be allowed inside the book staging area.

To promote social distancing, UE strongly recommends all students use the convenient, fast, online book ordering option. To order your books online for the Fall 2020 semester, please visit the bookstore website. Look up your courses by course number and section, then place your order online. Currently, shipping of all books is free and students will receive their order within a few days of purchase. All online textbook orders will be fulfilled beginning the last week of July. 

If you will have a textbook scholarship, orders may also be placed online. Textbook scholarships will become available August 1, and scholarship orders will be fulfilled after this date. Simply select "STUDENT ACCT" on the payment page.

 
* UE Orchestras Seeking New Members

UE Orchestra performing Holiday Pops

Students, staff, faculties, and administrators are invited to play in the University Symphony Orchestra and String Chamber Ensemble. The University Symphony Orchestra meets on Monday at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The String Chamber Ensemble meets on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Krannert Hall of Fine Arts.

Join us!

Please E-mail Chun-Ming Chen, director of orchestral activities at cc319@evansville.edu for more information.

Contact:
Chun-Ming Chen
cc319@evansville.edu
812-488-2881

 

In The News

* Former Chief Diversity Officer LaNeeça Williams Shares Her Story

LaNeeça Williams, the former chief diversity officer at UE, recently shared her story in a new series, "If Austin Peay Could Talk." Williams is the chief diversity officer and Title IX coordinator at APSU. 

Contact:
Annie Stenftenagel
as639@evansville.edu

 
* UE Ranked Among the Best Colleges and Universities in Indiana for 2020

The University of Evansville was recently ranked among the Best Colleges and Universities in Indiana for 2020! The ranking comes from College Consensus, and you can see the complete list on their website.

To compile the list, College Consensus averaged the latest results from the most respected college ranking systems, along with thousands of real student review scores from the Internet. This creates a unique College Consensus rating for each school.

 

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To have content considered for inclusion in Purple Pulse, please submit a Marketing Request Form. Deadline for submission to Purple Pulse is 10:00 a.m. on the requested date of publication. Only articles concerning UE related/sponsored activities will be accepted. Articles submitted to Purple Pulse may be edited for length and clarity. Submitter contact information is at the end of each article.

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