August 2021 Announcements

August 18, 2021 Emily Packard 6-min. read

Stay up-to-date on all university COVID-19 protocols for a safe and healthy start to the 2021-22 academic year. To be prepared, you can read our article on updates and expectations for the fall semester and review NC State’s Protect the Pack website.

Administrator Updates:

Kim Grainger, J.D., MPH, joined the Provost’s Office and the Office for Faculty Excellence on August 16 as the new Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel and Policy. Grainger currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Administration at the New College of Florida. Prior to moving to Florida, she spent thirteen years at North Carolina Central University, where she advanced through the faculty ranks to become a professor of law. She taught multiple courses in the law curriculum and mentored students throughout her time at the School of Law, and also served as Director of the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law Institute and as Associate Dean of Accreditation there. In addition, Grainger served as chair of the university’s IRB and as chair of their faculty senate, and served the UNC System’s Faculty Assembly for four years, first as a delegate and then as secretary.
Ben Chapman has been named acting department head in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, effective August 1, 2021.
Steven Jordan has been named department head in the Department of Aerospace Studies in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, effective July 26, 2021.

From Arts NC State:

Live music returns to Stewart Theatre in August 2021, when The Quadrivium Project – the faculty rock band at NC State – performs “All in All,” a concert featuring the music of Genesis and Pink Floyd. Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 26 and Saturday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. Click on the dates to order tickets online. Prices are $8 for students and $15 for all others. This will be a general admission event, with plenty of empty seats to promote physical distancing. As of August 2, face coverings are again required in all indoor spaces on the NC State campus regardless of vaccination status. As a precaution, due to the known particle distribution from singing, the first four rows of the theatre will not be available for seating. Content warning: two Pink Floyd songs contain lyrics with adult language.

From the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative:

The world is unprepared for the challenges of climate change, and in many ways, North Carolina is at the epicenter of this challenge. In the coastal plain, changes in temperature and precipitation, intensifying hurricanes, flooding, sea-level rise, and saltwater intrusion are fundamentally altering ecosystems and communities. Building on our internationally recognized expertise across the campus, the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative is working to bring faculty together to develop a clearer understanding of the forces that are reshaping our state and our world, and to create solutions to address them.

Come hear about Initiative and the activities planned for this semester at a hybrid kick-off session on Wednesday, August 25, from 11:45 a.m.-1 pm. For those of you comfortable meeting in person, we will gather in Talley Student Union, Room 4140, and snacks will be provided. For those of you who would prefer to meet remotely, the following link will be active on the 25th: https://go.ncsu.edu/coastalresilience. For more information, please contact Mary Watzin or Amanda Mueller.

And please note the expanded Research and Innovation Seed Funding (RISF) program included targeted funding for climate change research with many potential topics listed that focus on coastal resilience and sustainability. The primary goal of the RISF program is to assist NC State researchers in developing collaborative interdisciplinary programs of strong intellectual merit that have high potential for significant future external support from government agencies, corporations, industrial consortia or foundations. Maximum funds available are $50,000, and the deadline for submission of proposals is October 14. You can find the full RISF request for proposals here.

From DELTA:

Prepare for a great fall semester! DELTA’s Interim Vice Provost Donna Petherbridge invites faculty, staff and students to reflect on the past year and think about what you wish to keep or let go as you step back into the classroom, whether face-to-face or online.
Kick off the academic year with DELTA workshops! We have a variety of training opportunities lined up for you to learn the tools, techniques and strategies needed to effectively teach online, in-person or both.
DELTA Express Grants are open! DELTA is offering three semester-long funding opportunities dedicated to enhancing teaching and learning by applying technology in innovative, collaborative ways. Learn more and submit your proposal by August 27.
The DELTA Test Centers will be open at full capacity for fall 2021. The deadline for submitting requests for in-person testing is August 9, 2021. All instructors should have an alternative plan for student assessments. Please review the Instructor Resources pages for information on the Test Centers, our Service Level Agreement and best practices.
As part of the transition from Mediasite to Panopto, DELTA and ClassTech have worked together to deploy more than 280 recorders across campus. With the expansive addition, we will continue to have classroom capture as an opt-out service. Learn more about opt-out and which classrooms are equipped with recorders.
Get to know the newest faculty members committed to enhancing online education in the Course Quality Program at NC State, and learn more about the program’s different pathways to success.
Do you want to know what new features and tools are available in WolfWare for fall? This article details the specifics!

From the College of Education:

The College of Education will host the Cherry Award Lecture on Thursday, September 23 from 3-4 p.m. in Talley Student Union’s Coastal Ballroom. The lecture will feature Hollylynne Lee, professor of mathematics and statistics education and finalist for Baylor University’s Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, who will speak on “Data Moves and Discourse: Design Principles for Strengthening Statistics Education”. Attendees must register to attend the lecture in-person by September 15. Given space limitations, registration is first-come, first-served. A light reception will follow the lecture. Masks are required in all indoor spaces on NC State’s campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. If someone wishes to view the lecture but can’t make it in person, the lecture will be livestreamed on the NC State College of Education’s YouTube channel.

From the Office for Faculty Excellence:

Applications for the Fall 2021 online cohorts of the Core Teaching Certification |CTC| and Inclusive Teaching Certification |ITC| are being accepted through August 20. To learn more about the Core Teaching Certification and apply, please visit go.ncsu.edu/red-ctc. To learn more about the Inclusive Teaching Certification and apply, please visit go.ncsu.edu/red-itc.
The Office for Faculty Excellence’s popular Faculty Conversation Series continues this semester. This series is designed to engage faculty in conversation around relevant topics that will be helpful as they teach. For each session, faculty will read a relevant article/paper about the topic (optional), receive question prompts, engage in conversation around the topic with other faculty members, and reflect on how the conversation may have changed thinking on the topic. Register now for this semester’s sessions. All conversations will be facilitated by Dr. Maria Gallardo Williams, OFE SoTL Faculty Fellow.
Keep Teaching: Creating an Academic Continuity Plan will be held Thursday, September 2 from 2-3 p.m. via Zoom. This workshop is designed for faculty who want guidance in constructing a basic continuity plan for their course.

From the Office of Global Engagement:

Ingrid Schmidt, associate vice provost for external relations and development in the Office of Global Engagement, will retire October 1 after 33 years of service to NC State. Schmidt first joined NC State in January of 1996 as Director of Study Abroad, and served in that role until June of 2017.
Six NC State projects have received funding from the UGPN Research Collaboration Fund (RCF). The RCF supports international activities leading to high-quality research collaborations between UGPN partner institutions.
Robert Skinner, Director of the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Washington, D.C. will visit NC State on September 1. Mr. Skinner’s talk, “The Sustainable Development Goals: Connecting the Global to the Local”, will help launch NC State’s SDG Campus Programming Initiative and provide insights from his experience working with the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals. Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030.
The Global Training Initiative has hired two new staff members. Adrienne Shank and Asya Ashour join the team as new programs assistants to help with the SKEMA and KAUST Gifted Student Foundation Year Program this year. Both programs will be in-person for the fall and spring semesters and will bring hundreds of international students to NC State from all across the world.