December 2021 Announcements

• All COVID-19 safety measures currently in place will remain in effect throughout at least the first few weeks of the spring semester, as we closely monitor COVID-19 rates when our community returns to campus following winter break. In particular:
  • Face coverings will be required indoors unless a student is in their own residence hall room alone or with their roommates; a faculty or staff member is alone in their enclosed, private office; or an individual is actively eating or drinking.
  • Students, faculty and staff on campus or on university property must either be vaccinated or be tested weekly.
  • Employees who have been notified that they are covered by the federal vaccine mandate must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022. Federal vaccination requirements continue to evolve, and as campus impacts are determined, updates will be provided directly to affected employees.

Please see the full list of NC State’s required COVID-19 community standards. Return-to-campus testing will not be required but is strongly encouraged for campus community members when returning for the spring 2022 semester.

• We want to inspire the campus community by sharing the most important lessons you’ve learned this year, and your plans for 2022. If you’re interested in participating, please send a paragraph (or two) description, along with a high-resolution photo and your name/position/department to provost-communications@ncsu.edu by Monday, January 10, 2022.

Administrator Updates

• Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Rich Linton will be leaving NC State in mid-February 2022 to become the president of Kansas State. An announcement will be made soon about the appointment of an interim dean, and a national search for a permanent dean is expected to begin in the fall.
• An open search for the senior vice provost for university interdisciplinary programs is underway. The nomination committee is chaired by Senior Vice Provost for Institutional Strategy and Analysis Margery Overton. As Provost Arden previously announced, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Strategy and Resource Management and Chief of Staff Duane Larick will be retiring effective Jan. 1 and Senior Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship Tom Miller will be retiring effective Jul. 1. Provost Arden also shared that in light of these retirements, and in alignment with Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary, that he would be creating a new senior vice provost position to will lead the new Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs, which will include university-level interdisciplinary units and initiatives across NC State’s tri-fold mission of instruction, research and engagement. The nomination committee held its first meeting on Dec. 1. Stay up to date on the search by visiting the search page on the Provost’s Office website or go.ncsu.edu/svp-uip-search.
• Senior Vice Provost for Instructional Programs search: The nomination committee held its first meeting on Nov. 12. Stay up to date on the search by visiting the search page on the Provost’s Office website or go.ncsu.edu/svp-ip-search.
• Dean of the College of Education search: The nomination committee met on Dec. 6 for a mid-search review to ensure that they’re receiving the caliber of candidates expected. The committee will meet in early January to identify a small handful of candidates for first round interviews which will take place in mid-January. Stay up to date on the search by visiting the search page on the Provost’s Office website or go.ncsu.edu/ced-search.
• Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine search: The nomination committee met on Dec. 10 for a mid-search review to ensure that they’re receiving the caliber of candidates expected. The committee will meet in early January to identify a small handful of candidates for first round interviews which will take place in mid-January. Stay up to date on the search by visiting the search page on the Provost’s Office website or go.ncsu.edu/cvm-search.
• Rasul Mowatt is the new head of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management in the College of Natural Resources, effective Dec. 1.
• Ben Chapman is the new head of the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, effective Nov. 1. Chapman previously served as acting head of the department.

From the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative:

• The Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative has concluded one semester of events and there are many more to come. The Initiative would like your feedback on what we did well and what we can do to make next semester even better. Please take a few minutes to answer some quick questions on past and future events, our website, and future project team building. Complete the survey today!

• The Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Expertise and Interests directory is now live. NC State faculty and professional staff, you can update your profile or be added to the directory at https://coastalresilience.ncsu.edu/directory-request/. We hope you will include your headshot and identify which initiative themes your work addresses. This directory can help others find you for future collaborations!
• The Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science (KIETS) is pleased to announce the students and faculty mentors that have been selected as part of the inaugural cohort of the 2022 Climate Leaders Program. KIETS realizes the need to address the challenges of climate change and acknowledges that preparing our future leaders to confront these issues is the most direct path to success. The program Scholars and Faculty Fellows will be part of strong partnerships among students, faculty mentors, and internship hosts working together to develop solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts. The 2022 cohort can be viewed at https://climateleaders.kenan.ncsu.edu/teams/. 

From DELTA:

• If you’re looking to improve your courses with instructional technologies and best practices, DELTA’s spring workshops can give you the help you need. Check out DELTA’s spring workshops and register today!
• DELTA Testing Services will begin accepting instructor requests for spring 2022 in-person testing on December 9. Contact delta-testing@ncsu.edu for more information.
• Panopto opt-out requests for spring now available! Use the Classroom Capture Change Request form to opt-out or to request livestream (webcast) capability for your spring 2022 scheduled classroom recording. Questions? Contact learntech@ncsu.edu. 
• It’s time to start preparing for the spring semester! Explore some date-related and other “to-do” items that you can check off now, do the week before classes, and complete during the first two weeks of the semester to start it off right.
• NC State’s free two-credit-hour course, Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions, is being offered over winter break from December 13, 2021 to January 7, 2022. Incoming first-year and transfer students will have the opportunity to learn from NC State faculty about global change.
• WolfSNAPS are part of the Short, Nimble, Asynchronous Pedagogy Series designed for instructors as self-paced training sessions that can be completed in as little as 30 minutes! Read about the new spring offerings that were just announced.

From the Office for Faculty Excellence:

• The Office for Faculty Excellence is pleased to host their 2022 Teaching and Learning Symposium on Friday, February 25, 2022 from 10 a.m.-2:45 p.m., virtually via Zoom. This year’s theme will be Creating Our New Normal. The Symposium celebrates teaching and learning by bringing together faculty and staff from NC State and the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges to participate in interactive sessions, attend a keynote lecture, view a poster session, and build a community of peers who are interested in teaching and learning. The 2022 keynote speaker will be Dr. Susan D Blum. Dr. Blum is a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame and the author of “I Love Learning; I Hate School”: An Anthropology of College (Cornell, 2016) and My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture (Cornell, 2009), and the editor of the recent volume Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (West Virginia University Press, 2020). Faculty, postdoctoral scholars and staff are invited to register by filling out the registration form. Proposals for Virtual Sessions and Digital Posters are being accepted through January 7, 2022. Please see the full Call for Proposals for more information.

From the Office of Global Engagement:

• The winners of the Fall 2021 Office of Global Engagement Awards have been announced. Winners are:
  • Ginger Davis Outstanding Service Award – Nan Clarke, Intensive English Program
  • Rookie of the Year Award – Carolin Lehmann, Office of Global Engagement
  • The Think and Do Award – Kelsey Stolzenbach, Office of International Services
  • Pride of the Wolfpack – Eva Kavalova, NC State Prague
• In October and November, students associated with the NC State European Center in Prague toured North Carolina Museum of Art’s current temporary exhibition Alphonse Mucha: Art Nouveau Visionary. Learn more about their experience. 
• Beginning during the fall 2021 semester, NC State launched its campus programming initiative focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This initiative was launched as part of NC State Global’s new strategic framework, Global Learning for All, which strives to build a more equitable and sustainable world. Learn more about what happened with SDGs this semester.
• As part of International Education Month, the Study Abroad Office held a panel discussion on traveling abroad as a first-generation college student. The panel was led by Zakiya Covington who serves as the academic success coordinator for TRIO student support services. The panel consisted of three former study abroad students who shared their excitement, expectations, hesitations, fears, and overall experiences of studying abroad as a first-generation college student with event participants. 
• Former Fulbright student, María Cecilia Ginés, currently lives and works in Rosario (a city in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina). Cecilia is a 2019 graduate of NC State’s Master of International Studies program. She currently works at an NGO called Aapresid (Argentine No-till Farmers Association) that specializes in no-till farming, as the manager of the International Program. Learn more about her story.
• Jimmy Pagett, a lifelong NC State fan, graduated from the university in 2013. He always had an interest in exploring different places and cultures, originally majoring in international relations before settling on marketing. He recently moved to Budapest in July 2021 to advance his career in marketing. Learn more about Pagett’s international experience.

From the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity:

• The theme for this year’s 37th annual Sisterhood Dinner will be Sisterhood Celebration 2022: Recognizing Your Magic. As we continue to celebrate in a virtual format, we look forward to providing a space to allow the stories of the magical women of NC State University to prevail.  This year’s virtual event will take place on Monday, February 28, 2022.

• The NC State University Council on the Status of Women invites you to nominate NC State faculty, staff and students for the Equity for Women Award. This award is made annually to recognize faculty, staff and students for their outstanding dedication to establishing equity for women at NC State University. Nominees should demonstrate excellence in one or more of the following areas over the past 12 months:
  • Leadership: Taking action to promote gender equity on and beyond campus through leadership roles;
  • Service: Supporting equity for women through job-related or voluntary roles;
  • Scholarship: Contributing new knowledge and/or informing policy and practice related to women’s well-being and equality.
  • For the upcoming award cycle, we have added a “Group” category for nominations to recognize the work that occurs in a group or team setting. Criteria for rating these areas will be based on commitment to leadership, service and/or scholarship as well as the impact of the nominee’s efforts. Nominations will close on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. Award winners will be announced at the 2022 Sisterhood Celebration on February 28, 2022.  Information about registering for the 2022 Sisterhood Celebration will be shared out in January. Please note: Current members of the Council on the Status of Women are not eligible for the award and should not be nominated. Please check the current roster if you aren’t sure who is on the Council.

From the Office of Outreach and Engagement:

• The Office of Outreach and Engagement, the Engagement Operations Council, and the Academy of Outstanding Faculty in Extension and Engagement are pleased to announce the annual call for nominations for the Opal Mann Green Engagement and Scholarship Award due March 1, 2022. The award recognizes and memorializes Dr. Mann Green’s distinguished leadership and dedication to the values of: using democracy in the classroom, in the community and at home; creating inclusionary teams; and community-based learning and mutually-beneficial action around local issues valued by community members. This annual recognition is awarded to a team (or teams) of individuals whose significant contributions and accomplishments have demonstrated excellence as engaged scholars who practice collaborative democratic strategies reflected in the Kellogg Commission Seven-Part Test. Learn more about award application guidelines and evaluation criteria on the Outreach and Engagement website.

Other Announcements:

• It’s time to begin preparations for the annual Holiday Energy Savings Initiative. When campus is closed for Winter Holiday, NC State reduces energy consumption in campus buildings by lowering building temperatures, as well as turning off lights and unused equipment. Since 2005, the Holiday Energy Savings Initiative (HESI) has avoided more than $4.8 million in utility costs.  Calendars, exemption requests, frequently asked questions, and more info are available online at go.ncsu.edu/HESI.
• As we move into the new year, NC State will proceed with construction for Power Forward, the university’s multiyear, multiphase project to upgrade the electrical distribution system on Central Campus and North Campus. The multimillion-dollar project will ensure that NC State has a reliable, safe, and futureproof power supply. Construction is projected to continue through 2025. Phase I of the project is set to begin on Dec. 15 on Sullivan Drive with road closures. Visit the Power Forward website for answers to frequently asked questions, traffic impacts and construction updates.