Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions

This week, Governor Walz announced a three-step process to lifting restrictions, beginning today, May 7, and continuing into the summer. The initial changes, which impact outdoor events, were communicated to students and employees today.

Click on the image below to see a summary of the changes in the three-step process. We are encouraged to see steps being taken as vaccine rates continue to increase. 

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At this time, we are planning to use classroom distancing measures as outlined by MDH for the summer (6 feet) and fall (3 feet). We will continue to monitor all guidance provided to institutions of higher education, determining changes as needed as the guidance is updated. 

Feedback on Lecture Capture and Teaching Modalities

This afternoon, I hosted a Provost Coffee Hour to solicit faculty feedback on using lecture capture and teaching in various modalities. The hour passed so quickly! I was impressed by the thoughtful perspectives shared and the creative ideas suggested for increasing support for faculty and students going moving forward. I invite you to continue thinking about the working draft of the Assumptions for Post-COVID Learning Environments document. Please provide your feedback or additional thoughts through the end of May by accessing this anonymous Qualtrics link. 

We have also opened a survey for students to share about their learning experiences in our four teaching modalities (i.e., face-to-face, blended, hybrid, virtual). At this point we have over 270 responses from Traditional and PSOC students. These results, along with feedback from faculty and staff, will be analyzed by the Academic Continuity Team (ACT) to help shape recommendations inform decisions for the fall. Please be alert for additional opportunities to participate in this process. 

Summer Professional Development

Once again this summer, we are planning a series of helpful professional development opportunities for you. The Online Learning Office and Academic Technology have been gathering training ideas from faculty, groups on campus, and surveys that have been conducted. We are pleased to offer classes and workshops, such as Best Practices in Online Teaching (BPOT) and Improving Your Online Course (IYOC) through Quality Matters, in addition to a full series of webinars on topics such as using Moodle and Zoom. To help encourage participation in these development opportunities, incentives will once again be available for faculty who seek to progress in their professional development. More information will be provided in the near future. 

Listening to Understand Final Spring Session

Please check your email for the invitation to the final Listening to Understand session this spring, scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 at 3:45 p.m. via Zoom. We hope you will be able to attend. Please respond to the email invitation if you have not already done so.

As noted in the calendar invitation, a panel of four faculty members will present the perspectives of four Christian authors on social justice. The following are UNW presenters and the book each presenter will highlight: 

Dr. Randy Nelson, Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe, by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. (Salem Books, 2021) 

Dr. Heather Peterson, Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: Twelve Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice, by Thaddeus J. Williams (Zondervan Academic, 2020) 

Dr. Ken Young, The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America, by Shelby Steele (HarperCollins Publisher, 1998) 

Dr. Lisanne Winslow, Unreconciled: From Racial Reconciliation to Racial Justice in Christian Evangelicalism, by Andrea Smith (Duke University Press, 2019) 

A question-and-answer period will follow the panel presentation. Thanks in advance, Colleagues, for joining this important conversation. 

Free Navigating Grief with Humor Course 

If you were able to attend today's Faculty Symposium keynote with Dr. Melissa Mork, you know how important it is for us to have strategies for resilience and effective ways to cope with loss. In partnership with our Media network, Melissa will be offering later this June a free online course, Navigating Grief with Humor. Registration will open on June 7. At that time, you can go to https://myktis.com/ for more details about the course and registration process.

Melissa's course follows another successful free online course, entitled Christ through the Gospels, which Melissa Larson is facilitating. This course, which begins on Monday, May 10, has over 3,300 registrants (Note: registration for this course is now closed). I rejoice in the creative collaboration taking place between Northwestern University and Northwestern Media, with the opportunity to impact many lives for God's kingdom!