Change to Vaccine Eligibility

Today, Governor Walz announced that beginning on Tuesday, March 30, every Minnesotan 16 years of age and older will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine. This development accelerates the timeline for vaccine distribution. Receiving the vaccine is a personal decision and not a requirement. If you are interested in receiving the vaccine, you can use the Minnesota Vaccine Locator Map to find vaccine providers nearby. You can also register for the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector, which is a tool that helps Minnesotans find out when, where, and how to get a COVID-19 vaccine. If you would like additional guidance regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, please contact your personal health care provider.

Guidelines for UNW Organized Off-Campus Events

As I mentioned in my communication last week, off-campus events that are connected to UNW academic or club experiences are now allowed. Guidelines have been created for these events to help in your planning process. Please be sure to contact Anna Mukaria, Director of COVID Operations, to discuss questions about your proposed event and and to secure approval. 

Campus Wireless Upgrade

I am excited to celebrate with you progress made on needs expressed in our surveys over the past year. One of the most frequently cited concerns involved Internet access. During the month of March, IT staff completed an important upgrade to UNW’s core wireless infrastructure. This upgrade has resolved many outstanding wireless connection issues on our campus. In particular, the wireless experience for students in Moyer has been significantly improved with the addition of more access points throughout the building. IT staff are working to continuously upgrade wireless coverage on campus, so please contact the Service Desk if you experience any wireless issues.

Seeking Faculty Nominations

Every year we look forward to honoring faculty who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Please submit completed nomination forms for Excellence in Scholarship and/or Outstanding Service to your College Dean or Delise Welsch (dewelsch@unwsp.edu) on or before March 31. Faculty candidates must have completed five years of full-time teaching and must not have been a recipient of the award within the past five years. You can refer to recent emails sent from the Academic Affairs Office for additional details. Forms for these nominations are available below. 

• Excellence in Scholarship includes published research, presentations at scholarly conferences, and leadership participation in scholarly or professional societies.
• Outstanding Service includes departmental service, college-wide service, professional organization involvement, community service, and Christian service.

Precaution with Lecture Capture

If you are using lecture capture technology in your class, please be mindful of when the recording begins and ends. For example, if you engage with students after class, please ensure those conversations are not recorded. Concluding the recording prior to any after-class discussion with students will provide not only a courtesy for your students but important FERPA protection as well. Since it can be easy to forget this step when recording an entire class session, thanks in advance for being attentive to ending the recording immediately after the conclusion of your class.