September 17, 2020
Colleagues,
We are officially in week six of the semester and staying #IUSBStrong. Our COVID-19 case numbers continue to be very manageable, so thank you for doing your part to keep our campus community safe. Your participation in mitigation testing has been and will continue to be important so we can remain vigilant in stopping community spread of the virus. It’s important we all also remain vigilant with wearing our masks and distancing on campus, as well as in the community. You can monitor testing trends via the . Remember to get your flu shot, too. You can find information on where to get one on campus or off in the Daily Titan.
Kudos and Congratulations
For those who were unable to attend last week’s Virtual Coffee with the Chancellor, the focus was on recognition and celebration. You can view the to see all of the people who received awards or were recognized for other achievements. There are three pieces of good news I want to specifically call your attention to in this message:
- Click to view a video message from Executive Vice President Applegate recognizing the tremendous effort of IU South Bend faculty and staff in our response to the pandemic.
- IU South Bend ranked among regional universities in the Midwest by the U.S. News 2021 Best Colleges, recognizing good graduation rates among students who receive federal Pell Grants.
- We recognized Rick Dennie as the inaugural COVID Superstar for all he has done to help new students get a strong start here. Is there an IU South Bend campus employee you’d like to recognize for their efforts during these challenging times? . Submissions will be reviewed by Cabinet and shared with the campus community via the Daily Titan.
Leadership Searches
Thanks to everyone who has attended or viewed the public presentations for the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance position. While candidate visits may have concluded the presentations can still be accessed on the . Please share your feedback on these finalists using the forms provided on the search webpage by Sunday, October 4.
The Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Search and Screen Committee is hard at work this week and next interviewing semi-finalists. We look forward to welcoming EVCAA finalists to campus through virtual visits later this month. Details will be posted on and in the Daily Titan.
Strategic Planning Town Hall
The Campus Directions Committee is fully engaged in developing our next campus strategic plan. There will be many opportunities to get involved with the planning process that you can learn more about on our new . The first opportunity will be a virtual Town Hall meeting on Friday, October 9th at 10:30am. During this meeting you will have the opportunity to provide input on a variety of topics central to the strategic planning process. Look for details to join the Town Hall in the Daily Titan next week.
Welcome New Faculty and Staff
To conclude I would like to take a moment to welcome new faculty and staff to IU South Bend. Since we cannot introduce new faculty to you in person this year, UCET has created . I encourage you to check it out and introduce yourself those new to our Titan Community. We also want to welcome our new staff to campus:
- Dylan Shively, Physical Plant
- Brianna Liras, Raclin School of the Arts
- Paige Risser, Communications and Marketing
- Soraya Malcom, Human Resources
- Alexander George, School of Education
- Elizabeth Paice, Office of the Chancellor
- Kylie Thomison, Financial Aid
- Erica Cannady, Titan Success Center
To our new faculty and staff, we are so glad to have you join the Titan Community this year!