Vaccinated? Here are the important things to keep doing on campus
As more students, faculty, and staff complete the COVID-19 vaccination process this semester, here are some important points to remember when it comes to being on campus. Most importantly, vaccinated students, faculty, and staff need to continue adhering to all of the safety protocols in place for the spring semester—masking, social distancing, gathering limits, and other personal actions included in the UR Community Commitment.
Also, on the vaccine front: The Medical Center and Rochester Regional Health have begun a new clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Read more below in Today’s Updates.
Also in today’s issue:
Ibram X. Kendi presented the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address to a virtual audience of nearly 3,000 Wednesday night
The deadline has been extended for faculty and staff to opt back into parking and keep their permit
Warner School of Education leaders seek input on the school’s strategic priorities
Since Thursday’s notice in @Rochester, there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report. Please note that the University’s COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily. Whenever a new case is known, the contact-tracing process begins immediately with confirmed exposures being contacted and required to quarantine.
It’s extremely important for the health of the University community that individuals continue to adhere to the face masking and social distancing protocols. Even as some individuals are now receiving their first or second dose of the vaccine, these practices to prevent the transmission of the virus cannot be relaxed.
If you think you’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, it’s important to report them through Dr. Chat Bot—for non–Medical Center faculty, staff, and all students and for Medical Center employees—immediately. Even if you think your symptoms might be something else—like a cold, seasonal congestion, or allergies—it’s still important to tell University health professionals and contact tracers what you’re experiencing.
New coronavirus vaccine study seeks to 'boost' immune response
Ibram X. Kendi: ‘The very heartbeat of racism is denial’
The University celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address on Wednesday night with a virtual lecture by keynote speaker Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi, a best-selling author, antiracist activist, and Boston University professor, also participated in an online Q&A with student leaders before the event.
Humanities for Life application deadline extended to February 28
Are you looking for a paid summer internship opportunity? There are new opportunities available through the Humanities for Life Program, which matches students in the College who are interested in the arts and humanities with Rochester arts, cultural, and nonprofit organizations. Each intern will receive $5,000 for the summer. The application deadline has been extended to February 28.
Drop-in counseling groups for March
The University Counseling Center offers the following drop-in groups throughout March:
Our Healing Breath, for students of color, on Friday, March 5 and 12, at 3 p.m.
Undergraduate writing contest
The Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program announces the annual Undergraduate Writing Contest, open to all undergraduate students in AS&E. Monetary prizes will be given in five categories; prizes will also be awarded for the best multimodal compositions. Graduate students and faculty members from the disciplines judge the work and select at least one winner and one honorable mention per category; judging is blind. You may submit up to one paper or project per category. Entries can be created for a course this semester or be a work you completed during a previous semester. Submissions should not exceed twenty-five pages and are due by Monday, March 8.
Deadline extended to opt back into parking and keep permit
Faculty and staff who chose to suspend their parking payroll deduction or transferred to a remote half-time parking permit during COVID-19 will need to reinstate their payroll deduction for a full-time parking permit by March 1 to remain in their lot. This is an extension of the original January 29 deadline. Use this link to reinstate your full-time parking permit. Those who will register for a permit after March 1 will be placed in whichever lot has availability. If you choose not to reinstate your full-time permit, you can still purchase daily permits at River Campus or the Medical Center.
Helping a student in distress
The University’s Health Promotion Office has created a resource card that can help faculty and staff identify distressed students, learn effective ways to respond to them, and provide a variety of resources to use for referrals.
Help shape the future of the Warner School of EducationÂ
A new Warner School initiative—aimed at reimagining how the school conducts research, connects with the community, prepares practitioners and researchers, focuses on equity and inclusion, structures its organizational environment, and makes an impact—encourages all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the Warner School and the University, and members of the Greater Rochester community to submit their ideas for what they think the Warner School’s strategic priorities should be in these six areas. Submit your ideas by March 1. Learn more here.
Faculty artist concert features the music of Hermeto Pascoal
The 21st annual Anne E. Dyson Memorial Grand Rounds and Child Advocacy Forum presents “Rochester Thriving Forward” with Sarah Collins-McGowan, an instructor of pediatrics, and Megan Callanan Lasaponara, a clinical instructor of pediatrics, on Wednesday, March 10, at 8 a.m. EST. Registration is required.
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