For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
PSALM 30:5
NEWS
Having served Messiah for over 17 years, Tracy Thomas, administrative assistant to the vice president for finance and planning, has accepted a position with Capital BlueCross. Tracy’s last day at Messiah will be Feb. 12. Her love for learning and professional growth afforded her the opportunity to provide support to various offices over the years including the Engle Center for Counseling and Health Services, the School of Business, Education and Social Services, and Finance and Planning. Please join with us in wishing her all the best in her new position.
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The selection committee, the associate provost, provost, and I are pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Leah Clarke, associate professor of counseling, as the new assistant director of faculty development for teaching and learning. Leah brings stellar experience to this role, including serving as assistant director for the graduate program in counseling, as a new faculty mentor, and as former chair of Term-Tenure and Promotion Committee. She has also been the recipient of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) award. We look forward to Leah’s planned start on Aug. 1. Please take time to congratulate Leah on her new role as she gives leadership to teaching and learning programs within the Office of Faculty Development. I am deeply grateful to the selection committee (Devin Manzullo-Thomas, Anne Reeve) for their insights and commitment to this important search process.
Cynthia A. Wells, associate professor of higher education and director of faculty development.
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Interprofessional education (IPE) provides a possible way to improve collaboration and patient care, and therefore, has been an increasingly important aspect of physical therapy education. In the past six months, students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program have had the incredible opportunity to partner with Penn State College of Medicine and to participate in two excellent virtual interprofessional education events. Assistant Clinical Professor, Heather Noll, is extremely passionate about collaboration with other health care professionals to provide the most successful patient experience. Dr. Noll provided leadership for students to engage and grow in teamwork skills during the IPE opportunities.
Our DPT students have joined 400+ other students in various health care disciplines, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, occupational therapists, social work, speech therapists, and pharmacists. In small groups, students from various disciplines have the opportunity to collaborate, demonstrate teamwork and develop a deeper understanding of each profession’s roles, and manage a simulated patient through a telehealth scenario.
Messiah’s DPT students have represented Messiah University well. Group facilitators have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on our students’ professional behaviors, teamwork, collaboration, and valuable contributions to discussions. Similarly, students have reported a positive experience that fostered growth and a learning opportunity to work with and learn with and about other healthcare team members as they prepare to begin their first full-time clinical education opportunity this fall.
The DPT program is grateful to Penn State College of Medicine for the quality of education the experiences provide and for reaching out and partnering with Messiah University graduate programs.
MESSIAH 411
Employee Wellness
Employee Wellness is starting back up! This semester, we will be learning about a range of topics from types of movement, to nutrition, to training, to mental health. Every week, information about a new topic will be sent out and challenges on how to participate and grow in your own wellness will be included. Employees will be in groups with other employees to journey together and win prizes just for participating! If interested in being on a team, find some partners and fill out https://forms.gle/JzV2F3JJcHiPUjZs7. If interested to get Employee Wellness emails to learn about these topics, or be placed on a team, email wellandrecga@messiah.edu.
Mini Golf in the Stacks – hole creation
Is your department, club or organization looking for a fun way to promote itself as well as give students the opportunity to participate in a safe and fun activity? Murray Library and Campus Wellness and Recreation have the event for you.
Create a mini golf hole for socially-distanced Mini Golf in the Stacks on March 5. It may look a little different this year, but it will be as fun as ever! We are looking for some creative holes that show off what you are doing in your corner of campus – students can design holes that promote their major, clubs can show off what they have to offer or departments can let students know what opportunities there are for them. It’s truly up to you!
Contact Kimberly Steiner at ksteiner@messiah.edu to get your questions answered or to sign up to create a hole. We have limited hole space available, so get signed up early.
University policy regarding events
Room capacities
The University is following the targeted mitigation measures provided by the PA Dept. of Health. Current guidelines dictate that all indoor events are restricted to 10% of the room occupancy. The only exceptions to this are for gatherings tied to the curriculum including academic class, chapel, and some co-curricular activities. The University continues to encourage ALL meetings and club gatherings to take place remotely if possible.
Current guidelines dictate that all outdoor events/gatherings are restricted to 15% of maximum occupancy. Please consider this guidance even as you plan events for the spring when the weather is warmer as we do not know when these restrictions may be adjusted. It is important to note that the capacity of space listed in EMS is the number of available seats in the room with social distancing. This is NOT the 10% of maximum occupancy that is specified in PA’s mandate. 10% of maximum occupancy will always be LESS than what is listed in EMS. The Department of Conference and Event Services can provide assistance with determining if your event can take place. Here are some examples of capacities for events/gatherings in large spaces on campus:
Hostetter Chapel – 35
Parmer Hall – 89
Recital Hall – 14
Miller Theater – 36
Parmer Cinema – 13
Howe Atrium – 7
Brubaker A-Side – 50
Social distancing of campus space
The Department of Conference and Event Services is tasked with maintaining social distancing in all classrooms and public campus spaces. Less than a week after resetting all space, chairs and desks were found to have been moved. Please do not move any chairs, tables or desks in classroom spaces. We understand the desire to use rooms differently, but in order to maintain the integrity of distancing (which has been measured in each room) we ask that you do NOT move anything. This includes spaces such as Hostetter Chapel and Brubaker.
Those found to have moved furniture will have their ability to reserve space revoked. This includes clubs and organizations.
Boyer resource rooms will be re-adjusted in the next week. Please do not move furniture within these spaces or move furniture back into the rooms that we may remove. These are very small spaces and if distancing cannot be maintained, these rooms will need to be locked.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our community safe!
Memory Book 2019-2020
The Human Resources Department would like to thank Sharon Robinson for putting together this lovely Memory Book to honor the staff and faculty who have moved on from Messiah University in the past year. Please see the following link to view:
https://issuu.com/messiahcollegeadmissions/docs/digital_memory_book_final
Addressing Student Anxiety in Academic Advising
Hello All,
The Office of Academic Advising invites you to attend the February workshop, “Addressing Student Anxiety in Academic Advising.” This timely workshop will be led by Dr. Marie Bunner, associate director of academic success program at West Chester University, and by Dr. Courtney Lloyd, Co-Chair, Committee for Advising Excellence, West Chester University.
The workshop will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m.
Zoom Link:
https://wcupa.zoom.us/j/92380746584?wd=bW5MTU1UV0lLRFk3M0NOODdHcHhBQT09
Meeting ID: 923 8074 6584
Passcode: 122341
Summary:
Stress and anxiety among college students is a widespread concern in higher education. Academic advisors work with students on a range of issues where students often identify anxiety as the cause of poor academic performance. Presenters will discuss the prevalence of anxiety among college students and pragmatic approaches to address student anxiety and assist students in managing anxiety while adjusting to college life and academic pressure.
We hope to see you there.
Murray Library’s February 2021 newsletter
What’s New at Murray Library? Check out this month’s displays, meet one of our student workers, hear from our director, and more! View our newsletter here.
CLASSIFIEDS
Job opportunities
The Information Technology Services Department has an opening for a full time programmer/analyst. For more information and to apply, please visit: http://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/18266. Job-related questions may be directed to John Luft, director of information services, at jluft@messiah.edu.
Facility Services is currently hiring several temporary campus events workers to work anywhere from 2 to 6 hours between the times of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Mon – Sat. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/18238. Job-related questions may be directed to Laura Price, assistant manager campus events at lprice@messiah.edu.
The School of Graduate Studies has an opening for a full-time director of enrollment for graduate studies and adult education. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/18285. Job-related questions may be directed to Rob Pepper, dean, School of Graduate Studies at rpepper@messiah.edu.
Wanted
Request for fabric donations. A group of volunteers from Grantham Church is making comforters for MCC. Contact David Owen (owen@messiah.edu) if you have old (but not used) cotton or cotton blend fabric you’d be willing to donate. Thank you!
