Dear Colleagues,
What a semester it has started out to be! I hope you enjoyed getting to see some beautiful snow this past weekend. And in another rare development for our area, it looks like we could see additional wintry weather on Friday and into Saturday. As always, I encourage you to stay up to date on all weather and non-weather notifications by subscribing to WU Alert or visiting the emergency website.
We will keep an eye out on the potential for a second round of snow and ice, and we will inform you if needed, but in the meantime, I’d like to update you on a few items of interest:
Presidential Search Process
Dr. Julie Fowler, chair of the presidential search committee, updated the campus community
via a January 14 e-mail on where we stand in the search process. I hope you were excited as I was to see
how many nominations were received. I appreciate the committee members’ thoroughness
throughout the process, and now the work continues as they prepare to interview candidates.
I extend my thanks to them for all of the work that has been devoted to this very
important process. Stay updated by checking the search timeline.
Classification and Pay Study Town Hall
Last week I wrote to you about a virtual classification and pay study town hall on Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. The goal
of this Zoom event is to share information on the process our partners at Segal undertook
and to answer questions from faculty and staff. The virtual town hall will be available
for viewing in Dina’s Place for those who may not have access to technology.
Remember to review the new salary structures and pay administration guidelines as well as the FAQs before submitting your remaining questions to the townhalls@winthrop.edu e-mail address. You will need to do so by close of business on Monday, Jan. 24, to receive answers on Jan. 27. However, we expect there will be limited time at the end of the Zoom for additional questions, and employees will have the opportunity to continue to submit questions to the townhalls@winthrop.edu e-mail address for several days after the town hall.
Campus Master Plan
Our partners at Quackenbush/Ayers Saint Gross will be on campus next week to meet
with the Campus Master Plan Steering Committee to wrap up Phase 2 of their work and discuss preliminary scenarios informed by all of their research
to date. These preliminary scenarios will include a mix of proposals for new construction,
renovation and migration and also will identify opportunities to strengthen connectivity,
enhance the campus landscape and encourage collaboration. Additional work remains
as we prepare for our roadmap to the future, but this is an exciting next step in
our process.
COVID Vaccine and Testing Clinics
We are committed to continuing to provide vaccine and testing opportunities to the
campus community, as I strongly believe vaccination and the mitigation strategies
that have served us well in the past will get us through this phase of the pandemic.
I encourage you, if you haven’t started the vaccination process or have not received
a booster if eligible, to please do so as soon as possible. We have four upcoming
opportunities for free vaccines and free nasal swab testing at the following dates
and times in McBryde Hall:
Tuesday, February 15, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Wednesday, March 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Monday, May 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Earlier this week the government launched a website that allows each household the opportunity to receive four free at-home COVID tests,
which will ship later this month. I encourage you to complete the form to request your four free tests which will allow us to self-monitor, and, in turn, help control the spread of COVID-19.
Thank you for all that you are doing. Your work is noticed and appreciated. I am very proud to be a part of this campus community, and I hope you are as well.
Warmest regards,
George
George W. Hynd
Interim President
