Credit Min Xian / WPSU
After a year of largely remote classes and jobs, Penn State plans to move faculty and staff back to in-person work this fall as COVID-19 vaccines become widely available, according to an announcement from the university giving an overview of return-to-work plans.
In making the announcement, the university said the availability of vaccines factors into “an optimistic outlook for summer and a full, on-campus experience for students at all campuses in fall 2021.”
The plans include beginning to return staff to in-person work over the summer, with most everyone back by Aug. 16. And, with few exceptions, the university expects faculty to hold their classes in-person rather than online starting in the fall.
Penn State announced its annual Night of Remembrance vigil, which is organized by the University Park Undergraduate Association to honor students who have died this academic year, will be held April 29.
This event will be able to be viewed remotely via livestream from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and will include an in-person component on Old Main steps, following masking and social distancing guidelines.
Anyone who wishes to attend in person should register online prior to the event. According to the release, in-person participants will be provided with candles.
MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE
On Tuesday, Penn State President Eric Barron released a statement to the Penn State community in response to a very serious possible hate incident faced by two Black Penn State faculty members in the College of the Liberal Arts and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications that has since been resolved.
Join the Penn State Alumni Association for a week of virtual events
Senior Week 2021 activities include a Final Toast to the Class of 2021 with President Barron, a BIPOC networking event and a digital caricaturist.
Image: Penn State Alumni Association
Class of 2021 invited to celebrate Senior Week April 25-29
April 21, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The Penn State Alumni Association, along with support from its student groups, Lion Ambassadors and Blue & White Society, will host a virtual Senior Week for the Class of 2021, April 25-29.
University-wide graduating seniors and their friends are invited to this online Senior Week celebration that will help commemorate the past four or more years in this chapter of their Penn State experience.
Updated at 3 p.m.
On Tuesday, Penn State President Eric Barron released a statement to the Penn State community in response to a very serious possible hate incident faced by two Black Penn State faculty members in the College of the Liberal Arts and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications that has since been resolved.
According to the statement, the hate incident occurred outside their home and was deeply distressing to them and their family.
Tyler Jolley, chief of police for the Patton Township Police Department, said the department received a call Monday morning for âpossible harassment.â The faculty members reported a rope that was found hanging in a small tree directly behind their residence and described it to officers as a ânoose hanging in their backyard,â according to Jolley.
Update, 3 p.m.: Police are no longer investigating an alleged hate incident reported by two Black Penn State faculty members.
Tyler Jolley, Patton Township’s chief of police, said his department received a call Monday after the faculty members found a rope hanging in a small tree near their house, describing it as a noose. Police collected the rope and returned to the neighborhood Monday afternoon to ask neighbors about any suspicious activity.
One neighbor said the rope was likely from a nearby swing set, which officers confirmed. One of the neighbor’s children said they’d thrown the rope into the woods. Police later determined no crime was committed when the rope made its way into the faculty members’ yard.