by Recreation
Michigan Tech’s Student Development Complex (SDC) will reopen to faculty/staff members as well as current students on Monday (Aug. 17). A team of staff from Recreation has continually updated its reopening plan since the July 13 soft opening to students. The facility is implementing an enhanced cleaning schedule based on guidelines from the CDC and recreation facility standards.
by University Marketing and Communications
With the start of the 2020-21 academic year and the arrival of thousands of new and returning students, COVID-19 testing is a crucial part of Michigan Tech’s plan for fall.
Sarah Schulte, general counsel and secretary to the Board of Trustees, said the University’s student COVID-19 testing program has two main components — a strong baseline testing effort and ongoing surveillance testing.
Schulte said the baseline testing effort will primarily occur from Aug. 19, through Aug. 29. During that time, about half of the student population, approximately 40% of the anticipated total on-campus population, is expected to be tested.
by Calvin Larson, Director of Athletics Communication
Following a thorough evaluation of all COVID-19 risks and safety protocols, and numerous meetings involving various GLIAC governance groups, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously Tuesday (Aug. 11), to suspend all sports competition until Jan. 1, 2021.
by Husky Food Access Network
The Husky Food Access Network (HuskyFAN) is asking the Michigan Tech Community to support the pantry through food and/or monetary donations from Aug. 10-14, as we get ready to welcome our campus community back to Houghton.
Donations from our campus community help HuskyFAN to continue providing food to those in need. This summer we were able to provide 126 meal packs to students facing financial hardships. To make food donations, please drop them off between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday outside of the HuskyFAN Food Pantry located on the first floor of Fisher Hall, down from Fisher 135 (previously the Aftermath Cafe).
A box with the sign ‘FOOD DONATIONS’ will be placed in front of the Food Pantry to receive donations. Some suggested items to donate include rice, canned vegetables, vegetarian soups, deodorant, shampoo, shave gel, feminine products and cleaning supplies. (Please check the expiration dates as we cannot accept items past their date.)
To make monetary donations, please use this link. If you have any questions about the food pantry, contact huskyfan@mtu.edu.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the HuskyFAN Food Pantry through food, monetary, or bag donations this summer! We greatly appreciate your support.
by Steven Elmer and Kelly Kamm, Health Research Institute
A new Fall course — UN 3990 “COVID-19 Impact & Response” is being offered through the Health Research Institute on campus.
Given the effects of the global pandemic, we encourage all undergraduate and graduate students to consider the course:
Each week through a Town Hall style format faculty, public health officials, clinicians and other experts in our community will discuss topics including: the role of public health to protect community health, etiology of disease, virus spread globally and locally, mechanisms to interrupt and halt transmission, health disparities, impact of disease on physical and mental health, strategies for adapting to lifestyle change, and economic considerations.
This course will also highlight the current response efforts in the Western Upper Peninsula, including Michigan Tech’s involvement through the COVID-19 testing laboratory.
The course goal is to increase awareness about COVID-19 and encourage everyone to do their part to help during the pandemic. For information contact Kelly Kamm or Steve Elmer.
by Michael R. Meyer, William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning
As instructors ramp up for the fall flex semester, we want to draw attention to a number of important resources assembled. Most importantly, be sure to bookmark the Flex Fall Teaching Resources page which the CTL and IDEA Hub will be using as a “one stop shop” for questions and answers about teaching.
This is a reminder that all individuals who return to campus are required to self-monitor for symptoms using the COVID-19 Daily Symptom Monitoring Form. You must submit the form each day before coming to campus.
However, as you fill out the form, keep in mind that if you can attribute a symptom or symptoms to something other than COVID-19, you don’t have to mark those symptoms on the Daily Symptom Tracking Form.
For example, if you have a runny nose, but know the runny nose is due to allergies, you do not have to mark the box next to “congestion or runny nose” on the symptom tracker.
by University Marketing and Communications
On Wednesday (July 29), Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 160. Here’s what the executive order, specifically the 10-person limit, means to Michigan Tech.
The Executive Order limits indoor “social gatherings and organized events” to a maximum of 10 people. While we are not given specific definitions of these terms, the Michigan Association of State Universities has obtained clarification from the Governor’s Office that the limit is not applicable to educational or workplace environments.
by University Marketing and Communications
A large tent set up on the Michigan Tech Campus certainly is not unusual. Tents are used several times a year for events such as Industry Days and Alumni Reunions. But the 40 x 40-foot tent that went up Wednesday (July 29) between Chem Sci and EERC is serious business and will play a major role in the University’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
by University Marketing and Communications
Editor’s Note: Today we conclude our series on operations as the University has entered Step Three in our Return to Campus Plan. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Jacqueline Huntoon discusses the dynamics between faculty and students as we approach the fall semester start.
What process should a student follow to request to study remotely during the fall semester?
Students who can make these requests fall into two categories: 1) Students who have preexisting medical conditions that put them at higher risk if they get COVID-19; and 2) Students who are facing unforeseen or extenuating circumstances and believe studying remotely is necessary. Students who fall into the first category should work with Student Disability Services to obtain permission to study remotely for fall semester. Students in the second category have been instructed to make their request through the COVID-19 Special Consideration Request Form. These requests are being reviewed by a committee that includes Michigan Tech faculty and staff members. Faculty teaching courses that include these remote-study students will be notified through the regular accommodation notification process.
