Dear Colleagues,

In case you haven’t heard it enough – and I mean, really heard it – thank you. Thank you for your ongoing hard work, thank you for your resilience, thank you for your patience awaiting details as we plan for the future in what remains a fluid context.

I was in a meeting with some of our alumni recently, and in a round table introduction where we were asked to share a favorite memory about Drexel, my answer was simple: our people. I couldn’t pick just one occasion, because what stands out to me most is our community, the faculty, staff and students who make this an outstanding place to be.

And as we rethink what community looks like these days, I want to share more detailed thoughts and plans for how our college will approach this fall. Read on for more about:

Again, thank you for your positivity and engagement for the duration, and of course for your attention to this latest update. Finally, please remember we are essentially piloting this approach. This is a new beginning of sorts, and I continue to welcome your ideas and feedback, and assure you we will adjust our course as necessary with the goal of creating a positive educational and work environment for our engineering community.

With wishes for good health,

As we reach the end of August, I recognize many of us are at peak summer Zoom fatigue. Please mark your calendars for our next Engineering Unplugged Day, Wednesday, September 1, a day where we can pause our virtual meetings for focused tactical work and clarity in advance of the start of welcome week and fall classes.

We’ve been busy getting a jump start in the Dean’s Office for what community gatherings and office time will look like. Staff members convened earlier this week for an office clean-up day and outdoor gathering. It may not be the standard “coffee in the kitchen,” but it was great to see each other in person and envision what being back can look like in responsible and productive ways.

Along these lines, recall that back in July I asked all unit leaders to create plans for staffing coverage, discuss flexible work planning with direct reports, and submit those plans to me by August 1. We took this approach both at the guidance of the Provost’s office, as well as recognizing the uniqueness of the Dean’s Office, department staff units, labs management and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The plans that were submitted to me were thoughtful and intentional based on student success, delivering on our mission, as well as responsive to the need for increased flexible work arrangements. 

Later on 8/16 on Teams, I shared that in developing college-specific guidance, I continued to regularly convene our leadership team, as well as engage the college COVID return to campus committee on occasions when we had relevant information and updates to discuss from the campus Return Oversight Committee. Since my last note, the Provost and senior Drexel leaders sent out the message “Guiding Our Return with Flexibility.”

Related and given the adjusting news, campus policies, protocols and guidance on everything COVID-related, plus after discussion with UComm, please note we have formally closed and archived the college-level COVID webpage initially created at the start of the pandemic. We are now directing all faculty, staff, students, families and visitors to review Drexel's campus-wide coronavirus website. This ensures you will see the most up-to-date information – like messages from the President and Provost, as well as vaccination requirements, and the latest mask guidance, to name just a few.

With regard to flexible work arrangements, in addition to the HR policies, I want to highlight in case you missed it, the mention of the “new process to evaluate and apply for a flexible work arrangement.” The process to request a flex work arrangement has now shifted from a paper trail to an electronic submission. The good news is, we were a little ahead of the curve with getting many of our submissions through on paper. That said, I also want us to be compliant with this new approach. If you have not yet submitted an arrangement, please do so through the new process on DrexelOne. And if you have already submitted a request, even if it has been approved, I would greatly appreciate you submitting your information through the electronic form. More detailed instructions are available here.

Recognizing there may still be questions or concerns, I am pleased to share we have a new internal working document, “Faculty and Staff Guidance: Fall 2021 Return to Campus,” available to all faculty and staff on our MS Teams site. This reflects engineering-specific guidance and the uniqueness of our units, while simultaneously addressing the needs of the college as a whole.

In coordination with the leadership team and college return committee, as well as based on recurring individuals questions that come in to the Dean’s Office, this document aims to address everything from course modality protocols to office coverage basics. It will be updated on an as-needed basis, with notifications on MS Teams to alert you to anything new.