October 4, 2021
Dear William Paterson Faculty & Staff,
Here we are in the 7th week, and it is hard to believe we are almost halfway through the semester. I hope everyone has had an opportunity to take advantage of some of the many wonderful events taking place across campus to connect with your WP community. One great way is First Thursday, a chance for faculty and staff to come together over a cocktail or refreshment in a relaxed atmosphere in the beautiful reception rooms upstairs in Hobart Manor. I host the event each month. The next one is this Thursday, October 7 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. I hope you can join me. I am also excited that one of the signature events of the Fall semester – Homecoming and Family Day – is back this year, on Saturday, Oct. 9, and will feature the Pioneer Carnival, tailgating, football and men’s soccer games, and an exciting new development in how we celebrate Pioneer Pride. Come out and join alumni and other members of the WP community for what promises to be a great day.
I am pleased to report that statewide agreements have been reached with both CWA and IFPTE to require their members on campus to be vaccinated against COVID. Together with our earlier agreement with AFT and the University requirements for all students and non-union employees, this means that the entire WP community is required to be vaccinated. As with the other groups, the only exceptions for CWA and IFPTE are those members who are granted a medical or religious exemption. Consistent with existing policy, anyone with an approved exemption will be subject to regular testing and disciplinary action for failure to comply. I am grateful to CWA and IFPTE leadership for taking this step, which will help protect our entire University community. Members need to submit via WP Connect exemption requests or proof of vaccination by Thursday, October 14 or get their first shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the single dose of J&J by Monday, October 18. More details will come in email from Human Resources to impacted members this week.
Elsewhere on the pandemic front, I have recently learned that Counseling, Health & Wellness Center (CHWC) is being inundated with emails and calls from faculty and staff with questions about individual students, and about processes and protocols related to COVID-19. I urge you to familiarize yourself with the information on our COVID webpage and in the Sept. 3 and Sept. 30 emails to faculty and staff from Provost Josh Powers and Dr. Jill Guzman. If students are ill, please direct them to complete the COVID Symptom and Exposure Reporting Form located on the COVID webpage. CHWC cannot respond to individual inquiries about processes and protocols. The challenging and time-consuming nature of these calls and emails are keeping staff from the work that needs to be done to treat ill students and conduct the thorough contact tracing needed to prevent further transmission.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and William Paterson is hosting a series of events to educate our community on ways to combat domestic violence, which predominantly harms women and marginalized populations while also threatening the greater cause of social equality and justice for all. The next event, “Violence Prevention in the LGBTQIA+ Community & Intervention Skills,” is scheduled for today from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. in UC 168A. Please check the Corq app or Pioneer Life for the full schedule of events throughout the month.
A reminder that Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and University Relations Guillermo de Veyga and Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success Reginald G. Ross will host the Budget & Enrollment Forum this Thursday, October 7, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in the Cheng Library Auditorium and via livestream. You can submit questions in advance to Vice President Ross or Vice President de Veyga or ask them during the presentation using the chat feature for online viewers, or following the presentation for in-person attendees.
This week’s WP: We are Proud – On Friday, the WP community came out to celebrate Professor Emerita Ginny Overdorf and recognize her generous gift in support of the campus tennis courts and development of the tennis program by renaming the courts in her honor. Dr. Overdorf has been a dedicated member of the William Paterson community for more than five decades as a Professor of Kinesiology, field hockey coach, and founding tennis coach, where she had tremendous success building a winning program from scratch. Many of Coach Overdorf’s former players joined us for the ribbon cutting ceremony, testifying to the positive impact she had on generations of students and players throughout her career. Thank you, Ginny!
Thank you for all your good work so far this semester, and here’s to a strong second half of the fall. Have a great week.
