University of Northwestern Retirees Association
(UNWRA)
UNWRA Vision: to promote on-going relationships between retirees/spouses and Northwestern by providing opportunities for retirees/spouses to enhance the mission of the university.
UNW Mission Statement
University of Northwestern – St. Paul exists to provide Christ-centered higher education equipping students to grow intellectually and spiritually, to serve effectively in their professions, and to give God-honoring leadership in the home, church, community and world.
Vision Statement
Because of God's compelling love, we will teach wisdom and understanding to reach all nations for Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:14, Proverbs 1:7, Matthew 28:19
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UNW Chinese Students
Seven UNW Chinese students have stayed on campus this summer taking online classes and working on the UNW Grounds Crew. We hosted a BBQ and birthday party for them. In addition, Jonathan Zderad, Jenny Yi and Tim Kowalik have facilitated a bi-weekly ZOOM Bible study group on Saturday mornings. Later in the summer, Chinese students were leading the Bible studies on the Book of Revelation.
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BBQ with UNW Chinese students on July 25
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Celebrating Rey's 20th Birthday
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UNW Campus to Open in the Fall
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Subject: Return to Campus
Sent: 7/17/20
Dear Faculty and Staff,
I am counting the days until we are all back on campus next month. Know that our grounds, buildings, classrooms, hallways, dorms, and chapel will look and feel different than the last time we were together in late March.As we prepare to return to campus during this global crisis, it is crucial for each member of our community to unite around our love for God and one another. The attached Declaration of COVID-19 Christian Community (DCCC)outlines a pledge to love one another through deference and by placing others above yourself. While information about COVID-19 continues to unfold, let’s do what we can to honor and care for others. This includes wearing a face covering for a period of time. Above all, I ask you to clothe yourselves with love. I am reminded of Ephesians 5:21 in which we are called to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.The UNW leadership teams have taken great care in developing a plan for what our community—students, faculty, and staff—should expect upon coming back. Although COVID-19 continues to be an evolving situation, our goal is to provide you with clear standards and expectations that will help your arrival to be both smooth and safe. The attached Community Expectations –Employeesdocument contains details for staff and faculty. For example, you can expect to see new signage and floor stickers reminding our community of new COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Students have also been sent a separate Expectations document (attached) that outlines our efforts related to course instruction, housing, etc.As you prepare your classrooms and office spaces, I ask that you also prepare your hearts. These challenging times will test us, but not beyond the patience and grace that God will provide if we only ask for them.I look forward to seeing you soon.
Blessings,
President Alan Cureton
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Fall 2020 Reopening Plan
This week, we continued moving closer to completing UNW’s Fall Reopening Plan. This document contains recommendations and action plans across the organization that will help prepare us to resume on-campus classes this fall in a safe and healthy way. The plan, which is being developed by three Reopening Teams under the direction of the P5 Team, has been significantly shaped by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)guidelines and recommendations. This plan will be presented to the SLT next Wednesday for review and approval.Here are some examples of the types of information and plans that will be included: 1.Basic Protocols (e.g., distancing, face coverings, facility cleaning)2.Classroom Protocols (e.g., distancing, mitigation strategies for faculty and students, seating protocols)3.Academic Policies (e.g., attendance policies, common syllabi statement, flexibility in responding to COVID-19)4.Screening, Testing, and Contact Tracing (e.g., processes, protocols)5.Quarantine and Temporary Isolation Locations (e.g., guidelines, options) 6.Travel (e.g., international, domestic)7.Training, Signage, and Communication Plans (e.g., expectations, timelines) 8.Chapel and Spiritual Formation (e.g., adaptations to Knight Hall chapels, alternative chapels, spiritual development events)9.Dining Services (e.g., expanded spaces, policies, protocols) I know that having this information and related details is important as you anticipate teaching this fall. Once the Fall Reopening Plan is approved by the Senior Leadership Team next week, we will be able to quickly begin implementing these strategies and plans for our university. While we anticipate our return to campus in August, we must also remain mindful of the need to potentially pivot instruction and operationsif a resurgence of the virus takes place. Additional work is being done at the organizational level on resurgence monitoring and planning. Faculty, please continue to think through each of your courses, determining (with the help of the Online Learning Office as needed) a plan to pivot to virtual instruction should the need arise. Thank you for your patience and prayers as we work together as a community to prepare well for fall semester.
Course Modalities for Fall
To support social distancing in classrooms this fall, courses in the traditional day school will be offered in one of three primary formats: face-to-face, hybrid, or virtual. The following descriptions are intended to help clarify how these modalities will be used to support instruction:
Face-to-Face (including Blended):The most common delivery method inour traditional day school, the face-to-face format involves students attending class at a scheduled time,receiving their instruction in person. We have also used a Blended course format as a variation of face-to-face classes. This format is similar to face-to-face but intentionally incorporates some online components (less than 50% ofthe course) to complement and extend the in-person instruction. If you would like to offer your face-to-face course in a blended format, please talk with your Department Chair or Assistant Dean to confirm your plans.
Hybrid:This format is new for UNW and is being introduced at many schools in response to COVID-19. In this approach, the class is divided into assigned, rotating groups of students that alternate between attending the class in-person and virtually. Live instruction continues to take place in the classroom but is also streamed to students participating remotely (see Lecture Capture section below*). For example, a class scheduled on T/Th could require half the students to attend in-person on Tuesdays, while the other half attends virtually; on Thursdays, the groups would switch. Likewise, a class scheduled on M/W/F might have one-third of the students attend in-person each day, while the other students attend remotely.
Virtual:This format is similar to the one that began after our spring pivot, continuing into the summer. These classes will not have any in-person components. While these courses are similar to the online courses we already offer through CGOAL, virtual classes are distinctive primarily in their use of synchronous (real-time) instruction. As was mentioned in myApril 25thFaculty communication, we will need to ensure thesethree foundational elements are included in all virtual classes:1.Communication: Every virtual course should include some synchronous (live) communication with students; a common method is through Zoom. If you plan to conduct synchronous instruction, which is encouraged, please do so at the scheduled time of your class to best ensure students can participate.2.Expectations: Share your expectations for student engagement throughout the course; clarify what students can expect from you, including the best way to contact you with questions.3.Tracking Progress: Inform students how they can regularly track their progress in your course; the Moodle grade book is a good option.
The Department Chairs and Assistant Deans have revised course modality assignments as needed given distancing requirements, and these changesare in the process of being confirmed. Our goal continues to be to offer as many face-to-face classes as possible, while recognizing that some courses will need to behybrid or virtual due to space limitations or faculty needs. The Deans and I will continue to work with Department Chairs and Assistant Deans as we strive together to support course requirements with the best available space and delivery formats.
Lecture Capture*I am very pleased to announce that we will be introducing basic lecture capture technologyin all of our classrooms for use this fall. This technology will allow us to capture the instructional activity taking place in the front of the classrooms (e.g., faculty lectures, student-led discussions, etc.), directly supporting the hybrid format that enables students to attend class remotely. Through the collaborative efforts of A/V Services, Academic Technology, Information Technology, and the Academic Continuity Team, several options were identified and tested in multiple classrooms over the past weeks. We will be installing Huddly IQcameras in all classrooms and will be using Zoom’s live streaming and cloud recording capabilities as the tools to accomplish lecture capture. Additional details, documentation, and training will be provided as we ramp up to our fall semester launch.
Professional Development and TrainingIt is not too late to participate in an upcoming section of Improving Your Online Course (IYOC). This engaging course explores the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric and provides a framework to improve the quality of online courses. Participants use the QM Rubric to review their own online courses and develop a course improvement plan. We also have additional development opportunitiesavailable to support you as you prepare for fall. New on-demand videos will continue to be added, so check back occasionally to review new offerings.
On Wednesday, July 22, the Online Learning Office will be hosting another live webinar entitled “Building Community at a Distance.”All faculty are invited to participate in this 30-minute webinar: Building community can be easy to say but perplexing to accomplish, especially at a distance. Students (and professors) can easily feel isolated in a virtual environment, so how can you build a community when everyone lives so far apart? The Online Learning Office is hosting a webinar to help you acquire strategies and techniques to build community in your virtual classroom.Colleagues, as we continue preparing for fall semester amidst the ever-evolving Covid landscape, we rest secure in the promises of our Lord, who will “never leave us nor forsake us,” encouraging us daily to “cast our cares upon Him,” for He loves us so.
May you find joy and peace this weekunder the blue July sky.
Warmly,
Janet B. Sommers
Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
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Save the date!
UNWRA Luncheon
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Guest Speaker: Joann Pittman
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Joann Pittman (class of ’82) is the Vice-President of Partnerships and China Engagement at ChinaSource (chinasource.org), a Christian think-tank that seeks to provide timely and balanced information on the Church in China. Prior to that, she served in China for more than 20 years, as an English teacher, Chinese language student, educational program director, and cross-cultural trainer. She has also taught courses on Chinese language and history here at UNWSP, as well as at Wheaton College and Taylor University. She is the author of The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China. Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes about China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong." You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com. and on Facebook at AuthorJoannPittman.
Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:
When Joann discovered a 150-year old American bell hanging in a church in southwest China she know there was a story to tell. Who had decided to ship it? How had it been transported? How had it survived the political turmoil of the 1950’s and 1960’s? She also knewthat if there was one bell there must be others. Over the course of eight months she travelled around China looking for old church bells, finding ones from the United France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. This book is a collection of stories about those bells. But more importantly, they are stories of God’s faithfulness to his church in China.
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Retirement of Kai Thoni
After 17+ years of dedicated and outstanding service, the illustrious Kai Thoni will be retiring from UNW to pursue her lifelong dream as a professional lion tamer. Mrs. Thoni’s list of achievements runs longer than the line at the teppankayi bar in the cafeteria, but her biggest legacy will be her positive impact and Christ-like love for Northwestern, which ran deep and wide. Not only was she a faithful and outstanding employee to three different departments, she was a voice of reason, a shoulder to cry on, a partner in shenanigans, a prayer warrior, and a trustworthy friend to countless staff, faculty, and students over the years. Her absence will be felt greatly by many at UNW.
Due to COVID-19, we will not be having a retirement party for Kai. However, she would love to keep in touch and has encouraged her friends here to e-mail her at TGWinkle@comcast.net.
Sent By: Blucker, Cayla
Delivery Date: Jul 31, 2020 10:49 AM
Expiration Date: Aug 14, 2020 10:49 AM
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NEW ADDITION IN 2020!
UNWRA Website is NOW Live via the unwsp.edu website!
Retirees can navigate on the website by selecting “Resources” and then “Retiree Resources”.
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You can access the UNWRA home page directly with this URL - https://unwsp.edu/unwra.
Take a tour of our website. Let us know what you think. We want to expand the website with useful information. Send suggestions to tkowalik@unwsp.edu
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New Opportunities to serve in UNWRA
Have you considered volunteering for one of the UNWRA committees? Now is the perfect time to help grow the organization. We are in the early stages of developing the following committees:
Committees
- Program: Arranges for luncheon speakers and handles logistics of luncheon.
- Membership: Recruits new members and manages membership database.
- Nominating: Proposes slate of officer and Board candidates for the membership.
- UNWRA Cares: Provides support to spouses and families grieving a death or coping with hospitalization or disability.
- UNWRA History: Compiles and organizes material for an annual UNWRA contribution to the University Archives.
- Prayer: Shares prayer requests with membership.
Email tkowalik@unwsp.edu to inform of us of the committee you would like to join. Working together, we can build a stronger UNWRA!
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Share your story with UNWRA!
Have you taken a trip recently, volunteered with some organization, or reached a significant milestone?
Send your photos and captions to tkowalik@unwsp.edu and I will post them on the next UNWRA eNewsletter.
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Having your correct email address on file is crucial for us to keep you informed!
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Help Spread the Word About UNWRA
We want every University of Northwestern retiree to be included in the UNWRA but we need your help in getting the word out. Sometimes our initial contact information is incorrect or obsolete. Would you be willing to help us update our database by contacting former UNW colleagues you know personally to see if they are receiving and reading the UNWRA eNewsletter? A simple phone call or email to them would be appreciated. Click on the icons below to share this eNewsletter with colleagues. We don't want anyone to miss out. Send any email updates to Tim Kowalik at tkowalik@unwsp.edu.
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Prayer Requests
Online Bible study for UNW Chinese students on Saturday mornings at 9:00 a.m.
Plans for resuming face-to-face fall semester classes
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Past Issues of UNWRA eNewsletter Available
Read past issues of the UNWRA eNewsletter. Click on
Read eNewsletter in your browser. Click on the Past Issues tab in the upper left-hand corner of this eNewsletter. Catch up on all the news from previous issues.
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Stay Connected
Please update your contact information so we can send you future announcements.
Send updates, questions or comments to:
Tim Kowalik
UNWRA President
tkowalik@unwsp.edu
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