Dear Colgate Community,
Happy Colgate Day! It also happens to be World Kindness Day, and if you are wondering how you might celebrate both of these occasions at once, I have some ideas.
Maintain your Commitment to Community Health. Show your friends and colleagues on campus how much you value them even as you reduce the likelihood that you will bring SARS-CoV-2 home to your relatives. Reaching the end of in-person instruction successfully next week will be a point of pride for everyone — and Colgate Day is all about pride in our University.
Note New York State’s new and enhanced regulations. Travel restrictions are tightening, as are rules around private gatherings. Be kind to our first responders by adhering to the guidance so they don’t have to respond to a call or treat you for the virus.
Lastly, be thankful for everything that is available to you today in spite of the pandemic. You can still eat delicious food, engage in intellectual and not-so-intellectual conversations with your friends, play games, watch films, exercise, and look forward to a break from classes, coming in just one week.
Again, Happy Colgate Day, and I’ll talk to you on Monday.
Laura H. Jack
Vice President for Communications
Take Note
Colgate does not restrict the personal travel of its employees, but the University encourages you to think carefully before leaving home. Nearby locations are seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, and even small-scale gatherings have been identified as a source of spread.
The Madison County Department of Health is conducting free indoor walk-thru COVID-19 testing Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, from 4–8 p.m. in the Madison County Office Building, 138 North Court Street, Building 4 Lobby (DMV building) in Wampsville, N.Y. Anyone who would like to be tested should call 315-464-2582 and select option 0 to set up an appointment. High call volumes may result in long hold times.
Open enrollment is now open for all benefit-eligible employees to view and make selections by MIDNIGHT tonight. Any changes made during the open enrollment period will be effective Jan. 1, 2021. For detailed information, please see the Open Enrollment Newsletter, visit the HR website, and download instructions for accessing and navigating the portal.
If you would like to consult with a Fidelity representative regarding your investment plan, appointments are available Dec. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments will take place by phone or Zoom. Register online at getguidance.fidelity.com or call 800-642-7131.
Employees with contributions currently being invested in T. Rowe Price’s default age-based retirement fund should note that any contributions for which you do not provide investment direction will be invested in the plan’s designated fund. If you have questions or want information about the plan’s other investment options, contact HR.
Check out the latest wellness news from human resources. You can find information on the CU Well Program, sign up for the last CU Well challenge of the year, and learn ways to earn more points toward receiving $300 in a flexible spending account in January 2021. The deadline to earn 200 points and receive your $300 flexible spending account for 2021 is Nov. 30.
Nominations are open for the Colgate Staff Excellence Awards. These awards — including team and individual excellence, outstanding contribution, and employee of the year — are designed to recognize staff members who demonstrate outstanding achievement in Colgate’s commitment to fostering a creative and expansive learning community. Awards will be presented in the spring of 2021. Place a nomination via this form before January 13, 2021.
All students need to sign up for a departure time slot. You can find the form here. Students must also indicate whether they will be learning remotely or returning to campus for the spring semester. The deadline is TODAY. Declare your on-campus status here.
There’s still time to pick up your Let’s Get Checked test kit. Make an appointment at mail services and pick up your kit, M–F, 8 a.m.–7 p.m., and Sat–Sun, 8 a.m.–noon. Remember: do not use your test kit prior to departing Colgate this semester.
It’s time for winter recess food donations. The COVE will be collecting non-perishable food donations for the Hamilton Food Cupboard all next week. Look out for the donation boxes placed in residence halls and the Broad Street houses. The boxes will be placed on Monday, Nov. 16. Donations will be collected after student departure.
Family members coming from out of state to pick up their students should refer to the New York State Travel Advisory guidelines regarding filling out the traveler form, testing, and quarantine; the guidelines have changed as of November 4, 2020.
The bookstore will accept textbooks for buyback Nov. 16–19 in person by appointment and online. Schedule an appointment through this form. If you will need your textbooks between now and the end of the semester, you may also return them after quarantine in February.
The members of the Academic Affairs Board (AAB) would like to acknowledge the recent resolution passed by the Senate of the Student Government in “support for the implementation of a P/X grading option for the fall semester of 2020.” Coming into the academic year 2020–2021, the AAB made a deliberate decision to return to the regular grade mode options, but took up the question again at the request of students and the SGA. Only twice in Colgate’s history (1970 and 2020) has the P/X grading option been utilized. In spring 2020, this option was approved because of the extraordinary circumstances of suddenly closing down the campus in the spring; the rapid departure of the student body; the drastic mid-semester shift in teaching modalities; the interruption of the spring academic calendar; the unexpected altered access to support systems on campus; and the unforeseen disruption caused by the national and global changes associated with COVID-19. The most recent deliberations of the AAB included an acknowledgment of the pandemic having produced considerable stress and challenges for students, staff, and faculty in fall 2020 but did not think adjusting the grading mode was the appropriate solution. After careful consideration, the AAB voted (reaffirming their earlier vote) to retain the usual grading mode for the fall of 2020, yet did so with considerable willingness to continuing partnering with the Dean of the College division in support of holistic student wellness and overall mental health.
A Closing Thought
This Colgate Day we are celebrating 50 years of coeducation at Colgate University. We’re asking our community members to recognize influential women who made an impact on your time at Colgate. Share your thoughts on colgate.edu/coeducation or post on Twitter or Instagram with #colgatewomen.
Upcoming Events
Inter-Commons Spirit Competition
Nov. 13
11:59 p.m.
Celebrate Colgate Day by showing off your school spirit. Submit photos of Colgate themed decorations or spirit-wear for a chance to win a prize.
Colgate University String Orchestra, Marietta Cheng, Conductor
Nov. 15
3 p.m.
Just strings! Tchaikovsky “Serenade for Strings Elegie,” Mozart “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” Britten “Simple Symphony,” and Holst “St. Paul’s Suite”
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