Chancellor's Welcome for All Staff and Faculty 2018

Chancellor's Welcome for All Staff and Faculty 2018

When:    Monday, August 20, 2018

Time:      8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Where:   Ward Wells Field House (follow the ramp down to the field house on the side where the tennis courts are located)

Chancellor Black invites you to join him in kicking off a new fall semester. A continental breakfast will be served (pastries, fruit, and yogurt).

We will be collecting nonperishable food for Champ's Cupboard, the UMD Food Shelf located in 245 Kirby Plaza. Unused/unopened items specifically needed are:

• Canned chicken/tuna
• Boxed noodles, pasta, etc
• Pasta sauce
• Boxed meals and dinner sides
• Canned meals: spaghetti's, ravioli, etc
• Canned fruit
• Peanut butter, jelly, condiments
• Lighter meals/snacks, granola bars, etc
• Miscellaneous toiletries, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo
• Diapers and laundry detergent

For information contact: 218.726.7106 or chan@d.umn.edu

Getting Ready for UMD! Parent Information

Dear UMD Parents and Family Members:

As the University of Minnesota Duluth's Chancellor, it is a pleasure for me to welcome you to our outstanding university community. The faculty, staff, and students of UMD join me in our commitment to making your student's new university home an intellectually stimulating and enjoyable place to learn and grow.

We take every part of the UMD experience very seriously, and we are committed to making a difference with our students. Most of our students excel, but many of them also encounter challenging situations involving alcohol. Most relationships among students are positive and supportive. However, there are times when abusive relationships appear between students.  When abuse occurs, it is often related to alcohol use. We've implemented a comprehensive prevention program to help our students make the safest, healthiest decisions possible.

• Our health services and student life staff offer resources and programming designed to heighten student awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse and underage drinking. A comprehensive resource page may be found by visiting this website.  
• When violations of university alcohol policies occur we have disciplinary procedures in place to address these issues in a manner focused on education and changing behavior. The emphasis is on helping students be successful in every aspect of their college experience.
• At UMD, we value our partnership with parents regarding the health and safety of our students. To that end, we will contact the parents of any UMD student who has been taken to the hospital emergency room or to a local detoxification facility by UMD police for an alcohol-related emergency. On a case-by-case basis, we may also contact the parents of underage UMD students who have violated the university's alcohol policy, on or off campus.
• This summer every incoming student will be required to complete AlcoholEdu for College, a 2-3 hour online course that uses the latest prevention techniques and research to educate students about the impact of alcohol on the mind and body. Whether or not your student drinks alcohol, AlcoholEdu for College will empower your student to make well-informed decisions about alcohol and help them better cope with the drinking behavior of peers.

We also understand that parents are the first line of defense against alcohol misuse and abuse.  There are several things you can do this summer to help your student get ready for the decisions they'll be making after they get to UMD. We're providing a brochure to serve as a resource and a guide if you decide to discuss the dangers of underage drinking and excessive alcohol use with your student. 

Minnesota State Law requires that every incoming student must participate in training on sexual assault prevention. One way our students will receive training is through another online course called Sexual Assault Prevention. 

Our partner for providing the AlcoholEdu and Sexual Assault Prevention is a company called EverFi. (By the way, EverFi also provides online training required for every UMD employee). We're providing you with a link to an EverFi website that has information for parents of college students. The site includes downloadable resources to support conversations with your student about these important topics. In addition, this UMD website has links to an overview for each of the required courses.

The deadline for completing the AlcoholEdu and Sexual Assault Prevention courses is August 20, 2018. We hope you will encourage your student to meet that deadline.

We are proud of the safe and supportive learning environment at UMD, and we thank you for helping us educate students about the dangers of behaviors that put them at risk and that detract from their academic achievements. 

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Completion of Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct Training

Dear UMD Faculty, Staff, and Administrators:

I would like to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to the UMD community for completing the Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct online training. As of today, 98.94% of UMD employees and 99.76% of UMD supervisors have completed the training, which translates to only 11 employees and 1 supervisor at UMD who have not yet finished the training module. The Office of Human Resources for the University of Minnesota System will follow-up with those who did not complete this requirement. In addition, they will develop a process for all new employees to take the online training as part of their onboarding at UMD.

Combating sexual assault and sexual harassment continues to be a priority at UMD, and this one training alone will not be enough to achieve our goal of a campus that is safe and welcoming to everyone. However, it is a positive beginning in the right direction. I will follow-up on the recent and productive discussion I had with the UMD Commission for Women about the training and what next steps we can take to reinforce the principles found in the training module.  

The UMD Sexual Violence Response Team is also developing follow-up initiatives to the online training in order to give faculty and staff ongoing opportunities to further develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to combat inappropriate behavior. We also need to continue our efforts to ensure that victims know how and when to report incidents and how to acquire the support they need. We also need to equip supervisors with the skills and knowledge necessary to assist employees and to create ever better work environments. Additional information about the UMD Chancellor's Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct can be found here: http://d.umn.edu/sexual-assault/prevention.

Like the prevention of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination, preventing sexual misconduct begins with understanding when behaviors are inappropriate. In addition, individuals should take an honest look at their own biases and commit to not engaging in harmful behaviors or excusing the bad behaviors of others.

Thank you again for your efforts to create the welcoming and inclusive campus climate we all deserve.


Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Regent Budget Input Session at UMD, Wed May 16

Dear Campus Community:

Please see the link to the announcement from the Board of Regents office in regards to the U of M System FY 2019 Annual Operating Budget and opportunities for feedback.  Note that campus and community members are invited to attend and provide feedback during an input session on Wednesday, May 16 from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in the 4th floor Library Rotunda. The event will start with a brief budget overview by Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations Brian Burnett.

Sincerely,

Lendley Black
Chancellor

Save the Date: Fall 2018 Faculty & Staff Welcome

Dear Colleagues, 

As we get ready to send off yet another graduating class of Bulldogs, we are also looking forward to next semester. Please mark your calendars for the Fall 2018 Faculty & Staff Welcome:

 

Monday, August 20th from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Ward Wells Fieldhouse

Have a great final two weeks of the academic year. Thank you for all of your dedication this year, and best of luck to our graduates. 

Lendley Black

Chancellor

A Reminder of Our Values

Dear Campus Community,

As we await the arrival of spring and turn the corner toward the end of another academic year, our UMD community continues to be challenged in our efforts toward equity, inclusion, and social justice. We have once again seen an increase in overt demonstrations of hate and intolerance, behaviors that run counter to our values as a community. None of this is unique to UMD. Across the nation there has been a rise in hate crimes and rhetoric against under-represented members of our communities. However, it is happening here, and we must take a strong stance against it. UMD has overtly stated in our strategic plan , through our values and goals and Campus Climate Initiative a strong commitment to equity and social justice. As a learning community, we must be prepared to call ourselves and each other out when we fall short and educate ourselves as we strive to do better.

Over the weekend, there were several expressions found on social media and geotagged from UMD that fall short of our values and goals. We want you to know that we are aware of these incidents, along with others. We are tracking them and we are doing what we can to mitigate their harmful impact. Incidents of hate and intolerance that appear in certain social media platforms are often difficult to track, making identification of the person responsible not possible. We have taken steps to flag inappropriate content on snapchat that has been geotagged to UMD. Such expressions that are obviously hurtful do not sustain the values we aspire to achieve.

Building a campus climate that encourages and supports equity, inclusion, and social justice is about more than one incident, or one person - it is about systems, structures, and each one of us. It is up to all of us to demonstrate our valuing of equity and inclusion and of each other as members of the UMD community. We ALL have a responsibility as members of the UMD community to educate ourselves, to be leaders toward inclusion, and to do what we can to influence others to act through the lens of Goal 2 of our strategic plan. We want to also remind you of the importance of reporting any incidents that undermine and damage a safe, respectful, and diverse campus climate. Report those incidents here.

If you are feeling unsafe at any time or for any reason you can call 911 immediately. We invite you to seek out additional campus resources. 

Together, we can be the change we wish to see.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

HLC Reaccreditation Visit April 16-17

UMD Colleagues,

As you know, the Higher Learning Commission will have an evaluation team on campus Monday and Tuesday (April 16-17). Every ten years higher education institutions must undergo a comprehensive review to certify reaccreditation and eligibility to receive and distribute federal financial aid (among other things). This ten-year review comes after the university has prepared an assurance argument, what we used to call a self-study, and a federal compliance packet. This process of collecting institutional information and verifying supporting evidence generally takes a year or more.

UMD has been ably led in this process by Dr. Jennifer Mencl, a group of faculty and staff serving in coordinating roles for the preparation of the documents, and other groups working on the various criteria. I very much appreciate the tremendous work that Dr. Mencl and the team have done to get UMD prepared for what we anticipate to be a very productive and positive site review.

I encourage you all to participate as you can in the various meetings and open forums that are part of the site visit. If you wish to learn more about the process and read our documents, they are available at http://d.umn.edu/accreditation/2018-hlc-visit

 

Best,

Lendley C. Black

Chancellor