Chancellor Black updates

Dear students,

I hope that the semester is going well for each of you. I have a few campus updates to share with you today.

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
I am proud that our students are active and engaged in our democracy. UMD recently received the 2020 campus gold seal in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge which recognizes select higher education institutions, educators, and students for their extraordinary work in student voter engagement. Thank you to all of the campus departments and student organizations whose efforts led to this tremendous result!

DEI update
We continue to make good progress on a variety of diversity and inclusion efforts, including our campus Diversity and Inclusion action items. Some highlights include:

• Modifying our Liberal Education Program to include a new category and courses that broadly focuses on social justice issues.
• First-year students enrolled in UST 1000 completed the diversity, inclusion, and belonging module.
• The Police Department has begun to implement recommendations from Dr. Cedric Alexander’s report. The department has taken significant steps in broadening officers’ skill sets in de-escalation, mental health and cultural sensitivity.
• We have reinstated an American Indian Advisory Board (AIAB) for the UMD campus. The advisory board will serve as a liaison between American Indian communities and UMD.
• Many collegiate and campus units are engaged in additional diversity and inclusion efforts. UMD has 14 unit change teams across the campus. Learn more about their work and initiatives.

COVID-19
As we look forward to a holiday break, I am very grateful for the efforts students have made to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on our campus. Our vaccination rates among students, faculty, and staff are very high and our usage of isolation and quarantine in on-campus living has been manageable.

We are in the middle of a surge in COVID-19 cases in our state and in the U.S. in general. The Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) guidance for holidays and gatherings has helpful information about preventing COVID-19. I encourage you to review this guidance and use it to inform your holiday plans.

MDH has signaled that they anticipate expansion of COVID-19 boosters will occur very soon for all adults 18 years of age and older. Additionally, anyone that received a J&J vaccine is already eligible and should get a booster after at least two months from their first shot. As a reminder, our Safe Campus COVID vaccinations page has information about vaccine availability. UMD Health Services is exploring the possibility of offering boosters on campus and we hope to have more information about this in the near future.

Please do your best to stay well while having an enjoyable and safe holiday weekend.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Updates from Chancellor Black

Dear faculty and staff,

I hope that the semester is going well for each of you. I have a few campus updates to share with you today.

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
I am proud that our students are active and engaged in our democracy. UMD recently received the 2020 campus gold seal in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge which recognizes select higher education institutions, educators, and students for their extraordinary work in student voter engagement. Thank you to all of the campus departments and student organizations whose efforts led to this tremendous result!

DEI update
We continue to make good progress on a variety of diversity and inclusion efforts, including our campus Diversity and Inclusion action items. Some highlights include a pending modification to our Liberal Education Program to include a new category and courses that broadly focus on social justice issues.

Over 90 percent of faculty and staff have completed managing bias and diversity, inclusion, and belonging training modules. This fall, new employees will be invited to complete the modules. Additionally, first-year students enrolled in UST 1000 completed the diversity, inclusion, and belonging module.

The Police Department has begun to implement recommendations from Dr. Cedric Alexander’s report. The department has taken significant steps in broadening officers’ skill sets in de-escalation, mental health and cultural sensitivity. They are also working to enhance their community relationships to better serve our campus.

Many collegiate and campus units are engaged in additional diversity and inclusion efforts. UMD has 14 unit change teams across the campus. Learn more about their work and initiatives and don't hesitate to get in touch with them.

I send congratulations to Susana Pelayo Woodward, director for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and assistant to the chancellor, for being selected to serve on the new advisory committee for the U of M Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Systemwide Review. I would also like to welcome Corey Christensen, our new equal opportunity associate and Title IX coordinator.

American Indian Advisory Board
I am pleased to announce that we have reinstated an American Indian Advisory Board (AIAB) for the UMD campus. The advisory board will serve as a liaison between American Indian communities and UMD. The board will consult on matters related to campus programs and services on behalf of American Indian students and on other relevant matters related to UMD’s research and public service mission.

The AIAB has ten members from Fond du Lac Reservation, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Bois Forte Reservation, and Grand Portage Reservation, and two UMD students.  At its first meeting, the Board elected Dorothy Olson, Fond du Lac enrollee and retired assistant director of UMD's American Indian Learning Resource Center, as board chair. Current UMD staff member and enrolled member of Fond du Lac Jody O'Connor will assist the chancellor and the board with scheduling, minutes, and other logistics. The board will typically meet three times a year.

Employee Engagement Survey
The University of Minnesota System just completed an employee engagement survey. I want to thank our faculty and staff for your participation. UMD’s overall staff response rate was 83% and the faculty response rate was 69%. Data from the survey allows leaders at the University to focus efforts to improve the faculty and staff workplace experience in order to effectively pursue our mission.

PEAK - Positioned for Excellence, Alignment, and Knowledge
The University of Minnesota System’s PEAK initiative which seeks to “identify opportunities across non-academic functions to increase efficiency or gain capacity” continues to move forward. Beginning in January, several functional work teams will meet regularly to develop solutions and translate the identified opportunities into detailed recommendations. Other teams will begin their work next summer. I am pleased that Duluth is well represented in these teams. Every major functional workgroup has UMD representation.

COVID-19
As we look forward to a holiday break, we are also preparing for a predicted surge in COVID-19 cases in our state and in the U.S. in general. The Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) guidance for holidays and gatherings has helpful information about preventing COVID-19.

MDH has signaled that they anticipate expansion of COVID-19 boosters will occur very soon to all adults 18 years of age and older. Additionally, anyone that received a J&J vaccine is already eligible and should get a booster after at least two months from their shot, regardless of living or working setting. As a reminder, our Safe Campus COVID vaccinations page has information about vaccine availability. 

Please do your best to stay well while having an enjoyable and safe holiday weekend.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

News from Chancellor Black

Dear UMD Campus Community:

After twelve years as UMD’s Chancellor, I’m writing to inform you that I have decided to retire during the summer of 2022. President Gabel is sending a systemwide communication later this morning regarding my retirement and two other systemwide senior leadership changes. She is beginning a national search immediately for UMD’s next Chancellor with the goal of making a new appointment by the end of the spring semester. I will remain in my position until the new Chancellor is in place.

I thank you all for your support and for your outstanding work over the past twelve years. Together, we have experienced many accomplishments and persisted through one of the most challenging times in U.S. higher education history. I especially appreciate everyone’s work since the beginning of the pandemic, and I am pleased our COVID-19 cases continue to be low. 

UMD is a remarkable place, and we are blessed to live and work in a beautiful location with extraordinary natural resources all around us. I will miss you and the professional connections I have made on campus, in the Twin Ports community, and throughout the state and region. There is probably no ideal time to retire. But as I approach another milestone birthday next spring, Connie and I want more opportunities to spend time with our children and grandchildren in the Twin Cities and Massachusetts. We look forward to having more control over our schedules, more time with family, and greater opportunities to explore the United States and a few special international places. We plan to keep our home in Duluth and will find new ways to engage as private citizens with community groups and causes important to us.

Best wishes to you all,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
 

Fall Semester Update

 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

We are at the halfway point of the fall semester. I am grateful to see an active campus, filled with energy and balanced with safety protocols for the well-being of our campus community. 

A few quick updates for you:

Homecoming
Last week, we celebrated homecoming with a variety of events and activities around campus throughout the week. Homecoming is a great way to demonstrate Bulldog pride with our campus, alumni, friends and community members. Thanks to the organizers and all who participated to make homecoming a success. 

Driven: The University of Minnesota Duluth Campaign
This last summer, we completed a very successful 10 year fundraising program; Driven: The University of Minnesota Duluth Campaign. We set a goal to raise $120 million to support student scholarships, innovative programs, great faculty and top grade facilities. Due to the generosity of thousands of donors, we secured $170 million. I invite you to watch this short video, with UMD theater student Laura Carlson, to hear more about these amazing results. 

Throughout the campaign, 828 UMD employees contributed to this success by donating $15 million! That is an impressive number of employees demonstrating their generosity and commitment to the success of UMD and our students.

The impact of these incredible gifts will be felt for generations to come. I am honored that our alumni and friends made such amazing investments for the betterment of our students and this campus. Gifts are generally designated by the donor to specific purposes (like student scholarships), and are not available for general institutional budgetary needs.

Safe Campus
I am pleased that our campus has high vaccination rates for students, faculty, and staff. Our campus community continues to follow COVID health and safety protocols. Safety measures, such as properly wearing face coverings indoors, are important attributes to maintaining in-person activities and complying with university expectations. It is also important that each of us continue to closely monitor our own health. Regardless of your vaccination status, please seek testing if you have COVID-19 symptoms. 

Thank you for your on-going support in helping to keep all members of our campus community safe. You can continue to find COVID related information on the Safe Campus website. 

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Fall Semester Updates

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I hope you are all well and getting ready to begin a new fall semester. We’re just over a week away from the start of classes, and I am looking forward to seeing students and colleagues face to face again and recreating the sense of community we had before the pandemic forced us to work and study remotely. Yes, we will be wearing facemasks, but they will not prevent us from having the strong sense of connections that are a hallmark of UMD campus life. I am proud of the outstanding work and sacrifices of our students, faculty, and staff over the past year and a half. Because of the efforts of many people, UMD has the correct precautions in place for a safe and successful 2021-2022 academic year.

We have a mix of exciting welcome week activities for our new incoming students. In addition, we recognize that additional opportunities to connect with UMD and with other students are important for those Bulldogs who joined our campus community last year. We have invited them to some of our welcome week programs and created a few special opportunities for them, too.

On campus right now, offices and departments are open and ready to welcome students back, fall sports are in motion, facilities management continues to prepare campus for the semester, and much more is happening around campus - all with COVID safety protocols in mind. To highlight one area a bit more, the library has new and improved spaces for you to enjoy. In partnership with ITSS, you'll find enhanced technology, and dining services has launched The Grind coffee kiosk between the library and the re-opened annex, with additional seating.

COVID Updates
Having worked closely with our University of Minnesota System leadership for the past year and a half on our responses to COVID, I know how carefully decisions are being made within the ever shifting landscape of emerging variants and health risks. I support these systemwide decisions, and want you to know that decisions will always be based on state and federal scientific data and advice from University of Minnesota public health and medical experts. We will also stay informed about transmission rates in our local community and requirements from elected officials.

As you have undoubtedly seen in a number of communications, the University’s current policy is to require everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks indoors. As well, upon formal FDA approval of any COVID-19 vaccine, the University will add that COVID-19 vaccine to those already required for students. Faculty and staff will be asked to sign an attestation of vaccination status, and if not vaccinated, to agree to regular testing in the future. We will continue to post updates to our Safe Campus website.

I strongly encourage unvaccinated members of our campus community to get a vaccine wherever you can and as soon as you can. It is the best way to keep ourselves and our communities safe.

You can find information, including locations, about the free COVID-19 vaccine on the Safe Campus website. UMD Health Services is planning to offer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to students by appointment starting sometime in September. Student Life is working with St. Louis County Public Health to offer free vaccine clinics for members of the campus community during move-in and the Student Activities Fair. Details will be shared with the campus community next week and publicized on the UMD Health Services website.

Other COVID vaccine information that you might find useful include:

• Vaccine facts from UMD Health Services’ Dr. Worley (July 26, 2021)
• A series of vaccine messages from Dr. Tolar on the Twin Cities campus including his most recent message with a vaccine Q&A

I continue to be impressed with our campus community, and I appreciate all you have done to remain committed to educational excellence and ensuring a safe campus community. I wish you all a successful semester and hope to see you around campus soon.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

COVID-19: Facial Coverings Reinstated Indoors

 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

In just a few weeks, move-in for the fall semester will begin and we will welcome our new incoming class. I am looking forward to this upcoming school year, with hopes of an active, safe, and healthy campus community.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have monitored guidance on public health and safety precautions. As U of M System President Joan Gabel noted in her message earlier today, “We are committed to protecting the health of our community, and to adjusting as new information and circumstances dictate.”

Given the Delta variant, increasing transmission rates, and the advice of our public health experts, effective Tuesday, August 3, the University of Minnesota System is reinstituting a systemwide requirement that all students, staff, faculty, contractors, and visitors wear facial coverings while indoors at all university facilities. Regardless of your vaccination status, your adherence to our University Face Covering Protocol is appreciated and required.

If you are not vaccinated, we strongly encourage you to “Get the Vax” today. Vaccines are highly effective against the Delta variant. Review this Vaccine Q&A for resources and to learn more.

We have made much progress, and while this may be a detour, I am grateful for your participation and cooperation as we all work together to keep our campus safe. Even though our pandemic response plans remain fluid and able to adapt as needed, our commitment to student success remains solid. More information and updates will continue to be posted to our Safe Campus website.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Executive Assistant Announcement

 Dear Faculty and Staff,

After fifteen years of outstanding service to UMD and to the Office of the Chancellor, Jean Conner, the Executive Assistant to the Chancellor, has decided to retire, effective August 2, 2021. I have greatly enjoyed working with Jean over the past eleven years. She is such a positive and productive member of our community. I appreciate her outstanding commitment to excellence and to improving our campus climate. She admirably serves the wide range of individuals, on- and off-campus, who interact with the Chancellor's Office. We will miss her.

Carlee Williams will serve as the Interim Executive Assistant to the Chancellor, and for the time being, she will also continue coordinating UMD Special Events. Bob Borden continues his position in the Chancellor’s Office as Executive Secretary, and Wendy Larrivy continues to serve the office as Administrative Director. Within the next several weeks, I will seek approval to search for the Executive Assistant position. Carlee has done a great job with special events, and I thank her for taking on these additional responsibilities.

Please join me in wishing Jean well in retirement and thanking her for her many accomplishments at UMD, in the University of Minnesota System, and with her local higher education colleagues.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor