Bulletin: January 2021
January 2021
NDMU Together Continues in 2021
As we prepare for the return to campus this spring, we’d like to remind campus of the many steps we have in place to continue to keep our community healthy and safe and where to find all up-to-date information regarding our safety protocols.
Effective January 4, 2020, the University is implementing a mandatory influenza vaccine policy for all on-campus students, faculty, staff, and contractors. Be sure to submit documentation before arriving to campus after January 4. Directions for how to submit documentation or request an exception can be found in NDMU Together General Health & Safety. Be sure to check the NDMU Together site prior to arriving to campus to ensure 100% compliance to all safety protocols.
Also, all arriving or returning to campus for the spring semester who were not on campus regularly/routinely (i.e. in the testing pool) in the fall semester will be required to submit a negative viral COVID-19 test result prior to their entry on campus. The test must have been administered and negative results received within 7 days prior to scheduled return to campus. On-campus random COVID-19 surveillance testing will resume during the week of January 11.
All previous safety protocols are still in effect for those coming to campus. Masks that cover the nose and mouth are required at all times unless alone in one’s office, residence hall room, while eating or outside with proper social distancing. Please maintain social distancing of six feet at all times and when possible, schedule virtual meetings. Before arriving to campus, please fill out the symptom screener and do not come to campus unless you receive the all-clear from the test or have been instructed by our COVID-19 team after a failed result. Be sure to continue to wash hands regularly and use hand sanitizer when made available.
Be sure to plan for the academic calendar changes including the changes for spring and Easter breaks. Those changes have been reflected online.
All the latest updates will be reflected on the NDMU Together site under announcements.
Universitas Has Arrived
As community members make their return to NDMU, you will find copies of Universitas scattered across campus. Feel free to grab a copy or stop by University Communications located on the third floor of LeClerc Hall to get your copy. The digital issue of Universitas is also available to view online. Within the issue, you will learn about the launch of NDMU’s new inspirational new brand “The Best You”, the IMPRINT program, the impact our students and alums have made in their communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and much more. Also be sure to view the centerfold feature about the 19th Amendment and how it was just the beginning of the right for all women to vote.
Art Therapy Graduates
NDMU congratulates the first cohort of Art Therapy Graduate Program students who completed their degrees this winter. The four graduates not only completed their degrees, they each passed the art therapy licensing exam including a national certification exam and a Maryland jurisprudence exam. Michelle Long, Melanie Sanderson, Emily Kendall, and Marie Morrison (pictured left to right above) each also are officially Licensed Graduate Professional Art Therapist (LGPAT) in Maryland. Congratulations graduates!
More Stories
In December, the Colonial States Athletic Conference Board of Directors announced the official cancellation of the fall and winter competition, which had been previously been suspended. Member-intuitions, including NDMU’s five affected programs, were granted autonomy regarding practice, training and outside competition opportunities. Check out the full release from the CSAC.
Read about four NDMU students and alums that have made an impact in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn about their impact in 2020 and how NDMU prepared them for work on the frontline. A version of this article was first published in Universitas on pages 30-31.
When the pandemic hit the country in mid-March, many changes were adopted to the way we live and how we remain connected with one another. As the remote fall semester comes to a close, we were able to catch up with some of our School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) and see how they have adapted to virtual space. Read the full interview with some of our SSNDs.
Holiday Wrap Up
We hope our NDMU campus community enjoyed their holiday break, a time spent relaxing and giving thanks. Although we could not celebrate the holidays in our usual fashion, the community did find ways to join together in community. If you were unable to attend Trim Tree, be sure to check out this year’s digital ornaments on Instagram (under Tree Trim Highlights) submitted to Student Life and the lighting of the Gibbons tower. Dr. Spratt, Dr. Davis, Professor McShea and Professor Beyer also helped us to spread some holiday cheer, sharing with us their favorite holiday recipes. Check out their recipes for coffee cake, chocolate fudge, gingerbread cookies and pecan pie. Also new this year, in lieu of the annual Christmas Eve Liturgy, the Office of Institutional Advancement joined together with Dr. David Morocco to put together a Christmas Concert from Marikle Chapel. Enjoy the sights and sounds of our beautiful campus and chapel during Christmas.
Library
The LNDL building is open!
Learn more about visiting the Library as well as remote services, resources, and technology.
Contactless pickup of books
An expanded book selection is available for faculty, students, and staff for contactless pickup. Request contactless pickup of books.
Spring Library Instruction
All research, technology, and copyright sessions will be online in the Spring 2021 semester. Request an online research, copyright, and/or Innovation Station technology instruction session.
Innovation Station Access
The Innovation Station equipment will be available during the spring semester via reservation. This includes our brand new laser cutter! Learn more and reserve makerspace technology.
Career Center
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Career Center/First Impressions Program Needs Assessment. We received a phenomenal response and are currently analyzing the results to adjust our programming and services.
Just announced. Coming in February! The largest career fair for NDMU students/alums ever will be held on Wednesday, February 24 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Attend the Maryland/Pennsylvania Liberal Arts Career Fair via Handshake. Students from ten private liberal arts schools and over 100 employers will be participating.
English Language Institute
It is with heavy hearts that we announce that the English Language Institute (ELI) is closing its doors until Spring 2022. Despite our creative ideas to expand the curriculum and meet the changing needs of the international student population, ELI will not offer courses in 2021.
Since its founding in 1983, the ELI has welcomed hundreds and hundreds of students from over 30 countries to the Notre Dame campus. Our intensive English program offers student-centered instruction designed to help our students achieve academic and professional success.
However, we are much more than a highly respected international program. The ELI is truly a family that sets us apart from other programs in our area. Our faculty and staff handle all aspects of the process, from marketing through admissions, registration, orientation, academic sessions, tutoring, field trips, advising, and end-of-session farewell events. In addition, we provide hands-on support to help our students adapt to the culture of the US and American university life. We provide transportation for shopping trips and doctor’s appointments, give advice for personal problems, celebrate cultural holidays, and more. We mindfully bridge cultural differences and create a rich global community. We embrace diversity, learn from each other, celebrate our differences, and find joy in discovering our commonality.
Former students stay in touch on social media; those still in the area even stop by to visit. Students personally refer their family and friends to the ELI. We continue to have robust interest in our program and our faculty has been flexible and successful in pivoting to online instruction. Last year, the ELI earned the highest level of accreditation in our field, from the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA), and we expect to receive long-term accreditation in January 2021.
Many thanks to the core team that has supported the ELI over the years:
- Sr. Katheen Feeley for her open-mindedness, passionate advocacy of international education, and unwavering support of the ELI.
- Past Directors including Joan, Dorothea, Millicent, Noella, Denise, Theresa, Mary Burch and Jessica.
- All of the faculty members who have taught in the ELI over the years.
- Our South Korean and NDMU student interns.
- The Modern Languages Department, Marketing Department, Crissa, Kyle and Caroline.
- Most of all, our incredible students who placed their trust in us.
We invite you to enjoy a slideshow from the ELI’s 35th Anniversary and Culture Day in November 2018. The pictures say it all.
Paula Harmon and Lindsay Conboy
School News
Save the Dates
Academic Calendar
Be sure to check out the latest version of the Academic Calendar for 2020-2021. As NDMU plans the return to campus in the spring, several changes have been made to the Academic Calendar that will affect spring break and Easter Monday.
NDMU Events
Be sure to check out the NDMU Events calendar below for all upcoming events.
Upcoming Events
- Apr 262:00 pm - 6:00 pmKnott Science and Innovation Center
- Apr 2912:00 pm - 2:00 pmFourier 102
- Apr 294:30 pm - 6:30 pmGormley Gallery
Campus News
