David Kotz:
Welcome everyone to our third Community Conversations during the fall term. I鈥檓 David Kotz, the interim provost. As always, I鈥檓 joined by Justin Anderson, our vice president for communications from the Starr Instructional Studio in Berry Library, where we are recording today鈥檚 conversation in the morning of Oct. 13. Justin and I will be joined today by Cheryl Bascomb, vice president for alumni relations, and Mike Wooten, associate dean of residential life and director of residential education.
Before I introduce our guests, I want to invite Rick Mills, executive vice president, to join me for a few minutes. Rick has been a frequent guest on community conversations and is my partner in leading the COVID planning this year. Rick, welcome to the program. I know you and your team have been busy of late.
Rick Mills:
Thanks, Dave. I was looking back this morning at when I got my first 大香蕉视频 email about COVID and it was January of 鈥20, end of January, like the 28th, I think, of 2020. So we鈥檝e been dealing with this for 21 months and I think you and I have both heard from faculty, staff and students how tired folks are, how exhausting this has been. And I think as we had the hope this summer of the vaccine freeing us from some of this and the recognition at the end of summer that wasn鈥檛 going to be the case, it鈥檚 been a hard slog.
And I think you and I have both talked together about the need to acknowledge that this has been difficult for everyone. And we know it, we hear it. You and I are often the ones making the rules that people find difficult or challenging, and we don鈥檛 do it lightly. And we both are looking for opportunities to provide some relief from this slog. And I just don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e hit on anything perfect. But hopefully for staff and faculty, the extra time at the holiday break will help, the extra days off.
I just think it鈥檚 important for us to pause and say, we know this is hard and we know it鈥檚 hard for every element. Whether you鈥檙e at school or at work or at home, this has been tough.
Kotz:
Yeah. Yeah. I get it. I hear similar kinds of comments and concerns from all corners of campus and I share your thanks to the whole community for their hard work and dedication and patience as we all deal with this. And also I thank you, Rick, for being my partner in helping think through the best way to manage, help the community through this challenging time. So I appreciate it. Thank you.
Mills:
Well, Dave, thank you. And it鈥檚 a pleasure to work with you. And I guess I would also recognize, because I do think parents tune in, this has been hard for families that have got kids off at school at 大香蕉视频 and coping with challenges and hearing from their kids about what鈥檚 tough. So thanks to the entire community. And I guess I would end by saying we can鈥檛 fix everything, but being aware of how challenging this is for anyone you鈥檙e dealing with, being supportive as you can as we all try to take care of ourselves.
People need to take time, do what they need to do to stay healthy and be well. And just the most understanding we can provide, we will get through this and we are slowly working our way back to some new kind of normal, and it will get there. But it鈥檚 a tough journey and let鈥檚 support each other as much as we can along the way.
Kotz:
Yeah. Yeah. Very much in agreement. Thanks, Rick ...
Mills:
Thanks, David.
Kotz:
... I appreciate you taking the time to join us. I know you have to step out for another meeting, so I鈥檒l see you later.
Mills:
I鈥檒l watch the conversation a bit later today.
Kotz:
Thanks.
Mills:
Bye.
Kotz:
Now let me turn to a brief campus update. Those of us here in Hanover were able to celebrate homecoming on a beautiful fall weekend taking off on Friday night with thousands of spectators on the Green for the bonfire. Students from both the classes of 鈥24 and 鈥25 had the opportunity to build the bonfire and later to walk a circle around the fire while fireworks launched near Baker Tower and a band played from the steps of Collis. It was a fantastic event and a great start to the Year of Connections about which we鈥檒l hear more in a few minutes.
Homecoming weekend was also a time for several important announcements. On Monday, 大香蕉视频 announced that its endowment generated a return of 46.5% for fiscal year 2021, which ended on June 30. The endowment has produced annual returns of over 12.8% over the past 10 years and its total value is now $8.5 billion. The endowment and its annual income allows us to continue to invest in long-term initiatives that create a more welcoming and inclusive community, provide need-blind and full-need financial aid to our students, ensure the mental and physical health of students, faculty, and staff, and position the institution for continued success in a rapidly changing higher ed landscape.
The endowment also provides important funding for present-day priorities and activities. This year, these initiatives are supported by the approved endowment distribution of $335 million鈥攁lmost one-third of our annual operating budget. In a related development, strong investment returns on our working-capital fund allowed us to make immediate investments in our community.
First, and effective immediately, as part of the undergraduate financial aid calculation, the expected parent contribution for families making up to $65,000 with typical assets will be eliminated. All undergraduates covered by the new policy received updated aid awards on Monday. This change affects more than a third of all students on financial aid.
Second, by the end of the calendar year, all eligible employees will receive a bonus equal to 3% of their fiscal year 鈥21 base earnings. More details will be provided by human resources next week. This action and President Hanlon鈥檚 other recent announcement of an extended winter break and an additional floating day off for staff in recognition and appreciation of the incredible dedication and hard work exhibited by our staff and faculty over the past 18 months during the pandemic.
Third, the hourly minimum wage for student workers will rise from $7.75 to $11.50 effective winter term.
Fourth, graduate students who receive stipends will be awarded a $1,000 bonus. More details will be provided by the dean in the coming weeks.
These expenditures come in addition to the previously announced infrastructure renewal fund approved by the board of trustees in March. The new fund from which $31 million is allocated for this year increases annual financing from the endowment for investment in areas such as housing and a green energy system. Over the coming decade, the IRF will allow for more than $500 million of additional renewal projects.
In related news, as part of a comprehensive plan to address the dangerous effects of climate change, that includes investment in our mission and reducing the campus鈥檚 carbon footprint, the 大香蕉视频 Investment Office shared publicly its commitment to invest in the energy transition, recognizing that a zero-carbon future is an important and influential theme in the economy. This decision comes after two key decisions over the last four years.
The first came in 2017 when the investment office decided to no longer make new investments in private fossil fuel extraction, exploration, and production funds.
The second was a decision early last year when the investment office changed its mandate for its direct public portfolio to no longer hold investments in fossil fuel companies. Instead, we are shifting our energy investment strategy toward renewable alternatives. Not only does this make financial sense, but it also allows the college to support new technology developments that make a difference.
Next, a COVID update. As of the latest data, at midnight last night, we had only three active cases, one undergraduate student, one graduate student and one employee. All of them live off campus and are in isolation at home.
Speaking of testing, we鈥檝e had much better turnout for testing since the last time I spoke with you. Nearly 80% of undergraduate students and almost 70% of graduate and professional students were tested last week. Of those 4,778 students testing last week, only one tested positive. That鈥檚 impressive.
Thank you to everyone who contributed a few minutes to support the health of the community and to take care of themselves. I鈥檓 looking to see us do even better this week. You can help by remembering to go to the test center in the next two days. Meanwhile, we鈥檙e ramping up our efforts to contact students who have forgotten to go get tested. Scott Brown, (interim) dean of the College, is emailing undergraduate students who have not been compliant with testing for a few weeks with the reminder and a warning that they need to get tested by Friday, or the community standards process will begin. Non-compliant graduate and professional students will be sent similar messages.
Next week, we can finally provide the take-home testing option to undergraduate students. Take-home test kits will be available for all undergraduate students next Wednesday. Heads up, though, because of this activity, there will be reduced hours for in-person testing at West Gym next week while the staff support the distribution of test kits.
With a new reminder system, with the real consequences for repeated failures to be tested and with the increased convenience of take-home test kits, we are anticipating another jump in compliance rates.
Students, we鈥檙e looking to you to keep it up and to help remind your friends to be tested regularly.
Of course, testing is only one of the three fundamental mechanisms that help keep our community safe and operating with in-person activities. Testing, vaccination, and masking are all important. Together, your support for these three core approaches have made it possible for us to enjoy the in-person learning and in-person activities this term. Keep it up.
That said, we all look forward to a day when we can relax some of these policies. Here鈥檚 how we鈥檙e currently thinking about it. We鈥檙e going to keep those masks on, with regular testing, until we can achieve four key criteria.
First, comprehensive vaccination of our campus community. More on that in a moment. Second, vaccines available to children under 12, who are an important part of the extended 大香蕉视频 family here in the Upper Valley. Third, consistently high compliance with regular testing, so we have solid data about the virus prevalence on campus and an early warning system if cases start to rise. And fourth, a continued low positivity rate and thus a low virus prevalence.
Right now, we鈥檙e doing well. My hope is that once our community鈥檚 children have had the opportunity to be vaccinated, and if the other conditions still hold, we will be able to relax our masking policy. As always, the whole purpose of these policies is to maintain the in-person learning and activities everyone so enjoys while also retaining a reasonably low probability of serious illness among those among us who are unable to be vaccinated. Hang in there.
Although we will likely need to mask up for a couple of weeks at the beginning of each term as students and faculty return from their travels across the country and around the world, I鈥檓 hopeful that we will then be able to live more naturally after that. Meanwhile, please do your part, wear your mask, and remind others to wear their masks when indoors.
Let me now turn to the other pillar of protection, vaccination.
As you may recall, back in June, 大香蕉视频 required everyone in our community, students, faculty and staff, to be vaccinated or to obtain an approved exemption.
For students enrolled this fall, we鈥檝e achieved nearly universal vaccination with a few exemptions. Faculty and staff are required to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 1 in order to retain access to the 大香蕉视频 campus. We are aware that some have not yet complied perhaps because they are working remotely.
We are about to strengthen our vaccine mandate. All employees, regardless of location or their need to access the 大香蕉视频 campus, must complete their vaccination sequence or obtain an approved exemption by Dec. 8.
We make this change in response to a new executive order issued by the federal government last month as part of its ongoing response to the COVID pandemic. The executive order requires institutions that do business with the federal government ensure that their personnel are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That includes us at 大香蕉视频. Again, this means that our vaccine mandate now applies to all 大香蕉视频 employees including those who have been approved for fully remote work or who work in locations far from our Hanover campus.
Every 大香蕉视频 employee must now submit evidence of vaccination with a CDC approved COVID-19 vaccine, or be approved for a medical or religious waiver of this requirement through the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity鈥擨DE鈥攏o later than Dec. 8. If you鈥檙e already vaccinated, it鈥檚 easy to upload a photo of your vaccination card. Just visit covid.dartmouth.edu and click on Vaccination and Testing. It takes just a few minutes. If you鈥檙e not yet vaccinated, I encourage you to start soon.
Vaccinations are readily available from pharmacies in the area and across the country. Keep in mind that the most common vaccinations require two shots, spaced three to four weeks apart. We will soon be contacting employees who have yet to comply with detailed information on the process and required documentation. We鈥檙e grateful for everyone鈥檚 cooperation in ensuring that we are doing everything we can to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, as well as to ensure the College鈥檚 compliance with this important federal mandate.
Now let鈥檚 turn our attention to two other health-related topics.
First, as flu season approaches, let me remind you of the importance of getting your annual flu shot. The flu shot will help protect you, your family, and your 大香蕉视频 friends and colleagues. I am pleased to say that Student Health Services will be administering free flu vaccinations on campus through its Medi Quick stations, which are movable stations offering various health services. Medi Quick will be stationed at FOCO every Tuesday from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Students can also receive flu shots at the Dick鈥檚 House pharmacy, as well as one of our pop-up flu clinics that we will periodically hold this fall. We鈥檝e already administered 1,200 flu shots to students and staff this year and hope this number grows as we try to keep our campus as safe and healthy as possible. Because Dick鈥檚 House will not be able to offer large-scale flu clinics as it has in the past, employees are encouraged to obtain a flu shot from their regular health provider or from area pharmacies, many of which offer free flu shots without an appointment.
Next, we continue to improve our mental health infrastructure for our students and staff. 大香蕉视频 has partnered with one of our nation鈥檚 leaders in mental health, The Jed Foundation. The first year of this partnership offers an in-depth review of all of our policies and procedures related to mental health, as well as a baseline survey of students. This survey, which will be admitted through a program called Healthy Minds, measures such things as knowledge and attitudes about mental health, and the climate around mental health, and assesses campus climate around diversity and inclusion.
The results of the Healthy Minds survey will be critical to our ability to build the most effective strategic plan to create the best possible culture and resources around mental health.
We will be launching the Healthy Minds survey next Wednesday, Oct. 20. Students will be receiving an email from healthyminds-dartmouth@umich.edu鈥攖hat鈥檚 as in University of Michigan鈥攚ith their individual invitation and link to the survey. Watch for it. The survey will be open for four weeks.
As our community continues to grieve the loss of four students last year, this work is more important than ever. By taking 25 minutes to complete this survey, each student will be making a meaningful contribution to the mental health of our community. Students, please complete the survey and encourage all your friends to do so as well.
At this point in community conversations, I usually turn it over to Justin Anderson, our vice president for communications, for questions from him and the community. Today however, I鈥檓 going to turn the tables and ask Justin a question.
Justin, I recall you are co-chairing the Year of Connections with Ann Root Keith from the Advancement Division. What are the goals of this year-long series of events?
Justin Anderson:
That鈥檚 right, Dave. Along with Ann Root Keith, the two of us are chairs of the Year of Connections committee. And this past weekend, the homecoming bonfire was really the spark that lit the fuse for a year of celebrations that we are calling Year of Connections. Now, what is the Year of Connections? Basically, the idea here is that we are fortunate enough finally, to be able to do a lot of the things on campus that we were not able to do last year during the first year of the pandemic, and we really want to celebrate that.
We want to be able to come together and connect and reconnect with members of the community that we were unable to see and be with over the course of the last year or so. And so we think that this is cause for celebration.
We know that this is going to happen naturally as more people come back onto campus, but what we want to do is to try to create even more opportunity to bring people together on campus to be together safely, while also ensuring that we maintain 大香蕉视频鈥檚 ability to continue to have in-person instruction and in-person gatherings of faculty and staff.
We think we can do both of these things and homecoming was the first example of us being able to do that. I know we have Cheryl Bascomb the VP for alumni relations, and she鈥檒l talk a little bit more about homecoming, but that was a great example of what this community feels like when it鈥檚 filled with community members, from first-year students, to alums, to parents of students, to faculty and staff. It was a great weekend and we want to see more weekends like that.
Just to give you an idea of what else is coming. So later this month, we have the Fall Family Weekend, which we know is going to be a great event and we鈥檙e expecting a lot of people to return. Cheryl鈥檚 also going to talk about some of the big anniversary celebrations that will be happening this year. We鈥檙e also going to be redoing some of the things that we did last year that were quite popular. The light installation at the Bema, the fire pits and skating on Occom Pond. And the reason we said connections is because it doesn鈥檛 have to be in person. We want it to be in person as much as it can, but it can also be virtual.
There鈥檚 a number of digital events that will be happening, many of which are run by Advancement. Great issues and New perspectives, Short Talks and Big Ideas. So there鈥檚 lots of ways to plug into the community and get connected, stay connected, be reconnected. So I think it鈥檚 going to be a great year and we鈥檙e looking forward to it.
Kotz:
Yeah, me too.
Anderson:
So now Dave, you flipped the script on me, I鈥檓 going to go right back at you. The first question today from a viewer is about health, but it鈥檚 really not so much about health when it comes to COVID.
I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e been hearing, I know, I鈥檝e been hearing about wait times at Dick鈥檚 House for just regular checkups in addition to mental health check-ins. But one of the questions that came in from a viewer. Can you speak to the fact that students are sometimes waiting up to two weeks to be seen at Dick鈥檚 House. When Dick鈥檚 House is not able to see students in a timely fashion, does 大香蕉视频 assist students to be seen elsewhere perhaps to D-H or another urgent care or convenience care facility?
Kotz:
Yeah. Thanks Justin. That is an issue that I鈥檝e been hearing about as well. Dick鈥檚 House has been facing all the usual challenges of student health, as well as COVID this year and it鈥檚 been keeping them quite busy. My understanding is that students can book appointments online or over the phone and that it does sometimes take, at least for routine visits up to two weeks to get an appointment. They do reserve, I understand, same day slots for students who are sick and need to be seen more urgently.
They do, of course, refer students to outside providers when that鈥檚 appropriate. I鈥檓 told that the students can call 646-9401 to talk to the scheduling assistant. And if they receive a busy signal, or it goes to voicemail, they鈥檙e encouraged to leave a message and to leave a callback number. Apparently, what happens sometimes is that students call and then they don鈥檛 leave a callback, and so the office is unable to connect with the student. We鈥檙e trying to also grow the staff. We鈥檝e hired some new nurses and other health professionals for Dick鈥檚 House. There鈥檚 one starting at the end of this month, and a couple of other searches underway.
I think the challenge is that students are starting to experience the annual sniffles and what they call the 鈥渃ampus crud.鈥 And so some of them are coming in and asking for a rapid COVID test, for which I鈥檓 very thankful, it鈥檚 a good move on their part, but that does mean that Dick鈥檚 House is busier than it would normally be.
Anderson:
Campus crud. Thank you for sharing that term with me, Dave. It explains why I鈥檓 not feeling quite perfect these days. I think I have a slight case of that myself.
So moving on to another hot topic. Housing. What is the latest, a viewer writes in, on our approach to housing and how are we ensuring that the housing crunch that we experienced at the start of fall term, which obviously there were extraordinary circumstances that 鈥 that led to that crunch, but nevertheless, how are we ensuring that that kind of crunch will never happen again or certainly not in a way that was quite as acute as it did this year. I know that there was an announcement earlier in the fall about renovations to Andres and Zimmerman, can you talk a little bit about that and how it fits into the larger housing strategy at 大香蕉视频?
Kotz:
Yeah. Good question. This is something that we鈥檙e working on all the time, and we can hear more from Mike Wooten in a few minutes about housing. I look at it in three parts. The first is the immediate term, next term, winter and spring. How are we going to manage the current batch of students as they come and go over the next two terms鈥攏ext fall, when we have the arrival of the 鈥26s and so forth, and then beyond into the future.
So for next term and spring term, we鈥檙e watching very closely the numbers of students that are planning to be here and how we can fit them into the current housing stock, all of which will remain in service throughout this year. And then for next fall, we鈥檙e opening a brand new, more than 600-bed facility for graduate students out on the edge of town over by the medical center. That will provide a space for graduate students to live and open up 鈥 free-up a lot of the in-town space that undergraduates depend on. There鈥檒l be more details on that.
That also gives us the opportunity to start renovations. I think I mentioned in a previous Community Conversations that we have a 15-year plan or so to renovate all the older dorms starting this summer with Andres and then continuing with Zimmerman soon thereafter. And in a rotating series of dorm renovations over the next decade and a half or so, we will refresh and renew all of the dorms that have been aging.
Anderson:
Dave, as provost, I know you make your fair share of difficult decisions, and sometimes those difficult decisions are not entirely popular. I put a recent decision in that category, and that was the decision to close the gym because of a continued lack of compliance when it comes to wearing masks. Can you talk a little bit about that decision and whether or not something like that may happen again.
Kotz:
Yeah, that was one of those difficult decisions, certainly. And it was in very close consultation with athletics, of course, who manages the gym, and the staff who operate the gym and the gym facilities. And unfortunately, they were hearing and seeing, over many weeks, a serious problem with people, primarily students who were using the gym for recreational purposes, not wearing their masks.
And so despite repeated attempts to encourage and require those users to wear their masks while recreating in the gym, it just wasn鈥檛 working. And so we alerted to this possibility two weeks ago at Community Conversations, when Peter Roby, director of athletics, was a guest here on Community Conversations. He said, basically, 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for this to improve, and if it doesn鈥檛, we鈥檒l probably close the gym for the day.鈥 And so we did, and it wasn鈥檛 popular. As you can imagine, there are a lot of people who use the gym. And a lot of them are actually compliant with masking, and were not happy that they were not able to use the gym that day.
We鈥檙e looking now to see if that message got through and people are now wearing their masks when they鈥檙e supposed to. I think there鈥檚 a possibility that the athletics may decide with our support to close the gym again if we don鈥檛 see better behavior.
One of the things that I found most frustrating about that circumstance were the staff who were quite frustrated by their experience in asking people politely to wear masks, and hearing responses that were quite rude, to the point where one student worker was fed up and quit. He said, 鈥淚 just can鈥檛 deal with this anymore. It鈥檚 not worth it. This job is not worth it to put up with the rude people who won鈥檛 wear their masks.鈥 And that鈥檚 not acceptable, and so I hope this message gets through. I鈥檓 sorry for those who found it inconvenient, but it is important to wear masks in the gym. It is required, and we expect people to comply.
Anderson:
Thanks for that, Dave. That鈥檚 all for me for right now, so why don鈥檛 we introduce our guests?
Kotz:
Sure. So why don鈥檛 we start with Cheryl Bascomb, the vice president for alumni relations, who is here today to talk about the Year of Connections, as you mentioned? But first, Cheryl, how did homecoming go? I was there for the bonfire. It was a really wonderful evening, and very exciting.
Cheryl Bascomb:
It was fabulous. I really was surprised at how emotional it felt. But there we were for the first time in two years, and we had thousands of people from the community, alumni, students, everybody, and looking out over that sea, and being able to actually have the class of 鈥25 and 鈥24 participate in this iconic 大香蕉视频 ritual was just fabulous. And it was fun for us as alumni, and people in alumni relations too, to watch how happy the students were. And that made us happy, so it was just wonderful. And we were so fortunate to be able to do what we had planned to do all weekend long, outdoors in great weather. So the safety of the events and having that many people together was really at a high.
Kotz:
Yeah, it was fabulous. I understand also that the football team pulled out a win in overtime against Yale, and it remains undefeated to this day, which is fantastic.
Bascomb:
And that鈥檚 true of the women鈥檚 rugby team as well. They won their game 70, that鈥檚 right, 7 0, to nothing.
Kotz:
Nice, very good. Awesome, that鈥檚 great. So you mentioned, or I should say Justin mentioned, early on that part of our goal with the Year of Connections is also to enable people who can鈥檛 come or don鈥檛 feel comfortable coming home, as it were, to the 大香蕉视频 campus to still remain engaged through Zoom and other virtual mechanisms. How is your group thinking about that and hoping to engage alumni and others throughout the year?
Bascomb:
Well, one of the things we learned in this past 21 months is that we are able to get and reach people who haven鈥檛 always been able to connect to 大香蕉视频, or come to Hanover, or participate in a live event that鈥檚 local to where they live. We have found that over 18,000, in this last year alone, 18,000 alumni joined us for a virtual event or program. And we don鈥檛 want to lose that. We want to make sure people have the opportunity to connect. So I think the name of this year, this Year of Connections, really covers that whole live and virtual option. And frankly, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e finding in surveys. Our alumni are asking for things they can do in their own time zone. Our whole 大香蕉视频 community wants to be able to participate, understand the 大香蕉视频 of today, hear from the faculty in the presentations we often do, that have in the past been only live.
So not only do we have Green Key and winter carnival, and all other kinds of things happening live, but we鈥檒l have a component that is virtual so people can participate in some way, or connect in some way, to many of the events we鈥檒l be having on campus. A good example for homecoming was we had about 800 people join us for the two virtual events we held navigating college admissions, and a wonderful back-to-class talk by Professor Mary Coffey about the Orozco murals. So there鈥檚 an appetite for connection to 大香蕉视频 with each other that live events can鈥檛 fully satisfy. And now that we know how to do things virtually.
Kotz: