Faculty and Staff

The chipping sparrow can be seen on the Ursinus campus.

Ursinus to Join “Lights Out” Campaign to Help Migrating Birds

Podcast Launch

Branching Out With the Berman is hosted by Katie Sanfield ’23.

Neuroscience Major Starts oSTEM Chapter at Ursinus to Support LGBTQ Students

Ursinus has joined the 100+ colleges and universities nationwide hosting a chapter of oSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), a professional association focused on supporting and advancing LGBTQ students in STEM fields.

What’s happening

Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash

Thursday, April 15 - Plan to join us for our Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash! 2021. We will honor Nancy Opalack ’71, recipient of the Bear2Bear Impact Award for Leadership and Service and enjoy musical guest singer/songwriter Tim Williams. A fabulous online auction of 160+ items will be open via the website starting April 13, and will close April 15, at 9 p.m..- Virtual Event.

Visit the Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash page for more!

Vaccination Information

On-campus vaccination clinic scheduled for Thursday.
See email for more information.

Staying on top of the vaccination information can be tricky. To help you navigate how the vaccine relates to you as an employee, the college has shared some information relative to our campus and to our work. Montgomery County is now accepting vaccine list registrations for Phases 1A and 1B.

Check out the vaccination information page.

M. Nzadi Keita to appear with Sonia Sanchez for Free Library

Tuesday, April 13 - M. Nzadi Keita will appear with author and American Book Award winner, Sonia Sanchez, in a virtual event for the Free Library of Philadelphia. 7:30 p.m. Virtual.

Register now.

Tax-refund Phishing Scam Targeting College Students & Staff

Please be aware that the IRS is warning of a phishing scam targeting college students, faculty and staff. The email refers to tax refunds. Remember that the IRS sends letters NOT emails.

From CNBC
From the IRS

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Announcements

Task Force News

April 9, Update —No new, unique positives from the 1,081 student tests and 230 faculty/staff tests conducted yesterday in the field house. Today we talked about the ongoing conversations that Dean Bryant is having with the senior class about spring activities and possible events. We continue to explore vaccination opportunities for the campus community. A reminder to faculty/staff to complete the survey indicating your interest in vaccine registrations by Monday. Upcoming communications include updates on summer/fall planning for employees, student move-out instructions, possible vaccination developments, and commencement / Bear Necessities news. Have a safe weekend, Ursinus!

Read Previous Updates
Main Street Incident

President Blomberg has issued an update on the Main Street Incident. Read more.
Have you been vaccinated?

Let the college know by completing the Qualtrics form for faculty and staff.

Keeping us apprised will allow us to better take the pulse of our campus community.

MAJOR INITIATIVES

Confronting Injustice

Video: President Brock Blomberg and Vice President of College and Community Engagement Heather Lobban-Viravong discuss Ursinus’s renewed efforts to act on our continued commitment to inclusion and equity and the specific steps we’re taking on campus this fall. Together we will make a difference.

As part of our commitment to inclusion at Ursinus, we have created a page with resources for our entire campus community.

Recording of the Open Forum on Racial Injustices (June 10, 2020) Hosted by President Brock Blomberg and President of UCGC Jalen Everette’22

Spotlight

Ava Willis-Barksdale

Ava Willis-Barksdale, associate vice president for advancement, joined Ursinus in January of 2019 with 30 years of success in education, healthcare, fundraising support, and organizational leadership.

She has worked in both higher education and in K-12, most recently as vice president and director of human resources at Girard College in Philadelphia. President Brock Blomberg recently announced an expansion of Ava’s role to include more day-to-day management of the advancement division. Ava is encouraged by the strong possibilities at Ursinus. She says the college “has a great opportunity to be an example of a number of things in the liberal arts space” and says we have “laid a great foundation for post-COVID growth at the college.”

Ever since first moving into a management role, Ava has always set her sights on building strong teams. The balance she says is “in leaving space for people to be creative and at the same time moving together toward a common goal.”

In addition to the role of team-builder, Ava sees the mission of the advancement division growing even more important as a result of the pandemic. In addition to the shift in work and function that the whole world has experienced, the team has spent much of the past 10 months reminding donors and the campus community about the importance of unrestricted giving.

In keeping with the college’s strategic commitment to inclusion and diversity, Ava’s role includes serving on DART and various committees across campus. She is a music lover and a proud product of an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) education.

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Planet Fitness Discount

Ursinus Faculty, Staff and Students can now receive special discounts from Planet Fitness.

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