Stay informed about COVID-19

COVID-19 website: To facilitate the ongoing sharing of information about the virus, Oregon State University has added a link on the OSU homepage to a new page that provides detailed and up-to-date COVID-19 information; links to OSU, local, state and federal resources; updates on the latest federal travel restrictions; and previous university communications about the virus and other information. Additionally CDC information (including Spanish resources) can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html 
 

Today in the News Media

Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media. Content appearing includes timely news and feature stories from broadcast, print and online sources. Occasionally, opinion pieces and first-person columns appearing in mainstream media outlets that are written by faculty members and pertain to their academic or professional expertise may be included based on their unique, informative value, timeliness and space constraints. It is not the policy of OSU Today to include Letters to the Editor. 
 

Government efforts to track virus through phone location data complicated by privacy concerns (Washington Post)

“We are at war and we are fighting for our survival, for our lives, our health, our economy,” said Chunhuei Chi, director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University. “We are stretched very thin in most states, so this kind of technology can help every state to prioritize, given their limited resources, which communities, which areas, need more aggressive tracking and testing.”
 

Fever-tracking smart thermometers may trace the spread of COVID-19 (CNet)

Infectious-disease-dynamics specialist Benjamin Dalziel, an assistant professor in the College of Science at Oregon State University, collaborated with Kinsa to create the map. Dalziel has been working on analyzing flu transmission to forecast the spread of illness. That skill set combined with Kinsa's data helped to bring the map into being. (see also Baltimore SunFast Company)
 

From take out to give away, companies try to help workers affected by COVID-19 layoffs (Bend Bulletin)

As the pace of the pandemic crisis has increased, so has the efforts to help those in need. Social media pages teem with offers to help, from picking up prescriptions at pharmacies to sharing information about where to find toilet paper. When in an emergency, the community comes together to help each other, said Ryan Reese, Oregon State University-Cascades assistant professor.
 

In-person college classrooms prohibited through April 28 in Oregon (The Skanner)

“In this difficult time, we deeply appreciate Governor Kate Brown’s commitment to help support Oregon students’ progress to a college degree as all of us collaborate to reduce the risk and spread of COVID-19,” said Ed Ray, president, Oregon State University. (see also KLCCBend Bulletin)
 

Tips for teaching in the time of coronavirus (Chemical & Engineering News)

“Now is the time to dive in and really make sure that you’re comfortable with your learning system or at least comfortable with knowing where the information you need is, because you’re going to have to lean on it really, really hard when you’re teaching online,” says Marita Barth, a chemistry instructor at Oregon State University who teaches in its online program.
 

The Oregon creamery making vodka from milk (Atlas Obscura)

Dr. Paul Hughes is an Assistant Professor of Distilled Spirits at Oregon State University, a nascent department and one of the few of its kind in the country. After an aspiring graduate student approached him about fermenting whey into a neutral spirits base, he began running experiments to prove that the solution was both environmentally sustainable and cost-effective for small creameries.
 

Arts and culture organizations work together to bring work to homebound audiences (KDRV)

The School of Arts and Communication at Oregon State University will showcase student work and virtual exhibitions for graduating BFA students in the coming weeks and months on its Instagram account. The goal is to have as many eyes on student work as possible.
 

Today's photo


Today’s workspace: From Anita Hughes, coordinator and instructor with the College of Engineering: “My workspace in a corner of the sewing room. Cody the cat over my left shoulder.  You can't see Cross the dog who is usually glued to the right side of the chair. When building my classes for Spring, I have one tip - encourage your students. They are as uncertain as we are about what's happening and how they will be able to continue their programs. I already have welcomes and reassurance posted as an announcement in each of my upcoming classes.”

Today

Please be aware that in this quickly shifting environment, some events may be cancelled at the last minute and updates may not have been provided to OSU Today in time. 

End of Term Sale: The OSU Beaver Store will have its End of Term sale starting Monday, March 16. Big discounts on Beaver Gear, while supplies last. Sale goes through Friday, March 20.

COVID-19; Leading During Uncertain Times: Employees are looking to their managers and supervisors to provide guidance, information and resources. This webinar will incorporate practical steps you can take to share information without causing fear, steps to talk with your employees about anxiety and stress, addressing concerns about social distancing and information about EAP support. Friday, March 20, 10-11 a.m. Register here. A recording of this webinar will also be posted on our YouTube page following the live broadcast.
 

Events

NEW! Free Virtual Nutrition Counseling: Help the OSU dietetic interns get their internship hours so they can stay on track to graduate and join the healthcare workforce as Registered Dietitians. We’re offering 1:1 virtual counseling sessions over Zoom starting Monday, March 23. Contact Michelle Bump at [email protected] if you’re interested with a time/day you’re available.
 

Lectures, Workshops, Webinars

NEW! Jahan Taganova – Water Cooperation and Diplomacy M.S. Defense: Taganova will present her thesis, “MAN'aging waters of the Deschutes River Basin,” on Monday, March 23, 10:45 a.m. via Zoom. Taganova is completing her M.S. under the guidance of major professor Olivia Sylvester, of University for Peace, Costa Rica. Join her defense on Zoom: https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/2191692947 or dial in: +1 301-715-8592 U.S. or +1 971-247-1195 U.S. (Portland). Meeting ID: 219 169 2947

NEW! Alyssa Offutt - Water Resources Diplomacy and Cooperation M.S. Defense: Offutt will present her thesis, “Overcoming the Hypolimnion: Stakeholder Influence in Transboundary Water Quality Governance,” on Wednesday, March 25, 11 a.m. Offutt is advised by Susanne Schmeier of Delft IHE. All are welcome to join her Zoom Defense:  https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/187542161, or by calling +1 301-715-8592 U.S. or +1 971-247-1195 U.S. (Portland). Meeting ID: 187 542 161

NEW! Virtually Field Tripping – What Works? The Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) will be kicking off their ongoing webinar series 21st-century field education with the very timely webinar "Virtually Field Tripping – What Works?" The webinar will be on April 8, 1 p.m. and will feature presenters Benjamin Kennedy and Jonathan Davidson who have experience and data to support field learning experiences brought to students when learning in situ is not possible. Click here to register.

The Center for Teaching & Learning’s T4 & New2OSU: During this unique time, the Center for Teaching and Learning is canceling all Tuesday Teaching and Tech Talk (T4) sessions and will be deferring all New2OSU registration and enrollments until Fall 2020. Meanwhile, please utilize and share with colleagues the resources for moving towards remote teaching on the Keep Teaching page https://learn.oregonstate.edu/keep-teaching. Please stay healthy in these extraordinary circumstances.

InnovationX resource updates: All regularly scheduled programming offered by the InnovationX Center of Excellence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be provided remotely this term. Join us for a brief webinar and Q&A session to learn more: Monday, March 23, 4 p.m. OR Friday, March 27, 10 a.m. Faculty, staff and students are invited. Contact Michelle Marie with any questions.

STEM Academy: STEM Academy is hosting a broad range of STEM Summer Day Camps from mid-June through early-August for students who will be entering 3rd-12th grades in the Fall of 2020. Registration for the summer program is open. Topics include: Transportation, Color Innovation, Coding, iINVENT, Web Design, Engineering, Computer Graphics, Cybersecurity, Biochemistry, Sketch Up, Computational Biology, Drones, Powered Machines, Science Exploration, Lego Robotics, Wildlife Science, and Computational Mystery of Board Games. For more information, or to register online, please visit http://stemacademy.oregonstate.edu. For questions, call 541-737-8139 or email [email protected]. Scholarships available for many camps.

Take Note

NEW! RecycleMania is still on: We can do this together: RecycleMania continues through the end of spring break. We are currently winning and in the home stretch – let’s not lose footing now. Those still living and working on campus can help us compete by recycling your end-of-term papers, emptying recycling from your office desk or residential hall room into central bins to make it count, and double-checking what is recyclable at OSU to make sure you and everyone you know is recycling everything possible.

NEW! Recycling Spring Break Service: Due to predicted reductions in recycling generated on campus during spring break (March 23-27), some buildings will be moving to on-call service. Anyone in these buildings can request emptying of a receptacle that is approaching fullness by submitting an online service request. For questions, please contact [email protected].

NEW! Reminder to Recycle Right: For those still living and working on campus, Campus Recycling appreciates your support in reducing COVID-19 risks to works who handle our recycling and trash. You can do your part by ensuring recyclables are completely emptied of liquids and only accepted items are placed in recycling receptacles. When in doubt, please throw it out. For questions, please contact [email protected].

OSU Folk Club/Thrift Shop changes the deadline for non-traditional women scholarships due to revised OSU Financial Aid  Review Process: Submission Deadline is now Friday, May 1. The Scholarship Committee is accepting applications from non-traditional women (age 30 or older, who will be attending OSU full-time or part-time in 2020-2021 pursuing their first undergraduate degree). Students must be U.S. citizens and residents of Benton County, Linn County or Monmouth or Independence in Polk County. Principal criteria are financial need and academic merit. These $3,000 awards ($1,500 for part-time) are made possible by the work of the OSU Folk Club Thrift Shop in Corvallis. Applications are available online at https://osufolk.oregonstate.edu.

COVID-19 cyber scams: Concern about COVID-19 has opened an opportunity for cyber actors to take advantage and conduct email fraud. Members of the OSU Community have been targeted with cell phone account scams — asking for cell numbers, likely to take over the provided number — and with email scams. If you see any suspicious emails, please send to [email protected]. For more information about the cell phone account scam, see https://uit.oregonstate.edu/ois/cell-phone-account-fraud

Inclusive Excellence@OSU Fellowship: Inclusive Excellence@OSU is seeking applications for the 2020 cohort of fellows. IE@OSU is a program for STEM faculty to develop their teaching practice around equity and inclusion. Please apply if you teach in a STEM discipline and are interested in exploring your own understanding of inclusion and equity and engaging in student-centered inclusive pedagogy. Click here for more information and to apply.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Affordable learning grant application: OSU faculty are invited to apply for affordable learning grants to offset the time and expense required to develop and/or implement high-quality, freely available learning materials in their classes. The new deadline is March 21. All grant recipients will receive assistance from OSU’s Open Educational Resources Unit in locating, adopting or authoring zero-cost course materials. Full details: https://open.oregonstate.edu/opportunities.

Foundation and Alumni Association: All in-person OSU Foundation and OSU Alumni Association events are postponed through April 30. Most Foundation and Alumni Association employees are working remotely through April 30, with minimal staffing at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center, the OSU Foundation office on Research Way, and the OSU Portland Center. For updates, visit osualum.com/covid19.

Employee Online Services will be updated to a new version on March 23. This update contains a new Employee Dashboard landing page. For further details please visit https://hr.oregonstate.edu/banner-9.

Volunteer Opportunity: OSU Commencement is a very special event for our OSU graduates and their friends and family members. Join us in making commencement a joyous and memorable event for all. We need 70 more volunteers to make commencement great. If you are available the morning of June 13, 2020, please sign up and volunteer to help with greeting guests, providing directions, assisting guests with downloading the OSU mobile app, and finding seating in Reser.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! CoF International Programs Photo Contest: This spring, CoF International Programs will be holding their first photo contest. Students, staff, and faculty can submit their photos of their international research, faculty-led programs, internships, etc. (not vacation!) for a chance to win prizes and to display their work to the CoF community. The winners of each category and a selection of nominees for People’s Choice will be printed and displayed in spring term. March 16-April 19. For more information and how to enter, visit forestry.oregonstate.edu/international/photo-contest-2020

Call for nominations: University Mentoring and Professional Development Award: This award recognizes any classified, professional faculty, or faculty member who excels in mentoring, supporting, and encouraging OSU employees, especially women and those from under-represented groups or non-traditional careers, and making available to them opportunities for professional, educational and personal development. The award is presented at University Day. The deadline for nominations is May 1. To access the nomination guidelines and application link, please visit http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/pcosw/awards-scholarships.

Traffic & Maintenance

NEW! Transportation services: Effective immediately, any valid OSU parking permit may be used in any zone (All A, B, C and R lots) until further notice. Please observe all other signs, as these still apply. The Beaver Bus will be will be running on the Central Route only until further notice. Spring Break lot sweeping will begin on Monday, March 23-24, with Wednesday as a back-up. Weather permitting, work will begin over the weekend. Please move vehicles from the closed lots so work can be completed as quickly as possible. They recommend going online to purchase parking permits or pay citations, and please consider contacting the office via phone or email.

30th Street closure: Work is scheduled to take place along SW 30th Street and Washington Way for repairs associated with a campus steam vault. Southbound SW 30th Street will be closed from 6 a.m. on Monday, March 23 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, and again from 6 a.m. on Monday, March 30 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31. View the map for detour information. For questions or comments on this closure, contact Construction Manager Jason Lundy at 541-270-0193.

Jobs

This email only lists new or recently updated job postings. For a full list of current job postings for OSU Today, go to: https://today.oregonstate.edu/email/jobs
To apply for the below positions, visit  jobs.oregonstate.edu unless otherwise specified.

NEW! Ecampus is seeking one full-time Administrative Program Assistant (Proctoring Assistant) position. This position will manage off-campus proctoring coordination by providing proctoring support, customer service and communication with students, instructors, and proctors. Posting #P02642CT. Full consideration April 5. 

Weather

“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." ~ Fred Rogers, born today in 1928.

Corvallis: Partly sunny today, high of 63, low of 37. Mostly sunny this weekend.

Central Oregon: Sunny today, high of 54, low of 29. Sunny through the weekend.

Newport: Mostly cloudy today, high of 53, low of 41. Partly sunny Saturday, mostly sunny Sunday.

Statewide: For OSU employees around the state, find your local forecast here: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/