Dear colleagues,

I hope you had a restful and restorative July 4 holiday break away from the rigors of your day-to-day work. Today, there is much to be excited about as Northwestern prepares to resume traditional in-person operations in the fall. We will fill our classrooms and residence halls with students. We will host sporting events, art exhibits, and music and theatrical performances. We will travel to professional conferences. And we will gather once again to celebrate our achievements and plan our strategies for success.

In order for us to get there, faculty and staff will gradually return to campus over the next two months through the framework established by the Alternative Work Strategies Policy. While most of us should plan to work most days on campus, we also will apply what we have learned during the past 16 months to develop operational plans for our individual units that allow for some remote work where it makes sense. Our return will be deliberate, fair and appropriately flexible.

I am incredibly proud of how the Office of the Provost and its units have creatively and collaboratively responded to the dynamic challenges of the pandemic. We have served as a model for other units from around Northwestern, and we will again. We recently shared the finalized framework of the central Office of the Provost return-to-campus plan with leaders from across our various units and will distribute it more broadly across the office by the middle of July. This central plan will be implemented by our units after the Labor Day holiday as we gear up for the Fall Term.

Some of you are anxious about returning to campus. I understand your concerns. Please rest assured that we will continue to put health and safety first as we follow the guidance of public health authorities and our own medical experts. While masks are not required for individuals who are vaccinated, they certainly are welcome for anyone who wishes to wear them on campus. I invite you to register to attend the July 21 Return to Campus Discussion for faculty and staff that will feature two Northwestern epidemiologists. If you have specific questions for the panelists, I encourage you to submit them for the discussion.

Again, welcome back from the holiday break. I look forward to seeing you on campus again very soon.

Thank you,

Kathleen Hagerty
Provost and Professor

Awards and recognition

OIDI honors

The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion has a number of staff member awards, honors and recognitions to share:

• Louie Lainez was accepted into the LEAP Advance: Leadership Development Program for Higher Education. This summer program takes place in partnership with Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education.
• Mónica Russel y Rodríguez has been awarded an Undergraduate Research Assistant Program grant and will work with a student research assistant, NU Anthropology major Caroline Turner, on a project titled “An Asset-based Map of Neurodivergence.” She also serves on a Humanities Without Walls grant, “Rhizomes,” which uses a Chicana-based practice of network creation to offer K-16 students access to Mexican American Art. Both scholarly projects will directly inform her work in OIDI.
• Jasmine Gurneau is participating in a community-based and community-building project with the Lac du Flambeau reservation in northern Wisconsin. She will meet members of the Lac du Flambeau reservation, building new tribal relationships and engaging in birch bark harvesting. This is in preparation for hosting the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research’s artist-in-residence, Wayne Valliere, during the Fall Quarter. Valliere is one of only a handful of birch bark canoe makers alive today, and we will harvest birch bark for the construction of a canoe for Northwestern in the fall.
• Zenani Greenwell will take a leading role on the MLK Commemoration Committee 2022. She has served on several MLK and Dream Week Planning Committees at Northwestern.
• Native American and Indigenous Initiatives/OIDI student intern Sannah Boyd will serve with the team through the summer until she starts her new position at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
• Robin R. Means Coleman completed training as a fellow in the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education’s Standards of Professional Practice Institute. She also delivered nine keynote addresses to audiences across the U.S. and in Brazil on the theme “Black Horror, Social Justice, and Enduring Women.” She recently accepted the Rondo Award for Best Documentary for her film “Horror Noire.” She represents Northwestern University through her participation on the AAU Chief Diversity Officers Steering Committee.

All about the staff

Meet Megan Wood

This month’s featured colleague is Megan Wood, associate director of the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). Megan has worked at Northwestern for nine years, four of them in her current role. Megan earned her PhD from the Feinberg School of Medicine before starting with OUR.

What is your favorite thing about Northwestern?

It’s the perfect size. I feel like I know lots of people (both as staff and previously as a student) across campuses, but I feel like I’m constantly still learning about new resources and collaborations as I meet new folks, too. I love connecting people, so this works out really well for me.

What do you enjoy about working here?

People care deeply for whatever their passion or intellectual pursuit may be. I’m constantly impressed by students and colleagues alike, though my favorite part of my job is watching students really mature their passions and pursuits during their time as an undergrad.

Can you share a personal fun fact about yourself?

I was a Girl Scout all the way through high school and completed my Gold Award. My first job was as a camp counselor teaching horseback riding, and I think that many of the ways I learned to teach and engage campers still influences my advising practice for undergraduate students today.

Brag about your teammates! We feature one staff member in each newsletter. Nominate someone by emailing the Office of the Provost and telling us, in a sentence or two, how your colleague contributes to Northwestern’s mission and why everyone in the Office of the Provost should get to know them.

New staff arrivals

• Aaron Darrisaw, Program Coordinator

Undergraduate Admission

• Alyssa Martinez, Assistant Director of Admissions

Undergraduate Education

• Mitchell Evans, Assistant Professor of Naval Science, NROTC

Family support

Do you need help with childcare or tutoring? Northwestern now offers the Sitters and Tutors Network, a Net ID-protected resource that allows students to provide babysitting and tutoring services to members of the Northwestern community. Parents can post job listings customized to their needs and browse available sitters and tutors, filtering by skill-set and schedule. Students can post a profile and browse jobs. Additionally, Northwestern recently announced an extension of the Temporary COVID-19 Caregiving Grant program and changes to the adoption reimbursement program, which helps eligible faculty and staff recuperate some of the costs of adoption.

News and notes

Inclusive Teaching Practicum

The Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching will soon invite all instructors to participate in the upcoming Inclusive Teaching Practicum, a three-week program designed for instructors of all levels, backgrounds and teaching contexts and based on the University’s Inclusive Teaching Principles. In collaboration with Social Justice Education, AccessibleNU, the University Libraries, Human Resources, and Teaching and Learning Technologies, the practicum weaves together interactive synchronous sessions, asynchronous learning activities, individual consultations, and opportunities to learn from experts and peers. Look for more information about Northwestern’s commitment to inclusive teaching practices to come later in the month.

Block’s student acquisition and grant

The Block Museum of Art’s undergraduate Student Docent team has made the formal recommendation to Museum Director Lisa Corrin for the acquisition of Quarantine Blues (2020), a photograph by Chicago-based artist Leonard Suryajaya from his series of the same name. The acquisition project reflects the expansion of the Student Docent’s role within The Block, which includes not only engaging with the public, but also work to advise the museum and shape its relevance and connection to student experience. The selection marks the second annual student-led acquisition.

In case you missed it

• The University announced that faculty and staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and provided updates to a number of guidelines for the summer.  
• Northwestern shared an update on progress one year after making its commitments to social justice.

Mark your calendar

Featured University events

• July 21, noon: Return to Campus Discussion for faculty and staff 
• Through Aug. 22: Behold, Be Held at the Block Museum of Art 

Key dates

• July 6: Alternative Work Strategies Policy takes effect

More resources

• University Events
• Academic Calendars

Help us build future newsletters! If your unit is working on a project that is relevant to the entire Office of the Provost, or if you have awards, honors or accomplishments to share, send an email to officeoftheprovost@northwestern.edu.