Month: January 2021

Preparing for Student Move-In

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Dear students,

With the start of spring semester nearly upon us, I write with an update from Middletown, where the campus is freshly blanketed in snow.

We have been preparing for student move-in, which will take place February 5–8. After consulting with public health officials and carefully reviewing and refining our health and safety protocols, we believe we have a clear plan for students to safely return to campus. As always, we will rely on all students, faculty, and staff to do their part in following safety guidelines at all times to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Because the COVID positivity rate in Connecticut and across the United States is higher than when we began the fall, we will need everyone’s renewed attention as we begin the semester. Students should read the updated COVID Code of Conduct for spring, and acknowledge it in WesPortal, where it is posted as an alert. Students will also need to upload a negative result from their pre-arrival COVID test in WesPortal.

I strongly encourage everyone to review this checklist to Prepare for Arrival. Additional information on move-in and the beginning of the semester can be found on the Residential Life website.

All students must quarantine for two weeks after arriving on campus. We will observe an initial state-mandated, campus-wide quarantine period that will last through the end of the day on February 21. Because the period after arrival poses the highest risk for students to be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, the success of our semester will depend on all students taking the quarantine measures seriously. Beginning February 9 and through the end of the quarantine, students will take all classes online.

More information on campus health and safety during COVID-19 can be found on the Keep Wes Safe website. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

Rick Culliton

Dean of Students

Chair, Pandemic Planning Committee

Spring 2021 Anti-Racist Reading Group

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Hello Everyone,

You are invited to participate in the Spring 2021 Anti-Racist Reading Group for faculty, staff, and students sponsored by the Office for Equity and Inclusion.  My name is Demetrius Colvin and I am the Director of The Resource Center and will facilitate this Spring’s reading of the 3rd edition of Allan G. Johnson’s Power, Privilege, and Difference (link) for the reading group.  The reading group will meet once a week starting the week of Feb. 15th.  If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form by Friday, February 5th so I can get a sense from you all what will be the best time to meet each week for our discussions and if you need any assistance in getting a copy of the reading.  Let me know if you have any follow-up questions or concerns and I look forward to learning and collaborating with you all this semester!

Sincerely,

-Demetrius

DEMETRIUS COLVIN

Director, The Resource Center

Wesleyan University
167 High Street | Middletown, CT 06459
P. (860) 685-3979 | E. dcolvin@wesleyan.edu

Website: https://www.wesleyan.edu/resourcecenter/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/wesresourcecenter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wesresourcecenter/

 

“Part of the mythology that they’ve been teaching you is that you have no power. Power is not brute force and money; power is in your spirit. Power is in your soul. It is what your ancestors, your old people gave you. Power is in the earth; it is in your relationship to the earth.”            – Winona LaDuke

Program reminder: Alumni Conversation with Jesse Greenspan ’06 Tomorrow – 1/27

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Wednesday, January 27th 2021, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm 

Zoom Link:

https://wesleyan.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JErFq_ftRnmmOhNZRxtNWA

Join us for a virtual fireside chat-style career conversation with Jesse Greenspan ’06, Director of Supply Chain and Logistics at Partners In Health (PIH). Since joining PIH in 2008, Jesse has supported supply chain and logistics activities in Haiti, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone through the development of forecasting methodologies, data management, and reporting, international sourcing and procurement, budget planning, disaster response, and development and implementation of OpenBoxes, an open-source supply chain management software built for global health delivery. Jesse lived in Haiti from 2012-2014 to implement OpenBoxes and set up supply chain systems at University Hospital in Mirebalais. Jesse has previously worked with Cambridge Cares About AIDS, the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, and Curamericas Global.

This conversation is open to all members of the Wesleyan community, including students, alumni, parents/families, faculty/staff. Q&A to follow.

REGISTRATION:

To join the conversation, complete your webinar registration here: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JErFq_ftRnmmOhNZRxtNWA

Speaker Bio:  

Jesse completed her undergraduate degree in Government at Wesleyan University, focusing on International Relations. She received her MSPH in International Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, including work in Liberia and Tanzania, and received a certificate in Health and Humanitarian Logistics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Student Moderators: 

Ivie Uzamere’ 21 is a double major in Biology and Science in Society, with a strong interest in public health and medicine. Ivie has conducted research at UConn Health, Middletown Community Health Center and Yale School of Public Health with the common goal of addressing health inequity. Ivie is a Track and Field Captain, Co President of Foster Care Connection, Senior Interviewer, Residential Advisor and Secretary for both the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students and Student Athlete of Color Leadership Council.

Fitzroy ‘Pablo’ Wickham ‘21 is a Jamaican-born Wesleyan undergraduate double majoring in Neuroscience and Theatre with a minor in Chemistry. He is a research assistant in the Naegele Lab at the Wesleyan University conducting stem cell research in mice. On campus, he also serves as a Head Resident for Residential Life, Senior Class President, Honor Board/Community Standards Board member and is also involved in the Basal Gang, Wesleyan Minority Association of Premedical Students (WesMAPS), student theatre and the Jamaican Heritage Club, YAADI. His aspirations are to become a neurosurgeon, researcher and actor.

Co-sponsored by the Gordon Career Center, the Department of Government, the Student Athlete of Color Leadership Council (SACLC) and the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS).

Ruthann T. Coyote, Ph.D.| Career Advisor| Wesleyan University | Gordon Career Center

41 Wyllys Avenue | Middletown, CT  06459 | 860.685.2180 | rcoyote@wesleyan.edu

 

2021 Diploma Name System Open

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To:   Candidates for Bachelor of Arts Degree
From:  Rosie Villard, Administrative Assistant V, Office of the Registrar

To ensure that your full legal name is spelled correctly on your diploma, we are asking you to confirm your diploma name.  Please confirm your name as soon as possible.

In your WesPortal under ‘My Information’ click on Diploma Name and Address. The name that we currently have on file will be displayed on this page.  If your name is correct, please click on Confirm/Update button at the bottom of the page.  If your name is not correct, please make any necessary corrections before selecting the Confirm/Update button.

Please note that you will only be able to update your name once per day – if you confirm your name in error, you will need to return to the page the following day to make any corrections.

If your name contains special characters or accents, please confirm the spelling of your name without the characters or accents.  In order to make sure that the special characters or accents appear correctly on your diploma, you will be asked to link to the Special Character Diploma Name Confirmation form and send it to the Registrar’s Office.

To make a correction to your legal name for all other university records, you will need to send a form of legal identification (birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, or legal name change document if your name has been legally changed) to the Registrar’s Office.

The diploma name system will close on Sunday, April 18th at 11:59pm.

Wesleyan Alumni Career Conversations – 1/21 – 2/3

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The Gordon Career Center is presenting a series of alumni career conversations. The first one kicks off on Thursday 1/21 with Kimberley Martin ’03, NFL Reporter and Myla Stovall ’22, Vice President of SACLC serving as the student moderator. These events are open to all students and alumni. More details and Zoom registration are provided in the links below.

  • Kimberly Martin ’03, NFL Reporter, ESPN
  • Jon Turteltaub ’85, Film/TV Director and Producer
  • Jesse Greenspan ’06, Director of Supply Chain & Logistics, Partners in Health
  • Dana Peterson ’98, Chief Economist, The Conference Board 

Housing Assignments Are Now Visible – 1/15

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Dear Students,

Housing assignments are now visible in your wesportal.  We encourage you to take a moment to review your assignment, even if you were on campus in the fall, as there may have been changes in your roommates if a vacancy existed.

Room changes will not begin until two weeks after the first day of classes.  There currently are no vacancies in High or Low Rise apartments, but they may develop later this semester.

Please email Residential Life at reslife@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions.  Please note that the office will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Students may return to campus between Friday, February 5 and Monday February 8.  You will not sign up for a move in timeslot this semester, only a testing appointment.  Please plan to arrive on campus at that time.  You will receive your key after being tested.

We look forward to welcoming you back to campus!  Travel safely.

Sincerely,

Fran Koerting
Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life

Preparing to Return to Campus for Spring 2021

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This is a repost of the message sent to the study body on January 14, 2021 by Dean Culliton.

Dear students,

Happy New Year! I hope this note finds you well, and that you have been enjoying a restful break. I write today with important information regarding our plans for the spring semester.

Members of the University community are very much looking forward to having students back in Middletown. Our experience in the fall allowed us to test and fine-tune our safety processes and protocols, and we feel confident that we have strong systems in place to limit the spread of COVID on campus. It will require all of us to be diligent in order to keep Wesleyan safe.

However, we are also mindful of the high levels of COVID spread in many parts of the country, and worrying news about new variants of the virus. Our plan remains to begin the spring semester in early February, with students permitted to return to campus beginning February 5, and spring semester classes starting February 9. We will alert you immediately if we determine that health conditions necessitate adjusting this schedule.

As a reminder, spring semester will once again begin with an initial two-week period of campus-wide quarantine and online instruction to comply with the State of Connecticut’s requirements.

Below is a checklist of important steps all students must take before returning to campus. Please read these steps carefully to ensure you are prepared.

  1. Beginning on January 22 until you return to campus, we ask students to limit exposure to others (quarantine at home), and especially to avoid large groups of people.
  2. All students will need to receive a negative COVID test result from a PCR test taken within five days prior to leaving home. Students will be directed to upload test results to WesPortal and have a copy upon return to campus. If you receive a positive result, do not come to campus. Recover at home and alert the Davison Health Center.
  3. If you have been in close contact with anyone with COVID or COVID-like symptoms please contact the Davison Health Center and delay your arrival on campus until at least 14 days after your close contact.
  4. Any student who did not get a flu shot on campus this fall is required to send proof that they have received a flu shot off-campus to healthforms@wesleyan.edu by January 20.
  5. Prior to leaving home, you must schedule your arrival COVID test appointment online. This appointment must be your first stop upon arriving to campus. Unlike the fall semester, you must use the app to schedule your COVID test and the number of available tests each hour is limited to reduce density as students move in. You will receive your residential keys after being tested on campus. For students travelling by plane with late arrival times, please contact reslife@wesleyan.edu with information about your travel day and time to secure a later time slot.
  6. Students who were not on campus in the fall semester must electronically sign a testing waiver for the Broad Institute and Wesleyan. These students can find waivers in their WesPortal beginning the last week of January.

I will continue to communicate with you in the weeks to come, including regarding updates to the COVID Code of Conduct for spring term. Information about campus health and safety during COVID can always be found on the Keep Wes Safe website.

Enjoy the remainder of your break, and I look forward to seeing you back on campus next month!

Sincerely,

Rick Culliton

Dean of Students

Chair, Pandemic Planning Committee

A Message from Chaplain Jami

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In times like these. . .

Dear Friends,

Like many of you, I have been deeply troubled and grieved by the events of January 6, 2021 and feel an urgency to process the trauma and chaos that unfolded in our nation’s Capitol. As so many politicians, pastors, journalists, and members of the public have stated, we must keep our focus on the Higher Good: This is a time to claim truth, justice, and honor; it is a time to embrace hope in our democracy; it is a time to heal and turn our attention to caring for ourselves and our friends and family; and it is a time to embrace God’s love and honor God’s creation.

As the Protestant chaplain, I want you to know I am here for you. You may schedule a chat with me via Zoom.

I will also be holding space for grief, processing, and conversation on Monday, January 11th from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. You may come at any time, stay for as little or as long as you like.

OISA Zoom Session for New & Returning Students – 1/15

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Spring 2021 Q&A Zoom Session for New and Returning F-1 Students

Date: Friday, January 15, 2021

Time: 9:00-10:30 am EST (use a time zone converter to find out your local time)

Students may submit questions using this form. All questions submitted by 11:59 pm EST, Tuesday, January 12, 2021 will be answered in the live session. This session is for both undergraduate and graduate F-1 students. Parents and families are welcome to attend.

IRS COVID-19 Stimulus Checks and F/J Students

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This is a reposted message from OISA and the Controller’s Office.

Dear international students,

Please see the message below from Christine Rodrigue about COVID-19 stimulus checks. If you have additional questions, please reach out to Christine at crodrigue@wesleyan.edu.

Hope you all are well!

Chia-Ying

 

Dear F and J Students and Scholars,

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Federal Stimulus Package enacted in April 2020 was intended to help taxpayers, businesses, tax-exempt organizations and others affected by the coronavirus.  The package included Economic Impact Payments, more commonly referred to as Stimulus Checks, to individual taxpayers.

In December 2020, the U.S. government approved the second pandemic stimulus payment under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, providing an additional one-time payment of up to $600 per eligible taxpayer.

Individuals eligible to receive the stimulus checks:

  • must be a US Citizen or Resident Alien for tax purposes
  • cannot be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer
  • must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN), and
  • have gross income of up to $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples)

You are not entitled to receive stimulus checks if you are:

  • A Non-Resident Alien (F-1 and J-1 Students are Non-Resident Aliens during the first five calendar years of presence in the U.S.)
  • A single taxpayer with an adjusted gross income (AGI) above $99,000
  • A head of a household with an AGI over $136,500
  • A married couple with an AGI over $198,000
  • A child over 16 or a college student under age 24

If you received a stimulus check, you should verify your 2019 tax year U.S. residency status.  If you determine that you were a Resident for tax purposes in 2019, then you are entitled to the stimulus checks.  If you determine that you were a Non-Resident for tax purposes in 2019, then you received the payment/s in error, and you should follow the instructions provided by Sprintax and the IRS (links below) to return the payment/s to the IRS.  By keeping a stimulus check that was issued in error, you may incur penalty and interest payments or jeopardize your future U.S. visa or Green Card applications.


Everything a non-resident in the U.S. needs to know about the COVID stimulus checks–Sprintax provides further clarity and guidance for international non-immigrant students and employees, specifically non-resident aliens for tax purposes.

IRS Economic Impact Payment Information Center

I hope you are doing well and staying healthy.

 

Take good care,

Christine Rodrigue

Sr. Accountant/Tax Specialist

Wesleyan University

Controller’s Office

International Compensation and Taxation