Week of May 27-31

2024

Policy and Governance: Summer reminder of Policy 4815 – Minors at Virginia Tech

As we see an increase in minors on campus during the summer months with various youth camps and educational events taking place, faculty and academic staff are reminded to refer to Policy 4815: Minors at Virginia Tech which was established to bring awareness to the presence of minors in programs conducted or hosted by the university and to set minimum requirements for the screening and training of individuals working with minors.

Virginia Tech is committed to the safety and welfare of its students, faculty, staff, and visitors through the establishment of reasonable practices that support a safe and secure environment in all university facilities, as well as to promote safety through policies and programs.

Faculty and academic staff who are planning to work with minors on campus or invite them to participate in a program or event hosted at Virginia Tech are encouraged to carefully review the policy.

If you have any questions or need more information about Policy 4815 or programs with minors at Virginia Tech, read this campus notice or email Virginia Tech's Youth Protection Associate Specialist.

Faculty Affairs: Membership in NCFDD available to Virginia Tech faculty, graduate students

Virginia Tech is an institutional member of NCFDD (formerly the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity) – a nationally recognized organization dedicated to supporting over 285,000 faculty, graduate students, and postdocs on their path to successful academic careers.

As part of this membership, Virginia Tech faculty and graduate students can enroll in a complimentary sub-account that offers access to NCFDD’s expansive online resources, including an array of webinars, resources, and programs including:

Weekly Monday Motivator
Monthly Core Curriculum Webinars
Hidden Handbook series
Monthly Guest Expert Webinars
Access to Dissertation Success Curriculum for graduate students
Private Discussion Forums

To activate an individual account, access the “Become a member” link on the NCDFF homepage. Scroll down and select Virginia Tech from the drop down and click on the "Activate My Account" button. Follow the instructions to complete the process.

For more information, visit the Mentoring and Support page on the Faculty Affairs website, and click the NCFDD box. Additional questions about NCFDD or other faculty development resources can be emailed to Faculty Affairs.

University Libraries: Details for authors on how to deposit articles for open access

Virginia Tech's open access policy, managed through University Libraries, enables authors to legally provide open access to the accepted version (not the journal published version) of their scholarly article, regardless of the copyright transfer agreement (a very small number of publishers may require you to waive the policy). The policy follows United States copyright law and has been vetted by the Virginia Tech Office of Legal Counsel.

Details on how to deposit your articles for open access:

Who: All faculty, staff and students (anyone with a VT affiliation)
What: The accepted version of your scholarly article (or the published version if openly licensed or in the public domain)
When: The day of acceptance through one month after publication, no embargo needed
Where: VTechWorks
How: There are three deposit options:
- Elements (EFARs), *faculty and grad students only*
- OA Policy Deposit Form
- Email VTechWorks
Why: Most scholarly articles written by VT authors are not available to the public, which includes scholars in low and middle-income countries, government policymakers, taxpayers, and our alumni. If you have benefited from open access provided by others, consider paying it forward.

For more information about the open access policy or how to deposit articles, visit the University Libraries website.

Provost’s Office: Share your feedback and help us improve our Weekly Communications Update

If you have comments or recommendations for how we can improve the Weekly Communications Update, or you would like to make a request to have specific information or topics shared with faculty and academic program staff across the university, please provide your feedback and suggestions through this Google form.

Along with the Weekly Communications Update, faculty and department heads should visit the provost’s website frequently for new and updated information impacting the academic community. All employees of the university should also read their VT News daily email for important campus events, notices, and resources.

For more information or feedback, please email Provost Communications.

ICYMI: Summer traffic, pedestrian impacts due to campus construction projects

As a result of numerous summer capital construction, renovation, and maintenance projects on the Blacksburg campus, the Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure, and Facilities reminds faculty and staff to expect periodic road and pedestrian route closures and traffic delays in limited areas of the campus through August.

Below is a list of the projects and areas where traffic and pedestrian impacts may occur. Updates to these and other projects and access restrictions through the summer will be communicated through VT News.

For more information and an interactive map of impacted areas, read the campus notices in VT News for each impacted area or email Virginia Tech Facilities.

Additional Resources and Updates

Please submit a Google form or email Provost Communications for comments or recommendations to improve the Weekly Communications Update or to share faculty, staff, and academic program personnel information.

Visit the provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VT News daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.