Week of September 12-16

Notice: Campus impacts for Thursday, September 22 football game vs. West Virginia

Virginia Tech will host a nationally televised football game on the evening of Thursday, September 22 against West Virginia. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. As a result, the university will take the following steps to ensure the orderly flow of traffic and increase safety across the Blacksburg campus:

• Employees who have remote or hybrid work agreements and schedules are encouraged to work remotely on September 22. 
• Administrative offices and non-instructional university offices will close at 2:00 p.m. in Blacksburg to reduce the number of employees on campus and help relieve traffic congestion. 
• All online classes will be held as scheduled. 
• All in-person classes in Blacksburg beginning at or after 3:15 p.m. on September 22 will be canceled.

For more information, please read this campus notice. Faculty and staff needing to stay on campus after 2:10 p.m. should park in the Perry Street Garage, North End Center Garage, or spaces around the Drillfield.

Faculty Affairs: FAQs, additional info regarding Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, in coordination with Faculty Affairs and the academic colleges, has created the Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program, designed to help mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty advancement.

As a result of questions and inquiries generated from last week’s announcement, Faculty Affairs has developed a list of FAQs to provide additional details and help clarify the processes and resources for the program. These FAQs include, but are not limited to the following:

Who is eligible for the program?
Participants must be pre-tenure tenure track faculty members who started at Virginia Tech prior to academic year 2022-23. Applications this year are limited to only those who can use it to buy out of teaching in spring and fall of 2023 or spring of 2024.

How many faculty members will be able to participate in the program?
We expect to be able to fund about 50 faculty this year. We anticipate additional funds will be available in future years to fund more faculty.

How will the recipients be selected?
Priority will be given to those faculty who demonstrate substantial pandemic impacts on their ability to conduct research, scholarly, creative, or outreach activities in preparation for promotion and tenure (P&T). Considerations for funding include:

• How close the faculty member is to their mandatory P&T year and how urgent their need is to have the course release now versus later.
• The scale of the impact of the pandemic on the faculty member’s scholarly activities and how the buyout will benefit the faculty member’s progression towards P&T.

What is the process if the department head does not approve of a faculty member’s request?
We ask that all applications for funding be sent on to Faculty Affairs after review by both the department head and dean. This includes applications that are approved as well as those that are not. This will allow us to get a better sense of the scale of the demand for the program, as well as get some insight from department heads and deans about potential barriers to participation.

Requests for spring 2023 buyouts are due by October 15, 2022. Requests for fall 2023 or spring 2024 course buyouts are due by January 31, 2023.

For more information, additional FAQs, eligibility criteria, and a link to the application form, please visit the Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program webpage. Questions may be emailed to Faculty Affairs.

Research and Innovation: Learn more about “Establishing Collaborations with FBRI”

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute (FBRI) at VTC is one of the nation’s fastest growing academic biomedical research enterprises and a destination for world-class researchers. The institute’s Virginia Tech scientists focus on diseases that are the leading causes of death and suffering in the United States, including brain disorders, heart disease, and cancer.

As part of its Research Development Series, the Office of Research and Innovation is hosting an event on October 4 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. (in-person at FBRI and via Zoom) for Virginia Tech researchers interested in learning more about FBRI’s mission, portfolio, and how to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative teamwork.

The in-person session will be held at Riverside 4, Room G101 A/B in Roanoke and registration is required. Transportation to FBRI will be provided via shuttle leaving the Blacksburg campus at 11:00 a.m. and returning at approximately 4:15 p.m. Lunch will be served at FBRI at 12:15 p.m. Faculty may also register to attend virtually via Zoom.

The Research Development Series is designed to help faculty in their journey to increase the scope and impact of their research, creativity, and innovation portfolio. With events focused on different facets of sponsored research, from sponsor-specific perspectives to how to work with partners, this webinar series is intended to answer researchers' biggest questions and enlighten scholars at every step in their career.

For more information on this and other Research and Innovation events, please visit their Events and Programs website.

CETL: Faculty invited to apply early for 2023 WPI Project-Based Learning Institute

Teams of four or more Virginia Tech faculty are invited to apply for the 2023 WPI Project-Based Learning Institute at Virginia Tech, offered by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and featuring speakers and mentors from Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Center for Project-Based Learning.

The institute will take place March 7-9, 2023, on the Blacksburg campus and will feature plenary sessions, workshops, and coaching designed to help each team develop an action plan for advancing PBL in their courses and programs. The institute draws on WPI's 50 years of experience integrating project-based learning across the curriculum.

Applications will be accepted through December 16, 2022, with each team submitting one application on behalf of all team members. Through full participation, each team will be eligible for a $1,500 – $2,000 grant to support further advancement of the team’s PBL action plan.

Each team will deliver a concise presentation of its action plan to gather feedback and advice from mentors and other participants. A maximum of 10 teams will be invited to participate. Faculty teams will leave the institute with an enhanced understanding of project-based learning and a tailored plan to advance their work.

For more information on the WPI Project-Based Learning Institute and how to apply, please read this campus notice or visit the CETL website.

ICYMI: Career and Professional Development seeking hosts for on-campus internships

Career and Professional Development (CPD) is committed to providing quality experiential learning opportunities to Virginia Tech students through internship and cooperative education programs. The Campus internEXP (Campus Intern Experience) is an on-campus internship program where departments can host quality, paid internships for Virginia Tech students.

Departments that currently hire interns, would like to turn a student wage position into an internship, or would like to hire an intern but don’t know how to get started are invited to register for one of CPD’s Campus internEXP information sessions to learn more about how to apply to be an internship host/site. During these sessions, department representatives will learn how the program works, how to apply to be a host, and how to write a detailed job description for a student intern.

The staff of CPD are also available to departments to answer questions and explain details of the Campus internEXP program and process including:

• What offices/units at Virginia Tech can host interns? 
• Who can be a supervisor? 
• Who should submit the application for a campus office? 
• How do we access the intern hosting application? 
• What are the deadlines for submitting an application? 
• How will supervisors and host offices be selected?

For more information on the program, please visit the Campus internEXP page on the CPD website.

Additional Resources and Updates

• University Council meeting discussion items for September 19
  Posted-September 15
  Meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. in 1045 Pamplin Hall and via Zoom. Please email April Myers to receive Zoom log-in information.
• Emergency Management offers trainings to increase preparedness
  Posted-September 15
  Sessions provide knowledge, skills, and abilities to respond quickly and effectively whether on campus, home, or abroad.
• How to report a physical barrier on campus
  Posted-September 13
  Office for Equity and Accessibility urges reporting of barriers that impede travel on campus pathways or access to buildings or services.
• Email phishing scam alert
  Posted-September 8
  Division of IT encourages university employees to be on the lookout for emails with the subject line “Assistant Remote Job.”
• Election Day (November 8) voting and political activity
  Posted-September 8
  While the university encourages civic engagement, employees should remember to keep political activity separate from the workplace.
• Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Southwest Virginia Annual Meeting
  Posted-September 2
  CCI network promotes cybersecurity research, innovation, and workforce development in region and the greater commonwealth.