News and announcements from Skidmore College

Weekly Bulletin

COVID-19 Updates

Current campus COVID-19 policies

In response to the lifting of most state COVID-19 restrictions last month, and with a campus vaccination rate of well over 70%, the guidance outlined here is in effect on campus.

Skidmore News

42nd Annual Palamountain Benefit supports Skidmore scholarships

With elaborate picnic baskets prepared by Skidmore College’s Dining Services team, a silent auction, and generous donations, community members offered their support to the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund, which benefits Skidmore students who otherwise might not be able to attend the College.

Digging into the history of Skidmore’s campus

Kelby Wittenberg '22, a Minnesota native and anthropology major, is spending his first summer in Saratoga in an active on-campus dig and laboratory. His mission? To help color the story of the land long before it was Skidmore College's campus and use that information to help a professor develop course materials for future students.

Dining Services

Please visit the Dining Services website regularly for updates, specials, hours of operation (including new summer hours), information about summer policies, and other information.

Pop-up Grill: Dining Services is hosting its pop-up grill every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. The grill features hamburgers, hot dogs, plant-based burgers, and more on the walkway outside Burgess Café. A $7 lunch combo meal includes your choice of a grill item, two sides, and a beverage. A la carte pricing is also available. The grill is available to the entire Skidmore community. Pay inside Burgess Café and come out to the grill, where the crew will take care of you. Credit/debit card and Skidmore Card are accepted for payment.

Burgess Café is also offering novelty ice cream to help beat the heat.

Facilities Services

New work order ticketing system coming soon: Maximo

Skidmore will roll out a new system for managing Facilities work orders, Maximo, on Tuesday, July 27. This new system will improve efficiencies, as Facilities staff will have real-time access to review and update work orders. The information needed from Skidmore community members for work orders is unchanged, but an enhanced feature for communicating a work order’s status will be added. Click here to access the Maximo system once it has launched on July 27. Find instructions on how to enter a work order here, or watch this video. This information and more can be found on the Facilities Services webpage.

Human Resources

Return to Campus Policy

The College is looking forward to beginning a phased return to campus of all staff who have been working remotely. The College’s Return to Campus Policy was announced to all employees last month. Division and unit heads have also received an email from Human Resources with instructions for completing their division or unit's Return to Campus Plan. Human Resources is available to assist division and unit heads in completing their Return to Campus Plans and to answer any employee questions regarding the phased return of remote staff to campus. Employees will be notified by their supervisors of the date the phased return to campus will begin for their unit or division. That date will be no later than Aug. 2, 2021, with a full return to on-campus work by Sept. 2, 2021.

The College looks forward to welcoming remote employees back to campus in the coming months. The College also acknowledges that this will be a transition that involves mixed emotions for many employees. The College reminds employees that Human Resources is available to provide support, answers to your questions, and resources during this transition period. Employees may also speak confidentially to a support professional from the College's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 518-793-9768 or 1-800-734-6072.

Employee COVID-19 Information

Reminder to Report Your COVID-19 Vaccination Status

As a reminder, employees who are fully vaccinated are now exempt from COVID-19 testing requirements. As federal and state health and safety guidelines evolve to consider individuals’ vaccination status, the College will continue to align its testing program, health and safety policies, and anticipated return to full, on-campus employment with these guidelines. If you have not already done so, Human Resources requests that all employees complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Status form promptly. Employees who have not already submitted a copy of their vaccination card may do so by emailing vaccine@skidmore.edu. Please include [OME] in the subject line to encrypt your message.

The information submitted through the COVID-19 Vaccination Status form and vaccination records will be maintained confidentially by Human Resources. Skidmore College continues to strongly encourage all faculty and staff to get vaccinated as soon as possible as the next step in returning to a normal learning and working environment. If you have any questions regarding this process, please direct them to Interim Director of Human Resources Sarah Delaney Vero.

Summer Surveillance Testing

As a reminder, employees who are fully vaccinated (14 days past last dose of COVID-19 vaccine) are exempt from the College's surveillance testing program effective May 24. Testing after May 24 will continue to be required on a weekly basis for all non-vaccinated employees who will be working on campus with regular proximate contact (working in the same workspace) with co-workers or students. Non-vaccinated employees who will only come into incidental contact with others but who otherwise work alone (either in their own private office or in a shared office space but who will work alone because of staggered staffing arrangements) are also exempt from the College's surveillance testing program effective May 24. For those employees who must still participate in surveillance testing over the summer, all campus COVID-19 testing will take place in Palamountain 201. More information and the testing schedule can be found here.

Testing for New Hires Working on Campus

Hiring managers should reach out to Leslie Miakisz to coordinate testing for new hires who will be working on campus and who are not fully vaccinated. Non-vaccinated new hires should be tested within 72 hours of their first day of work on campus.

Paid Time Off for Vaccine Appointments During Work Hours

Skidmore strongly encourages all employees to get vaccinated. All employees who cannot schedule vaccination appointments outside of regular work hours will receive paid time off for work time missed due to receiving the vaccine. Exempt and nonexempt employees should record any work time missed due to traveling to and receiving the vaccination as sick time. Union employees should record this time as College Emergency Leave. To be eligible for paid leave, employees must provide proof of their vaccination appointment to their supervisor, who will work with Human Resources to approve a sufficient period of paid time off for each vaccine injection. The amount of paid time off will depend on the time and location of the vaccination appointment (e.g., local appointments may require 1 to 2 hours of paid time off to attend, while an appointment in Plattsburgh could require 4 hours of paid time off to account for the additional travel time.)

Skidmore Spotlight

Meet Adam Cottle

Adam Cottle, metadata librarian at the Lucy Scribner Library, leads a small team of catalogers who prepare library materials for student and faculty researchers. 

Faculty-Staff Achievements

Click here for details about the achievements below.

Emmanuel Balogun, assistant professor of political science, co-authored an article in The Washington Post. Read more >> 

Barbara Black, professor of English, contributed to The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Victorian Women's Writing. Read more >> 

Paul Sattler, professor of art, opened an exhibition of new paintings at Momentum Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina. Read more >> 

Jeffrey Segrave, professor of health and human physiology, published a scholarly article. Read more >>

We welcome submissions from faculty and staff related to professional accomplishments and scholarly endeavors.

Announcements

Palamountain Scholarship Benefit Silent Auction

The annual Palamountain Scholarship Benefit Silent Auction is live and will remain open until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27. Auction packages include the best seats in the house at the Giants game versus the Raiders on Nov. 7, an original oil painting by Tom Myott, vacation packages to St. John and Orlando, Florida, and terrific gifts from our retail partners in downtown Saratoga Springs. Check out these and all of the auction items online. Fund-a-Scholar donations may also be made online. Thank you for your support of this important scholarship program. Please contact Susan Koppi for more information.

Tang exhibitions

Four exhibitions are now on view at the Tang — “Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards,” “Opener 33: Sarah Cain — Enter the Center,” “Next to You,” and “Elevator Music 41: Laura Ortman — Dust Dives Alive,” — as well as the evolving exhibition “Nicole Cherubini: Shaking the Trees” and the student-curatorial project “Hyde Cabinet #12: Everyday In-Between.” Museum hours through Aug. 29 are Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Members of the campus community — faculty, students, and staff — can also make appointments for research and classes Monday through Friday during regular business hours. For more information, contact Olivia Cammisa-Frost.

“All Together Now” exhibitions now on view throughout region

“All Together Now,” the regional collection-sharing project organized by the Tang Teaching Museum, has announced that five of the six exhibitions at partner institutions are now on view: “Summer Bomb Pop: Collections in Dialogue” at The Hyde Collection through Oct. 31; “Muybridge and Motion: Selections from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection” at The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame through Jan. 2 (free admission with Skidmore ID); “Brighten the Corners: Art of the 1990s from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection” at Saratoga Arts through Aug. 14; “The Social Lives of Hats” at Saratoga County History Center through October; and “Chromatic Scales: Psychedelic Design” from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection at Saratoga Performing Arts Center through October, with special public viewing hours of noon to 5 p.m. daily from July 17 to 30 (visitors are asked to enter through the Route 50 gates). For more information, visit the “All Together Now” webpage.

Family Saturday: You’ve Got Mail

Join us for Family Saturday: You’ve Got Mail on Saturday, July 24. The 90-minute, in-person event for children 5 and older and their parents, grandparents or other guardians features a close-looking exercise at the postcard collages on view in the exhibition “Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards,” an art-making activity, and a moment to share new creations. There are two sessions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Space is limited and reservations are required. For more information and how to make reservations, visit the Tang website. For questions, contact Sunny Ra, the Laurie M. Tisch Educator for K-12 and Community Programs at the Tang.

Tang at Home Studio: Check Your Mailbox!

Join us for Tang at Home Studio: Check Your Mailbox! at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 18. This hourlong online event features discussions about the collaged postcards by Ellsworth Kelly on view in the exhibition “Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards,” art-making, and sharing — all conducted via Zoom. Reservations required. For more information and to register, visit the Tang website. For questions, contact Sunny Ra, the Laurie M. Tisch Educator for K-12 and Community Programs at the Tang.

Tang Guide Tour with Paul Seggev

Join Tang Guide Paul Seggev ’23 at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 25, for a tour of the Tang and current exhibitions. This event is open to the public and visitors are invited to stay after the tour and look around the museum’s galleries. The Tang Guides program is an exciting new program that introduces students to the Tang and the museum world, trains them how to be gallery ambassadors and tour guides and how to talk about art, and gives them valuable real-world experiences interacting with visitors. Contact Olivia Cammisa-Frost with any questions.

Lunchtime Crochet: Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef

Associate Curator Rebecca McNamara hosts a lunchtime drop-in crocheting session from noon to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 28. Join at your leisure to crochet and chat as we create corals for the “Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef.” Open to everyone, and all skill levels are welcome. For more information, contact Rebecca McNamara.

Athletics News

Skidmore College midfielder Yasmine Boukari '21 was named to the 2020-21 Division III CoSIDA Academic All-America women's soccer third-team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA). Boukari is the first Academic All-America in program history.

Skidmore Shop

Stop by the Skidmore Shop to play a round of cornhole and check out some of the other new items we have in store or visit skidmoreshop.com. Don’t forget that you can get free AirPods with each Apple MacBook or iPad you purchase at the Skidmore Shop. Check out the Shop’s selection of Apple products here.

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Accessing College Resources

A comprehensive list of current resources and services available to the Skidmore community is now available online. This website will be updated frequently. Updates and additions to this list can be submitted by email.

Skidmore College continues to provide campuswide updates on the Campus Planning 2020-21 website.  

 Please send submissions to the Office of Communications and Marketing. 

Skidmore College

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 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

518-580-5000