News and announcements from Skidmore College

Weekly Bulletin

Skidmore News

Building a community of trust: President Marc Conner

Strengthening Community: President Marc C. Conner

The inauguration of Marc C. Conner — a prolific scholar, committed teacher, and leader — will take place on Saturday, Oct. 16. For more information, visit the Inauguration website.

A history of making big plans for Skidmore's future

From Lucy Scribner to President Marc C. Conner, bold visions and creative leadership have transformed the College throughout its history.

COVID-19 Updates

Pfizer booster eligibility

New York has adopted the CDC’s recommendations for offering booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for individuals who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago and who fall into certain categories, which may encompass some members of our campus community. Eligible categories include individuals age 65 and older; individuals with an underlying medical condition; and individuals employed in a setting with increased risk of transmission, which includes education staff and first responders, including healthcare workers. Skidmore employees who opt to receive a booster shot do not need a letter from the College to prove eligibility. New Yorkers are required to provide written self-attestation confirming eligibility, which providers must collect.

HERO Act designation extended: Daily Health Certification, training video required for all employees

The designation of COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease has been extended until Oct. 31 by the New York State Department of Health. In turn, HERO plans must remain activated and all employees must continue to complete the Daily Health Certification form at the beginning of each workday. Any employee with symptoms of COVID-19 must contact their healthcare provider and follow their instructions, including referral for a COVID-19 test. Clearance by a healthcare provider or proof of a negative COVID-19 test must be submitted to Human Resources at hr@skidmore.edu before returning to work on campus. Employees who test positive for COVID-19 must notify Human Resources for further instructions. All employees are also required to review the College’s plan and watch this training video as soon as possible and notify their supervisors when they have completed this requirement. If you have any questions after reviewing the plan and viewing the training video, please contact the HR Hotline at 518-580-5801 or hr@skidmore.edu.

CoVerified App

To ensure compliance with testing requirements, effective Friday, Oct. 1, all students are required to show a “cleared” status in CoVerified in order to gain entry to Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and Williamson Sports Center. Staff and faculty in departments and offices across campus may also request to see a student’s “cleared” status before a student is invited to enter their workspace. As a reminder, ready-made signs and templates, including those specific to CoVerified, are available on the Campus Planning website for faculty and staff to download, print, and post as needed.

Fall semester COVID-19 guidelines, testing, and related protocols

The College’s policies are outlined in this fall testing policy for employees and posted to the Campus Planning website. Employees who are well (i.e., have no COVID-19 symptoms) but are concerned that they have been exposed to COVID-19 through work-related activities may contact Human Resources to request to test on campus. Testing will be held in Falstaff’s until noon Friday, Oct. 15. Beginning Monday, Oct. 18, testing will move to the second floor of Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, not Pine Cottage Annex, as previously announced.

The College’s detailed guidelines for masking, social distancing, visitors, gatherings, and dining are posted to the Campus Planning website , and updates to frequently asked questions are posted as soon as information becomes available. The College is currently at a “yellow” status level, due to a "substantial" to "high" COVID-19 transmission rate in Saratoga County, as categorized by the CDC. Therefore, indoor masking is currently required for everyone on campus, regardless of vaccination status.

Dining Services

Please visit the Dining Services website regularly for updates, Spa specials, hours of operation, and other information.

While the College is operating at a “yellow” status level (“substantial” to “high” Saratoga County COVID transmission rate), Murray-Aikins Dining Hall will be open to students only during the fall semester. The Spa, Atrium Café, and Burgess Café remain open to everyone.

Human Resources

New open positions

Human Resources would like to invite interested Skidmore staff to submit their applicant materials for the openings listed below. These are current, approved, budgeted positions that are being filled due to vacancies.

Curatorial Assistant, Tang Teaching Museum
Designer, Tang Teaching Museum
Assistant Director, Skidmore Fund

To apply, please access the Okta portal. Click on the tile for “Oracle HCM,” then click “Me,” and then click on “Current Jobs.”

Mandatory Annual Anti-Harassment Training

Skidmore College is committed to being an inclusive campus community where faculty, staff, and students are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. The College’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Diversity and Anti-Harassment Policies and Procedures prohibit discrimination and harassment based on individuals’ diverse characteristics. To comply with New York state law, it is critical that all employees (faculty, staff, union, part time, etc.) complete both training courses on or before Oct. 29, 2021. Student employees are also required to complete the Anti-Harassment Training.

Accessing the training is straightforward. Please follow the simple steps listed at this link. Additionally, instructions with screen shots can be found here for Prevent Discrimination and Harassment Together training.

Online directory update

As many of you are aware, the current online faculty and staff directory is not being updated at this time, potentially causing issues with searches. The current directory is pulling information from the old Oracle system, which we stopped updating in January of this year when we moved to Oracle Cloud. Anyone who has been hired since January will not appear, and anyone who has left will still appear. Our IT group is working on a new directory to pull from the Cloud, and it should be ready by the spring semester. In the meantime, many department websites are up to date, so you may be able to find what you are looking for in that way during this interim period. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience during this transition.

Skidmore Spotlight

Meet Brian Burns

Brian Burns, who works as a post office clerk, processes incoming and outgoing mail for the College.

Faculty-Staff Achievements

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

Olivia Cammisa-Frost, special events and publications manager of the Tang Teaching Museum, will appear as a contestant on “Jeopardy!” on Tuesday, Oct. 19. Read more >>

Catherine Golden, professor of English, appeared on the “Academic Minute” on WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Read more >>

Illustrations by Heather Hurst '97, associate professor of anthropology, are featured in a new documentary. Read more >>

Lectures

Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: The Liberal Arts Education in the 21st Century

All are invited to join President Conner for this panel discussion focusing on the “Skidmore difference.” Moderated by David Howson, senior teaching professor and Arthur Zankel Executive Director of Arts Administration, this Inauguration Panel features Kimberley Frederick (Chemistry), Catherine Hill (Management and Business), Pushkala Prasad (Management and Business & International Affairs), Sarah Sweeney (Art), and David Tago ’23 at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, in Gannett Auditorium. Seating is limited. The event will also be livestreamed on Skidmore's homepage.

Skidmore Mathematics and Statistics Departmental Seminar

As part of the NY6 Applied Mathematics Meeting, Skidmore's Mathematics and Statistics Departmental Seminar will host two applied mathematics talks, including a talk by Phanuel De Andrade Mariano, assistant professor of mathematics at Union College, from 3 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22, in Emerson Auditorium. Each 25-minute talk will be followed by a five-minute Q&A session. All attendees must RSVP by completing this form. Please contact Kirsten Hogenson at khogenso@skidmore.edu with questions.

To view all upcoming lectures and for details on how to submit information about upcoming Skidmore academic lectures, named lectures, and faculty panels, visit the Skidmore Lectures webpage.

Announcements

Title IX: Anonymous Reporting and Social Media

At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, via Zoom, as part of the College’s ongoing efforts to educate and raise awareness about confidential support resources and policies around Title IX and reporting sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking (collectively known as sexual- and gender-based misconduct or SGBM), Title IX Coordinator Joel Aure and Title IX Deputy Coordinator for Student Affairs Gabriela Melillo will be co-facilitating an information session about the steps that are taken when the Title IX Office is made aware of an anonymous or identifiable SGBM report either directly or through social media. The information session can be accessed through this link. Please contact the Title IX coordinator at jaure@skidmore.edu with any questions.

Celebration Weekend

Skidmore looks forward to welcoming the families of Skidmore students to Celebration Weekend 2021, from Oct. 15 through 17. The complete weekend schedule can be found on the Celebration Weekend website.

Celebration Weekend parking lot closures

A portion of Palamountain parking lot will be closed beginning the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 12, through Monday, Oct. 18. Cones will be placed in an area near the main entrance of Palamountain on Tuesday evening.

Glotzbach Presidential Portrait Dedication and Honorary Degree Presentations

Join President Marc C. Conner and the Board of Trustees for the unveiling of the portrait of President Emeritus Philip A. Glotzbach at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, in Gannett Auditorium. Overflow seating will be available in Emerson Auditorium. During this gathering, honorary degrees will also be presented to President Emeritus Glotzbach and Marie B. Glotzbach in recognition of their service to the College. The event will also be livestreamed. A reception will follow in a tent in Palamountain parking lot.

Inaugural Ceremonies

Skidmore College cordially invites all members of the Skidmore community to a weekend of events celebrating the inauguration of Marc C. Conner as the College’s eighth president. A combination of in-person and virtual events will be held to mark this time-honored tradition that recognizes the College's profound academic mission, proud history, and exciting future. A full schedule of Inaugural and Celebration Weekend events, along with detailed information, is available on the Inauguration website.

Celebration Weekend fireworks

A fireworks display will take place over Haupt Pond on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 9 p.m. All are welcome to view this outdoor event.

New exhibition, “Lauren Kelley: Location Scouting,” opens at the Tang

The Tang Teaching Museum announces the opening of “Lauren Kelley: Location Scouting,” on Saturday, Oct. 16. In the fourth exhibition in a series that invites an artist to re-imagine what a community space in the museum can be, Lauren Kelley will reshape the mezzanine by combining meditations on travel with snapshots of everyday life in her drawings, sculpture, and stop-motion animation videos. The two-year project will transform over time, with guest-artist collaborations and a new animation created by the artist and Skidmore Students. For more information, visit the Tang website.

Tang hours extended for Celebration Weekend

The Tang Teaching Museum announces special hours for Celebration Weekend. The museum will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, and Saturday, Oct. 16, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17. For more information, visit the Tang website.

Scribner Library Book Club

The Scribner Library Book Club is a non-traditional book club that encourages attendees to “show and tell” a book they’ve read with the group. The group’s next gathering will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, via Zoom. Check the Book Club’s webpage for more information.

Library Book Sale – Celebration Weekend

Scribner Library will hold its annual Celebration Weekend book sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16. Masks will be required. All proceeds go to the library’s Patty A. Weller fund, which was established in memory of a long-term, cherished employee. The fund is used toward the Patty Weller Prize, an annual monetary gift given to two senior student workers who consistently demonstrate superior work, reliability, and a good attitude throughout their tenure in the library. If you have books you would like to donate to the sale, please bring them to the Circulation Desk on Thursday, Oct. 14.

Ensemble Connect celebrates its 15th year at Skidmore

Ensemble Connect, a group of the finest young professional classical musicians based out of Carnegie Hall, is celebrating its 15th year at Skidmore with a performance at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, in Zankel Music Center. Presented by the Music Department and the Office of Special Programs, the concert is free and open to the public — to both virtual and in-person audiences. Register in advance to secure tickets.

Skidmore Theater’s Fall Black Box Production: John Proctor Is the Villain

Join us at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, through Wednesday, Oct. 27, or at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, for this production written by Kimberly Belflower and directed by John Michael DiResta. Tickets are free, and capacity is very limited. Tickets may be reserved here.

Call for Alumni Award Nominations

From now until Nov. 5, faculty and staff are welcome to nominate alumni for recognition awards. Please visit the website for award descriptions and criteria, as well as the nomination form. Questions? Contact Megan Mercier, director of alumni and volunteer engagement.

Discounted Gore season passes

A corporate discount for season passes to Gore Mountain is available for Skidmore employees through Dec. 8. You can find information about pass options and submit your request to purchase online.

Athletics News

The men’s soccer team is home this weekend for a pair of key Liberty League contests. The Thoroughbreds take on Ithaca College at 4 p.m. Friday and RIT at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Skidmore is 6-4-1 overall and 1-2-1 in league play. Ithaca (6-4-3, 4-0 Liberty League) and RIT (7-2-3, 2-0-2) are both unbeaten in league play. Read more >>

Skidmore Shop

The Skidmore Shop team is looking forward to Celebration Weekend, Oct. 15-17. Shop hours that weekend will be 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. With every purchase of $50 or more, shoppers will receive a free Skidmore mug — while supplies last. Can’t make it to campus? Skidmoreshop.com will be offering free shipping from Friday, Oct. 15, through Sunday Oct. 17.

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